Crisis Homeschooler Recommendations

[Mrs Twain]

Apologies if this has already been asked and answered...If so, please tell me where.

Hello, old friends!  I haven't been on the boards for a while, but I'm back mostly due to acquaintances who are looking for better options than public school distance online.  These are parents who work full-time and who are looking for complete programs, either online or a grade in a box.  At this point, they don't have the time to research and piece together their own programs.

Of course, I would never say this is an ideal approach to education, so I don't necessarily want to debate that point.  However, I do think this could be significantly better than public school distance learning, at least for grades K-8 for the 2020-2021 school year. 

Any ideas about what could work for complete online school or options for school-in-a-box for full-time working parents?

Edited July 25, 2020 by Mrs Twain

[kristin0713]

Christian or secular? 

[alisha]

School in a box-Timberdoodle! 

[Mrs Twain]

11 minutes ago, kristin0713 said:

Christian or secular? 

Either 

thabks!

[kristin0713]

How old are the kids?

[Lawyer&Mom]

I am a full time working parent. We started Memoria Press Kindergarten with my younger kid about six weeks ago.  I bought all the books, both read aloud and science enrichment.  Expensive, but I need everything to be easy and available.  I did distance learning K with my elder kid this spring, so I have something to compare it to.

Thoughts so far:  I am madly in love with Rod and Staff math.  It’s a workbook at this level which is perfect.  So clean, so straightforward, so much better than distance learning.  I went ahead and bought the next level for my older kid too. Such a win.

The read alouds and science enrichment books have been really successful.  Memoria Press made very thoughtful choices.  Even the one book that wasn’t really a hit wasn’t actually bad.  And my older kid has declared we need to save Ox-Cart Man to read to her kids, it’s her new favorite book ever.  I love having new books to read each week.  (I hide the upcoming books in the basement so that the new ones are a surprise.  We so need things to look forward to!)
 

With limited time to work with the kids some parts of the curriculum have fallen to the wayside for the moment.  For example, my kid has no interest in the copywork.  I plan to try again in a few months.  We just don’t have time to power struggle, and we will still need things to do in a few months anyway. So following the schedule has been less important than just moving forward in the materials.
 

I’m really glad I bit the bullet and bought the box.  Probably not what I would have done in normal circumstances, but these aren’t normal circumstances.

 

 

[Lori D.]

For parents who will be working, that usually means very limited time for actual implementation and oversight. I'd suggest:

Online / Computer-Based -- automatic grading and daily tracking report
- K-12 -- (secular) -- gr. K-12; free = tuition free public school online; for a fee = additional options (buy a specific course; online live tutoring; online private school)
- Calvert -- (secular) -- gr. 3-12
- Time4Learning -- (secular) -- gr. K-12; monthly subscription rate
- Alpha-Omega -- (Christian) -- gr. 3-12  Monarch -- online monthly subscription; Switched-On Schoolhouse -- purchased for home-based computer
- ACE Paces -- (Christian) -- various core subjects for gr. 7-12

Workbook-Based
- Alpha-Omega Life Pacs (Christian) -- grades K-12
- Horizons (Christian) -- grades pre-K - 3

Box/Complete
Quite frankly, all of these types of options that I can think of require significant $$ investment (not a great idea for a family that may be doing this for just the short-term) AND significant time by the parent for teaching/interaction/oversight (which means a lot will fall by the wayside as Lawyer&Mom described above). But, to provide some ideas in this category as requested 😉 :
- Timberdoodle kits -- grades pre-K - 12;  classic (religious) and non-religious options
- BookShark (secular) or Sonlight (Christian) -- grades pre-K -12
- Build Your Library (secular) -- grades K-12
- Memoria Press Core Curriculum (Christian) -- grades pre-K - 10

Edited July 25, 2020 by Lori D.

[Mrs Twain]

18 minutes ago, kristin0713 said:

How old are the kids?

Various ages. I am looking for options for anything K-8. Thanks!

[Mrs Twain]

5 minutes ago, Lawyer&Mom said:

I am a full time working parent. We started Memoria Press Kindergarten with my younger kid about six weeks ago.  I bought all the books, both read aloud and science enrichment.  Expensive, but I need everything to be easy and available.  I did distance learning K with my elder kid this spring, so I have something to compare it to.

Thoughts so far:  I am madly in love with Rod and Staff math.  It’s a workbook at this level which is perfect.  So clean, so straightforward, so much better than distance learning.  I went ahead and bought the next level for my older kid too. Such a win.

The read alouds and science enrichment books have been really successful.  Memoria Press made very thoughtful choices.  Even the one book that wasn’t really a hit wasn’t actually bad.  And my older kid has declared we need to save Ox-Cart Man to read to her kids, it’s her new favorite book ever.  I love having new books to read each week.  (I hide the upcoming books in the basement so that the new ones are a surprise.  We so need things to look forward to!)
 

With limited time to work with the kids some parts of the curriculum have fallen to the wayside for the moment.  For example, my kid has no interest in the copywork.  I plan to try again in a few months.  We just don’t have time to power struggle, and we will still need things to do in a few months anyway. So following the schedule has been less important than just moving forward in the materials.
 

I’m really glad I bit the bullet and bought the box.  Probably not what I would have done in normal circumstances, but these aren’t normal circumstances.

 

 

Thanks so much for this feedback. This is exactly the situation my friends have at the moment. It is not the situation they would prefer, but they need a way for their kids to make progress this school year. 

[Mrs Twain]

10 minutes ago, Lori D. said:

For parents who will be working, that usually means very limited time for actual implementation and oversight. I'd suggest:

Online / Computer-Based -- automatic grading and daily tracking report
- K-12 -- (secular) -- free = tuition free public school online; for a fee = additional options (buy a specific course; online live tutoring; online private school)
- Calvert -- (secular)
- Time4Learning -- (secular) -- monthly subscription rate
- Alpha-Omega -- (Christian) -- Monarch -- online monthly subscription-based; Switched-On Schoolhouse -- home-based purchased for your computer
- ACE Paces -- (Christian)

Workbook-Based
- Alpha-Omega Life Pacs (Christian) -- grades K-12

Box/Complete -- these require significant time by the parent for teaching/interaction/oversight
- Timberdoodle kits -- grades pre-K - 12;  classic (religious) and non-religious options
- BookShark (secular) or Sonlight (Christian) -- grades pre-K -12
- Build Your Library (secular) -- grades K-12

Excellent!  Thank you very much. I will look into these options. 

[kristin0713]

40 minutes ago, Mrs Twain said:

Various ages. I am looking for options for anything K-8. Thanks!

 

This matters, though, IMO.  For a K'er I would recommend something totally different than even 2nd grade. 

[Mrs Twain]

17 minutes ago, kristin0713 said:

 

This matters, though, IMO.  For a K'er I would recommend something totally different than even 2nd grade. 

Any options for these grade levels?

K, 1-2, 3-5, 6-8

[kristin0713]

I'm sorry I keep asking you questions instead of giving suggestions.  I'm also wondering if the parents will be working from home and overseeing the homeschool or if someone else will be who can be involved with the children?  Lori D. gave a great list.   For K and 1st grade or even any child who is not fluently reading, they will need one-on-one instruction in at least phonics and also beginning math.  But at that ages, it's not long--maybe a hour a day.  It will be more a matter of occupying the littles and the actual "school" can be accomplished in a short time.  If the parents are going to be pretty much unavailable and there will be no one else to oversee, I would look into Abeka's video programs. I do still think someone will be needed to oversee phonics and math, though. 

https://www.abeka.com/Homeschool/Products/AbekaAcademy/

If someone will be able to oversee consistently, a workbook program could work.  Lifepac as Lori suggested or Christian Light -- https://www.clp.org/christian_light_education  -- which is very affordable and pretty comprehensive. 

[ikslo]

My DS is going into 8th.  We’ve been homeschooling since K and I’ve been working FT that whole time.  We essentially do our homeschooling in the evenings.  He’s always just stayed up later and slept in later in the mornings (DH works/ed 2nd shift so someone is home with him most of the day now, dad sleeps in too), although in the early years he went to daycare during the day. 

Is the family open to a shift in the kids’ schedules? If so, that opens up the options.  Otherwise, I don’t see how they are going to be able to really do more than online virtual school if both parents are working FT.  I only have one, and it is a lot of work, even if using prepared materials and TMs.  I’m tired all of the time.  

[Mrs Twain]

1 hour ago, kristin0713 said:

I'm sorry I keep asking you questions instead of giving suggestions.  I'm also wondering if the parents will be working from home and overseeing the homeschool or if someone else will be who can be involved with the children?  Lori D. gave a great list.   For K and 1st grade or even any child who is not fluently reading, they will need one-on-one instruction in at least phonics and also beginning math.  But at that ages, it's not long--maybe a hour a day.  It will be more a matter of occupying the littles and the actual "school" can be accomplished in a short time.  If the parents are going to be pretty much unavailable and there will be no one else to oversee, I would look into Abeka's video programs. I do still think someone will be needed to oversee phonics and math, though. 

https://www.abeka.com/Homeschool/Products/AbekaAcademy/

If someone will be able to oversee consistently, a workbook program could work.  Lifepac as Lori suggested or Christian Light -- https://www.clp.org/christian_light_education  -- which is very affordable and pretty comprehensive. 

I agree that there has to be one-on-one teaching with the young kids. I used to have a general aim of one hour per grade level per day of seat work (i.e: one hour total for first grade, two hours for second grade, etc.).  The parents (or maybe a grandparent in some cases) will need to find time to give this individual attention, at least for the younger kids.
I suppose I am asking for suggestions for all-in-one resources, as in options for open-and-go programs these parents could use to do school this year that would help their children make progress and stay on track. These options will certainly not be the most rigorous or personalized, but they would be better than the abysmal DL offering from the public schools. I would like to give these parents a (short) list of programs that are of decent quality to choose from to simplify their decision. In any case (doing homeschool or online public school), they will need to figure out how to get the assignments done on a daily basis. 

[ktgrok]

I made this Trello Board for new homeschool friends, and I'm happy to share it. I have one list that is just all in one or multi-subject or distance learning. https://trello.com/b/haH5O4uY/homeschooling-101

I specifically labeled options that were very independent, or very teacher intensive, so that should help. I have links to the curriculum, cathy duffy reviews, and my own thoughts on each on the card if they click on it. If they type #independent in the search bar at the top it will find all the options I labeled as such. 

Edited July 25, 2020 by Ktgrok

[Shoeless]

Moving Beyond the Page and Oak Meadow are two more options that come to mind.

I think the parent would need to add in some extra pieces with MBtP, (math, in particular), but it covers Literature, Science, and Social Studies.  The good thing is that you can buy pieces of the program and not have to shell out all the money for an entire year up front.

I've been recommending Bookshark for crisis schoolers that want "school in a box" and aren't worried about money.   

For littles that are not yet reading, I've been recommending "The Ordinary Parents Guide" and "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons". There is also All About Reading, but I think it's kind of expensive and probably more than what most parents need right now. 

There is also Blossom and Root for early elementary. 

[Mrs Twain]

20 minutes ago, Ktgrok said:

I made this Trello Board for new homeschool friends, and I'm happy to share it. I have one list that is just all in one or multi-subject or distance learning. https://trello.com/b/haH5O4uY/homeschooling-101

I specifically labeled options that were very independent, or very teacher intensive, so that should help. I have links to the curriculum, cathy duffy reviews, and my own thoughts on each on the card if they click on it. If they type #independent in the search bar at the top it will find all the options I labeled as such. 

Thank you!  

[Mrs Twain]

19 minutes ago, MissLemon said:

Moving Beyond the Page and Oak Meadow are two more options that come to mind.

I think the parent would need to add in some extra pieces with MBtP, (math, in particular), but it covers Literature, Science, and Social Studies.  The good thing is that you can buy pieces of the program and not have to shell out all the money for an entire year up front.

I've been recommending Bookshark for crisis schoolers that want "school in a box" and aren't worried about money.   

For littles that are not yet reading, I've been recommending "The Ordinary Parents Guide" and "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons". There is also All About Reading, but I think it's kind of expensive and probably more than what most parents need right now. 

There is also Blossom and Root for early elementary. 

Thank you!

i used 100 Easy Lessons to teach all my kids to read. It is an awesome and economical resource.