lbeverage's blog

K¹² is a top-notch, wonderful curriculum.

Virtual academies have talented, passionate teachers and fabulous services.

Online learning has given me the ability to provide an individualized education for my kids.

Our kids have received a world-class education.

All of the above statements are true. I mean every word --  and I’m not saying any of it because I work for K¹².

For a moment, consider me your flight attendant.

“In an emergency, an oxygen mask will pop down in front of you. If you’re travelling with a child, secure your own mask first, before assisting those around you.”

Every Learning Coach needs to take this advice. You can’t help your students if you don’t take care of yourself first, right? But how?

K¹² isn’t shipping you any oxygen masks, so there is no need to dig into those boxes to see what you missed. (And don’t worry; UPS won’t be pulling up with MORE boxes!)

Back-to-School shopping has not really changed as technology has improved by miles.  No changes except for two things: glue and calculators.  Does anyone still use Elmer’s White Glue in the squeeze bottle with the orange tip? It doesn’t have to be a drippy mess anymore, right? Glue sticks have saved my sanity for years! And the calculators come just short of doing your dishes for you, right? They do all kinds of things beyond adding and subtracting.

In our latest K¹²xPotential magazine, we shared some information about what’s new for the upcoming school year, including new opportunities for parents to connect. Many of these programs can’t reach their full potential without the help of experienced K¹² parents.

Many first-year Learning Coaches benefit greatly when they are able to connect with other parents that have "been there, done that". With that in mind, we created Mentor Circles, an online weekly gathering where first-year and experienced learning coaches can create friendships and find wonderful support networks.

For all of you veteran Learning Coaches, take a minute and recall the tremendous challenges you faced during your first year as a Learning Coach, especially during those first few weeks.  Now, think about how valuable it would have been to be able to reach out to an experienced Learning Coach for advice and support whenever you needed it?   I bet you would have experienced less frustration and stress as you learned how to incorporate online education into your family’s life. Our Mentor Circles provide an opportunity to offer support and guidance to newer Learning Coaches.

As my children have gotten older, the physical distance between us has grown as they have grown and matured. Children start off in your arms, then they play on the floor at your feet, across the room on shaky legs, running across the yard, soon down the street on their bike. Eventually they go away for the weekend at a friend’s house, across the city on the train for a part-time job, are absent for some weeks in another state at camp or on mission, living away for a season at college…and then finally they go off on their own to live the lives we’ve helped them launch upon.

I’ve always heard references to a mother’s heartstrings which supposedly tie our hearts to the hearts of our children. The way I have begun to feel about this is perhaps less poetic. I don’t think it’s a heartstring, but rather a heartelastic. Imagine those really stiff elastics (or rubber bands) that don’t have much give and are hard to stretch out.  We start off like that as new parents.

They never gave ANY of us a manual for this, did they? Do you remember having your first child and feeling that no matter how many siblings you had, how much babysitting you did, or how many nieces and nephews you watched, you were still in the dark about this whole parenting thing?

That first night of having your first (only? 4th?) child at home, remember needing to get up twice (3? 5? More?) times just to check and see if the little one was still breathing? Remember calling someone (your mom, a sister, a friend, the pediatrician) to ask the question, “Is this (a certain noise, a sleeping pattern-or lack of it-, a diaper’s content, developmental milestone) normal?  Is this ok?”

Over the years with K¹², the one question that I’ve heard most often from families has been, “How does K¹² work if you’re Christian/Muslim/Catholic/Jewish? (Or another faith.) Will this curriculum hinder my sharing our family’s faith and values?” What I’ve found is that more than any other curriculum and school possibility, K¹² has allowed us, as families, to share our beliefs and faith with our children while using a thorough, secular curriculum.