Let’s debunk some myths about homeschooling with Abeka Academy!

Myth: If you’re using Abeka Academy video lessons, you’re not involved with your child’s education.

Abeka’s video lessons and Master Teachers assist with teaching, but they don’t do the homeschooling for you. We have a tight age stack with our kids, so we utilize the classroom pre-recorded lessons to keep multiple kids on track at once. That way, I can hop between the kids and work with each child one-on-one. This ensures each child continues making progress during the school day, even when I’m working with one of their siblings. Within Abeka Academy’s structure, you’re still monitoring tests, reviewing worksheets, answering questions and listening to them read! Think of it as homeschooling with a co-teacher there to help.

Myth: They spend their whole day in front of a screen.

Elementary school lessons range from 20 to 40 minutes a day, per subject. That adds up to about 2.5 hours of video instruction. Beyond that, we work one-on-one, discuss what each child is learning, do worksheets and read together. If we start our day at 8 a.m., we are done by 1 p.m. every day! That leaves A LOT of time to play!

Myth: Streaming lessons define your schedule.

All lessons are pre-recorded. You decide your start time, break times and holidays! Each Abeka Academy student is assigned a dashboard where lessons are organized by subject and lesson number. You can pick your rhythm for the day and the order of lessons!

Myth: All kids are restricted to the same learning pace.

Some kids can move through some lessons quickly, and some will need more time on certain lessons. That’s normal. If you have more than one student enrolled, you will likely witness this firsthand! The nice thing about using Abeka Academy at home is that you can move at each student’s pace. The lessons are pre-recorded, so if your children are gliding through them, keep moving! If they need more time on a concept, pause or rewind and make sure that the foundation is solid.

Myth: You have less flexibility when you opt for Abeka Academy.

You make the schedule! If your child functions best with a later start each day, do that. If your family needs more small breaks throughout the year rather than long summer breaks, do that. Four-day weeks? Why not! Each school year has about 170 classroom recordings per subject, and you have 12 months to complete the grade level. It’s up to you how you place and space it!

Myth: You still have to follow a local school calendar.

You can follow the local school schedule; or set a different schedule so your family’s vacations, travel and field trips fall during periods where destinations are less crowded and expensive. You can even do school year-round if that works best for your family! As a military family, we relocate often. So, the ability to shift our school year to a year-round approach to account for moving, travel time and house hunting is invaluable.

Myth: It’s hard to keep kids sitting through the lessons.

Hit pause! Schedule a recess time. Set snack break times. Let them stand to watch! Give them something to do with their hands while they listen.

Myth: It has too much busy work.

Does it? Then trim it up! If your child has mastered something, move along. If they need extra practice, you’ve got the work on hand and ready to go!

Myth: The curriculum is too hard.

If something doesn’t make sense the first time, pause and rewind a lesson. If it’s still not making sense, they can ask their onsite teacher (you!). When you purchase Abeka Academy, parent books are included. You can easily flip to that lesson to see the process, and work together to find the answers!

Myth: Homeschooling requires too much preparation.

With Abeka Academy, I rarely review lessons before the day starts. Everything is pre-planned and ready to go. Click the lesson and start!

Myth: You have to choose accredited.

Accredited can help outline a schedule, if the structure would benefit your family. It’s also something your state may require. Every state is different. Unaccredited offers the same video lessons, workbooks and tests, without official report cards and transcripts.

Myth: When homeschooling, you must turn in all school work.

If you opt for unaccredited, you don’t turn anything in! If you opt for accredited, you only mail in specific pieces to Abeka— like tests — for review. This option is available to validate that you and your child are on the right track!