Homeschool World Forum

[Shakytoad]

Hello and greetings. I am rather desperate. I am a mother of 3. I just finished doing K 3 and 5th grade via an online charter school here in Wisconsin which uses the K12 curriculum.

It's not all bad certainly. But somehow adding on my kindergarten daughter made it very difficult to work with my middle child.

I had done Sonlight for 2 years with my oldest. Then my husband left me and I felt the attraction of the free curriculum offered by the charter school, as well as the orderly daily tasks.

I have found that I have become more of a drill sargent. I bark and push the kids to hurry hurry hurry finish. Especially my middle child, who would sit at the table and drift off while I was trying to work with my K-aged daughter. I would bark at him and hustle him on almost a daily basis. He says he hates school.

My oldest for the most part did his work without being prodded, but would "slop" a bit on his writing, etc. I couldn't attend to it all. Having a broken home, I had to drive the kids to their fathers often on weeknights, etc.

I have felt that life was very hectic with the charter school. The house is in a shambles. The house was the messiest it has ever been during this past year. I don't really feel what we have been doing is homeschooling, with its peaceful lingering days.. or should it be that way? .

Then there were the demands of the charter school... attending online classrooms, sending in work samples, having teachers check in on the kids over the phone, etc. I was hoping to have time this summer to work on the house and yard which are in dire need of cleaning and fixing, but time is flying by.

My older two look on schoolwork for the most part as something to get the heck out of the way. A chore. My kindergarten girl enjoys it and learned to read and do a lot of math. I am afraid if I switch it may make for more trouble. I fantasize about taking a year off and just making the kids read and do some math each day, and work on the house in the meantime.

Somehow, I am afraid to hop off the charter school "bus".

Someone please help me. Offer me your opinions and insights and don't hold back. I am feeling pretty anxious, thank you!

[hbmom36]

I have heard bad things about K-12. Are there other charters availabel to you in your area that aren't so pushy? We are with a charter school here in Orange County that we just love. We choose the curriculum (if any) and go at our own pace. Can you find something else?

[Shakytoad]

It would be too late to switch charter schools for the fall. THat cannot be done in the state of WI. The deadline to switch school districts is in Feb.

What have you heard about k12?

I think there are a lot of good things, truly... to be fair.

My choice is to go back to being a real homeschooler or stay on the k12 train.

And that is my dilemma. Of course I cannot afford big curriculum packages for the kids.

Thank you.

[Theodore]

Legal requirements for homeschooling in Wisconsin.
Required days of instruction: "at least 875 hours of instruction each school year."
Required subjects: Reading, language arts, math, social studies, science, and health.
Teacher qualifications: None required.
Standardized Tests: None required.

That's less than 3 hours per day if you go year-round and only skip Sundays, plus almost anything can be counted as education if you use a little imagination. My advice is to take the year break and have your kids focus primarily on reading, writing, and math, with a somewhat lesser emphasis on social studies, science, and health. You can make things interesting by sprinkling appropriate movies (Sergeant York for WWI, Davy Crockett for The Alamo, etc.) and science projects throughout the year, and your overall textbook / materials costs shouldn't run more than a few hundred dollars.
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The board game has sold over 350,000 copies worldwide, garnered many awards, is used by over 2,000 schools, and is used extensively by homeschoolers.

[hbmom36]

[hadaville]

I am so sorry for your frustration. I was just looking into an online charter school myself. I really read the material and looked at each of the grades my children would be in to find out exactly the curriculum that would be used. My conclusion was that I would have to teach three different history and science curriculums along with the other subjects that require different levels. I just can't see myself adding more stuff. I am teaching all three of them the same science and history curriculum now. I had a baby in Oct. of last year and feel that I didn't get everything done as it was.

I hear your point about drill seargant loud and clear. Sometimes I felt that way and I didn't have anyone to answer to.

The other reasons I have made my choice to stick to what I am already doing is that I started homeschooling because I wanted to choose curriclum that pointed towards God.

IE: Writing curiculum is "A Reason For Handwriting" our science is creation based. Of course you can't do that with everything, but I still want that choice.

I agree with the moderator. Take a year and focus on your childs reading etc... let them find things that they want to learn from. Maybe almost an unschooling approach. Make a weekly trip to the library a fun addition to your schedule.

I can't imagine how you functioned with the loss of your family unit. Maybe for last year it was a blessing even though it was TOUGH, cause I know if that would have happened to me, I would have dropped school altogether. At least they finished out the year.

Have you asked your kids what they want to do? They might come up with some great ideas.

Blessings to you in your decision. You may not find the PERFECT option, but I don't think that exists. Try to make the best one for you and your children.
Heather

[kissedangel]