The day began at 4:00 am (as most of my days do). I was at work by 5:00 am. By 9:00 am, I was on my way home, transitioning to "homeschool mom".
The girls and I began our day at 9:30. As most first days, there was nothing challenging to learn and no tests of will. Those trials will come later in the year. Today was a day of enthusiasm and good intentions. The 15 year old, (who doesn't remember homeschooling. She was only in 1st grade when I stopped), kept trying to figure out what was required, what was the schedule. She was more than slightly disappointed at the laid back feel to the day. I didn't give her a list of homework to be completed by Friday 5:00 pm. Instead, we sat at discussed ideas for how Aristotle could have tested his hypothesis that all material for the growth of a plant comes from the earth. Then we read a chapter of "Le Petit Prince" alternating paragraphs, so she could practice her French pronunciation and translations. Math was a review of Algebraic concepts taught last year.
The 17 year old loved every minute of it. I haven't seen her so enthusiastic about learning in years. The 15 year old and I well.... it might take us a while. I don't feel a sense of accomplishment yet. I know that this is a better way. My daughters will actually remember what we discussed today. They caught the enjoyment of spinning creative ideas around a given problem (how to determine where the matter for growth comes from in a plant.) They had an opportunity to practice learning how to think for themselves. It was good.
But, I miss my check boxes.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Sunday, August 5, 2012
T -14
Two weeks until school starts.
So, I've done this all before. It's only been 6 years that I've been out of homeschooling. How could I forget how to make a lesson plan?
There are so many different expectations now versus when I had the older children at home. They had been trained to be very independent learners. I'd hand the oldest a book and say read it. It would be read and comprehended and assimilated. With the youngest, she is equally as intelligent. But, if I just hand her the book, and don't have assignments based upon the text, I doubt that she will assimilate any of the knowledge.
But, how do I develop assignments for these courses? She wants to take Asian History. So, I have found two excellent textbooks on Asian History. But, both are for college courses. Neither comes with a workbook or test. Yes, I have the ability to sit down and write test questions. But, I don't really want to. Part of the idea behind bringing them home this year is to get away from the busy work and the monotony of learning in a traditional setting. I want to give her the joy of learning. And that will not come through read and regurgitate lessons.
I could read ahead and write prompt questions for myself and make this a discussion based course. However, there isn't just Asian History to deal with. She is also taking Latin, and Philosophy. Where do I find the ability and the time to create discussions for all three? (on top of her Physics course, her Calculus and French) All while still working and keeping a house.
Oh yeah, now I remember why I chose to do one history course for all six when they were at home. ::sigh::
This is going to be more difficult than I thought.
So, I've done this all before. It's only been 6 years that I've been out of homeschooling. How could I forget how to make a lesson plan?
There are so many different expectations now versus when I had the older children at home. They had been trained to be very independent learners. I'd hand the oldest a book and say read it. It would be read and comprehended and assimilated. With the youngest, she is equally as intelligent. But, if I just hand her the book, and don't have assignments based upon the text, I doubt that she will assimilate any of the knowledge.
But, how do I develop assignments for these courses? She wants to take Asian History. So, I have found two excellent textbooks on Asian History. But, both are for college courses. Neither comes with a workbook or test. Yes, I have the ability to sit down and write test questions. But, I don't really want to. Part of the idea behind bringing them home this year is to get away from the busy work and the monotony of learning in a traditional setting. I want to give her the joy of learning. And that will not come through read and regurgitate lessons.
I could read ahead and write prompt questions for myself and make this a discussion based course. However, there isn't just Asian History to deal with. She is also taking Latin, and Philosophy. Where do I find the ability and the time to create discussions for all three? (on top of her Physics course, her Calculus and French) All while still working and keeping a house.
Oh yeah, now I remember why I chose to do one history course for all six when they were at home. ::sigh::
This is going to be more difficult than I thought.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Books
This is my favorite time of year for schooling. There is nothing like the excitement and potential of going through catalogs and picking out what you get to learn next semester. It doesn't matter if it's a homeschool catalog of books and curricula or if it's a course list from the online school, or a course catalog from a traditional school. The mere thought of the potential of each course thrills me to my soul.
One thing I have noticed this year, the options I'm considering are a lot more expensive than in previous years. When I first began homeschooling in 1992, there weren't a lot of curriculum options. (granted, it was the first grade. How much does one really need to teach an inquisitive child reading and basic math?) I think my total homeschool budget was significantly under $100. By the time we switched to virtual schools (2004) my homeschool budget was over $1500. I was purchasing AP curriculum through Apex Learning and Stanford EPGY. Both were good, but I never felt like my daughter got $1500 worth of learn from these courses. There wasn't enough interaction between herself and the teachers to justify the price. My total cost for this years curriculum will be around the $1500 mark again this year. The bulk of this is for one course with Pennsylvania Home School Association (AP Literature) and one course with Thinkwell (Calculus)
The cost of this endeavor has me questioning my decisions again. If I kept my daughter in iForward, these courses would have been free. She would have had not only the access to the knowledge taught, but teachers to help her through the material, hold her accountable for homework, provide feedback on her work. Fortunately, I am saved from regret by remembering that the language teacher last year never once gave her feedback nor held her accountable for homework.
The books have come - Dickens, Chaucer, The History of Ancient China, Oxford Latin, Shakespeare. I can't wait for a chance to begin.
One thing I have noticed this year, the options I'm considering are a lot more expensive than in previous years. When I first began homeschooling in 1992, there weren't a lot of curriculum options. (granted, it was the first grade. How much does one really need to teach an inquisitive child reading and basic math?) I think my total homeschool budget was significantly under $100. By the time we switched to virtual schools (2004) my homeschool budget was over $1500. I was purchasing AP curriculum through Apex Learning and Stanford EPGY. Both were good, but I never felt like my daughter got $1500 worth of learn from these courses. There wasn't enough interaction between herself and the teachers to justify the price. My total cost for this years curriculum will be around the $1500 mark again this year. The bulk of this is for one course with Pennsylvania Home School Association (AP Literature) and one course with Thinkwell (Calculus)
The cost of this endeavor has me questioning my decisions again. If I kept my daughter in iForward, these courses would have been free. She would have had not only the access to the knowledge taught, but teachers to help her through the material, hold her accountable for homework, provide feedback on her work. Fortunately, I am saved from regret by remembering that the language teacher last year never once gave her feedback nor held her accountable for homework.
The books have come - Dickens, Chaucer, The History of Ancient China, Oxford Latin, Shakespeare. I can't wait for a chance to begin.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Full Circle
Today is the day that I have chosen to accept my daughters choice. She wants to be homeschooled. She's 17. She is mature and responsible and intelligent. I guess she should have a say in the matter. So, six years of virtual schooling, and I'm back where I began.
Hi, I'm Karen. I'm a homeschool mom.
One of the things that has changed over the last few years is the presence of homeschooling online. Perhaps that would be more accurate if I said, the lack of homeschooling presence online. It was 16 years ago that I logged into my first homeschool message board. It wasn't facebook. It wasn't real time posting. But, there were a group of women (and some men) from across the US. We supported each other with friendship and camaraderie throughout the challenges of homeschooling.
I went online to search for a similar, albeit updated, version of this group. It's no longer there, and there doesn't appear to be anything to take it's place. There were a number of links to pseudo scam organizations willing to take my money to "tutor" my child, but no way to find friends in my area.
I should be more precise. There are home school organizations that meet within a 30 mile radius of me. I was unable to find any that were open to all homeschoolers. There was a Baptist group, a Catholic group, an Assemblies of God group (odd, we don't have an AG church anywhere around here. Must be a very small group). There was the ubiquitous "Christian Home Educators Association" located in a community about 45 minutes away. Not a single "Homeschool Families who have chosen to do this because they want the best education humanly possible for their child regardless of the personal cost and sacrifice necessary to achieve this goal" Maybe that's too verbose. I'd settle for "Diverse Homeschoolers"
Hi, I'm Karen. I'm a homeschool mom.
One of the things that has changed over the last few years is the presence of homeschooling online. Perhaps that would be more accurate if I said, the lack of homeschooling presence online. It was 16 years ago that I logged into my first homeschool message board. It wasn't facebook. It wasn't real time posting. But, there were a group of women (and some men) from across the US. We supported each other with friendship and camaraderie throughout the challenges of homeschooling.
I went online to search for a similar, albeit updated, version of this group. It's no longer there, and there doesn't appear to be anything to take it's place. There were a number of links to pseudo scam organizations willing to take my money to "tutor" my child, but no way to find friends in my area.
I should be more precise. There are home school organizations that meet within a 30 mile radius of me. I was unable to find any that were open to all homeschoolers. There was a Baptist group, a Catholic group, an Assemblies of God group (odd, we don't have an AG church anywhere around here. Must be a very small group). There was the ubiquitous "Christian Home Educators Association" located in a community about 45 minutes away. Not a single "Homeschool Families who have chosen to do this because they want the best education humanly possible for their child regardless of the personal cost and sacrifice necessary to achieve this goal" Maybe that's too verbose. I'd settle for "Diverse Homeschoolers"
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Insights new Look
note: this is a contradiction of what I said in February 2011. At that time, I had been assured that Insight Corporation although had been sold/bought, and the CEO had left, no major changes would occur. I'm questioning the validity of that statement.
I am disturbed by a trend in virtual schooling. When I began this journey a decade ago, there were many players in the field. Keystone, Aventa, Apex, K12, FLVS, were the heavy hitters, but there were half a dozen other companies that were providing educational materials and courseware for schools. Each of these companies sold their product (the course material, online access) to a school (iQ, Insight, WIVA, Connections, etc) where the student could access the material. Many of these course providers also allowed parents to purchase individual courses. It was through this flexibility that my son took Auto Mechanics, and Aviation (I & II) through Grantsburg Virtual School. Today, that would not be possible. K12 has bought out what seems to be everyone. And, just like I don't like the fact that Wisconsin public schools are a monopoly, I don't like the fact that Virtual Schools are soon to be in exactly the same boat.
Insight Schools (corporation) is the most recent acquisition by K12. The CEO and founder of Insight, Keith Oelrich, is no longer associated with Insight. Virtual schooling has lost another leader, another innovator.
K12 is a wonderful curriculum. When it comes to teaching K-8, I don't believe there is a better choice available in this country. The K12 method is concept based. Children are taught ideas and then the details are applied. It's often referred to as a mastery approach, but that's merely the grading method. The teaching method is concept focus. It is unarguably fabulous. It was developed under the leadership of Bror Saxberg. Bror left K12 in 2009. I assume (although have not confirmed) that there were philosophical differences that caused Bror to leave. It was shortly after his departure that K12 turned from being a fabulous curriculum provider to being a pariah of independent virtual schools.
Insight schools of Wisconsin this week sent out a letter from Karl Peterson. In this letter, Karl mentions the new course catalog. While I had been assured in February that there would be no changes to the individual offerings at a local school, apparently, that is not the case. Insight will be offering the K12 high school courses. This isn't a bad thing. I like the K12 product. But, K12 doesn't offer British Literature. K12 doesn't offer Mythology. K12 doesn't offer C++. These are courses that have been dropped from the Insight catalog.
I am deeply concerned over this news. I do not believe that a monopoly is beneficial to the students of virtual schools. I do not know what is ahead for us, but to me, it appears there are storm clouds on the horizon.
I am disturbed by a trend in virtual schooling. When I began this journey a decade ago, there were many players in the field. Keystone, Aventa, Apex, K12, FLVS, were the heavy hitters, but there were half a dozen other companies that were providing educational materials and courseware for schools. Each of these companies sold their product (the course material, online access) to a school (iQ, Insight, WIVA, Connections, etc) where the student could access the material. Many of these course providers also allowed parents to purchase individual courses. It was through this flexibility that my son took Auto Mechanics, and Aviation (I & II) through Grantsburg Virtual School. Today, that would not be possible. K12 has bought out what seems to be everyone. And, just like I don't like the fact that Wisconsin public schools are a monopoly, I don't like the fact that Virtual Schools are soon to be in exactly the same boat.
Insight Schools (corporation) is the most recent acquisition by K12. The CEO and founder of Insight, Keith Oelrich, is no longer associated with Insight. Virtual schooling has lost another leader, another innovator.
K12 is a wonderful curriculum. When it comes to teaching K-8, I don't believe there is a better choice available in this country. The K12 method is concept based. Children are taught ideas and then the details are applied. It's often referred to as a mastery approach, but that's merely the grading method. The teaching method is concept focus. It is unarguably fabulous. It was developed under the leadership of Bror Saxberg. Bror left K12 in 2009. I assume (although have not confirmed) that there were philosophical differences that caused Bror to leave. It was shortly after his departure that K12 turned from being a fabulous curriculum provider to being a pariah of independent virtual schools.
Insight schools of Wisconsin this week sent out a letter from Karl Peterson. In this letter, Karl mentions the new course catalog. While I had been assured in February that there would be no changes to the individual offerings at a local school, apparently, that is not the case. Insight will be offering the K12 high school courses. This isn't a bad thing. I like the K12 product. But, K12 doesn't offer British Literature. K12 doesn't offer Mythology. K12 doesn't offer C++. These are courses that have been dropped from the Insight catalog.
I am deeply concerned over this news. I do not believe that a monopoly is beneficial to the students of virtual schools. I do not know what is ahead for us, but to me, it appears there are storm clouds on the horizon.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Switching schools
Because of some serious issues with WIVA, I have decided to move my daughters to Insight Schools of WI. (oldest daughter graduated from Insight WI this June.) I must say, it is a learning experience to switch virtual schools.
Sending back equipment has been challenging. I have computer equipment from two different schools for three different students. I have books and other materials for the same. I've gotten 14 emails requesting supplies be returned. Most (but not all) of the emails have a student name. One email had both the materials to be returned listed and a shipping label. Some have just shipping labels with a student name as sender, in 8 point font. Two were links to generate shipping labels, for "computer equipment". (I have three laptops and two printers to return as well as a large assortment of microphones, cameras, books, microscopes, etc.) In total, I have 4 shipping labels for computer equipment. Not a single email/label gives me a serial number of the equipment that is being requested. I know, I'm a bad mom. I'm supposed to remember which HP laptop was from which school. And I'm supposed to remember which Lexmark printer was for which child from which school. My favorite email was from "Gene Ortman", a name totally unfamiliar to me. He asks, "How many labels do I need?" No reference to school and/or child and/or type of materials to be sent.
This quandary is of particular interest to me because I've been receiving detailed emails from Vicki Wood for the last six years. Vicki Wood is the name on the emails from K12 computer reclamations. I don't believe she is a real person, but I might be wrong. In these emails, I am asked to return a computer from K12 for my son Joseph. These emails include shipping labels and material specifications (CPU, Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse). They specify Joseph's name. They even list the type of CPU - a Dell 386. Yep. A 386. (for non-geeks, a 386 was a computer in use in the early 1990's. It was only barely capable of running Windows 95. It had a floppy drive and less memory than an average smart phone.) This equipment was returned many many years ago. Apparently it was lost in a warehouse somewhere. Probably being used as a door stop, because it isn't good for anything else.
My suggestion to parents of virtual students: Attach labels to all computer equipment. These can be purchased from the local office supply store. Label cables and power cords, too. Keep the box and packing materials for each - or plan ahead on this one. It's hard to find Styrofoam padding that will adequately protect a laptop sent by FedEx. If you are returning equipment to Insight, they will not send labels (or they haven't to me) But, they will send the FedEx guy to your house and he can attach the label when he gets there. K12 also wants their computers sent via FedEx. They provide labels but not the home pick up. Therefore, you will need to take the computer to the closest FedEx pick up site. For me, this is 35 miles away.
My suggestion to schools: We are families, not corporations. We live in houses and not offices. Please send serial numbers of any and all equipment that you want returned. Many of us have a half dozen HP laptops lying around the house. If you want a specific serial number back, ask. Please affix school labels to all equipment before you send it to us. Don't expect us to read your mind. We have multiple children. Please include the students name in all correspondence. Please include the name of the school in all correspondence. Please include a real live contact name and phone number or email address.
One more thing, I got a lovely email today from Insight. It did have a real person's name. The subject line was "Welcome to the K12 Online School." (more on this confusing name change later) In the email it said, "Please disregard this system-generated email at this time" (underlining in original) And they wonder why sometimes we parents are clueless.
Sending back equipment has been challenging. I have computer equipment from two different schools for three different students. I have books and other materials for the same. I've gotten 14 emails requesting supplies be returned. Most (but not all) of the emails have a student name. One email had both the materials to be returned listed and a shipping label. Some have just shipping labels with a student name as sender, in 8 point font. Two were links to generate shipping labels, for "computer equipment". (I have three laptops and two printers to return as well as a large assortment of microphones, cameras, books, microscopes, etc.) In total, I have 4 shipping labels for computer equipment. Not a single email/label gives me a serial number of the equipment that is being requested. I know, I'm a bad mom. I'm supposed to remember which HP laptop was from which school. And I'm supposed to remember which Lexmark printer was for which child from which school. My favorite email was from "Gene Ortman", a name totally unfamiliar to me. He asks, "How many labels do I need?" No reference to school and/or child and/or type of materials to be sent.
This quandary is of particular interest to me because I've been receiving detailed emails from Vicki Wood for the last six years. Vicki Wood is the name on the emails from K12 computer reclamations. I don't believe she is a real person, but I might be wrong. In these emails, I am asked to return a computer from K12 for my son Joseph. These emails include shipping labels and material specifications (CPU, Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse). They specify Joseph's name. They even list the type of CPU - a Dell 386. Yep. A 386. (for non-geeks, a 386 was a computer in use in the early 1990's. It was only barely capable of running Windows 95. It had a floppy drive and less memory than an average smart phone.) This equipment was returned many many years ago. Apparently it was lost in a warehouse somewhere. Probably being used as a door stop, because it isn't good for anything else.
My suggestion to parents of virtual students: Attach labels to all computer equipment. These can be purchased from the local office supply store. Label cables and power cords, too. Keep the box and packing materials for each - or plan ahead on this one. It's hard to find Styrofoam padding that will adequately protect a laptop sent by FedEx. If you are returning equipment to Insight, they will not send labels (or they haven't to me) But, they will send the FedEx guy to your house and he can attach the label when he gets there. K12 also wants their computers sent via FedEx. They provide labels but not the home pick up. Therefore, you will need to take the computer to the closest FedEx pick up site. For me, this is 35 miles away.
My suggestion to schools: We are families, not corporations. We live in houses and not offices. Please send serial numbers of any and all equipment that you want returned. Many of us have a half dozen HP laptops lying around the house. If you want a specific serial number back, ask. Please affix school labels to all equipment before you send it to us. Don't expect us to read your mind. We have multiple children. Please include the students name in all correspondence. Please include the name of the school in all correspondence. Please include a real live contact name and phone number or email address.
One more thing, I got a lovely email today from Insight. It did have a real person's name. The subject line was "Welcome to the K12 Online School." (more on this confusing name change later) In the email it said, "Please disregard this system-generated email at this time" (underlining in original) And they wonder why sometimes we parents are clueless.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Wisconsin Coalition of Virtual Families
The Wisconsin Coalition of Virtual Families has a new website. This organization has changed the face of public schooling, for the betterment of all. Without the efforts of the Coalition it is unlikely that Virtual schooling would exist in Wisconsin today. They deserve every superlative I know. They also deserve our support. They are not associated with any specific school. They represent all virtually schooling families in the state of Wisconsin. Please consider signing up to stand with them.
http://www.wivirtualschoolfamilies.org/
http://www.wivirtualschoolfamilies.org/
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