K12 Advertising Heavily

You may have noticed that K12 has been using a lot of advertising lately. Almost all websites I visit seem to have banner ads of some sort and I have seen a ton of television advertising for them. Why is this?

Not only is K12 great homeschool curriculum but it offers your child the chance to be part of the school district that you live in. My children have been using K12 for about four years now. We love it but as with all programs it has its pros and cons.

We love being part of the public school system but it is on our terms. Our teachers put together fabulous activities, field trips and other programs like a science club, technology class and more. We can pick and choose what we are a part of and none of it is pushed on us.

We love having the contact with a certified teacher. She has so many ideas and so much to offer but she is never pushy, she is just a resource should we need one. This helps me know that there is someone who truly cares about my children and me.

Things we don't care for are the math program which I believe has been redone since we switched math programs. The good thing is that we can pick and choose which subjects we use from K12, it isn't an all or nothing curriculum. It is tailor made for my child so that makes me feel better.

I also do not like having to record every bit of attendance and every lesson completed, etc. This has given me a new level of compassion for public school teachers as I see that "the system" requires so much mindless busy work for teachers and I don't like them requiring it of me. I do it because I figure the curriculum is publicly funded and it is my job if I choose to use it but that doesn't mean I like it.

Over all we love this curriculum or we wouldn't keep using it. It comes with much more in the way of supplies compared to say Calvert Schools. I liked Calvert but this seems more inclusive and is much easier for me as a teacher at home.

One other thing you should know is that through the publicly funded version of K12 you do have to return your materials that are not deemed "consumables". This is not a problem for me as I have limited storage space and am glad they reuse things rather than waste them but it is a challenge to gather everything up and ship it back at times so if you do use this just try to stay organized so you are not hunting for objects at the end of the year.

K12 Curriculum Review

In this post we will look at the K12 curriculum. There are pros and cons to all programs so it is wise to shop around before signing up for any particular school or purchasing any curriculum products.

K12 is an innovative approach to home based learning. They offer curriculum for kindergarten through 12th grades. You can buy this curriculum on your own and pay privately but it is pretty pricey. The elementary grades average about $1200 per year. You do get almost everything you need but you will have to buy certain things for science projects and typical school supplies. What I am getting is that they do not provide your pencils and notebooks. It's like normal public school in that respect.

Another option with K12 is their Virtual Academy programs. Available in most states this is an extraordinary program and most are publicly funded. This means that in the states available there are programs where you student is actually enrolled in the public school system in your district and then they receive K12 curriculum at no cost to you. You just buy the few homeschool supplies that are needed and you do have to have a computer and Internet connection. You then have a teacher assigned to you through your school district that works with you to help you accomplish the educational goals you have for your student.

The great thing about the Virtual Academy programs is that they allow for some great resources like a teacher to contact and there are extra curricular activities, clubs and more. The support of a teacher is a great bonus because no matter the skills you have as a teacher there will be times where you present information in every way that you know how and a particular student still won't understand a concept. A teacher can just step back and give you a fresh look. It should be noted that the teachers in this program are not there to breathe down your neck and be task masters but you are accountable for attendance and you are required to do standardized testing through your state department of education.

Overall K12 is a great company. The math has had a few complaints because the program does not seem fluid and organized but my understanding is that they are building a new curriculum for their math program at this time because the users have spoken up and K12 listened. There is a lot of online support and the online school interface is easier to use than a simple email program. It is wonderful. If you can get the publicly funded version I highly recommend it but it is well worth the money if you have to pay out of pocket.