# has anyone used k12 for homeschooling



## wildwood2009

My 14 yr old and 9 yr old wants to be homeschooled. We've been looking into these online free homeschooling programs. Has anyone done any homeschooling through k12 or any other online homeschooling sites that are free? If so what are the pros and cons etc? We live out in the middle of nowhere and my 14 yr old and our 9 yr. old want to be homeschooled. any other suggestion of good homeschooling sites are welcome. I am doing alot of research before making a final decision.


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## shanzone2001

Yes I have. HORRIBLE!!! Do not go with them!


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## offthegrid

No, I haven't, but make sure your state participates because K12 isn't necessarily free - it depends on your State Education regulations.

It is not free in NY but can be used for homeschooling.


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## rusticfarmer

Here in Pennsylvania we have the PA Cyber Charter School. This was a great option for us because the school supplies everything. My 3 daughters all go to school from home. One is graduating this year. It can be really flexible so my kids get exposed to so much new ideas and projects. They really help out on our homestead and even became writers on the side. I find it a great option if you have a cyber school available.

ttyl, Rich
Are you a homesteader? http://amzn.to/1htFqQv


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## wildwood2009

I am located in s.e. ohio. We are looking for an online homeschooling program. We are wanting to let our 14 yr old try it out first to see how it goes before we let my 9 year old do it. My 6 year old and 5 year old dont want to be homeschooled yet. So i would let them keep going to their school for now. I think theres one called ecot or something like that as well. Jack hanna promotes it on tv all the time.


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## Mrs. Thankful

We use connections academy and love it. Check and see if it is free in Ohio as not all states avail it for free as a public school option.


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## rusticfarmer

wildwood2009 said:


> I am located in s.e. ohio. We are looking for an online homeschooling program. We are wanting to let our 14 yr old try it out first to see how it goes before we let my 9 year old do it. My 6 year old and 5 year old dont want to be homeschooled yet. So i would let them keep going to their school for now. I think theres one called ecot or something like that as well. Jack hanna promotes it on tv all the time.


This seems like a good place to check. Just type in your zip code.
http://www.connectionsacademy.com/home.aspx


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## Daydreamer7102

I plan to start homeschooling next year. I'm also looking for a free option. I looked into k12. My thing with them is that they require the student to be logged in x hours a day and y days a week. I think I want more flexibility than that. I emailed them (the institution in my state that uses them) and they were very friendly and helpful about all my questions.

Our school district will give us the curriculum if we homeschool. So, my current plan is to use theirs for Math and Language Arts at our pace. I'm going to do my own thing for Social Studies, Science, Art, Music, PE. 

I will give you some of the sites for free resources that I like:

http://www.ck12.org/teacher/
https://www.coursera.org/#courses?orderby=upcoming
http://www.khanacademy.org/
https://xtramath.org/
http://www.ronpaulcurriculum.com/
https://www.edx.org/


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## offthegrid

Daydreamer7102 said:


> I plan to start homeschooling next year. I'm also looking for a free option. I looked into k12. My thing with them is that they require the student to be logged in x hours a day and y days a week. I think I want more flexibility than that.


Ugh! That sort of defeats the purpose of homeschooling doesn't it? Homeschooling allows the flexibility to go to a historic battlefield instead of reading a paragraph about it in a book (or online)....and then maybe writing about it, painting it, reading a historic novel about the battle....etc.


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## ErinP

People generally think of K12 and her sister programs as "school-at-home" because that's really what it is. Mom and Dad have very little control over courses, daily schedules, etc. 

Now, that isn't to say it's _bad_. Some people really need that hand-holding because they think they're going to screw something up. Or, they're planning on putting Junior back into school next year and want him to keep on the school's track. Or...etc, etc. 


But you're going to find a lot of homeschool parents aren't very supportive of school-at-home programs because they run counter to the reason so many of us homeschool in the first place.


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## backwoods

Just be aware that if you go that route, you are still doing "public school" at home. There may be subjects that you disagree with that you will have to "go along with" because of that, and the school system is still very much in control, not YOU. You are not by definition, homeschooling. You are simply doing school at home.


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## teachermom44

We do allinonehomeschooling. It works for us (well it's easy for my husband to navigate ) and the kids sometimes do two and three days at once. It is christian based though.

If I was the one homeschooling I'd do things a lot differently than my DH. But the kids are doing well and are still as smart as ever so I guess we're good!


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## GoatGirl123

We do Connections Academy, it's really great!


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## povertyknob

It might be a good place to get started though. As a first timer, many of us DID do "public school at home" because we didn't know better, didn't have confidence in our abilities, etc. Over the course of the year you could take notes of what you like and don't like, and research a better fit for your family.


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## anahatalotus

Sadly the county I am in Has two choices for homeschool" K12 or report to the school weekly and follow the public curriculum. Well these are the two free choices and it frightens me. I miss the ability to choose what my children learn!


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## ErinP

This sounds odd. I don't think it's determined by county anywhere. Homeschool regulations are determined by the state. 
That isn't to say you might not have to _report_ to the local district, but you usually get to choose your own courses...


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## anahatalotus

ErinP said:


> This sounds odd. I don't think it's determined by county anywhere. Homeschool regulations are determined by the state.
> That isn't to say you might not have to _report_ to the local district, but you usually get to choose your own courses...


It is detained by the state but not all counties have the in person option. I have heard that some parents have to do their weekly meet up and curriculum pick up in a county other than the one they live in.
No choice in courses here since I can not afford an approved program that cost tuition.the two no tuition options are online or take the workbooks from the local elementary school and grumble about them on ht


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## mstthf

We tried Connections academy this year but wasn't very happy with it. There was no way for the kids to get credit for anything we did that wasn't book work. They are required to be "logged-in" for x number of hours every week. Teacher's only care about what they completed on the computer. We are looking for something different for next year.


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## CrawDaddy

We used K-12 last year it is school at home you do have to log so many hours a day but you can get ahead real easy and just log hours. We went with K12 for several reasons first being we have never homeschooled before and liked that the entire plan is laid out but it's not as strict as some make it out to be. We also liked that it was free and that it was still a part of the public school system. My wife wants to get a job this year to help pay our house off sooner so she put the kids back in school. Personally I would rather she home school the kids. When they were in school she always had to spend as much time with them to teach them what they was supposed to have learned In school then they had tons of home work. In K12 they were finished just after lunch and that was it. 


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## nvfam

We did K12 for 2 years. We are doing our own thing this year and I can't wait!! Here are the pros and cons for me
Pros
-A great intro into scheduling for home school. They lay it all out for you including how many lessons per week. They also have a tool where you can move around lessons and add extra if you want to progress to the next grade earlier.
-Every subject is covered 
-All textbooks and most reading books are supplied
-They supply a large amount of manipulatives, art supplies and science tools
-If you as a parent have any questions there is a teacher there to assist you 
-Accredited pogram

Now for the cons
-My students each had to log online at a certain time twice a week for online classroom
-Each student must log in daily to complete work not all work is available off line. Science, and History are all fully online courses and I was also told that as of this year so are Math and Language arts.
-3% progress has to be made per subject per week. If a student is struggling and needs extra time on a certain lesson or subject they still have to move on in the subject and show progress. I believe they should master one spelling list before moving on to the next.
-If you take a day off from school you have to email the teacher with the reason. 
-You have separate books for Vocabulary, and spelling. ( i think that everychild should know the definition of all their spelling and vocabulary words, know if its a noun verb pronoun,. ect. be able to use it in a sentence.This does not happen in k12. In my opinion it is a waste of time, pick one list and use it for both subjects)

I really think that every first time home school parent should start with a program like this to get their feet wet and see if homeschooling really is for their family. We tried it for 2 years and I am now venturing out on my own with an eclectic mix of textbooks to cover our curriculum this year.
Making your own curriculum is a long process especially with multiple children. Also setting up a schedule for each subject,unit,lesson takes a lot of time but will be worth it so we can travel and have kidding/butchering season free. (not that numerous lessons won't be learned during those times.) 
I do warn that there are some non friendly home school states. Make sure to check with State and county laws for home schooling. Also check online for homeschooling groups in your area that can keep you up to date with the laws and such in your area. 
Good luck to you!! Homeschooling is the most rewarding thing I have ever done! I would be happy to help with anything you need.


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## Ohio dreamer

We are using this....free...NOT public school...do as much or as little as you like...

http://allinonehomeschool.com/


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## offthegrid

nvfam said:


> I really think that every first time home school parent should start with a program like this to get their feet wet and see if homeschooling really is for their family. We tried it for 2 years and I am now venturing out on my own with an eclectic mix of textbooks to cover our curriculum this year.
> Making your own curriculum is a long process especially with multiple children. Also setting up a schedule for each subject,unit,lesson takes a lot of time but will be worth it so we can travel and have kidding/butchering season free. (not that numerous lessons won't be learned during those times.)


I respectfully disagree - especially with the first sentence. One of the main reasons we left school was specifically so that we did NOT have to stay with the "group" in every subject...that is the problem for so many students. If you have a smart kid that does well in school, doing "school at home" should be easy for you. But if, for whatever reason, you have a kid that is not excelling in school - "school at home" would be the last choice I would recommend. Every kid learns differently -- in different ways, at different rates -- and if they don't get something - you should be able to stop, review, and ensure that the foundation is there before moving on. 3% a week be damned! (Because learning could be 3%, 12%, 0%, 10%, etc.)

As for creating a curriculum -- it's not like you have to write your own curriculum. You can buy all the pieces -- math, ELA, science, history....they are all available in packages. Yes, you need to set the schedule, but that's the beauty of homeschooling. Nothing prevents you from cancelling ALL your classes for a week and focusing solely on history -- reading, watching movies, going on field trips, etc. And then picking up the rest the next week.

I do think that it's great that homeschooling is legal in all states, and is easy and flexible in many states. I would hate "school at home" but know that it works great for many families.


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## ErinP

nvfam said:


> I really think that every first time home school parent should start with a program like this to get their feet wet and see if homeschooling really is for their family.



I have to disagree, too. Again, I can completely understand why someone might want to go this route. Its a legitimate option . 
But k12 et. al. have little to nothing in common with my goals and purpose for homeschooling. Not now, not when I was a new home schooler...
The biggest reason I homeschool is so i can tailor my kid's education. School-in-a-box doesn't allow that.


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## chris james

wildwood2009 said:


> My 14 yr old and 9 yr old wants to be homeschooled. We've been looking into these online free homeschooling programs. Has anyone done any homeschooling through k12 or any other online homeschooling sites that are free? If so what are the pros and cons etc? We live out in the middle of nowhere and my 14 yr old and our 9 yr. old want to be homeschooled. any other suggestion of good homeschooling sites are welcome. I am doing alot of research before making a final decision.


Yes I too have few suggestions. For better online education try to get a degree from an accredited online school. Online education program will provide a degree to every students based on their academic level and future goals. I did a research for online homeschooling sites for my son where I found The Ogburn online school. The online school is one which fits to best learning style and budget. This has proven the best for my son and family. For more ideas you can visit their website and can speak to their counselor. Best of luck!!!

- http://www.ogburnonlineschool.com/online-high-school


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## FCLady

We've used easy peasy allinonehomeschool.com for 3 years now. I like it; the girls like it and the lessons aren't super long so we add our own stuff to it so it works for us. For example our district stopped teaching cursive writing, we teach that. We add community service projects and book reports as well. Most days we start at 10 am and finish by 2-3 pm.


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