MPOA for 6th grader

[teachermom]

I am interested in hearing how many classes those of you that use MPOA in middle school have your child take at one time and what your experiences have been.

My 10 yo dd is in 5th grade currently and is enrolled in her first two online classes this year. It has been a complete success. Nothing but positive. We are hoping to add more next year. I really think just about every subject would be more interesting to her in the online format so I am trying to figure out exactly how many would be right for her. Basically, everything looks great so I have to decide just what the right number is. She is my youngest (two off at college and the 11th grader will be doing dual enrollment, driving himself, etc.) so she really gets all my attention. We have no co-op or outside enrichment activities that eat into our days. We pretty much have all day each weekday blocked off for school and I will be very hands on supporting her and helping her stay on track and get assignments turned in.

On one hand, I feel like she could easily take five classes and really enjoy having those breaks in day from doing all our regular work just the two of us. On the other hand, putting an 11 yo in five online sounds crazy when I say it.

I understand all students and families are different but I'd love to hear some experiences regarding how many MPOA classes you enrolled your sixth grader in and how that played out for you.

Mr.Piland- I am also interested in hearing from you if you have students take almost all of their classes online successfully at a young age. In theory, I don't see why it wouldn't work for her, but I just haven't really ever considered that heavy of an online load for an 11 year old.

Thank you!

[teachermom]

Thank you both!

I really think my dd will be fine. She gets a little lonely as the only one left at home but we don't really have access to a homeschool community so the break in the day to connect to other students and teachers seems to work well for her and she is an eager learner. It's just that if anyone else told me they were thinking of putting their 11 yo in so many classes I would probably urge them to really think hard about it

[spiland]

Hello!

Hope you're doing well today! Glad to hear about your experience with MPOA - very encouraging! All of the information you've provided is really helpful. Two of the crucial questions are extra-curricular activities and how the student is already doing in online classes. We have more and more students taking additional classes, but it really does depend on the student. You might add an additional class or two if you think she can handle it. I'd be happy to chat with you about this on the telephone as well if there are additional things that would help.

Thank you!

Scott Piland
Director
Memoria Press Online Academy
onlineacademy@memoriapress.com
(877) 745-8866

[jenniferjb]

My oldest took 4 online classes in 6th grade, and my youngest will take 4 next year as a 6th grader. I think it does largely depend on the child. If she is motivated and excited to do them, I see no reason why not. My youngest loves her online classes, and she is the one pushing for more. She is motivated by someone other than me telling her she needs to get something done. My oldest really enjoys her online classes, but she takes many because she is a procrastinator and needs the deadlines. Unfortunately with her, online classes with real deadlines means classes that are not online fall to the wayside. This is not an issue with online classes - it's her self inflicted issue. Each year that she fails to keep up in a course at home, she takes that course online the following year.