eStreams, our BC Distributed Learning Program (DL)

eStreams isn’t a curriculum. It’s a unique approach that meets you in your learning season, in your setting, and supports you in a direct, uncluttered manner toward your family’s spiritual and educational goals. This vibrant DL option provides BC residents with a funded, fully accredited, K-12 learning experience at no cost to the learner.

How can we do this when we, as an independent school, get only 50% of the funding made available to public schools and public DL's? It has to do with our staff and our commitment to making a Scripture-founded education possible for those families in BC who desire it. At CHeS you not only have access to an education that meets the Provincial requirements, you have access to an enriched education that surpasses Provincial requirements. While government funding to CHeS provides educational choices that meet the Ministry requirements, our staff donate a great deal of their time and expertise in order to free up additional funds making it possible for you to include faith-based resources as part of your educational choice. Our staff is committed to working for less in order to provide you with more.

How eStreams works

Note that while some eStreams refer to specific content or specific curriculum types, others identify approaches - the way the content or curriculum is scheduled, processed, or otherwise used.

Through workshops, one-on-one interaction with your teacher, and/or online options, CHeS provides the level of assistance you need to:

  • clarify your educational goals, interests, and preferences
  • identify the learning needs and learning preferences of each student
  • understand your own parental teaching preferences
  • select assessment options that are a match for your family
  • become familiar with several innovative homelearning methods
  • develop an understanding of curriculum styles and how they relate to your family needs and preferences
  • discover how to utilize the many CHeS-exclusive learning options in a way that benefits your family
  • select curriculum or learning options that match your identified educational needs and preferences
  • set goals and make long-range plans

Next, you and your teacher will collaborate, and using the information you have identified above, create a personalized learning plan that:

  • addresses your goals and expectations (within the parameters of the DL program)
  • is structured around your preferred learning materials and assessment options
  • fulfills Ministry requirements for content and assessment (we can be quite creative and innovative)

CHeS supports you in reaching your educational goals by:

  • providing the curriculum components and learning options identified in your learning plan
  • ensuring that Ministry requirements regarding subject content, assessment, reporting, and graduation requirements are met
  • budgetting up to $600 for third party and consumable items and other funds for reusable items
  • maintaining a high level of efficient communication between you and school personnel
  • furnishing teacher support that is empathetic toward your educational goals and as creative and flexible as possible within the parameters set by the Ministry of Education DL Requirements

A Sampling of Favorite eStreams

What you see below is just a smattering of the many eStreams options available. Once CHeS students log in they will have access to a vast array of resources that further describe the many e-Stream options. (see also "how it works" above)

Eclectic
Families using the Eclectic approach tend to select the best from a variety of approaches and combine them to form their very own, unique program.

Themed Studies
Themed studies encompass a wide range of approaches. No matter the approach, themed studies generally practice the skills of several subject areas within a selected topic in such a way that learning is dramatically streamlined. Themed studies are best at handling topics related to history, science, art, and music. Though they are a good place to practice Math skills, themed studies don't easily lend themselves to teaching the entire gamut of anything but early Primary Math skills. Themed studies may sound intimidating at first, but once understood, they are a haven for many homelearning families.

Themed studies come in a wide variety of formats ranging from those that are totally prepared, to those that are option-based or completely self-designed. You may be familiar with some of the prepared curriculum such as Come Sit By Me, Tapestry of Grace, and Five in a Row.

One common option-based format is the cycled approach apparent in Christian Classical or History-based programs. This approach defines a series of topic areas to be studied over a span of several years. A family selecting this approach selects and studies a topic each year, cycling through the entire list of topics until all have been covered. This approach easily adapts to meeting the broad topic-requirements set by the Ministry of Education for the DL program.

Family Grouping
Family grouping at CHeS involves more than assigning a single teacher to all the students in one family. At CHeS family grouping is a one-of-a-kind approach that allows whole family groups to study today’s topics using the multi-grade strategies of an old-fashioned one-room school. Using this approach, all the students in a family may study the same topics at the same time while developing skills at their respected grade levels. This approach combines beautifully with several of the themed study approaches and contributes largely to a relaxed atmosphere for multi-age family groups.

Prepared Courses
These courses are either prepared commercially or created by your teacher or school. They may be totally paper-based, a mix of online and paper, or totally online. They may be supervised by parents in the home setting or supervised by a CHeS teacher. Electronic courses either reside on the home computer (often with a built-in marking component) or reside on the school computer accessed via your home computer. Many new homelearners first wet their feet in this stream and later branch out into other options. Others find that the prepared courses save them preparation time or provide structure that they do not have available.

SOS
Switched on Schoolhouse is a fully supported online curriculum used either as a content resource within other streams or as an independent learning opportunity for individual students. Under the guidance of a CHeS teacher, students engaged in SOS online require little direct teaching or interaction from the parent. This option has been adapted for use at all internet connection speeds.

Apologia
Created especially for homelearners, the Apologia program is an interesting, in-depth k-12 science program presented from a creationist, faith-based perspective. The formatting of the elementary portion makes it excellent for note-booking, theme-based, and/or family group studies. Secondary courses are available as paper, electronic, audio, or whatever mix of elements you require.

Cross Enrollment
Cross Enrollment is a new option for BC's grade 10 - 12 students. If your school doesn't offer a particular course that you are interested in, or if scheduling at your school makes it difficult to take the course that you desire, you may now use the flexibility of online DL to fill the gap. Take a moment to explore our Course List and discover the course that CHeS has to fill the gap in your course needs. Please feel free to contact CHeS and discuss the possibilities.