Online Homeschooling?

I get a lot of questions from people looking for a great online school. There is a huge variety of online resources - but they tend to break down into a few types. Picking the type will help you narrow down your search.

Ala Carte Resources  vs  School-at-Home

School-at-Home:
Are you looking for an accredited school that will offer you a full curriculum with a transcript and diploma at the end? Essentially, you are looking for a public school education done at home on the computer. Then please be aware these programs are usually quite expensive and often do little more than scan textbook pages into the computer and have your student read those pages and fill out tons of online worksheets.

Great for:  students who are traditional learners,
                  self-motivated students,
                  when you need to prove to the courts that your student is in compliance (truancy or divorce cases may sometimes have these requirements in place).

Poor for: students who want to be able to pick and choose course materials,
               students who learn best from videos and interactive resources,
               students who learn differently (dyslexia, ADHD, etc.),
               students who are not self-motivated.

A few popular options in this group:
A-Beka - K-12 - Christian
Alpha Omega - K-12 - Christian
American School of Correspondence - 9-12 - non-sectarian - not rigorous
Bob Jones - K-12 - EV Christian - some video content
Calvert - K-8 - non-sectarian
Connections Academy - K-12 - non-sectarian - available as an online public school in some areas
Progress Academy - K-12 - non-sectarian

Ala Carte Resources:  
There is a HUGE variety of online ala carte coursework available today and it also can be broken down into a variety of categories:

Common Core          Non-Common Core based

videos        interactive         traditional (textbook)    

There are some who have huge databases full of free ala carte resources such as:  http://www.onlypassionatecuriosity.com/free-homeschool-list/   Don't skip these!

Common Core -

A+Interactive Math - variety of resources but not a complete curriculum

Easy Peasy "All in One Homeschool" - FREE - minimally Christian - K-12 - not rigorous

Here to Help Learning - Video based writing lessons + worksheets for a small monthly fee - http://heretohelplearning.com/  (Yes, you are still doing the evaluating of their writing but are given rubrics to help the process)

HippoCampus - FREE - non-sectarian - videos - math and science

IXL.com - FREE - interactive with written instructions - math, language arts

Khan Academy - FREE - interactive with video instructions - math, science, language arts and more

MarcoPolo - FREE Standards based Internet content

Reading Eggs - FREE - non-sectarian - reading

Starfall - FREE - non-sectarian - beginning reading

Time4Learning - non-sectarian - K-12

WatchKnowLearn - FREE - thousands of well organized educational videos
     watchknowlearn.org

Non- Common Core

Ambleside Online - Charlotte Mason based complete curriculum
http:amblesideonline.org

Brookdale House history videos  - FREE collection of videos from a variety of sources:  http://brookdalehouse.com/ancient-history-videos/

DanCarlin.com  Some free, some for a cost - history podcasts called Hardcore History

Daily Grammar - FREE (archives online) - http:dailygrammar.com/archive.html

Discoveryk12 - FREE - non-sectarian - quite a traditional approach but you an pick and choose what to use and what not to use.
http://discoveryk12.com/dk12/curriculum/

Duolingo - FREE - quite a few languages available!

History at Our House - $220+ per year long class - non-sectarian - 4 levels and a rotating three year program - both live and pre-recorded classes available

Hoffman Academy - FREE - piano only     http://hoffmanacademy.com

Learner.org - FREE - non-sectarian - videos with supporting materials - mostly older, but excellent!

Sciencenetlinks.com - an amazing resource from the American Association for the Advancement of Science offers a comprehensive guide to K-12 Internet based lessons, activities and activities. Be sure to check out their Weekly Science Update radio program!

U.S.History.org - FREE - non-sectarian - more than simply U.S.History - basic, yet colorful, information    http:ushistory.org/textbooks.htm




2 comments:

  1. Hi Kathy, I was at your last meeting in Cary and wanted to sign up for the upcoming one in Riverside but when I go to signup it’s not listed. Is it full?

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    1. It is at the River East Public Library in McHenry, IL. I haven't heard from them about it if they are! Did you call them and ask?

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