This passed fall I enrolled my children into a free online school program at the
Connections Academy. This financially was one of our best options for charter school because...well, it's offered in my state for free.
We were very excited to get our boxes of supplies in the mail. They shipped them quickly and neatly. We got textbooks, workbooks, art supplies, a jump rope, and even a yoga CD for the kids to do. I was optimistic and excited to have my kids home again. We had missed each other tremendously the few weeks they had gone to school at the local public school.
Before I say any more about this program, I need to say this. This is NOT a homeschool program. This is a public school program done at home. The work load my children had to complete each week was so much, we had a hard time keeping up each week. My son was in their gifted program for third grade, and there were days he worked 9 hours or more and still did not complete his day's work.
I had to take attendance every day, and their teachers had to touch base with them at least once every two weeks. If structure is what your child needs, and if they are independent workers, this program may work for you. My children though started to hate school, they complained when it was time to do school work. Piles of worksheets had taken the fun and enjoyment out of learning.
Just this passed week, I have sent in my notice of intent to the state. I'm pulling them out of their state funded program, and finishing the school year on my own with them. I've been eyeing
the Oak Meadow curriculum for years, and purchased my son's curricula this passed week. He will finish out his third grade year with a slower pace. One that enables him to look deeper on his own, and hopefully will give him a love of learning.
For my daughter, I will be trying the
Christopherus curricula. It's a heavy Waldorf inspired curricula. Hopefully her inner spirit will shine through with creativity and joy, instead of having to do hours of worksheets every day.
I'm relieved and happy with my choices of dropping them out of the Connections Academy. It wasn't an easy decision to come to. In the end, I didn't want them to hate learning. I want them to be lifelong learners. Before I was their mother, I was a teacher...and if something isn't working as it should, it needs to be fixed. I would love to hear if anyone has had any experiences like this, or if they've used these curricula before.
