Tag: unschooling

Epic One-on-One

Posted on by Phoebe Gleeson

So in the interest of free buckets of cash

Mr. Krabs likes money

I’m looking into the virtual charter school thing.

Upside:

  • $800 per student per year to use toward education, including extracurriculars like piano or karate!

Downside(s):

  • Lots and lots of oversight.
  • Annual out-of-home testing.
  • Paperwork and meeting requirements from whoever we are given as our teacher liason.
  • Genneral ennui as my children are  injected, inspected, detected, infected, neglected, and selected.

But did I mention the $800?

I haven’t talked to anyone at the school, just other school families. Their opinions vary. I’m going to email the admissions director about what is really required and what is optional. This wouldn’t be for all the kids, most likely Gilbert, Trixie and Gloria. Possibly Abby. And I’d have to get their buy-in, because I’m not doing this unless they are willing to deal with the hoops and red tape. And the work, of course. Right now we do math, the end.

I bet we don’t end up doing it. But the monnnnneeeyyyy…

 

High tide ahead – The Hero’s Journey, perhaps more?

Posted on by Phoebe Gleeson

I have plans for the homeschool year! I’m going with Oak Meadow again. We last used them about 3 or 4 years ago, for the American History year. It went well. I don’t know why I stopped, probably expense? Because it is expensive, no lie.

So far I have the teens socked away. The Hero’s Journey, a freshman/sophomore English. It’ll be spiff!

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I need to get the texts to go with it though. Oak Meadow offers them as a package deal but I can get them cheaper if I dig around. I’ve ordered the first two books they’ll need, House of Light, by Mary Oliver and The House of the Scorpion, by Nancy Farmer. If they just loathe it I’ll be out a few bucks, not $75.

The program calls for a journal as well, for which I have ordered these sketch diaries. We’ve bought these before for the little kids to use for sketchbooks. They are nice, sturdy sketchbooks and will suffice for the girls to journal in. Faith is quite particular about her artist sketchbooks, but I think she will tolerate these for an all-purpose journal.

Now I need to decide if I want to use Oak Meadow for Gilbert and Trixie. I’m leaning toward OM Year Four, but it’s (ugh!) over four hundred dollars. Now, that’s for every subject, and I’d use it with two kids. So, not entirely awful, just a big expense to begin with. But then there’s Gloria, who can’t be shoehorned in with Gil and Trix, and probably would benefit the most from OM Year One. Another $300+. Youch!

I can see why people use virtual charter schools with a curriculum allowance. I’m just not yet willing to part with my educational independence for filthy lucre.

TANSTAAFL, folks.