Many virtual academies are funded through the school system and are actually public schools. The only difference is that the child is attending school “virtually” by using educational software on their home computer. A parent plays the role of teacher by providing instruction and supervising learning activities. Enrollment requirements include the child being of age by the fall enrollment date and living within the virtual school boundaries. Enrollment is done online and immunizations are required.

Free Home School Tuition and Materials

Publicly funded virtual academies offer learning materials that are free of cost to parents. The K-12 Academy provides exceptional online learning materials, the usual textbooks and helpful online teaching guides and worksheets. Online tools help parents plan and track their child’s progress. K-12 also offers fun learning materials such as workbooks, science equipment, art supplies and maps. The K-12 Academy provides curriculum and learning materials for public virtual academies in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois (Chicago),Kansas (Lawrence.), Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Washington D.C. (CAPCS), Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

The Connections Academy is a public, free tuition, virtual school provider that will actually customize a learning program around your child’s educational needs. Teachers stay in touch with parents and adjust lesson plans according to the child’s learning abilities. They offer fun interactive lessons called “Brainpop” and the Hooked on Phonics reading program. The Connections Academy offers grades K-10 and is nationally accredited by the Commission on International and Trans-Regional Accreditation (CITA). The Connections Academy is available through the public school systems in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Some online academies go a step beyond providing the traditional learning materials. The Branson Academy is a K-14 online public school offered in the state of Colorado. Branson is one of a few online schools that are striving to bridge the gap between students who have access to technology and those who don’t. All of their students receive a computer and printer package as well as internet reimbursement of up to $20 per month. Branson also reimburses students for paper and ink supplies. Parents get a home school education for their child and the funds and technology needed for home schooling! Branson also has an annual fall picnic and other extra curricular activities that allow teachers and students to socialize beyond the computer screen.

Fast Track for College for High School Students

Older students can benefit greatly from the flexibility of a virtual middle, or high school. The middle or high school student can get a fast track to college by fitting in some extra courses. Students who are struggling in school can take make up classes and still graduate with the rest of the class. Many older children enjoy the virtual school program as they can choose classes and lessons that fit their school and work schedules.

Some virtual high school programs come with definite perks that would appeal to any teenager. The IQ Academy offered to the high school students of Wisconsin is a no-cost online program that offers a Macintosh ibook with all the latest software. They also offer a free student e-mail account. Wisconsin also offers a middle school program with excellent course materials. Virtual high school and/or middle school programs are available through chartering or state-funded programs in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Mexico, North Dakota, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming. Virtual high schools and middle schools are not limited to state funded programs and there are many tuition-based programs available. With some research you can find the right online academy program for your home school student.

If a publicly funded online academy is not available in your area, you can investigate an independent study program or a tuition-based online academy. The K-12 Academy has a cost-effective independent study program that offers month to month payments based on how many courses a child is taking. Parents can sign a one or two year contract and receive a discount on the outstanding curriculum. Lessons and materials are designed to effectively meet the needs of each grade level and an online school comes with the program to help parents manage their child’s education.

At every child’s range of learning, online academies have the plans, lessons, instruction help and materials for everyone in home schooling. Online academies are the future of learning and parents now have the ability to give their child an even better home school education.

Share your free or low-cost discoveries with other home school parents!

Do you know of a, free or low-cost, virtual academy or other online home school sources that we missed? Find information in this article that needs correction? Let us know! E-mail us today at contact@childnparent.com

We recommend the following resources for home school families.

K12 Online Home Schooling Information on school district-run virtual academies in your area offering the outstanding K-12 ® curriculum.

Connections Information on Connections virtual academies in your area. Also, has information on curriculum and learning materials.

virtual high schools Information on Virtual High Schools and how to choose one that is right for your student!

Parenting Tips for Home Learning

Everyone in your family should have a household responsibility, at least one chore that must be done on time. Have regular times to eat, sleep, play and work. This helps to establish routine and work habits that will help your child in the classroom.

Limit your family’s television time. Instead, spend time reading books, drawing, and learning together. Visit parks, children’s museums, libraries, zoos, historical sites and other places of interest to help your child gain a love of exploring new places and ideas.

Attend story or music time at your local library to help your child learn to sit still for short periods of time, take turns, and focus on a speaker in front of a group. A classroom atmosphere is much different from the one-on-one attention your child is used to at home.

Provide your children a chance to speak and be listened to. Encourage them to use good speech habits, using correct words and phrases and learning new ones. You may know what the cute baby words and phrases mean, but his teacher and peers won’t.

Encourage Reading at Home

Create a reading and writing nook at home. Provide somewhere comfy to sit, with eye level access to several books. Have your child browse through and choose one herself.

There are many pre-reading skills that can be started from birth-up to set your child on the path to becoming a great reader. Provide a low table where it is comfortable for your child to sit and color or write. Have on hand plenty of paper, paper clips, pencils and crayons. Encourage your child to use them to “write notes” and in dramatic play as signs for a store, tickets, invitations, menus and more.

Long before a child learns to form letters she has taken many steps toward learning to write. Children need activities using their hands to develop motor skills and eye hand coordination. Molding with clay, playing with knobbed puzzles, building with Legos®, and playing with beads all help your preschooler learn to control his hands.

Writing has many developmental stages. Children move from random scribbling to controlled scribbling to random alphabet letters, and on through to consonants representing words. Each step is important, so don’t push your child too fast.

Help Your Child Learn at Home

Most important, read to your child every day. Make book time a special time when you cuddle and read. Let them turn the pages and set the pace for the story. If your child loses interest or gets upset, stop for a while and try again later. Reading time should be fun time.

Talk to your child. Ask questions and answer them yourself if your child can’t answer. Use short sentences and repeat yourself. Talk about what is going on around you. This helps build vocabulary. Children with bigger vocabularies are better readers.

Ask your children to tell you what has happened in a story or to describe a picture. Ask open-ended questions. Being able to tell and retell a story helps children understand what they read. Point out letters anywhere you see them. Write your child’s name for him. Write other words that interest him like truck or dinosaur.

Sing songs and say nursery rhymes. Being able to hear the sounds that make up words, helps children when they are learning to read. When learning is part of home life, it can ease anxieties about starting school for kids and parents, giving them the confidence and tools to succeed in kindergarten.

For more information on early literacy, visit getreadytoread.org .

For a list of skills your child should know before kindergarten, talk to your local elementary school or visit familyeducation.com .

Parenting tips for choosing a preschool.

Does your child have a tendency to daydream? Is your child struggling with 7 X 7 or 5 X 5? With home schooling, you can discover your child’s learning abilities and then help them in the areas where they need it most. You can also help your child stay focused, on task and assist in moving them forward with concepts they more quickly understand. With home schooling, no one child has to wait for the rest of the class to master a concept.

Parents and children who home school also have the ease of a flexible schedule. Imagine clearing the breakfast table and then settling down for a math lesson. The child doesn’t have to rush to get to a public school and can have more sleep time. Adequate rest can help a child be more attentive to their lessons. Less transportation stress can provide a better start to the school day. Parents save on driving time and can schedule their child’s lessons around doctor’s appointments, and special interest classes like dance, or karate.

As your child’s teacher, you can also provide more positive learning experiences. Children can get bored just sitting in a classroom trying to learn from a book. You can provide nature walks and trips to interesting museums. You can also provide more hands-on-learning experiences. Many children would enjoy constructing a home-made volcano and watching it erupt more than learning about the eruption process using only a book. Using your kitchen, you can go the extra mile and show your child that learning can be fun!

Parents who are considering home schooling often wonder “Where do I begin?” The best place to begin is within your own state. Home schooling is legal in all fifty states. The internet makes it easy to establish what your state laws are. You can find many state forms online. For information on state home schooling laws see the link below.

Home School Legal Legal information on home schooling laws by state.

You will also want to consider which teaching method best suits your preferences and your child’s needs. You can do unit studies with everything revolving around a theme, like Egypt. You can also include your family’s religious beliefs as part of your child’s education. You can choose the teaching method which will help you teach your child effectively. You can find more information on home schooling and teaching methods at the link below.

Home Educate Good information on home schooling and the different teaching methods.

Choosing a good curriculum that doesn’t cost a small fortune is also important. Fortunately, there are many options to choose from and through the internet, you can investigate curriculum and online academies at your leisure. Some school districts actually contract with online academies to offer FREE home schooling. The connections academy is a free online program that is offered to the residents of the state of Minnesota. The K-12 academy is another such online organization that is offered through districts in Utah and Idaho. The K-12 academy provides textbooks, note pads, testing assessment, and lots of fun learning materials. And it’s all free of charge!

Another important aspect of home school curriculum is making sure that you have a support system. Many online academies offer back up teacher support for those times when a parent is struggling to teach a particular concept. Parental support groups are wonderful to share teaching ideas and information. See the links below to find a support group in your area.

Online Academies Your link for information on support groups and online academies available in each state .

Homeschooling Recommended for support groups available in each state.

Home schooling is successful largely because a parent cares and wants to be more directly involved in their child’s education. With home schooling you can have a positive impact on your child and help them shape a successful future.

HOMESCHOOLER WINS NATIONAL GEOGRAPHY BEE!!!!

Nathan Cornelius, a home schooled seventh grader from Cottonwood, Minn., won the 17th annual National Geographic Bee competition, with remarkable knowledge about cities, countries, rivers and places around the world. The competition started with five million students nationwide. For beating out all of them, Nathan received a $25,000 scholarship.

This question is being asked all over the country by more and more parents each year. The number of parents making the decision to home school is increasing by almost 15% each year. This states clearly that parents are seeking a better education than they experience with public schools or traditional teaching establishments. Many parents find that their child needs personal attention that traditional schools fail to provide.

In public schools, children are too often taught not to think. They are told what to do, how to do it, when to do it and why to do it. Textbooks and tests are determined by the requirements of the school system and the publishers. The program doesn’t encourage children to have confidence in solving their problems as adults.

By home schooling, you can teach your child to think for herself, to make her own decisions. Home schooling will be a valuable experience for both you and your child. You will not be alone. Support groups are springing up all over the country and you should be able to find one to fit your needs in your own area.

Home schooling is not a plan you will be locked into. If your situation changes and you decide not to home school, you can easily enter your child into public school or a private school.

Try these three useful home schooling resource websites:

Jon’s Home school Resource Page A private non-commercial resource of subject matter, and study guides

Home Education Magazine Continuing resource and networking support for your home school program.

Home School Central Covers most subjects and materials with many home school helpful links.