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Online or fairly independent program for family unexpectedly looking to homeschool 7th grade?

Clemsondana
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Clemsondana

Clemsondana

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A former ball coach for one of my kids is unexpectedly looking at homeschooling their middle schooler for the next 2 years.  Both parents work and there isn't a lot of extra money.  I don't know what drama at school is prompting this, but their older kid is in high school and they're planning to have the younger return for high school so it seems to be an issue specific to the middle school.  

Nothing that we do would work for this family - we either do things that I'm heavily involved in teaching or we outsource in a way that is physically (due to distance and schedule) or financially unworkable.  

What do you suggest?  They are looking at something like K12.  Thoughts?  The school that they are pulling the kid from isn't great, so the kid isn't likely to get a subpar education relative to school by doing something that is just generic online classes.  From what I can tell about this kid from sports, they are a hard worker.  

Does the group have any suggestions that would help this family?  

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cintinative

cintinative

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Are there any learning challenges at play? I have heard some horror stories about Connections Academy regarding kids that are on the spectrum, but that was years ago.

If you are on social media, there is probably a FB group for local K12 families. If I were them, I would try to find it and ask there how things are going. 

What state is this?

I know FL has FLVS which offers full time course loads.  I can't tell from their website if you can utilize them if you are from out of state.  https://www.flvs.net/full-time/more

 

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Clemsondana

Clemsondana

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We're in TN.  No learning challenges that I know of.  The dad has picked up a second job to be able to pay for the kids' sports.  If I had to guess, there's money for buying books if needed but it wouldn't be easy to come up with several hundred dollars per course to outsource each individually.  And with both parents working and their older being a 2 sport senior next year, there likely isn't a ton of extra time to deal with a big learning curve managing this.  

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maize

maize

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My ninth grader is doing mostly online and independent this year. She does Teaching Textbooks for math, Brandon Sanderson's free Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy lectures on YouTube (plus actually writing, and free reading--if a kid needs suggestions for reading Brandon Sanderson books would pair well with the lectures) for English, an inexpensive Spanish tutor in Mexico via Preply.com for Spanish, and MiaPrep for everything else.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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maize

maize

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If they need a single source for everything, MiaPrep/Miacademy isn't bad and goes on sale several times a year.

If there are mental health struggles at all at play I'd shy away from K12, I hear it can be pretty high stress.

 

Edited by maize
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HomeAgain

HomeAgain

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If they're not able to get into one of the online public schools, I'd suggest these:

Exploration Education for science ($100)

Math U See pre-algebra or Math Mammoth for math ($40-100)

One of the "Everything You Need To Know" big fat notebooks about history ($25)

A simple English workbook/writing practice ($25)

 

This is it.  Anything else would just be "interest-driven".

 

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serendipitous journey

serendipitous journey

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15 hours ago, Clemsondana said:

 

....

What do you suggest?  They are looking at something like K12.  Thoughts?  The school that they are pulling the kid from isn't great, so the kid isn't likely to get a subpar education relative to school by doing something that is just generic online classes.  From what I can tell about this kid from sports, they are a hard worker.  

...

Agree with above that I've heard K12 can be stressful. 

May I ask what the child's care/supervision situation will be during the day?  Will they be on their own?  At a grandparent's or something?  Hanging in a break room (unlikely, but better than a toxic school)?
No judgment here, just want to understand what the child's context will be for doing the work. 

Edited by serendipitous journey
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Clemsondana

Clemsondana

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Just now, serendipitous journey said:

Agree with above that I've heard K12 can be stressful. 

May I ask what the child's care/supervision situation will be during the day?  Will he be on his own?  At a grandparent's or something?  Hanging in a break room (unlikely, but better than a toxic school)?
No judgment here, just want to understand what his context will be for doing the work. 

Not sure.  They may be home alone, but also a grandparent lives next door.  The family looks after the grandparent so they won't be supervising, exactly, but kid wouldn't have to be alone all the time.  This kid's afternoons, evenings, and weekends are filled with ball and likely church stuff too - social isolation isn't a concern, but there won't be an adult to help with work except for when a parent would be home after work.  

I really can't imagine what is going on with this kid at this school - this family isn't the type to coddle their kids (I'm not saying that pulling a kid out of a toxic situation is coddling - I just know them well enough to know that their first instinct is to say 'tough it out' and 'respect your teachers').  And, like i said, their older kid went to school there and there wasn't any drama.  

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serendipitous journey

serendipitous journey

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3 hours ago, Clemsondana said:

Not sure.  They may be home alone, but also a grandparent lives next door.  The family looks after the grandparent so they won't be supervising, exactly, but kid wouldn't have to be alone all the time.  This kid's afternoons, evenings, and weekends are filled with ball and likely church stuff too - social isolation isn't a concern, but there won't be an adult to help with work except for when a parent would be home after work.  

I really can't imagine what is going on with this kid at this school - this family isn't the type to coddle their kids (I'm not saying that pulling a kid out of a toxic situation is coddling - I just know them well enough to know that their first instinct is to say 'tough it out' and 'respect your teachers').  And, like i said, their older kid went to school there and there wasn't any drama.  

EDIT: you know, I think Renai's suggestion below is probably more apt: an online public school. 

If they are Christian I would most highly recommend dropping in at Ambleside Online.  There is an emergency homeschooling page on their site, and the forum there would be more than happy to give support to parents (and to the child, if they got an account). 

My thinking is that Ambleside is set up to be very very affordable, to focus on reading & rich content, and to ensure mathematical fluency.  I think he could have a great year, and there is enough focus on non-academics like sketching & listening to music, looking at art that his mind could be fed without burnout. 

My one concern would be writing.  For that, there are a lot of good options.  My favorite for independent work and being prepared for a transition to traditional school is "Winning with Writing": it is approachable and get'er done, and the work comes in daily chunks and is (as I recall) straightforward to correct. 

Just an idea.  I'm sure it won't fit exactly but may have some nugget of value ... this child is fortunate to have parents so dedicated to their welfare.

ETA: Though the Brandon Sanderson writing course mentioned above sounds pretty terrific!!  Esp. for the first year.

Edited by serendipitous journey
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Renai

Renai

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Since they are planning on him returning to public school, one of the free online public schools is a good choice. My oldest used K12 in the 6th grade. It didn't work for us, but it works for many others. My daughter really liked the literature and science, as well as the art. She disliked math, but it had more to do with the teacher than the program.

There is an expectation of how much is accomplished each day - one lesson per subject - and progress is shown real-time. That accountability may be important for the parents to see since the student may be alone a lot of the time. There was an attendance expectation, but the days and times are completely flexible. Our K12 had some live classes, especially for math, on certain days with the other days completing work. The teachers also had office hours so students could "drop in" and ask questions.

If they have problems with internet or computer access, they will provide a free computer and have assistance for paying internet. If there are physical books, those are sent at no cost.

Edited by Renai
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Dmmetler

Dmmetler

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8 hours ago, Clemsondana said:

We're in TN.  No learning challenges that I know of.  The dad has picked up a second job to be able to pay for the kids' sports.  If I had to guess, there's money for buying books if needed but it wouldn't be easy to come up with several hundred dollars per course to outsource each individually.  And with both parents working and their older being a 2 sport senior next year, there likely isn't a ton of extra time to deal with a big learning curve managing this.  

They may want to see if a districf near them  has a virtual campus. The ones here seem to have cross-district agreements. For just a year or two, it might be the best "at home" option, even though it's not homeschooling. 

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Clemsondana

Clemsondana

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4 hours ago, Dmmetler said:

They may want to see if a districf near them  has a virtual campus. The ones here seem to have cross-district agreements. For just a year or two, it might be the best "at home" option, even though it's not homeschooling. 

Thanks - I'll mention it.  They don't care about 'really homeschooling' - they just want another option for this kid.  I messaged the mom that y'all were helping me to make a list and she was appreciative.  

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maize

maize

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34 minutes ago, AnneGG said:

Easy Peasy? 
 

We went to a homeschool park day and almost everyone there used Power Homeschool. I’d never heard of it, but apparently it’s popular. 

Some of these offer a free trial so they could maybe sign up for that and see what parents and student prefer.

I personally rank both Easy Peasy and Miacademy over Acellus Power Homeschool.

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Janeway

Janeway

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They should just look at the public school online programs instead of home schooling. Sounds like they won't be around for homeschooling. Each state has different ones so they will need to look in to what is available in their area.

Edited by Janeway
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