Post by eyeofthestorm on Jul 11, 2022 11:46:20 GMT -6
I want to share our experience with this site.
Powerhomeschool uses the Acellus curriculum. This curriculum is used by many public schools for their at-home students. You can also pay the premium price for the full Acellus curriculum... the differences:
Now, I could go through my state and have them pay Acellus, but there are a few reasons I don't. One of the reasons is that we would then be public school students technically (which I don't mind) and we'd have to follow their calendar (which is what I want to avoid).
When I say "automatic" grades, I refer to two types of grading. Multiple choice is kind of obvious. But they also have some sort of program that rates writing. This is NOT a perfect system. My oldest wrote well, and found that often the program just couldn't follow what he was writing (I had to read it anyway to grade it, so no big deal). The great thing was that DS2 just was not responsive to my guidance on his writing. I think he was really shocked when the system gave him a C grade... but that was a C for a student in two grades LOWER than he was supposed to be in. He shaped up really quickly. I don't know why he believed a computer program instead of me, but whatever works.
I would not see Powerhomeschool as a complete solution for us, but here is where it's been really helpful. The price point is low enough that I can afford to spend other money to pay tutors or teachers in areas where the boys have specific interest or need help. By the time we hit trigonometry, I knew it would take me all day every day to relearn the content to be helpful. Instead, we can afford to pay others (sometimes other homeschooling parents) who can provide support in an area where they are an expert already.
I do spend more on homeschooling than I did when the boys were in elementary and middle grades. However, I am spending less than I would on curriculum, I can set the pace, and I can choose their tutors/teachers for extra help. In turn, I'm teaching lessons in areas where *I* have expertise, so it balances out.
I am still putting in a decent amount of time planning, organizing, and record keeping (for our state's system). I'm comfortable with the records - far more than I would be re-learning and teaching trig or calculus.
One more thing - because I set the pace, we can go at whatever speed. Last year, DS3 earned 11 credits, and he earned As in 9 of those classes, Bs in the other two. (We aim for 7 credits per year for four years). He just keeps plugging away. it didn't cost us any more because, with Powerhomeschool, the limit is seven classes at any given time. When one of my kids finished a class, I would just assign them another class they wanted to take. If you have a really mature child looking for finish early, this could be a good option.
Again, it's not for everyone, and it would not have been a good fit for us in elementary grades at all. If my boys were serious about, say, a foreign language, I'd enroll them in a live class where they needed to speak. Likewise, Powerhomeschool was good for music appreciation, but for applied music (actually playing), I have DS2 enrolled with a live teacher. Up until this year, we did not use it for math because both boys wanted someone to talk through the material with. Last year, we found a GREAT teacher. She basically runs math "clubs" (groups of students) at different levels. The boys go to those weekly where she talks with everyone about the work they're doing that week, gives advice and explanations, and also has extra activities in case no one has any questions. (I'm happy to share her contact info if anyone needs it).
Anyway, I thought I'd share our experience with this platform.
Powerhomeschool uses the Acellus curriculum. This curriculum is used by many public schools for their at-home students. You can also pay the premium price for the full Acellus curriculum... the differences:
- With Acellus, a teacher (somewhere out there) grades the student work that isn't automatically graded
- With Powerhomeschool, the parent sets the pace AND grades any work that isn't automatically graded.
- Powerhomeschool is $25/month per student. (Acellus is $2000 per year. Yes, that's right).
Now, I could go through my state and have them pay Acellus, but there are a few reasons I don't. One of the reasons is that we would then be public school students technically (which I don't mind) and we'd have to follow their calendar (which is what I want to avoid).
When I say "automatic" grades, I refer to two types of grading. Multiple choice is kind of obvious. But they also have some sort of program that rates writing. This is NOT a perfect system. My oldest wrote well, and found that often the program just couldn't follow what he was writing (I had to read it anyway to grade it, so no big deal). The great thing was that DS2 just was not responsive to my guidance on his writing. I think he was really shocked when the system gave him a C grade... but that was a C for a student in two grades LOWER than he was supposed to be in. He shaped up really quickly. I don't know why he believed a computer program instead of me, but whatever works.
I would not see Powerhomeschool as a complete solution for us, but here is where it's been really helpful. The price point is low enough that I can afford to spend other money to pay tutors or teachers in areas where the boys have specific interest or need help. By the time we hit trigonometry, I knew it would take me all day every day to relearn the content to be helpful. Instead, we can afford to pay others (sometimes other homeschooling parents) who can provide support in an area where they are an expert already.
I do spend more on homeschooling than I did when the boys were in elementary and middle grades. However, I am spending less than I would on curriculum, I can set the pace, and I can choose their tutors/teachers for extra help. In turn, I'm teaching lessons in areas where *I* have expertise, so it balances out.
I am still putting in a decent amount of time planning, organizing, and record keeping (for our state's system). I'm comfortable with the records - far more than I would be re-learning and teaching trig or calculus.
One more thing - because I set the pace, we can go at whatever speed. Last year, DS3 earned 11 credits, and he earned As in 9 of those classes, Bs in the other two. (We aim for 7 credits per year for four years). He just keeps plugging away. it didn't cost us any more because, with Powerhomeschool, the limit is seven classes at any given time. When one of my kids finished a class, I would just assign them another class they wanted to take. If you have a really mature child looking for finish early, this could be a good option.
Again, it's not for everyone, and it would not have been a good fit for us in elementary grades at all. If my boys were serious about, say, a foreign language, I'd enroll them in a live class where they needed to speak. Likewise, Powerhomeschool was good for music appreciation, but for applied music (actually playing), I have DS2 enrolled with a live teacher. Up until this year, we did not use it for math because both boys wanted someone to talk through the material with. Last year, we found a GREAT teacher. She basically runs math "clubs" (groups of students) at different levels. The boys go to those weekly where she talks with everyone about the work they're doing that week, gives advice and explanations, and also has extra activities in case no one has any questions. (I'm happy to share her contact info if anyone needs it).
Anyway, I thought I'd share our experience with this platform.