Welcome!!!! My name is Christy and I decided to create this blog because I have seen many, many, many blogs about traditional homeschooling and not ONE about virtual schooling. (Of course, there may be some out there and I just haven’t found them, yet!)
We began our virtual schooling adventure three years ago when our daughter finished 2nd grade and our son finished 7th grade. Our daughter is very smart, but was falling behind for the simple fact that there were 42 kids in her class and 1 teacher—-42 KIDS!!!! It certainly wasn’t the teachers fault, but it WAS the fault of the public school system. There is no excuse for that many kids in a classroom and there is no possible way that a teacher can teach that many young children. Our son had ADHD and the kids he was going to school with were so out-of-control that he simply couldn’t learn. The teachers hands were tied as far as discipline went, so what could really be expected?
At the time, we knew that we needed to change how our children were being educated, but we didn’t feel that we could use the traditional homeschool method. We began exploring our other options and that is when we discovered the world of virtual charter schools.
I had heard of virtual schools before, but had never really considered them for my kids. I mean, really, who goes to school “on-line”, right? It sounded almost like science-fiction to me. I grew up in the 80’s and I got up every morning, got ready for school, and LEFT the house to go to school. I had heard of homeschooling when I was a kid, but that was never an option as both of my parents worked outside the home. As my husband and I investigated this strange, new world, we realized that this could be the perfect fit for our family.
There are some great aspects to public schooling just as there are some great aspects to traditional homeschooling. The virtual school takes the best of both worlds and combines them. Our school supplies us with a computer, curriculum, resources, and great teachers—all products of the public school system. Our school also provides us with the means to educate our children in a safe environment—an environment free from bullying and school shootings. It also allows for growth beyond the classroom—-my kids are learning so much more at home, than they ever would in a traditional public school. I am able to merge their education with their Christianity and it is AWESOME to see them blossom! These are all wonderful aspects of homeschooling. Having the ability to help my children learn and grow while having the support and knowledge of an online staff has been a wonderful experience.
My children, now 10 (5th grade) and 16 (10th grade), are thriving in our virtual world. They even prepared their younger brother for this experience. My youngest is now 6 and for the past two years he would “help” his sister with her schoolwork every day. When he started Kindergarten last August, he already knew how to read and do 1st grade math. He completed his K math class by the beginning of October and moved on to 1st grade math. He was able to complete the rest of his K curriculum by the end of the first semester and is now, officially, in 1st grade.
I know that God has blessed me with the ability to use a virtual schooling platform and I hope that my posts will help someone else who may be struggling.
God Bless 🙂
I am a Virtual/Homeschooling mom of 3 who loves helping my children realize those AWESOME "lightbulb" moments!
Virtually Speaking... 
Thank you for sharing! My family is just beginning to go down the homeschooling road, and plan to pull our son out of public school after the close of this year. Very excited to see others’ experiences with different curriculum methods as we start to put together one for our little guy.
I am so glad to be of help. I will try to update regularly and if I can be of any help, just let me know. Good luck and God bless 🙂
Awesome! We don’t use a virtual method, but it will be fun to read about your adventures and to hear what you learn along the way. Best of luck on your blog!
Thanks for you comment!!! I have been wanting to try my hand at blogging for awhile and I hope I have found my niche. 🙂
I am so glad you made this blog and it is great to know you are a Christian and have a 10th grade boy in CA.
My boys are 11 & 16 and this is there first year in MICA.
Hope to get to know you and maybe get our boys to get to know one another too.
My highschooler is having second thoughts about homeschooling because his friends don’t have anything in common w him anymore. He is still involved in boyscouts which is great.
Reply to my email so we can talk.. Becky
Great to hear from you, Rebecca 🙂 All of my kiddos love ACA and what we are doing. We have made sure to keep them involved in church and have recently joined a new homeschool group. They love that we can relax and do things at our own pace. Some days we get more done than others. God Bless 🙂
Wow, I’m so happy to read your blog, it’s almost an exact replication of our experiences and solutions. We are loving online school this year, but I’m not sure it’s a long term solution for our family, however, I have nothing bad to say about our program, I honestly don’t know how we would have gotten through this year if not for this option.
Thanks for the support 🙂 We struggled the first few months, but now we wouldn’t change a thing! Good luck to you—I hope you find something that works as a long term solution for your family. God Bless 🙂
Thanks!
Great start to this blog, momma! 🙂 Can’t wait to hear more of your adventures…..course, since we’re in the same virtual schooling, many of our adventures coincide, but it’s always fun to hear someone else’s perspective too.
Thank you, Kristan. For more adventures, read on. We love our virtual world 🙂