Handbook

Virtual Homeschool International is not free, but it is affordable. This handbook of Virtual Homeschool International should make using the school easier for you and your student. The Virtual Homeschool International was started by homeschooling parents just like you who felt the cost of homeschooling was just too high. We decided to make it more affordable. Virtual Homeschool International is our best effort towards making homeschooling accessible to parents who care.

HOW CAN WE DO THIS CHEAPLY?

We aren't a large corporation; we are a homeschool mom and dad who have PhDs in education. We were surprised when we first began homeschooling to find it was so expensive. So we set out to find a low-cost alternative. Because we could not find one, we created VHI.

There are several sources for the materials used in Virtual Homeschool International.

Internet web sites that have shown to be good examples or provide solid information for educators and students to use.
Sites offering free materials that have been organized by Virtual Homeschool International for use in the various grade tables.
Public sites such as Project Gutenberg, which are used by Virtual Homeschool International as library sites for readings and textbooks.
Lastly, Virtual Homeschool International site itself which has many digitized books not available elsewhere, and original worksheets and lesson books. These are available through the grade tables and through the Virtual Homeschool International vlibrary from each main grade table.

Who Are You?

We are a non-denominational entity. While some of the resources used are Christian, most have alternative choices, and no one groups' politics or religion is presented here. On the other hand, we do try to provide links that students and their parents might use to learn about other views and cultures. Dr. and Dr. Klein have nine adopted children, six of whom are still living at home and are being homeschooled with this curriculum.

How to use Virtual Homeschool International

Virtual Homeschool International is less complicated to use than you might think at first. We have kept the design simple so that it can be used on most computer systems and most browsers. You may notice some differences between other online homeschools and Virtual Homeschool International; some of the differences between schools may be related to simplicity.

We want Virtual Homeschool International to be simple for both you and your child to use. Books and documents have been provided by link so that there are no extra expenses beyond your Internet connection and your yearly enrollment fee. We even provide lined paper at each grade level.

Suggestions for using Virtual Homeschool International

Choosing a grade level to start your student. Start in the grade in which he or she last experienced success. You can adjust the grade level up or down once you find the level where your student is comfortable working. Allow about a week to try different levels until you find the child's comfort level. Most times there will be several text options per grade to choose from. Look through the texts and choose the one you feel meets the needs of your student. More text options will be added as time goes on.

Once you have located the grade you'd like you child to use for each subject area, print out the goals for that subject and grade level from the subject goals link in the tool bar at the top of each grade table. These will serve as your record of what you and your student covered this school year. Next, make a copy of the weekly schedule. Both completed and blank schedules are provided for your convenience. Then plan your week. Feel free to make changes to the schedules that suit both you and your student.

Keep your weekly schedule handy as a record of books and pages covered each day. With this record you can choose either to print out books and documents from sites, or keep track of pages covered online and then return to them the next class session.

AOL Browser issues

AOL users may need to use another browser such as Internet Explorer, Netscape, or Firefox to navigate passed the login and password protected portions of the school. AOL has instituted some features that cause difficulty for our login procedures. Unfortunately we can not correct this problem from our site. You can use different browsers with the AOL service and this does seem to correct the login problem. We recommend doing so if you are having problems with logins.

A choice and comparison of browsers

Printing Materials 4

There are three options for using online texts:

Print out the book or text from the linked source.
Print out each day's lessons from the linked sources.
Don't print out text sources and have the student read them online. Keep careful records of the location and lessons covered so that you can return later to complete lessons.

When printing out books there are several suggestions. 1. Think about using a three ring binder to keep reading materials in. This is much simpler than any other method of binding. 2. Use staples. Most staplers can handle about 25 pages, tops, unless you use an industrial device, which can be expensive. 3. Take printed pages to a copy center and ask them to staple, comb bind, or to punch holes in materials for the three ring binder. 4. You can go to the Bookbinding page on the site and follow the directions there.

Our advice is to let the site host the book or document and print out only what you need, when you need it. The big upside of using this method is that will not have to store the texts and books.

Some books have been digitized as two pages per sheet books. These books can be used either by cutting each page in two, or by hole punching the long side and using a three ring binder to read two pages at a time by turning the binder clockwise. These two pages per sheet books can be read on Acrobat reader by rotating the pager clockwise from the tool bar at the top of the Acrobat page. Some of these books appear to have light print. You can make the print easier to see either by using the plus sign at the top of the Acrobat page to increase the text size, or you can print the page. Printing seems to darken the text. Our most favorite way to print these books is not to. Just leave the book online and print out only what you need. Keep records of the pages you have covered. Math books may be one example of when you might want to print out each days work a day at a time. Math books with answer keys will have the keys at the end of each section. Print these pages and keep them to check your student's work.

Note* When printing PDF files, choose the “fit to page” option in your printer menu if you wish to print small sized books as 8.5 x 11 inch documents. These are easier to read and to bind.

Do keep your weekly schedules and subject goals in a three ring binder. A 2-inch binder should do nicely for each student per year.

Books that should be printed:

Nature study/Science notebooks and New Word Dictionaries: We made these books so that they can be easily stapled into small pamphlets.
Sections of texts and subjects you wish to use offline such as art courses, or worksheets and math lessons that are best completed off line.

Navigation : Navigation within grades is from the main table and from the subjects listed. Navigation between grades from any subject is from the left and right arrow at the top of

the table page next to the grade table number. The vKitchen table is available from the

vKitchen link on the navigation table at the top of each page.

There are other links within the navigation table. These are to provide the student, and educator with resources necessary for a quality education.

Menu Bar

Resources listed on the course room menu bar are at the grade level of the student. The TCOS is a the Typical Course of Studies for each grade level, telling you what the student needs to know by the end of each school year.

The weekly schedule and subject area goals can be printed from each subject page in the grade level.

The bookshelf links to a library of books at the student's current grade level for free- reading and pleasure-reading. Lower grades have read-aloud-books available from these links.

Click through these resources and get a feel for what Virtual Homeschool International has to offer as resources.

Virtual Homeschool International vLibrary

The Virtual Homeschool International library has over 1000 books and text links. These are linked from within the grade and subject levels as assignments, and are also available from the Library link at the bottom of the page. Books in the Library are listed by "subject", "title", and by "author." For example, clicking the "author" link at the top of a library page will bring up the "authors" on that page listed by name.

Subjects can be listed by clicking on the subject area at the top of the library page.

Choose Your Own Interest Day

Choose your interest day is a suggestion to let the student decide what to study in depth. The student may choose the same subject for several weeks if the subject is then studied at a deeper level each session. Worksheet reports are provided at each level for reporting "choose your own interest" topics and information.

Time: We cannot tell you how much time a day your child must spend on his or her schoolwork. Our children spend from one to three hours a day during the school year, and 30 minutes to one hour during the summer. Some children will be done faster, and some will take longer. Some will need bribes and conditions. Others will just do it because it is who they are. They are much like people that way.

Your local district authorities:

Virtual Homeschool International is a curriculum with guidelines and suggestions. Most states allow a good deal of freedom in homeschooling. Others require a plan of study. The goals page for each subject will fulfill the requirements of providing a plan of study for most states.

Homeschool legal requirements for states vary. You should consult the rules for your state at http://www.youcanhomeschool.org/starthere/info.asp and submit the proper forms for your district. Homeschoolers outside of the USA will need to consult their local regulations. We are neither a state public school, nor a private school, but a vHomeschool. We will provide a statement of enrollment to you for your children upon request, but it is up to you to maintain the provided attendance records.

The Texts We Use

Most of the texts we use are antiques. We use these texts for a few good reasons.

These texts are in the public domain and so can be digitized by us and used at a lower cost.
In the years between 1800-1900, schools were often taught by teachers with little or no education in teaching. There are many helps and hints in these texts that are perfect for homeschoolers.
The texts have stood the test of time and are regarded as excellent examples of how a subject should be taught. Your grandparents' generation may have used the same texts and would have gotten an excellent education because of them.
Public education has taken a nosedive in the last 40-50 years. Tests scores are lower and the average level of achievement has fallen. Text books written after this time may reflect these downward trends and be unsuitable for homeschool purposes.
We can make these texts available to homeschool families for a fraction of what current texts are now selling for, even though most of the content is the same.
Using this curriculum allows the student or educator to make instant changes in curriculum to suit the needs of the student. No time is lost due to mailings or price changes, and there are no extra charges.
By using curricula that has been the standard in the past; we can offer a wider range of excellent curricula to a broader range of students. We can offer basic courses to those who need more time to master skills and the ability to move more quickly to other students. We can offer the ability to move at the student's pace, while preparing the student who is college bound.

This is the same curriculum we use with our own children. We don't think you should settle for anything less.

Attendance sheets

There are two kinds, the printed one that serves as your records, and the xls attendance sheet that you can keep with your grade book.

The printed attendance sheet doesn't have the days of the week marked on it because many homeschoolers like to include weekend activities in their homeschool records, for this reason, there are 31 calendar days represented for each month, and the educator can fill in M T W Th F or the calendar date.

The Report Card is yours to fill out as well. The grade record is located on the Educator's Resources page at: http://www.vhomeschool.com/help/eduresources.htm

There is also an xls Report card located at: http://www.vhomeschool/records/forms/SPsheets.htm

We provide curriculum for the educator to use with the student, or for the student to use, however, record keeping is the educator's (parent's) responsibility. As the student's primary instructor, it is up to the educator to assign a grade for each course and this can be rather subjective.

Racially or Culturally Offensive Materials

Some of our resources are very old classical curriculum, many in the original version; some of these resources might be racially or culturally offensive, such as Black Beauty which has the word, "nigger" in its text. Some portray cultures in a derisive manor. These are antiquated and historical views that are not endorsed by Virtual Homeschool International, but the resources are provided as an example of World and American history. We have tried to avoid such materials; however, sometimes it is just an example of the history of our culture. It's there. We warn patents and students about this material as we become aware of the problem. Feel free to leave any portion of the curriculum out of your child's experience if you feel it is offensive. Blatant examples such as "little Black Sambo," are not part of our curriculum. If you come across material that is offensive to you outside of its historical relevance, let us know and we will look into removing it. dr.e.klein@vhomeschool.com

Student Independence

Encourage your student to take responsibility for their instruction and education as early as you see he or she is able. This is a life long skill that will put him or her ahead of peers.

New links and resources are added daily.

Reporting a broken or bad link

Please use the report a broken link link found on most pages and all classroom homepages.

A Typical Homeschool Day

What Homeschool looks like at the site of VHI. This article tells the reader how Dr. Klein and her family use their homeschool day. A Typical Homeschool Day.

Contacting Us

Email: dr.e.klein@vhomeschool
PHONE: (319) 354-9465 (children may answer)
MAIL: 1466 Walker Way Coralville , IA 52241

TELL YOUR FRIENDS and help us spread the low cost alternative word. Tell them you have found the perfect answer to low-cost quality homeschool education!

Yahoo virtual_homeschool group:

This group is for Virtual Homeschool International users (only) and is a great place to ask questuions and stay informed about what is happening with the school. You can find homeschooling support in this group as well.

The Scope of the school

The school covers preschool to 12th grade. We have been careful to make the curricula close to what the public schools are teaching at each grade level. You can move at your own speed and more quickly if you choose. Because all of our curricula are online, you will not have to pay extra fees for your child to change grade levels in any subject. Your only obligation is to keep records of the changes you and your child make. There is no fee for summer homeschool either. Simply choose what you wish to cover over the summer, and go for it.

The Future

Our plans are to keep expanding the school, to offer more resources, and to keep the cost of homeschooling low. Virtual Homeschool International has over 125 students from all over the world... join us.

Thank you and good luck with homeschooling,

Dr. Elizabeth Klein, Dir.
1466 Walker Way
Coralville , Iowa 52241
(319) 354-9465

Virtual Homeschool International Terms of Use

All users of this site should read the fololwing terms of use even if they use only the public areas of the site. By using this site and /or paying the family enrollment or vlibrary fees you are agreeing to the following terms of use:

The Family enrollment fee is $15.00 USA for an entire family for the duration of one calendar year.
No portion of this site may be used in an effort to make the user money.
Copies of any portion of the site must be for personal use only unless a corporate membership has been secured.
If you wish to share site information with a friend, please give them the site address: www.vhomeschool.com.
Because the purpose of this site is to make homeschooling accessible and affordable to all who use it, you agree to respect our purpose and contribute to VHI library or enrollment fees.
You agree to respond to the welcome letter sent to your registration email address with the ages and anticipated grade levels of the students you wish to enroll in VHI or for whom you will be accessing the vLibrary.
The user understands that many links in the site are to outside web resources. When appropriate outside resources were not available, considerable effort has gone into creating appropriate resources.
It should be further understood that the VHI curricula are based primarily on the classical curriculum with eclectic elements. For this reason, and to keep enrollment fees low, most of the VHI curricula will be based upon educational excellence from historical sources.
Resources on the VHI site that have either the MEIHA, vHomeschool, or the VHI name or logo on them belong to the VHI program and may not be distributed beyond the user's family without prior written permission.
The user agrees to contact VHI if there are any questions that the user needs answered and the vhandbook and the FAQ do not answer these questions. Contact Us
Please note that the mybigfamily.org site will be phased out and moved to the vhomeschool.com site. However, you will not notice any change in Virtual Homeschool International service. You may notice some files have an address with vhomeschool.net instead of vhomeschool.com, this is just another area of our site, and not a different company or a mispelling.
The user understands that it is the responsibility of the family (parent or student) to keep homeschool records and communicate with their local school authorities (forms are available through VHI).
Schools and other organizations wishing to use VHI resources and site must contact VHI about obtaining a corporate membership. Corporate rate quotes are available upon inquiry.
Logins and Passwords should not be shared with persons outside of the enrolling family, and doing so is cause for dis-enrollment without a refund of enrollment fees. If you want to share your VHI experience please give our web address instead.
Use of Virtual Homeschool International site outside of the classroom area is also an agreement to these terms of use, even if you choose not to enroll.
If you have read, understood, and agree to the terms of use for VHI, please continue to the enrollment options page.

Enrollment

Please contact us if any portion of the site is inaccessible to you or your child, and we will try to correct the problem.

Dr. Elizabeth Klein
1466 Walker Way Coralville, Iowa 52241

Phone Hours:
10:00 am-5:00 pm Mon-Sat
Central Time Zone
(319) 354-9465

*Note: Children may answer

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