Question for Any HOD moms in California?
Question for Any HOD moms in California?
Hi all, I hope this is an appropriate question for this board. I have been using HOD for a few years and just moved to California. I have been researching a lot and still confused. I am wondering if there are any others in Cali using the Charter school option for homeschooling while still using HOD? Particularly the Sky Mountain Charter school. Apparently, this is a huge thing out here, but it is so new for me. I can see the benefits of the funds given for your homeschool needs and the freedom of choosing your own curriculum, but just curious to see if anyone else in California using HOD has chosen this route?
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farmfamily
- Posts: 237
- Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2011 4:20 pm
Re: Question for Any HOD moms in California?
Our kids are enrolled in Ocean Grove Charter School, which is managed by the same company, IEM, as the school you mention. We have had our kids enrolled there for the entire 5 years we have been homeschooling and have used HOD almost all of that time. At first I really didn't want to do the charter school thing; I was afraid that the ES ("Education Specialist" or teacher who visits your house every 20 school days) would want to take too much control, or would object to Christian aspects of our homeschool. My husband urged me to do it as he thought the additional funds would be great for the kids and he liked the idea of teacher "oversight." With major misgivings I gave in and signed up.
So far I have been pleasantly surprised. The teacher gives me no advice unless I ask for it, and even though we sometimes use the HOD guide as a "learning record" and she sees all the work that my kids do, there has been no issue regarding the Christian content of our homeschool. We use the funds for ballet classes, violin lessons, occasional tutoring, swimming lessons, horseback riding, etc. There is a little bit of work involved in preparing learning records and making work samples available to the teacher (she always chooses work samples that do not have overt Christian content). Also my kids have to take standardized tests 2 or 3 times a year.
I believe that the requirements get more intense as the kids move into high school, and I'm not sure we will stick with it then. About three quarters of my homeschooling friends are involved with the charter school and the rest are independent. I have one friend who was concerned about common core who left the school last year. Common core has not been an issue for me yet. My ES gave me a list of things I am supposed to be covering (about 80% of the list should be touched on in school she said), but she said I was doing fine and didn't need to change anything. We plan to leave the school if it interferes with our ability to do HOD or anything else that we want for our homeschool. So far so good.
This is just our experience so far. I hope it helps you, and I think this is really a personal choice. Pray about it and discuss with your husband.
So far I have been pleasantly surprised. The teacher gives me no advice unless I ask for it, and even though we sometimes use the HOD guide as a "learning record" and she sees all the work that my kids do, there has been no issue regarding the Christian content of our homeschool. We use the funds for ballet classes, violin lessons, occasional tutoring, swimming lessons, horseback riding, etc. There is a little bit of work involved in preparing learning records and making work samples available to the teacher (she always chooses work samples that do not have overt Christian content). Also my kids have to take standardized tests 2 or 3 times a year.
I believe that the requirements get more intense as the kids move into high school, and I'm not sure we will stick with it then. About three quarters of my homeschooling friends are involved with the charter school and the rest are independent. I have one friend who was concerned about common core who left the school last year. Common core has not been an issue for me yet. My ES gave me a list of things I am supposed to be covering (about 80% of the list should be touched on in school she said), but she said I was doing fine and didn't need to change anything. We plan to leave the school if it interferes with our ability to do HOD or anything else that we want for our homeschool. So far so good.
This is just our experience so far. I hope it helps you, and I think this is really a personal choice. Pray about it and discuss with your husband.
blessed to be married 17 yrs to my hardworking farmer dh, mom to:
daughter 13 MTMM
daughter 11 Rev to Rev
son 10 CTC
Enjoyed Little Hands, LHFHG, Beyond, Bigger, Preparing, CTC, Res to Ref, and Rev to Rev!!
daughter 13 MTMM
daughter 11 Rev to Rev
son 10 CTC
Enjoyed Little Hands, LHFHG, Beyond, Bigger, Preparing, CTC, Res to Ref, and Rev to Rev!!
Re: Question for Any HOD moms in California?
Wow, thank u so much for such a thorough reply. I will pray about it some more. My husband wants me to do it because we need the financial help. I was concerned about my kids being in the public school system and not technically considered homeschooled. But it sounds like you have had a wonderful experience thus far. Thanks for sharing! 