# Need homeschooling advice



## thequeensblessing (Mar 30, 2003)

We have a 12 year old foster daughter who has recently moved in with us. She's very shy, but a great girl all the way around. Her previous situation is enough to make you cry. But we're trying to introduce her to a "normal" life. I don't know how permanent this situation is, but I know she can never go home again. 

She is enrolled in Ohio's K12 program, which is primarily off-line based, with a fantastic curriculum. She is in the 6th grade. In her prior foster home, she was left to self-school. This curriculum isn't for self-schooling, not that any 12 year old I know is mature enough to self-school. Anyway, with the K12 program, you do all your work off-line and log onto the website to get your daily assignments and study plan, and then again for assessment tests at the end of each unit. All this girl has done is log onto her assessment tests and take them, and then when she fails them, she just takes them over and over and over until she gets a barely passing grade and submits that. She hasn't learned any of the material. She has done none of the activities, most of which require parental supervision and explaining. Such as, the unit she is in now is all about weather fronts. The actual lesson is in the teacher/parent instruction book. All the student has is their workbook, so she is struggling to understand a concept that has never been explained or taught to her at all. 
I've been struggling to catch her up. She is several units behind in science, and several behind in history. She loves to read, so English Literature and language arts she is doing well. Math is also a struggle with no one to explain the concepts to her. My problem is that much of what she is learning now, uses lessons she should have learned earlier in the year but didn't. So she's struggling to catch on to what I'm teaching her. So we backed up, but now we're spending so much time doing catch up that we're still getting behind in her current work schedule. We'd be doing school work for 12 hours a day for two weeks just to catch her up, if I could get it done then. She is very discouraged, hates school, and feels like a failure. I tell her its not her fault, and that we'll get her caught up...somehow. 
So, working within the confines of this K12 program, how do you catch up such a child? Ordinarily she'd be doing 1 unit every 2 weeks per subject. Now, I'm trying to catch up 3 units in one week and still keep up with the units she's supposed to be on. The semester already ended, but they gave her a 1 week extension. I don't think we can do it. I'm feeling like a failure too, and I'm angry with her previous foster parents for allowing her to fall so far behind. 
Suggestions? Advice?


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

K12 is a public school option. Call them. Tell them the girl's history and that she is behind. Ask them for advice, extensions, extra credit work, etc. It is a public school program. They will help you.

Trying to catch her up hour after hour at an accelerated pace won't help her. Children learn line upon line precept upon precept. You can't rush it like that. And you should always stay below frustration level because when a child reaches that level, they shut down and don't retain knowledge. If she is reading well, able to do math well, and can write well then the other things are just moot. She can catch up on them slowly.
Call the program. They are there to help you. They will help you.


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## Veronica (Oct 31, 2008)

I agree with calling K12. It's not unusual for kids to be at different levels in subjects, and I'm sure they can help. 
I would also recommend (maybe for the summer) a book called Basic College Math written by Margaret Lials. It is written for remedial college students in community college and starts with the basics - addition, subtraction, etc. and goes up through pre-algebra. It has post and pre tests in it, and lots of practice problems with good explanations. I used it for both of my children before starting Algebra just to make sure they got all the concepts. They both loved the book partially because they liked the fact that it said college on the book!
Older editions are usually on Amazon for $5 or less, and odd answers are in the back, so no need to buy an answer key.


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## cindy-e (Feb 14, 2008)

yes. She should have a teacher assigned to her at K12. Call the teacher and tell her what is going on, that she is behind, that it isn't her fault, and ask what can be done. They should be able to (at least from a tech perspective) back her out and re-start her where she is. I don't know what policy is, but I am sure they will have a policy for extenuating circumstances. It may mean working later into the year, or on some saturdays to get through the school year. she is very blessed to have you as an advocate.


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## thequeensblessing (Mar 30, 2003)

Great ideas. Thanks everyone.


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## offthegrid (Aug 11, 2009)

Does she need to use K12?

The other obvious answer is to just stop trying to "catch up" and just start over. Figure out where she IS academically, and go from there. 

Especially for a kid with a tough history - I see no *benefit* to getting them "caught up" to their classmates instead of just finding a new path. If that means holding her back a grade and repeating materials, who cares, especially if she's being homeschooled?

There is no prize for getting there first or fastest. I would think even more so for a child coming from a bad situation - lots of holes to fill, probably many of them are unknown. I would take it slow and steady and build her confidence.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

> Does she need to use K12?


This was my first question, too. 
I know there are parents who feel MUCH more comfortable putting their kids in an online program, but I tend to think one of the biggest benefits of homeschooling is that I, who knows my kid better than anyone else, can help him direct his own learning...
Granted, this isn't your own kid, but unless K12 is one of the foster requirements, I'd look into some other homeschooling options for her. Like offthegrid pointed out there are going to be a lot of holes to fill that you haven't even found yet.


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## Chinclub (Mar 2, 2005)

Have you looked into Connections Academy? It is a free on-line public school but you log into the site for each class. It walks you through each lesson with little animated movies. There is still reading and book work but there are lessons as well. There is also a live lesson each week where the child logs into a visual chat room for instruction with a live teacher. You are given a teacher for each subject and contact to that teacher through webmail and telephone during regular school hours. We have been doing it for 2 years now and really love it. If my child doesn't understand something she can call the teacher. If it requires visualization the teacher will meet in the chat room where she can write out the problem. We get check up calls every 2 weeks from the homeroom teacher for updates. The teachers are very helpful with problems and extra credit work when needed. They also have regular group field trips as well which are fun.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

ErinP said:


> I know there are parents who feel MUCH more comfortable putting their kids in an online program, but I tend to think one of the biggest benefits of homeschooling is that I, who knows my kid better than anyone else, can help him direct his own learning...
> Granted, this isn't your own kid, but unless K12 is one of the foster requirements, I'd look into some other homeschooling options for her. Like offthegrid pointed out there are going to be a lot of holes to fill that you haven't even found yet.


It is difficult for foster parents to homeschool, at least in some states. That is why K12 does have a place in some situations. Personally, I would never put my child in it, but if you are a foster parent you might not have another home based choice because it is public school.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

> It is difficult for foster parents to homeschool, at least in some states.


I know. That's why I said it might be one of the foster requirements that they stick with this. 
I'm just glad to know homeschooling _is_ actually an option for some foster kids. It wasn't too terribly long ago that it was a fight for foster parents (and still is, in many situations)


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## thequeensblessing (Mar 30, 2003)

It's a requirement for her. I don't know about other foster children, but they told us it was mandatory for this year. As I said, I don't know what the future holds for her, or us. (We'd love to keep her.), so perhaps in the future, it COULD be truly homeschooling, however, for now, we have to do the k12. There are a lot of things about k12 that I don't like. I'm sure it has its place, but I really don't care for it.


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## offthegrid (Aug 11, 2009)

Well, that stinks. 

What I would do...

1st, definitely contact K12 and see what they recommend. I have never used the program but it seems like there MUST be some flexibility. 

2nd, I would start to build an argument against using K12, and ask if you can replace it (even if you are sure that the answer is going to be no). I only say that because it's very possible that the foster care program has no idea what other options are out there...and it's possible that they might actually have the ability to change their mind if it is in the best interest of the child. 

Since I know how little most people know about homeschooling, it would not surprise me that foster programs don't either, and don't realize that there are really great options other than the ones that are used via public school.

3rd, I'd pick a subject or two to focus on, and try to work on those the most. I'm sure this whole thing is really stressful for your foster daughter and you, and the worst thing (in my opinion) for both of you is to obsess about grades right now. Of course you can't just throw out "school" for a few months (even if it would be in her best interest), but you can let her know that you are on her side and understand that this program isn't really working for her right now. Find one subject she likes, and see if you can make it fun doing other things other than K12....and maybe that will help her build some confidence and learn to enjoy the idea of learning.

I wish you the best of luck. Let us know how things work out.


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