First day of school pictures.
Sadly, I missed out on that with Talea. Since I didn't enroll her in traditional kindgergarten, I completely forgot about it.
In case you're new to my blog, Talea does school from home. She's not technically considered "homeschooled" because she's enrolled in an online public school, but she does do her work from home, or wherever we are. Her school is called Connections Academy. She has a principal, a teacher, field trips, school holidays/vacations, tests, clubs, electives (like learning to play an instrument or foreign language (sign language or Spanish)), and conferences. I am considered her learning coach, not actually her teacher. Her teacher calls us once a month, and does an interactive "live lesson" via computer once a month also. She's there for any questions via phone or email also.
There was a waiting list in Oregon, so Talea started 2 weeks late, and when she finally was able to start, none of her materials had arrived yet, so on her "first" day of school, it didn't feel like school had started. Thus, the picture was forgotten.
We chose Connections Academy because I knew several kids, including my niece, who were enrolled in it and they loved it, as did their parents. Also, it's free, so that was a huge factor. They send you most of all the supplies you need (for free), which for kindergarten is everything from pencils, crayons, construction paper and index cards to workbooks and reading books.
My top 10 reasons (in no particular order) for enrolling Talea in an online school versus a traditional school are:
1. I used to be a teacher and when I was behind the scenes, the way schools were run seemed like a joke. Everything was about money, money and more money and the political nonsense was a joke. Budget cuts and overfilling classes seemed to be the new trend.
2. Electives were being cut and classes like Home Ec were becoming a dumping ground for the kids who couldn't cut it in the core classes. The quality of public education just seemed to be going downhill, and fast. Teacher resources were being limited and many even eliminated (most schools even give the teachers a cap on the amount of copies they can make).
3. Teachers are overworked and underpaid, thus giving less incentive to be a better teacher. I had a French teacher in high school who wore a button daily that said "school sucks" and she would show us French movies with porn in them because she could care less about teaching anymore and movies were easier than teaching.
4. A High School teacher was recently telling me that her class sizes are becoming so large that she was going to have to resort to having students just read and recite textbooks because such a large chunk of her class time is spent quieting the students from their socializing that she doesn't have enough time to teach them the way she would like to.
5. The schools in this area are not known for their academic merit. The dissatisfaction level of parents is high. The only redeeming factor the school in town has is an all-day kindergarten.
6. I can't stand how the shallow cliques, ruthless bullying/teasing, and the petty fads would shape and mold so many of my students' character and self-worth, rather than such things as: faith, divine nature, individual worth, knowledge, choice and accountability, good works and integrity. (You know, I think there really was something to that Young Women's motto after all.)
7. We are a very spontaneous family and rarely have set schedules around our house, so sticking to a traditional school's schedule would prove to be extremely difficult for us. I didn't look forward to spending our school breaks/vacations battling the crowds because that's when we are allowed to take them, along with a million other families.
8. I don't believe in the theory that homeschooling my child with make her socially abnormal. Sorry. Since we attend church weekly and have play dates for the kids and let our kids participate in community activities and classes, I know my kids get plenty of socialization and will turn out "normal". All I have to say to the "theory" is that I went to public school with A LOT of socially abnormal kids, and I know A LOT of socially normal kids that are homeschooled.
9. I want the values I spend a lifetime instilling in my kids to be the main influence on the kind of person they become, rather than peer pressure. I've always admired how (on average) homeschooled kids are more obedient, respectful and hard working than traditionally schooled kids.
10. I love how so many homeschooled kids are able to complete school early and are able to have a year or two of college completed before other kids their age even start one.
Now that you have an idea why I chose to teach Talea from home, I want to point out that I do NOT think homeschool/online school is for everyone. If you're someone who needs/wants a breather from your kids for a few hours every day, this wouldn't work for you. If you're not self-motivated, it could get tiresome. If you think your child needs to be around 500 kids a day in order to turn into a normal adult, you have the wrong mindset to keep your child home. I have nothing against parents sending their kids to traditional school. Hyrum and I went to regular school, and I think we did just fine. We just happen to be happy with the alternative.
So what do I love about Talea's school?
-It's free.
-You are loaned a free computer and are given a substantial internet subsidy if you qualify.
-They sent me almost all the supplies I'd need, and what they didn't send me, I already had lying around the house.
-We can take our vacations whenever we want to. We just have to make sure she doesn't exceed the maximum days allowed.
-Talea can progress at her own pace. She can always work ahead if she wants to.
-As she gets older, I will help Talea less and less. She will progressively work more independently and rely on her teacher for help rather than always on me.
-She's taking an Educational Technology class IN KINDERGARTEN that is teaching her to type properly, and without looking at the keyboard! It's fantastic! Do all kindergartens do this? I didn't learn how to do this until my junior year in high school!
-Everything is mapped out for me, so it's a no-brainer. It's like "Teaching for Dummies" or something. A cinch!
-I can start her school day whenever I choose, be it at 5 am or 8 pm, it doesn't matter as long as she gets her hours in daily. I can also break it up throughout the day.
-Extra things she does, like riding her bike or watching the discovery channel or educational websites all count toward her schooling hours, just as long as it's educational.
-I will always know how well or how poorly my kids are doing is school because I'm held accountable for their work. It frustrates me when parents shrug their shoulders about their kids' slipping grades.
In kindergarten, Talea's subjects are Math, Language Arts, Art, Science, Social Studies, Ed Tech, and Activities (usually physically active things like hopscotch, 4 square, skipping, nature walks, etc), but she only does 5 subjects a day, with her Activities class being an optional one.
There are definitely things I don't love about Talea's school (the fact that I have to follow rules mandated by the state rather than myself for tests, # of vacation days, when the first and last day of school is), but overall, I'm really happy with it, and so is Talea. Talea is VERY social and I kind of expected her to beg me to let her go to a traditional school with other kids her age, but she tells me she loves doing school this way, so if she's happy, I'm happy. Plus, when we go on the road for travel nursing, she'll have to be homeschooled. Might as well get the family used to it from the beginning!
1 comment:
Your amazing, sadly I fall in the category of the mom who, 1. Needs a breather for a couple hours a day 2.Am not self motivated and 3. My child would out smart me by 1st grade. But your the perfect mom to be a homel schooler. Good for you.
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