If you are generally happy with public school CAVA is a good way to go. You will be doing all the same books as the public school, all the testing, and record keeping. If you want more freedom to do your own thing, it might not be for you. I have not used CAVA but have had exposure to two other similar schools in California. The one we use is more like a cross between public school at home and independant homeschool. It is called Gorman learning center. I don't know if they are available in your area or not. You can find lots of information on your options via the internet. Feel free to contact me if you have specific questions. We have been homeschooling almost entirely independantly for the past 13 years.
I can only report as a credentialed classroom teacher of 13 years, with a B.A. and M.A. - they were very interested in having me teach with them, except I got a better offer from another (brick and mortar) school.
Following their application and interview process, I can say they are only interested in hiring credentialed teachers with in-class and online experience, and with experience in working with students that have special needs.
I use the SC online k12 for my oldest. She is in 7th grade and we both like it. I know friends that have several younger children in it at once say it can be too hard to keep up with at times. I haven't experienced it b/c I use My Father's World with my 1st and 2nd grader and it is easy to work with them together using that program. I love k12 for older kids b/c of the accountablity for me and them. It uses great materials that I would buy myself b/c I like it. William Bennet helped to put together the curriculum and it is great with very little evolutionary material in it. But we discuss the error of it and read what God's word says about the matter. Big thumbs up!:) Kelly in SC
I have always homeschooled through a private school so my kids can still do sports. This year I tried a charter school for Justin. He goes 3 days a week and it is still considered a homeschool based school which means he can miss and still be counted as present if we go on a field trip or need to do something else educational. I feel with him I am getting the best of both worlds with his special needs. If you like homeschooling full time you might want to just sign up with the Charter and get the funding as well as and education specialist to help you. I am really liking the Charter more than I thought I would.
Gabby Blair's husband Ben is a cofounder i believe? of K12 and now runs the foreign language department. Try emailing her to get in contact w him at designmom.com
I had a friend who used it with her small children. She was overwhelmed with paper and busy work. She didn't like it at all. She said it was destroying her daughters' love of learning.
May I recommend Ambleside Online, Old Fashioned Education or Sonlight? They are literature based curricula. The first two are free, if you use the computer or library. I like actual books, though, so I scour garage sales, library book sales, Amazon, Paperback Swap, etc.
This is my first year with CAVA. I really like the program. We are military and my children have been in schools and homeschooled, depending on where we lived. I did a lot of research and really like the traditional education that my children are getting. I have 4 special needs children and I am homeschooling 3 of them. One is enrolled in the online high school-- Then I have a 4th grader and an 8th grader. We have found the program very enjoyable. I have used others in the past, but I think I will stick with this one. Also the support you get from the teachers is terrific. I hope this helps.
I have home schooled for the past 6 years but was struggling with some behavior/accountability issues with my eldest so we chose to use an online school this fall for all three kids. We use Connections Academy which I believe is similar to K12 but may not be available in your area. As mentioned before, I am struggling to balance the needs to 3 children in the program but I think that once we get into a routine things will run more smoothly. They seem to be flexible in working wit kids at varying skill levels within grades (we have one child working a grade ahead in math and another in the gifted range for 3 subjects and a modified program for another area of study and they have been very supportive as we try and find an appropriate level/placement for the youngest one.
We used it for history snd science 4th grade. I didn't care for it much, and my children didn't much either. Not a bad program, just didn't work w/our family. If you decide to go with it, and need the 4th grade science experiment kit, I have the entire deluxe pkg, unused.
I have 3 in the TX version. My 4th grader needs about 3 hours of my time per day. My 8th and 10th graders, 30 minutes of my time. It's a ton of work. It's thorough and a good education, but I can't imagine doing this with any more of my kids, I just can't take that much time. Everything is work though, that is going to get you the results you are after.
I have never used an on line school for homeschooling. But have used Christian Light Education homeschooling materials. The materials are excellent.There is also wonderful support from the staff at Christian Light. I do not live in Cal.but think this program can be used in any state. I know some missionary families that have used this program overseas. Christian Light also offers many vocational highschool courses also. I hope this helps .Pat
Hi there. I teach for Florida Virtual School and have to say that I am thoroughly impressed with the curriculum and how the classes truly treat students as individuals, allowing them to work at a pace more for them. I have NO idea about CA VS, but if it's anything like our FLVS, then you'll love it! The curriculum is engaging and very creative. Good luck!! :)
14 comments:
If you are generally happy with public school CAVA is a good way to go. You will be doing all the same books as the public school, all the testing, and record keeping. If you want more freedom to do your own thing, it might not be for you. I have not used CAVA but have had exposure to two other similar schools in California. The one we use is more like a cross between public school at home and independant homeschool. It is called Gorman learning center. I don't know if they are available in your area or not. You can find lots of information on your options via the internet. Feel free to contact me if you have specific questions. We have been homeschooling almost entirely independantly for the past 13 years.
I can only report as a credentialed classroom teacher of 13 years, with a B.A. and M.A. - they were very interested in having me teach with them, except I got a better offer from another (brick and mortar) school.
Following their application and interview process, I can say they are only interested in hiring credentialed teachers with in-class and online experience, and with experience in working with students that have special needs.
I use the SC online k12 for my oldest. She is in 7th grade and we both like it. I know friends that have several younger children in it at once say it can be too hard to keep up with at times. I haven't experienced it b/c I use My Father's World with my 1st and 2nd grader and it is easy to work with them together using that program. I love k12 for older kids b/c of the accountablity for me and them. It uses great materials that I would buy myself b/c I like it. William Bennet helped to put together the curriculum and it is great with very little evolutionary material in it. But we discuss the error of it and read what God's word says about the matter. Big thumbs up!:)
Kelly in SC
I have always homeschooled through a private school so my kids can still do sports. This year I tried a charter school for Justin. He goes 3 days a week and it is still considered a homeschool based school which means he can miss and still be counted as present if we go on a field trip or need to do something else educational. I feel with him I am getting the best of both worlds with his special needs. If you like homeschooling full time you might want to just sign up with the Charter and get the funding as well as and education specialist to help you. I am really liking the Charter more than I thought I would.
Gabby Blair's husband Ben is a cofounder i believe? of K12 and now runs the foreign language department. Try emailing her to get in contact w him at designmom.com
I had a friend who used it with her small children. She was overwhelmed with paper and busy work. She didn't like it at all. She said it was destroying her daughters' love of learning.
May I recommend Ambleside Online, Old Fashioned Education or Sonlight? They are literature based curricula. The first two are free, if you use the computer or library. I like actual books, though, so I scour garage sales, library book sales, Amazon, Paperback Swap, etc.
This is my first year with CAVA. I really like the program. We are military and my children have been in schools and homeschooled, depending on where we lived. I did a lot of research and really like the traditional education that my children are getting. I have 4 special needs children and I am homeschooling 3 of them. One is enrolled in the online high school-- Then I have a 4th grader and an 8th grader. We have found the program very enjoyable. I have used others in the past, but I think I will stick with this one. Also the support you get from the teachers is terrific. I hope this helps.
I have home schooled for the past 6 years but was struggling with some behavior/accountability issues with my eldest so we chose to use an online school this fall for all three kids. We use Connections Academy which I believe is similar to K12 but may not be available in your area. As mentioned before, I am struggling to balance the needs to 3 children in the program but I think that once we get into a routine things will run more smoothly. They seem to be flexible in working wit kids at varying skill levels within grades (we have one child working a grade ahead in math and another in the gifted range for 3 subjects and a modified program for another area of study and they have been very supportive as we try and find an appropriate level/placement for the youngest one.
Marianne
We used it for history snd science 4th grade. I didn't care for it much, and my children didn't much either. Not a bad program, just didn't work w/our family. If you decide to go with it, and need the 4th grade science experiment kit, I have the entire deluxe pkg, unused.
Here is a blog you should check out! They are a CA family doing the charter/homeschool thing!
http://www.kitandlaughwithus.blogspot.com/
It's me again here is another CA mon who just started to home school! (We were in youth group together in high school)
http://rookienews.blogspot.com/
I have 3 in the TX version. My 4th grader needs about 3 hours of my time per day. My 8th and 10th graders, 30 minutes of my time. It's a ton of work. It's thorough and a good education, but I can't imagine doing this with any more of my kids, I just can't take that much time. Everything is work though, that is going to get you the results you are after.
I have never used an on line school for homeschooling. But have used Christian Light Education homeschooling materials. The materials are excellent.There is also wonderful support from the staff at Christian Light. I do not live in Cal.but think this program can be used in any state. I know some missionary families that have used this program overseas. Christian Light also offers many vocational highschool courses also. I hope this helps .Pat
Hi there. I teach for Florida Virtual School and have to say that I am thoroughly impressed with the curriculum and how the classes truly treat students as individuals, allowing them to work at a pace more for them. I have NO idea about CA VS, but if it's anything like our FLVS, then you'll love it! The curriculum is engaging and very creative. Good luck!! :)
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