Homeschooling - Henderson,NV

The first most important thing you must do is to be aware of the homeschool law that is in your individual state. Using a Virtual school may not afford you the same protection as trully homeschooling. These virtual charter schools must not be considered the same thing. Because in many states it is seen as public school at home. Therefore you are under different regulations and may not have any protection. Also I highly recommend joining HSLDA. I have been a traditional homeschooler for the past 10 yrs. The most important thing is to know the law. Then decide what you want your children to learn, what is important for them and your family. It can be difficult to try and rethink the school thing at home. Don't think it has to be the same as public school!

I don't have any experience with K12, but we LOVE homeschooling and a membership to the HSLDA is well worth it.

We do our own curriculum, since there is less paperwork and reporting to the state. I have enough things to do, like teach my children and I run a business, than be reporting to them and feeling like I have another job. I can't imagine that being a ton of fun...and kindergarten is so easy. In fact, when we pulled our son out of school after kindergarten, we put in the hours the state required us to have him in "school" and he finished first grade in 4 months....and that was after trying to find things for him to do. It really made me wonder why they are in school for 6 hours and then have 2-3 hours of homework every night. What did they do in school all day?????

Also, our son is 7 and entering the 4th grade. He's not grasping multiplication 100%, but he's doing average, which I'm not into average....so we stopped with multiplication and moved onto fractions and decimals. He completely got those 2 concepts FAST and then we went back and re-visited multiplication. With a public school charter, you don't get that flexibility, from what I understand.

This year we are using Alpha Omega, but you can even get kindergarten books for pennies at Costco....and you can download the state requirements from the state education website, so you are hitting each topic that they require.

Good luck!

I used k12 for my 2nd grader and we could not have been happier. Our assigned teacher was a delight and they made the course work so easy to access and provided us with every imaginable item we would need. I also loved all the extras they included in the curriculum like games so help enforce the lessons. Loved them & highly recommend them. Best of luck to you!

Hi G.,
I use the K12 virtual school for my 3 older ones. I like the curriculum...The phonics is pretty good. Are you also involved with the Academy's charter schools based near you? In Hawaii, we have Hawaii Tech Academy, which is a charter school that uses k12. All work is done online & the kids report once a week for enrichment.

Love the curriculum! It's very colorful, child center, easy for the learning coaches to use.

I hope you enjoy your year homeschooling your little one!
Aloha,
V. T.

No, I've considered, but deemed it to be too limiting. Homeschooling in general is the best thing one can provide to a child.
Check out this link, even if you are far away from LA, you may find useful info: http://sbhn.50megs.com/

Good Luck
V.

I haven't used it but one of my best friends has 5 kids and she just loves K12.

I am starting Kindergarten this year too and decided to use the Abeka homeschool curriculum. I highly recommend a local support group.. I just noticed you are in Henderson - We are currently in Pahrump but will be moving back there in Oct-ish!

Here is a great local resource as well as a yahoogroups to join. Another recommendation is to attend a homeschool convention - lots of good info there too and you get to mingle and talk to other homeschoolers.

http://nevadahomeschoolnetwork.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/friendshsgroup
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HendNVHSHotline
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/homeschoolmeltingpot
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SoNVhsinfoboard

Hi G.! I am actually a teacher for Nevada Virtual Academy. If you have questions about the program, I would be more than happy to answer them for you. Also, I give an information session about the program every Wednesday night at the Hampton Inn and Suites on St. Rose Parkway at 7:00. You can also email me at ____@____.com. Another option would be to "like" the Facebook page "NVVA Familes." That is a facebook page for families that use our program. You could ask them how they like it as well. I think the program is amazing! I hope this helps, and hopefully, I'll be seeing you soon at school events. C. Frank

Hi G.

I'm so pleased to hear you will be homeschooling your son. There is almost no greater joy than knowing that you yourself taught your son to read!

The other gal who answered is absolutely correct on the K12 program being part of the public school system. I tried it one year with our daughter and although there are benefits (free curriculum, computer, supplemental materials etc...), it wasn't for us. And there is ALOT of paperwork!

However, if you are just trying to figure out if homeschooling is for your family and you're feeling doubtful and in need of getting your "home school" off the ground, this could help you. For us, my 3 children are very different and have different strengths and weaknesses, I/we really enjoyed seeking out each curriculum that best suited their needs. It may seem overwhelming at first, but you'll get the hang of it, truly!

In a home school setting, your son can gain so very much in 2 hours versus being in a class setting for 4-6 hours. He's still little and I just never saw the need in drawing out the day for kindergartners.

Lastly, I would seek out a home school support group which can help answer questions as well as nurture you along. They also offer park days where kids get to interact with one another and nature walks, field trips, etc.

Best wishes for your family! Enjoy the journey, it can be quite a ride but one that you'll never forget!