New to Schooling at Home...

If I were you, I'd take them all out of school now. What good is there for them to be IN school when there are health issues and bullying?

You may need to "unschool" for a while. Don't sweat it! Take a few days off and do something fun. Go to a museum. Go to an indoor trampoline place. Let them sit around at home in their PJs. Let them build couch cushion forts. Let them blow of steam and be KIDS.

We homeschool, and I was all freaked out in the beginning. Now we are MUCH more relaxed. It'll be fine for you too.

I'd start them all at the same time, so wait for your others to be approved and get all your school supplies. In the meantime you can do light schoolwork. Have them get some books out of the library or watch some educational TV. Have them play some educational games. We love Always Ice Cream for girls, and there's Clever Dragons for boys. PM me if you want a free one month membership. My daughter LOVES that site, and taught herself all 50 states and capitals and she learned how to type.

It's okay, you don't have to be on a set curriculum or schedule right now. The important thing is you let your kids de-stress from school--and you too! You can do this!

They might have to do a few more days into the summer. Who cares? It'll be fine. Just enjoy your time with them now--it won't come again.

First take a deep breath. It is overwhelming at first but trust me it gets easier. And so far the teachers and tech support have been awesome. You appear to have at least one computer at home. You can start the child who has been accepted on the online start up lessons. You as the learning coach have them too. They are just lessons on how to get acquainted with the system. The more of these you complete the more your core classes will be unlocked to start. Support will walk you through everything. They may not even be up yet if she was just approved. Call and find out and ease into it. They are there for you. This is our first year too. 4th, and 7th graders. They love it! We left for different reasons but don't ever plan on going back to public school. Just remember to breath....your not expected to get it perfect right off the bat. This is a learning experience for you too. And there are parent support groups too! Good luck! (we are OHVA too NE area.)

We did something similar last year, in Georgia. My kids were 5th and 8th grades at the time, and we started at the beginning of the year, not mid-year. From what we experienced, and from talking to other families that also did it, it is quite typical for there to be some delays/glitches in the beginning. And it was extremely stressful for me. I was so worried I was going to mess something up or get behind if I didn't stay totally on top of every single detail. Yet, there was little I could actually DO to speed up anything.

Eventually, it all worked itself out and went fine. Once you do get the materials, there is a learning curve regarding how you plan out your day and how your kids get through their lessons in the most effective way. My kids were so far a part that we could not combine any lessons. 8th grader was pretty independent (except I helped him with the math and science), but the 5th grader needed some very specific time with me to complete her lessons. Most of it, she breezed right through... but for she can't very well teach herself spelling ---somebody has to call out the words. And somebody has to check her vocabulary responses, read her sentences, whatever. And for the grammar, it had to actually be TAUGHT. There were workbooks, yes. But the teaching of it fell to me. The online/live classes mostly addressed writing skills (for the 5th grade writing test all the kids have to pass as a GA standard) and Literature discussions. And they learned a lot of grammar (this was the year for all the past-participles, etc).

Normally, once you have one child approved, you will get the others... there may just be a short delay. But, once you are in, you work at your own pace, and all the live sessions are recorded so you can pull them up and watch them later (to catch up) if you need to.
But, we are not in OH, so it may be different there. Just try not to stress yourself out too much.

We are enrolled in MNVA and I absolutely love it. I have done K through 2nd grade so far.

Are you doing the K12 curriculum with them? If so, I can probably answer all of your specific questions as all the K12 schools are essentially the same. I would love to help, but I'm not sure what you are asking for.

Your students with IEPs should also be approved; I know several students in MNVA personally who have IEPs.

As far as getting the supplies, as soon as they are approved they will ship them to you. They come UPS, and I would imagine you'd have them very soon...it only takes a few days.

Please pm me with any questions!!

I would highly recommend deschooling until the fall.

it's always overwhelming when you begin.
the best thing you can do for yourself and your kids is to take a deep breath, and step away from the curricula. even if only briefly.
your kids will almost certainly need some time to de-school. it's hard to predict how long that will take, but expecting them to jump right into a new routine at home is too much to ask.
and cut yourself some slack too. i know that using K12 is very tempting for new homeschoolers who need help structuring their days and their syllabi. but i cannot tell you how many wannabe homeschoolers i've seen start out with school-at-home, and end up sending their kids back to school because they got overwhelmed with the pressure.
don't be that homeschooler!
remember, the K12 is YOUR tool, you are not its slave. don't allow it to dictate to you.
let your kids breathe for a bit. leaving the school routine is disruptive for everyone. allow yourself to get to know your kids in a whole new way, which includes becoming familiar with their learning styles and patterns. take this time and let your kids run a little wild, and get a little bored. boredom is an excellent learning incentive.
i did a combination of unschooling and having certain guidelines that i set up myself. my kids sometimes worked relentlessly at tasks and projects for days straight, and sometimes noodled around for what seemed like forever (at which point i'd get antsy and yell DO A WORKSHEET, FOR THE LOVE OF PETE!!!)
no matter what you start off doing, be understanding and flexible enough with yourself and your kids to know that it will morph and change and grow, and almost certainly improve.
i know what you're going through. i went through periods of abject terror when i homeschooled my kids, especially early on. now that one has graduated college and the other is a junior, i can look at all the dean's list and honor roll and phi theta kappa stuff and preen- but then i remind myself that my only real contributions were to take them lots and lots of places, to give them as wide a variety of experiences as i could, and to stay out of their way.
good luck, mama!
khairete
S.

Take several deep breaths and a long brisk walk. No need to let this upset you so. Eventually it will all work out. This is not a crucial step. Breathe, relax! Say over and over to yourself, "this will work out fine." Stop yourself when you start to agitate yourself.

I doubt that it matters whether or not you send the other two to school. It won't hurt for them to miss a few days. Everyone will allow you a transition period.

Have you looked on line to see what the site says? Perhaps you don't have a password yet which would allow you to get on the official school site. Remember no one expects you to know how to do this. The on-line school will walk you thru the process, just as Michelle G. says.