This will be my first full year homeschooling my DD. She is 8 and in the 3rd grade. But, due to being in public school last year, she tested at a 2nd grade level for math.
We use a Cyber Charter school. I would love to do my own curriculum/unschooling. But, I am too much of a planner, and than don't/can't follow through.
Maybe as time goes on and DS gets older I will be more organized/have more time, and be able to unschool with him.
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Karen
When I was young, I always said I wanted to be someone...I guess I should have been more specific!
I have homeschooled all ages, I just have one year left and they will all be graduated. We have tried numerous things over the 14 years that I have done this but I tend to like the organization of a curriculum
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I homeschool our 15-year-old daughter. This is our third year homeschooling. I also use a curriculum, and we follow a schedule. I find being disciplined helps us stay on track.
We also have a school uniform ... lounge pants and tee shirts. :-)
Karen
What is unschooling?
Also I haven't heard of Cyber Charter but I figure it is something online.
Meg unschooling is basically using every day life situations to teach. Like, for math, going to the store and buying a candy bar for 45 cents, paying with $1, and have them figure out how much change they would receive.
Or with science, going in the back yard and digging up worms and exploring them.
And yes, cyber charting school is basically an online school, we receive the materials to teach at home, all the books, and materials. Than we teach, and they take care of all the "paper work". We report their progress to them after teaching.
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Karen
When I was young, I always said I wanted to be someone...I guess I should have been more specific!
What is the name of the Cyber School? Is it thru you school district or something you pay for? Is it available everywhere? This will be my first year to home school my ds. He is 9 & starting 4th grade. We chose a dvd program thru Abeka. All the teaching is on a DVD & it came with all the books for student and parent/teacher. We've done two real/trial days so we aren't really used to it yet.
This year we are using Agora Cyber Charter School. I am not sure if it is available everywhere. But, I am sure there is one in your state. Just google Cyber Charter schools for your state. (i.e. Texas Cyber Charter Schools). You should be able to find one in your area, I think, it may not be Agora, but, maybe some other type of Cyber Charter School.
There is no fee for the school. The funding is taken from your local public school.
Most of them supply everything. All curriculum, but, usually not Phys ed. some schools will provide funding for an activity, others will not.
This is perfect for people like me. I am a planner. I plan plan plan, and than can not follow through.
So, everything is provided for me, and I have the support from the school of attendance. Teachers to help if I have a problem teaching something, and the school offers field trips.
The schools usually require a high speed internet access. But, most reimburse a small fee for internet. Or some may provide it through their internet.
There is normally testing, so your child gets put academically in the grade where they belong, for Math and Language arts.
You are able to work at your own pace. If your child is great at math work ahead. Terrible at language arts, you can take a little more time.
My daughter tested behind for math. She is in 3rd grade, and tested at a grade 3 level for language arts. But, tested at a grade 2 for math. After looking at the materials, she already knows most everything for grade 2 math. The teacher said to just have her take the assessment tests, and if she does good to submit them, if she struggles than go back and do the lesson.
Now, the downfall is that it is geared more toward a public school in the fact that you have to teach 180 days, at least in PA rules. And you have to report at least 5 hours each school day. It is a little more structured than regular homeschooling. But, less structured than public brick and mortar schools.
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Karen
When I was young, I always said I wanted to be someone...I guess I should have been more specific!
Wow. Thanks for all that info. It sounds interesting. I'll google it later, but I'm pretty sure that is not available in Texas yet. I don't have high speed internet either & not sure that is available in my area either.
But, you are right, there doesn't seem to be much out there for Texas, but if it is something you are interested in, I would keep looking if I were you. It took me a few years to finally find a cyber charter school, than suddenly I had about three that I had to make a choice with!
Good luck!
We officially start school next week. We will be doing a little bit this week, just to get in the swing of things, and back on track.
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Karen
When I was young, I always said I wanted to be someone...I guess I should have been more specific!
