Here is our list of pros and cons.
K-12 PROS
Money – Homeschooling can be expensive, and K-12 is FREE! They are going to send us a computer to borrow since I don’t want my laptop tied up all day. They are going to ship us 4 giant boxes of books, music, supplies and workbooks FOR FREE. If we don’t like K-12, they will send us return labels and we can return it all back to them FOR FREE.
*So far we have spent a bit less than $150 per child, which is what we would have paid to put the kids in Public school. But there is so much more I wish I could buy, and Im nervous to spend too much money in the trial error or choosing a curriculum.
Curriculum – This is only hearsay, because I do not have the curriculum in my hands yet. It is shipped and will be delivered here in a few days. But I have it on good authority that the curriculum is top of the line, advanced, and very interesting for the kids. All of the subjects are covered, including electives like German and other foreign languages.
Pace – Supposedly, K-12 allows kids to work at their own pace. If they are advanced, then they move on. If they need more help, then they get personal attention and instruction so they can master their subject and move forward. We can schedule our own days off, and choose what days we want to do which subjects. (Of course if you take a lot of days off, then you wont finish by the end of the normal school year. Whatever work you don’t get done keeps getting pushed to the next day, and you must finish it all eventually.) I have always wanted my kid to do year-round school, and that’s the approach we plan to take with this.
Staff – I have been impressed (almost scared impressed, by the responsive, proactive and helpful staff. There is always someone available for tech support, and until 8 pm each day there are liaisons to answer questions and problem solve with you. It kind of freaks me out, because it seems very “sales-ish,” but they have practiced what they preach so far, so this is a thumbs up for now.
Structure – Lesson plans are prepared for you. Assignments and tests are prepared for you. Assessment testing is arranged for you. As a mom/teacher this is has potential to be a huge weight off my shoulders. I have been nervous about detaching from the public schools. Im scared of my kids falling behind because of something I neglect to teach or focus on.
Nothing to Lose – Ultimately this is why we are trying the program. It is free, and if we don’t like it, we put it behind us and go our own way. It is an option that is growing in popularity, making a lot of families very happy, so it seems worth the try. I have been told many people use it as a stepping stone when they first start to homeschool. It will lay a lot of groundwork out, which we may or may not like, and perhaps even if we don’t stay with it we will find some valuable things to take with us when we go another direction.
K- 12 CONS
Curriculum – I didn’t pick it, and I don’t know if Im going to like it. Supposedly it’s “top rated,” but I have yet to find out what that means. Who rated it? Is it dry and boring and confining? Will it kill the love of learning factor?
Will we lose out on doing our fun family science experiments, person of the week, and Story of the World? (The greatest History program!!!) Will we run out of time to read classic novels together? Im very concerned about this. With the boys doing completely different sets of work now, we will lose a lot of our togetherness time.
Structure – Yes, this can be a pro. Also definitely a con if it turns out to be too much book work/busy work. Being accountable to another teacher is in many ways what we were trying to get away from in public school. However, we do have the flexibility to do work in whatever order we want, and we can go at our own pace, whether that be ahead of or behind what is pre-arranged for us. It remains to be seen how confining this structure is going to be for us.
My Time Commitment – It scares me to think of waking up in the morning and checking the lesson plans for the day, never knowing what lays ahead of me. With two boys responsible for their own curriculum, and a toddler, how can I manage it all? How can I teach what I did not prepare? Im very worried about this, and I just don’t know how it will work out.
The final Decision – We are going to try K-12. I say this with great reluctance and also a lot of excitement. I’d say we will give it a minimum of two months so we can really get into a new pattern and give it a fair shake. Tomorrow, my associate and I are going on a date to eat Mongolian beef and fried rice. There we will also discuss our vision of homeschooling. This decision about K-12 is HUGE! Im truly torn about it right now. In order to make the best decision about proceeding with it or not, we are going to need to identify the foundational reasons why we pulled our kids from Public school, and if K-12 squelches those reasons, then it will have to go – no matter how many things are good about it.
I asked as many questions as I could, and now all that’s left is to give it a try! I will be back to report soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment