Virtual School

Virtual school is a great great option (I went to online school from 10th grade through my senior year, plus took several college classes online), but I don't think that it is right for a 6 year old. There is a lot of self-discipline involved that I just don't think a 6 year old will have.

No way in heck could I work full time from home (which I do) and supervise my daughters (even one of them) doing virtual school. But if your husband has 6 - 8 hours a day to read all of the school instructions to him, ask him to sit back down, remind him again, show him how to work the computer time and time again, demonstrate the lessons, gather together all of the supplies for the science projects, make his lunch, and run around outside every hour or so with your son because he's bored... have at it! Just remember that your husband will need some time to get his own work done at the end of the day when you get home.

I homeschool through Minnesota Virtual Academy, which is part of the K12 program. I have done it from the start, and my oldest is now in 2nd grade.

I won't get long winded...I will simply say that I LOVE IT.

However, it does require teaching on your part...it IS homeschooling. Your husband will not be "supervising" the virtual schooling, he will be TEACHING it, until they reach about 5th grade. The virtual "teachers" don't do much...I'm in one of the best online programs there is, and my daughter's "teacher" (and I use that term loosely) holds a meeting every Monday, which is a bunch of fluff...does reading fluency checks twice a year...and hosts a little session on math and reading each week for those that aren't passing their standards.

However, what do I do? I teach math. I teach history. I teach science and help with the experiments. I teach Language Arts. I administer every test. I help with studying. I set up art projects. I grade her work. I turn in work samples every month. Sure, there's SOME stuff online, but I am the one teaching it, and at this age, most of it is done at your kitchen table.

It isn't like you set them in front of the computer and someone teaches them things...it's homeschooling all the way, except you are provided with the curriculum and basic lesson plan and are held accountable to a school district for attendance, grades, etc. It's homeschooling with an accreditation, basically. If you don't have someone who can dedicate at LEAST 3-4 hours a day to this, please don't consider it until your child is older.

(I do want to clarify for anyone who is confused...we can work at our own pace, but you do have to complete approximately a year's worth of work in a year's time. You do have the flexibility of saying...this week, I don't want to do science...we'll do double lessons next week.

Would also like to add that I love K12's curriculum, but I also hated their music program and because I am a classically trained professional musician, I simply clicked through all the lessons, marked them as complete, and chose to teach my daughter myself.)

Just an FYI, "virtual school" which is basically an online school, and "homeschooling" are two very different things. Homeschooling is where you buy your own cirriculum and teach your child yourself at your own pace. Online schools are a computer program where you can't really make changes and must do what is required. I am currently checking into both of these options for my 13yo. I think 6 is too young unless you really research and understand what you are getting into. Good luck.

I'm not sure what your husband does for a job, but I'm not sure he will be able to "supervise" at the level a 6 year old needs........ Granted.... I don't home school, but my daughter was ahead by about 2 years and at 6 couldn't work on the computer for an hour without me helping her navigate.

Typically by 4th grade they say kids are at the level where they are self-sufficient enough to be counted on to read the instructions completely.

I guess it depends on how much time your husband has and how willing his job is to pay him to spend time educating his son. Sounds like a sweet deal. I, however, would not let my 6 year old educate himself.... which is sounds like is what will happen.

Is there a co-op where you live? Where parents "trade off" supervising the virtual learning? This way there is actually a parent who is *present* during the learning.

If your son were old enough to work independently, I'd say go for it, but in my experience (two years of virtual school, going on 2 years of full-on homeschool, three years of brick and mortar school), virtual schooling with a younger child still requires a lot of direct supervision, interaction, and instruction from a parent. Your husband may find it difficult to manage this and a full-time job at the same time. He will need to be fully committed to the process, and willing to give priority to your son's needs.

I'm homeschooling two kids now using curriculum I purchased. It is the same K12 curriculum that many virtual schools use, but by homeschooling I don't have to deal with the virtual school's obsession with test preparation, inflexibility, or schedule or extraneous requirements. (For example, my son already receives 2-3 hours of formal music instruction per week from a world-class violinist - he does not need the virtual school's lame required music class.) My 8 y.o. is capable of self-motivation and self-management, but my 11 y.o. really wasn't able to work well independently until this year. Even though my 8 y.o. can manage himself, I can't school him "hands free." I still need to be available to instruct, to interact, to answer questions, and to provide feedback on the work he has done. And while she doesn't need me as frequently, my 11 y.o. also needs me involved with her schoolwork, often for discussions that do take time.

Since both of you do work full time, are there other schooling options out there for your son that you like the look of? Or is it possible that your family could adjust your lifestyle to better accommodate virtual school or homeschool? For instance, could you hubby do some of his work in the evening while you do some of the schooling then? Remember, one advantage of virtual and home school is that you can bend it to fit your family's schedule. Your child doesn't have to do his school during regular school hours - you can start earlier or later, or break the day into chunks with a larger break in the middle - whatever works, as long as it is working for the child. If you really want to school from home, could either you or your husband work part time, or do some of your work hours on the weekend?

Curious as to why you are considering virtual school this young if you both work full time? IMO children this young gain alot through positive relationships with their teachers. I think it would be VERY hard to motivate a 6 year old to do school work with just a computer screen & sometimes dad. They need enhanced learning with projects & human interaction.
It's nice that he makes friends elsewhere...but school isn't just about friends...it's about teachers creating presentations to help students actively learn the material.

I'm also from Eau Claire...if you're not happy with his current school...there are a few other pretty great options (albeit pricey) which can give more attention to your son and not take time from work schedules.

If you do choose a virtual school, I would recommend you read through the website/talk with someone to see how big of a commitment it is to you and your husband.
Good luck!

We've done quite a bit of Florida Virtual School with my homeschoolers, but not until middle and high school.

Even in middle school I still had to provide quite a bit of support to my younger son. I would imagine with a 6-yr old there will need to be lots of hands-on help.

You might want to go to a couple of local homeschool support group meetings in your city. At one of ours, years ago, I met a few families who were paying a teacher to teach the kids of their families 4 days a week, from 8:30 - 2 in a church class room. This was a small group and it seemed to work really well. We ended up not doing it (for reasons unrelated to school) but I always thought it was a cool idea. You never know when you will run into such a situation.

I think your husband may not realize how much time "school" requires. Then again it may be completely do-able. Or perhaps he can hire a part-time tutor for a few hours each morning.

We love homeschooling and our only regret is not doing it from Day 1 of school.

Good luck.

it has positives. what concerns me is that this situation will not allow for field trips, co-ops and other types of fun social activity, which is what made homeschooling such an awesome experience for us.
and of course that we didn't have some Other Authority to whom to answer.
the people i know personally who have tried virtual school have uniformly abandoned it. but that's just anecdotal, and i'm sure there are plenty for whom it was a good thing.
but 6 years old is very young to have his entire academic experience happen in solitude. clearly you understand the difference between homeschooling and a work-at-home parent supervising. your situation makes it possible, but very far from ideal. unless your husband can take frequent breaks to take your son to venues where there are other kids (a couple of sports events per week doesn't suffice) i don't think i'd do this.
i worked almost full-time (mostly from home) while homeschooling my kids. but it was only do-able because i networked like a madwoman. my community stepped right up to the plate for me, and my kids were constantly getting dropped off at co-ops or for study dates or field trips. i paid this forward by teaching great free classes both at our co-ops and out of my house. it was so worth it, but time-consuming, complicated and stressful. if i'd worked full-time it would have been even more so.
if you can do this while providing your son with a community with whom he spends more time than not, do it. if not, i'm not sure it's a good thing.
khairete
S.

my son will be going into 6th grade next year and we just signed him up for the virtual school. we went with wisconsin connections and and k-12. one is out of appleton and the other is out of macfarland. the k-12 i called and was on the phone for 45 minutes talking to a rep. he had me in the website that my son would be using and had me very impressed. wi connections i did an on line seminar and it was good be not as nice as talking to someone.

Hi D.,
I think your kid is too young for Virtual School. I would consider it around middle school or high school depending on the kid and the parents' availability to guide him and help him in the beginning. Virtual school is not just sitting the kid down in front of the computer, he will need not just supervision but teaching as well. Homeschooling in any way requires a mom or dad being actively present and involved, especially with little ones.