Has anyone tried any of the online schools? Like k12,connections,Ecot,etc??
Before you sign up, be sure you know what the requirements are, what the expectations are, and what reporting you are required to do.
My mom has been homeschooling my brother, but was pressured into signing him up for the Online School through k-12. We are in Utah, where the requirements for homeschool reporting are very lax. But if you sign up for k-12 with the school district, the requirements are the same as public school, including reporting to a teacher weekly, and doing the SAGE and other tests at the school district office.
There’s not necessarily anything wrong with that, but it doesn’t work for my mom and brother very well. Unfortunately, she had to sign a contract that requires her to stay in the program or pay back the cost of the books and materials.
It works for some, just pay attention to the requirements to decide if it will work for you.
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What is your child’s age? I know of people who have gone to Williamsburg Academy and it seemed wonderful. I will consider this for my oldest son in a year or two. I think that Williamsburg Intermediate is for kids 11 and up.
My kids are ages 9 & 14
We have looked into Calvert Academy…in our state they have a free charpter online option. I know many people love the curriculum. I liked the look, the layout abd the feel. But for now we are sticking with traditional HSing. I havent met many people that have done the online program though, so i wonder. But i have heard not so great things about k12. Due to the fact of not much flexibility and teachers being disconnected. I think its just what fits the student/family.
We tried an online public school that used k12 materials. It was a lot of busy work, we had few class options, and we hated the pacing. There were also a lot of tech issues and it was hard to get people to answer our questions. We felt we lost all the benefits of homeschooling and gain few of the benefits of public school (which aren’t much to begin with!). We would much rather pay for some quality online classes that we can pick and choose to suit us.
we live in Colorado. And we use k12 Virtual School. We love it only because I don’t have to figure out what I need to teach. The pacing does get a little bit tough because you have to keep up with the school. Everything is free which I love because let’s face it books are expensive.the k-12 program is considered public school so we still have to log in hours and show attendance. we have used this program for 3 years now my oldest is in second grade and my youngest just started kindergarten. Hope this helps.
Yes, I have been doing an online school for 5 years!
Pros: You have an exact schedule. All materials are sent to you for free.
Cons: They promise flexibility - but you don’t really have any. You must never get behind, so if your child has problems with something - that doesn’t matter, you must rush through to get it done, so you don’t get behind. If you get behind, you get messages from teachers and administration that you are behind. You do not have time to go on field trips or do anything fun, because again, you can’t get behind. If you need to take a day off, you will have to make it up… because that work just piles onto the next day.
Testing: So much testing! In K12 they do Scantron (2 tests, two times a year - with about 60 questions each), and Deibles (this is 3-4 times a year), and MAP tests (2X a year), and the State Testing (which is 2 times a year, for 1 week. We have to drive 1 hr away and miss the entire morning in school). They also have you do Study Island - which is part of your grade, so you can’t ignore it. My son had to do about 56 Math tests on Study Island, plus about 60 English tests on Study Island this year. At one point, after he had did a Try It online for division, and a worksheet, and a Quiz, we were directed to Study Island to do ANOTHER quiz on division. He started crying. Oh, by the way, all these tests? You don’t get the day off, it is still a school day, and you still have to get all your work done, because you can’t get behind!
Writing Samples: You can to turn in writing samples every month. Requirements are horrible. Even if your child does everything they are supposed to that is a “c” grade. They have to go above and beyond what was required to get an “a”. I think that is very unfair. Writing samples are scanned in and you have to send a “KMail” to the teacher. It is very time consuming. Kids are not allowed to write what they want to write either, it is what they are told to write.
Class Connects: In Kindergarten it wasn’t so bad, he was required to meet with his teacher 1X a week. Now it has turned into a teacher meeting, plus Math, writing, Lang Arts class connects. I was told that when he gets into the upper grades, he will have 14 class connects (that is 14 hrs a week!) on the computer, isn’t that great? But, of course, that will not take the place of his work, he still has to do all that, can’t get behind!
Sorry about my rambling - but I do hope that helps. I would not recommend an online school. The same thing can be accomplished on your own. I am probably going to pull my 4th grader and my Kinder next year. My 2nd grader thinks she wants to do it one more year. Have a great day!
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Wow! Thank you so much for such a thorough answer! I really appreciate it.
You’re welcome! I just feel like it has been a big mistake in our family - but other people do seem to like it just fine. I just feel it has sucked the joy out of schooling. I would love to know what you decide to do - and if you decide to do online schooling and if you ever have any questions I would be happy to try and help. 
I want to get out of it and almost finished putting together next years curriculum.
Cons. Very time consuming.
Online Quizzes after almost ever lesson ( even after reading writing workbooks and activities) starting with kinder!
Each teacher has her own style and demands and way of dealing with parents.
Evolution is introduced in early grade level.
Pros. It’s free ( but evolution was introduced in second grade science class).
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Exactly @Easypeasy - that is how I feel as well. Are you K12? If you don’t mind, what are you putting together for next year?
I can’t stand the online quizzes after everything either. I don’t know what grade you are in - but the higher up you go - they don’t give you the answers - so sometimes I have no idea what they want. In English after reading the books they have to take a quiz - and several times I’ve found mistakes - but of course you get it “wrong.” And Vocabulary in 4th grade is downright impossible - because they have synonyms for every word which means they mean almost the same thing - so it is so confusing and hard to get correct.
Yes, everything is free - but like you said - that is about the only pro! LOL!
I’m with Conections Academy currently and have suplimented with store bought Curriculums. For next year, God willing we are going to use a PSP. I am buying my curriculum and do my own grades and just use them for support and Fieldtrips or school events.
We use k12. I have a Kindergartener and an 11th grader. We started this when he was starting 9th grade due to being afraid I couldn’t teach a 9th grader. I really enjoy it. He works independently and can go to his job when they need him and still keep up with his school work. We enjoy the structure in kidergarten and I am sure she is getting what she has to have. We have been able to do some field trips that they offer because we just work ahead so we don’t have work that day or light work depending in how long we will be gone. We are blessed to have several family members that are using the same program so we have a community right here. Part of me wonders about putting a curriculum together myself but I do like that everything is there for them. She had problems in phonics and her teacher gave us ideas that were helpful that weren’t in the book. And I also supplement with some programs that I have found on this site and a few others.
I am glad it is going good for you - some people do really like it 
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2nd day into it…Online schooling…one word…
BORING!!! I’m suffering the consequences for not saving up to buy my curriculums I wanted. Lord, pour that money down before this mama has a break down!!!
@ HSintheCity what curriculum were you wanting to purchase? Maybe someone has something you can use that they are willing to give you if you just pay the shipping cost. It’s worth a shot to list what you need & see if anyone can help you out.
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My son started out a couple years ago in an online school and within a couple weeks we knew it was not for us so I pulled him out and started homeschooling traditionally. Beings that I hadn’t purchased any books for him I just downloaded a lot of free stuff off the internet and asked around to see if anyone had any books I could borrow for the year. It worked out really well for us. It was a little more work and eventually I was able to purchase things here and there but definately worth it! I hope you get it all figured out and get to a better place! I have homeschooled for years! And we truly love it!
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Thank you for the encouragement!! Yes, giving this one month so I can say I did give it time!! But definitely feeling this isn’t for us…
Yes, will need to post & see what happens Thank you!!!