considering hsing for high school (k12)

[lunabelly]

DD (14) has been asking to be homeschooled for years, and lately she's been saying that she hates school because it's so boring which just breaks my heart because she loves to learn. She's supposed to start high school in the fall, and she's signed up for honors classes. I've been telling her that high school might be the change she needs, but I just discovered that MA has a new K12 program, and she could start in the fall.

We tried homeschooling once before -- in 5th grade-- and it was a disaster for me. She was happy, but I was a total stress basket-- I had a newborn baby, and my dad died-- and I gave up and sent her back to public school. :(. She survived, obviously, but I have terrible guilt about it. I'm in a much better place now, but I'm still worried that the stress is going to be too much for me again. I'm also starting to see the benefits.

I read in their online info that they expect students to spend 6 hours a day on school work. I'm wondering how accurate that is. I've heard other people say that two hours a day is enough.

So I guess I'm wondering if anyone has anyone is using k12 for high school and also any thoughts about hsing a high school student in general. I couldn't help her with math and science at all. I've read that the K12 teachers don't really teach.

Oh, and ds is four now, and we're thinking of hsing him for kindergarten next year, but I have concerns about juggling the two. Oh, and I work 10 hours a week (5 of them from home). 

If you have any tips, sage advice, cautionary tales, I'd love to hear them.

Thanks.

[snanna]

Didn't want this to go by without a reply-- I don't have experience with the curriculum you mentioned, but I was a kid who decided to be homeschooled at age 15, after half a year of highschool. This after having stuck it out for years at elementary school, waiting for the magical answer of *highschool* and it's fabled AP classes (there was one...). I read the excellent 'Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education' by Grace Llewellyn http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Teenage_Liberation_Handbook , my parents were supportive, and I proceeded to read/write/play music/explore/work/learn voraciously for a year or so on my own before starting to take classes part-time at the local community college. When I was 17 I went off to a four-year college quite happily (ended up being three years because of the credits I'd earned at community college-- now they call it Running Start, but then... well, it was 1991). It was a good path for me, though not without its bumps and bruises-- like all adolescences, I suppose.

Hope you find a good solution that pleases you both and leads you down an exciting path! 

[lunabelly]

We'll check out that book. Everything is still up in the air for us. She's really bored in her classes and thinks that homework is a waste of time-- and I tend to agree. We're also looking at local charter schools that are more student driven. My biggest concern is that she doesn't have anyone she likes to spend time with outside of school, and I think she'll be lonelier than she is now. We moved across the country when she started middle school, and I've been hoping she'd make just one good friend here, but it hasn't happened.  There are homeschooling groups in the area, but not many homeschooled teens as far as I can tell.

Thanks for you input. I appreciate it!

Tricia

[elanorh]

We do k12, but dd1 is only in first grade.  Each state is a bit different in terms of how they do things .... I've gone to a few k12 social events which included high school kids and teachers of the high school kids .... The impression I got was that by middle and high school, the kids are the ones who are really driving most of the work, and the teachers do a lot more of the teaching/supervision than we parents do.  Everyone seemed happy with it (although obviously the unhappy ones would probably not be coming to a social picnic)....

I think the biggest thing to work on for your dd, whether you do a virtual school or homeschool or charter, would be to work on having social avenues for your dd --- see which homeschool groups have the most teens, check those groups out; find social activities that she could do (not even necessarily "just" with peers - maybe she'd like to join a knitting or crochet circle, our local yarn store has several groups based on skill level, for instance; or a book club via the local library - our local library has a women's book club, which is supposed to be wonderful, with women ranging from their 20's into their 80's).  Frankly, even if she stays in the public high school and nothing changes, that's probably something that would make those adolescent years better for her.  I had a really miserable time 8/9th grade --- 10th grade, I made friends with several people who didn't live in my hometown (via 4-H and the Speech Team), and I saw those friends virtually every weekend.  It was wonderful, and made the rest of my high school years virtually painless (at least compared to the two previous years!). 

[mom2ponygirl]

We are homeschooling high school and I've looked into K12 a little for the high school years.  It hasn't received great reviews from the few people I know who have used it.  It sounds difficult to remain flexible with it and that is one of the biggest benefits we get from homeschooling.  We've ended up piecing together classes from various online providers, stuff we put together ourselves, and just giving our daughter the time and resources to explore some interests on her own.  There are a lot of options out there, including many free resources.  If you want subject specific suggestions, I can list what we have used.  A good place to get a feel for homeschooling high school are the yahoo groups homeschool2college and hs2coll.

[dairy2dogs]

My son is a sophomore and HS for the first time with Connections Acadamey, which is very similar to K12.  He is only taking 5 classes this yr due to his needs but will probably go up to 6 next yr.  He spends about 2-3 hours a day, somethimes more, sometimes less depending on the lesson.  I think the amount of time will really depend on a lot of factors.  CA has live lessons about once a week (depending on the teacher) where they teach live.  They also have a help desk where you can get live instruction.  We couldn't do the math without that because most of the algebra he's taking is over my head.  We've been really happy with it overall (compared to public school).  HTH's

[lunabelly]

Thank you all for your responses. Dd is reading _The Teenage Liberation Handbook_, and it's definitely helping her express how she feels about school right now. I do think she would thrive in a homeschooling environment, at least academically. I'll look into 4-H (I've always thought that would be a good fit for her), and she wants to have a trial homeschool run this summer. I did find a homeschooling group about an hour from where we live that offers on site classes, so we might be able to do that once a week.

mom2ponygirl, if we get farther down the hs path, I'll dm you about your resources.

Thanks again!

Tricia

[zebra15]

My DS is 10 but working at close to HS level. Hes not doing K12 but working thru CTY at JHU so the work load is supposed to be 'hard'.  If your DD is 'bored' you may want to look into CTY or something like that (just a thought).  Anyway, he is in the math and science program and completes a years worth of class time in just under 3 months.  The syllabus says he should plan on 12-20 hrs a week (yes for ONE class!) and he gives maybe 6-8 hrs a week max and finishes with time left to start the next class.

IDK how the HS laws are in your state but does she need k12 or can you work together to map out a self directed study program?  Many of our HS start community college classes during the sophomore/junior year of school anyway?

As for the social aspect my DS was very lonely until last year.  He finally found a drama center that he loves and this spring he found a swim club that he adores. (these are draining me financially but he is excelling at both).   We never clicked with the HS groups around here.  Also the community college offers some kids classes over the summer.  Kinda a 2 week thing for a couple hundred bucks.  Maybe you have something similiar up there?

[mattemma04]

I heard that k12 high school was rather strict and difficult.Strict meaning there were set times you needed to be online for classes. I am sure some kids love it.You just have to give it a try,and switch to another if the current one is not working. We plan to hs dd for HS years,and she is welcome to take the GED test starting at 16. After that it is up to her-work or a school that will teach a skill.