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Lauren Martin's picture

Top 5 Signs that You Have an Advanced Learner

Submitted by on Mon, 05/13/2013 - 10:37am

Gifted students may find it difficult to be challenged in a brick-and-mortar school. These advanced learners often benefit from the ability to take more advanced courses in specific subjects. This flexibility allows them to reach their full potential and learn at their own accelerated pace.

But how do you know if a child is an advanced learner?

Children can often be filled with an endless stream of “why is the sky blue” type questions. But if a child is regularly inquisitive, it might be an indication that he or she could learn at a more advanced pace in their areas of interest. And if children ask those questions with a sophisticated vocabulary, they may also be advanced learners.

Early reading skills can also be the sign of a gifted child. If children show an interest in books and become independent readers, they may benefit from being challenged. Another indication is if they retain the details of what they read in a book or heard on TV with great accuracy.

In addition to taking advanced courses, students can take part in clubs and enrichment activities that feed their interest in particular areas, such as in-person sessions about dinosaurs or talking to professionals about a math career.

Whatever their interests and aptitude, many students can benefit from advanced learning programs. To help you identify if advanced courses would be a good fit for their child, review this list: 

Gifted Learners at K12

shoaglund's picture

Agora Teacher is the 2013 national winner of the American Pioneer of Teaching Award

Submitted by on Thu, 05/09/2013 - 3:30pm

Agora Cyber Charter School (Agora) music teacher Andrew Rinaldi has been named the 2013 national winner of the American Pioneer of Teaching competition. The award is given annually by PublicSchoolOptions.org, a national alliance of parents, students and teachers that supports and defends parents' rights to access the best public school options for their children.

AGORA Teacher: Andrew Rinaldi

The American Pioneer of Teaching competition recognizes top performing K-12 teachers who work in nontraditional public schools, such as virtual, charter and magnet schools. Thousands of students, parents and teachers from across the country cast online votes through Facebook to determine the winner of the award, which is held each year in honor of National Teacher Appreciation Week.

Ashley MacQuarrie's picture

8 Tips for Taking Better Pictures with Your Phone

Submitted by on Wed, 05/01/2013 - 10:29am

The mobile photography explosion has revolutionized the way we capture the important (and not so important) events in our lives. Smartphone owners (and a great many “dumb phone” users too) now carry cameras with them everywhere they go, cameras with the ability to share photos with the world in an instant.

As a result, people today take many more pictures than we used to. We take photos of ourselves, our kids, and the big and small events in our day, right down to what we ate for lunch.

While camera phone technology is continually improving, these devices do have their limitations. Still, the best camera is the one you have with you. An iPhone is better than a Canon DSLR when the Canon is at home in a bag!

Deanna Glick's picture

How to Make That Leap to High School Successful

Submitted by on Thu, 04/11/2013 - 9:17am

Students ready to embark on their online high school experience have both exciting opportunities and new challenges to look forward to.

High school means higher level courses, more teachers, more independence and more responsibility for coursework. It’s also a time when parents’ roles change from direct academic involvement to providing moral support and advice. The most successful students develop strong relationships with dedicated teachers for each subject, as well as advisors and counselors, said Patricia Gagnon, vice president of K12’s high schools.

High School

shoaglund's picture

Nominate a teacher for the 2013 American Pioneer of Teaching Award

Submitted by on Tue, 04/02/2013 - 1:02pm

2013 American Pioneer of Teaching Award Nominations 

When I think of the qualities that define a successful teacher, the words engaging and passionate are definitely top of my list when it comes to what will help my kiddos learn and thrive. But, just like every child is different and has different needs, the qualities of a successful teacher may differ depending on who you ask and the situation. 

Dana Pool's picture

Help Your Children through Their Testing Anxiety

Submitted by on Mon, 01/07/2013 - 8:03am

Help Your Children through Their Testing Anxiety

Student Taking A Test

When I was in school I always wished there was a way that I could be rid of my anxiety of taking tests; sweaty palms, nausea, dry mouth, and sometimes even fainting. Unfortunately, teachers thought testing anxiety was just an excuse kids used to get out of taking tests or giving presentations, leaving me in the hopeless position that I did not do well in school when it came to any type of test.

ebuffington's picture

The Parent Teacher Connection

Submitted by on Mon, 12/10/2012 - 7:15am

Can You Taste The Difference?

Making Cookies

While studying Elementary Education I was told by professors about how important it is to enlist the parents in the education process.  In my experience working in different school districts and in the online environment,  I have seen that active and involved parents will greatly improve student academic success, appropriate behavior, self-esteem and college enrollment.

If it is so obvious that parent involvement is a key to student success why are schools not capitalizing on this great resource?  Since the time I have been working in the online environment,  I have seen many wonderful success stories of students and without fail,  I have been speaking with and developing a strong relationship with parents.

Priscilla Quaye's picture

How to Inspire Your Kids to Give Back this Holiday Season

Submitted by on Mon, 12/03/2012 - 11:25am

Lists of presents filling the page front to back, hundreds of dollars spent on gifts, a warm holiday dinner, presents too plentiful to fit under the tree – these are occurrences that the average American family may be accustomed to during the holiday season.  In the midst of it all, we often forget about the millions of families to which these blessings are not guaranteed. How can we teach our kids about the importance and relevance of giving back and the countless ways to do so this holiday season?

OKVA Student Giving Back
OKVA student delivering 1095 holiday cards to the local Red Cross to send to the troops.

The Importance of Giving Back

  1. Explain to your children that not every family has the luxury of purchasing and receiving gifts or having a warm meal during the holiday season. A great way to convey the importance of holiday giving to younger kids is with books such as The Berenstain Bears and the Joy of Giving by Jan and Michael Berenstain, and Angel Pig and the Hidden Christmas by Jan Waldron and David McPhail.
shoaglund's picture

Where In the World Do You Learn?

Submitted by on Thu, 11/29/2012 - 9:02am

Online Learning: Outside of the Box Classrooms

Submit your own photo for our "Where In the World Do You Learn" photo contest! Join in the fun on our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/k12inc

One of the many reasons families choose online schooling for their kids is the ability to learn outside of a classroom setting. If it's a beautiful day, the kiddos can head outside and read a book up in a tree or at a local park. On rainy days, the whole family can head to a museum to learn about art history.  Online schooling allows them the opportunity to learn outside of the box that a traditional classroom setting can sometimes feel like. 

shoaglund's picture

Developing An Attitude of Gratitude

Submitted by on Wed, 11/21/2012 - 9:07am

Teaching our Kids to be Thankful

Thanksgiving at my home is a time for my family to consciously recognize all the great things going on in our lives. Too often, people find themselves caught up spending way too much time and energy focusing on the misfortunes and things we think we ought to have. 

Sometimes I forget that my kids are always on alert --watching and learning. Has this ever happened to you? You and your spouse or friend are in your kitchen after having a bad day, and you start to complain about a certain situation and you glance over and noticed your little kiddo has been listening.  When this happens to me, I find myself analyzing the situation in my head and putting perspective around the situation so I can explain it in simple terms to them. And then I realize it really is about perspective -- someone always has it worse and often times, the stuff I was complaining about really wasn't even worth the energy! 

So, how do we teach our kids to be thankful for all they have?

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