Schedules Schedules

     I can tell you I have attended several of the Coaching /Mentoring  workshops online and I repeatedly asked the same questions.. Okay, I may have changed the words around a bit, but I was starting to feel a terror grow within me about the scheduling.. If you read very much online there is one great divide... There seem to be reviews from those who have found it to be wonderful experience due to the flexibility and those who feel they cannot possibly do that much schoolwork in a day.  Now, aside from noticing that several in the second category seemed to mention returning to homeschool roots where they could complete all classwork in approximately 2 hours per day, I could really not comment on what causes that divide.
     Not all children are alike.  We talk about this at the Thanksgiving table when we are talking about Uncle so and so's behavior versus that of his sister, Aunt What's her name.  Somehow, we just seem to ignore that in a traditional school setting, all of the children are given the exact same activity and the exact same instructions to complete this activity.  Some are more advanced in their fine motor skills or cognitive skills and race through. Some are merely disinterested.  There can be as many reactions to that activity as there are students.  Why do we expect these children to thrive in this environment?  Why are we surprised when only a handful are mastering their education?  How is it okay that only one or two are at the top of the class?  Why is it okay that many of these students did not learn all of the objectives from the assignment?  There simply is not enough of one teacher to individualize the assignment.  She cannot give the speedy children another assignment while still giving the extra assistance to those that need more help or more time. It is not possible.
     As my children complete each assignment, I marvel in amazement at the absolute simplicity of the virtual school idea.  Each assignment has objectives to make note of.. Did the child grasp that there was tension between the characters of the book?  Did the child notice the change in the science experiment?  Can the child restate the information in their own words?  etc...etc... etc...  How you get there is actually pretty flexible. There are guidelines for each activity as well as optional activities to either reinforce the concept, try it from another perspective or both.  Some children learn better by writing things down. Some learn by repetitively hearing information. Some learn better by placing their hands on something.  There are a variety of ways to learn, and with K12 I have seen a variety of ways to explain, teach and reinforce.  I am pretty impressed with the amount of hands on activities, expecially in science and art. 
     If you have a mental picture of your child spending all of their time in front of a computer screen, erase it.  Older children have more time online...  Let me try to guess for you.  My youngest child is doing 4th grade work.  (I will revisit this later as she is an example of the flexibilty we have with K12.)   Now, she currently spends an average of 30 minutes - 1 hour per day on the computer. She logs in to her account, she can see the lessons to complete and she has some tests online, but most are assessments or worksheets that she completes and I look over.   The oldest child is doing 7th grade work. She is probably spending about 45- 50% of her time online since she has a language course. (Language courses are 100% online.  No workbooks or textbooks to keep track of.)  I will wait a bit longer before I estimate the total time per day we are using for lessons.  My youngest child's teacher recommended that we allow for 30 hours per week total.  Remember, this includes your PE time and field trips.  Yes, we have school field trips once per month, in fact our "Meet and Greet" was at an indoor inflatable play area.. It was lot's of fun for the kids and gave the parents a chance to ask questions and sign up for books clubs or volunteer opportunities.
    

        Also, I will mention that it appears the older child really does much more independent work.  Most of her lessons incorporate online research, work or videos and she really does not seem to need much from me. The younger child needs a bit more guideance.  I can see that if your younger child is struggling with a concept, that it could become very time consuming for the adult.  Keep this in mind if you have younger children.  You may find yourself needing to be right there at the table or desk with them most of the time.

       As for me and my own personal schedule... I make a note of the time a lesson is started on my white board and make a note of when it ended.  I check over work for my younger child and sometimes help her if she has a question. I am very fortunate that both of my children love academics and work well independently.    I will allow time for someone to need much more assistance with a lesson just in case we come across something that is not clear.

     My youngest child may be advancing through the course work more quickly than I had planned.   There are already plans for a special parent teacher conference to address this later, when I am ready. 

    I have had positive interaction with both teachers.  I am pleased with their responses to my questions.  I am also pleased with their attitudes, positivity and encouragement from both of the teachers, our PAL as well as the technical support staff.

   Yes, for those of you who already know me.. I have asked MANY  MANY questions.

Let me know if you have questions about our virtual school experience.