A few years ago my oldest was struggling in school. I did what I could to help but sadly, he fell behind. The school’s policy is to pass him on even though, I felt as a parent, that he needed to repeat his current grade. I talked with the principal and other staff in the district to see if anything could be done with no luck. So I took it upon myself to look into alternative avenues for his education.
I found that homeschooling can be quite expensive. Curriculum doesn’t come cheaper that an arm, leg, liver, and half of your brain. I was just about to give up when I came across an advertisement in a local parent magazine for a school called K-12. The ad was full of color and caught my eye enough for me to call them. The person I had talked to on the phone was nice and very helpful. She explained to me that this school is technically a public school and is funded like one. The difference from a regular public school is that the classroom setting is done online and it’s one on one. They provide you with all of the curriculum needed to teach all of the subjects. They even lend you a computer and a printer if you don’t have one. The biggest plus was that it was FREE! that’s right folks, free as a bird. They even send you a small check for your internet access because it’s what you need in order to have access to the classes.
The program itself was a great one. It was easy to follow. There was always a teacher that was on call if we had any questions. We meet him once a month at the local library so that he could check on my son’s progress.
My son and I both liked it the program. He was able to pay attention better because it was at his own pace and he had one on one attention. We found a list on the school website where you can find other K-12 families in your area. We even joined a co-parent teaching group that met once a week. Each parent had a job. Whether it was teaching the Art subject, Math subject, or even a parent that babysat the younger siblings that had to tote along. Everyone worked together for the children.
We enjoyed going over to the local creek trail and discussing the erosion happening within the rocks around us. Exploring the sands and the plant life. He listened to Bach and Beethoven and did research about different paintings and painters. He learned about the history of Mesopotamia and about Greek Gods. He even had P.E. which was just him being physical for 30 minutes a day. That was no problem because he would go biking or skating when the neighborhood kids got home from school.
I must admit though, by the end I was burnt out. There was nothing wrong with the program. I just had to be honest with myself and realize I couldn’t handle another year with one at home while I tried to keep up with my other 3 in public school out of the home. He also expressed to me that, although he liked being homeschooled, he missed going to school. After talking about with with my husband, and after getting the good results needed from his state testing we agreed to send him back.
It was a nice experience for us. I got to bond and spend more time with my oldest. I got to see what what my son was capable of as well as myself.
As a parent who has tried this program, I highly recommend K-12 School for anyone seeking to homeschool their children.
Check out K-12