Thanks ladies! Love the breakdown. Im a fan of independent homeschooling! Though its nice to have funds for horseback riding, art, piano, etc.. with charter. I was with one charter--- then went independent (loved it).... then missed the funds and went back to charter. haha.
@@lih1352 I personally don’t think so. We’re going back to independent next semester as … though the funds can be helpful, I find myself paying for everything myself and missing the freedom of private homeschooling.
@@littlecozynook Thank you! I’m on the fence of deciding to join one but wouldn’t like to be back and forth. I guess my only issues are having my kids home all day, they’re very social and park days aren’t enough. Also, the money to spend on extracurricular activities sounds tempting but the cons ugh… and your experience are making me reconsider to join one.
Thank you for this. We have been homeschooling for a little over a year and I love it but my daughter wanted more activities and my husband wanted the structure and the knowing she is where the other kids are at her age and grade so we compromised and are doing a homeschool charter this next year we just got in and meet with her teacher next month she is so excited.
Great question! This answer may vary depending on the charter, but in my experience, you can use your own curriculum. You may need to supplement with other workbooks, classes, or materials to make sure you are meeting all of the state standards and have non-religious work samples to provide the school. You are still allowed to teach your children what you want, you just have to make sure you are also teaching to the requirements of the Charter. I hope that makes sense.
You can use Christian curricula but you can not use it in your portfolio or sample work turned in. You have to in California turn in samples every 20 days to your charter. We always had to make extra samples from secular curriculum workbooks for samples. Testing is also super annoying and heavily relied on. I didn’t mind doing samples but because it was extra work and not focused enough on what my kids were actually doing it became busy work. The testing got pushed so hard last year I felt it took time from their real studies. Pros: We had a lot of funds for tutors and other necessities like MAC computers and extra curricula activities all paid for by the charter. Honestly I’m overwhelmed by everything we have now I miss the days we did better with a lot less. The computers are an issue for us even with parental controls my boys didn’t focus very well with them and do not retain information learning from a computer like they do with pen paper and me as their teacher. My daughter on the other hand does great learning that way.
There are SO many great curriculums out there and a lot depends on you and your child’s learning/teaching styles and the subject you are looking for. For reading, Jenny and I have both used All About Reading. I have seen some families really like The Good and the Beautiful if you don’t mind a religious curriculum, they also have math that I have seen families enjoy. I have always used Singapore’s Primary Mathematics and been happy with it. These are just some curriculum we have used and liked, let us know if there is something specific you are looking for.
My child is dyslexic and behind in grade level, my child has IEP and I would love to know what’s the best charter schools that can help us with are situation. Please help 🙏🏼 we live in Los Angeles
Unfortunately, we both live in Northern CA and don’t have direct experience with individual Southern CA schools and how good their IEP programs are. Hopefully others might be able to chime in, but we also recommend checking out local homeschool groups on Facebook. The parents in those groups would have better insight on specific schools in your area.
Hello! Yes, Private School Satellite Programs are another option in CA. Thank you for mentioning this option. This video is only discussing the use of a charter homeschool and homeschooling independently since that is what Jenny and I have personal experience with, Jenny homeschools with a PSA and I homeschool through a charter. We should have made it more clear that these are not the only two options for homeschooling in CA. How are you liking the PSP option?
@@KidsLearningforLife It's working out - If we continue homeschooling its probably what we would do going forward. It allows for complete freedom in schooling but someone else manages the paperwork and records for me.
@@KidsLearningforLife For me it was very easy but it may vary by location. The one I use has an application window but no enrollment cap that I know of. I was on a waiting list for a charter before that, and never got close to getting in.
You can try networking with other parents via FB groups or by joining local homeschool activities! But I always recommend looking at your state’s homeschool requirements on HSLDA.org before making a decision about homeschooling independently or through a charter.
We are considering the option of Charter School next fall and I was wondering if you have a list of questions that I should be asking the schools when calling them and trying to get information. New to this and any help would be great.
We go over this in the video, and I’ll also link to my other video about charter schools as well, which might answer some of your questions: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-DEj3dkWJbog.html Mostly make sure what is required of you and your family before signing up. This can include assessment testing, state standardized testing, providing work samples, meeting the school in person routinely, etc.
If I have my kids on IEP ( speech therapy), can I still Independently homeschool them? My oldest recently was diagnosed with Autism at the school. He was diagnosed with autism before through his pediatrician, but the school never applied it to his education until his last evaluation. And for 2022-2023 school year I would like to homeschool them. Thank you ladies in advance!!
Which state are you in? It probably all depends on your state’s local homeschool laws. HSLDA.org is a great place to start! (HSLDA stands for Homeschool Legal Defense Association.)
@@Leslie-wz5ro We are not experts in the IEP world, but this page (hslda.org/post/special-education-provisions-for-california) says there are no extra requirements to homeschool a child with special needs. If you do decide to go through a charter, they will have SpEd teachers and extra resources to help you if you feel you still want some extra support.
@@KidsLearningforLife Oh okay thank you, i just wanted to know if for any reason you guys knew someone who has gone through the same situation and how they did it. I know that this question would have to be asked to them but due to economical reasons, I can't afford to pay that service.
@@Leslie-wz5ro I believe that even if you homeschool independently, you could still get help with IEP related concerns from your local school district. I know that people do homeschool their children that have special needs, but I am not sure how much help they get and how they go about it when homeschooling independently. If you chose a charter school in CA, they are public schools and provide similar support to what you would find in a brick and mortar classroom. Hope that helps!
Thinking about putting my grandson in a charter home school K-12 LAVA have heard some negative things about this program. I’m curious if you have a opinion of this particular program.
We are located more in northern CA, but the only charter that I know of in that area is Sky Mountain Charter school. They serve Inyo, Kern, LA, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties. If I was you, I would ask for recommendations in a local FB group. Parents that already have their kids in a charter are the best resource to learn about how good a charter is. Good luck!
Jenny and I have used a variety of different curriculums throughout the years with our three kids. You can check out our curriculum playlist and see some of our updates about which curriculums we chose each year and why. (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-BO-dmkjUX7c.html) My favorites (this is Stacey) for K/1st in reading has been All About Reading and for math I love Primary Mathematics. I have tried lots of different things for science and history, so it really just depends on what you are looking for.
I think you are referring to @4:44 where we mention "maintaining immunization records". This does not mean you have to be vaccinated to homeschool in California, but you do need to have record of any vaccinations or have a copy of a personal beliefs exemption. You can find more information at HSLDA (hslda.org/post/how-to-comply-with-californias-homeschool-law). I hope that makes more sense. Thanks for bringing it up. :)
I hated my charter school, they gave way way way to much work...Shit stressed me out... Thought it was going to be a bit easy since he was in freakin kindergarten...it was ridiculous