I have a question about when you should move your child to the next grade when you are hs'ing. My daughter is currently working through the A Beka Kindergarten curriculum. She is doing really well and I am wondering if it's possible/legal to move through more than one grade in a year and keep going or if you have to stop and follow the "school" calendar year? We live in MI, so the laws are very lax. I didn't see anything regarding this on any websites, so thought I'd ask here. The reason I'd be interested is because we had held our daughter back and did a pre-k class last year, so technically, she could be in first grade now. Thanks.
I have never heard of any law limiting hs-ers in that area. That is the beauty of hs-ing, you get to work at your child's pace. :love:
I say I have 2nd grader but she ranges from first grade to 3rd grade. My oldest just finished some 'first' grade work and has started some 'third' grade work but I still consider her a second grader because if she was go to go back into school she'd be a second grader. If you feel shes ready for it then go for it.
I forgot to add in my post. As soon as our current grade curriculum was finished my kids could move on to the next grade level.
I didn't start homeschooling my oldest until he was in second grade. The other two have always been homeschooled. Both of them did K and 1st in one year. Well, my middle ds was older because he wasn't interested in that kind of thing. But once he got going, he flew through all the K stuff in hardly any time! My kids are also at different levels in different things. I just let them move forward--once they finish one book or subject for a certain grade, then we move on to the next! I know some people hold them at the same level and just expand what they're learning to deepen and enhance, so they don't get too far ahead. So that's an option as well. There are also parents who have kids doing college work when they're 10 or 11, so I guess that's an option too, as long as they understand all the cncepts before that level!
Absolutely work at your child's pace. If they have finished all the work for grad 2, move them to grade 3 work. However, there may be laws in place that define a school year. So while your child may be doing 3rd grade work, the state still considers them a 2nd grader. That's the case in Missouri. We have to decide when our school year runs. It's 365 days from the first to the last. I.e., if I start 1st grade on August 14th, 2008 then my year ends on August 13, 2009. Out of those 365 days, I have to school a certain number of hours (other states require a certain number of days). Until those hours are completed, I can't move on to the next school year. And the next school year wouldn't start until August 14th. I hope that made sense. It took me a while to figure it out...lol. So yes, move your child on in the work (which doesn't have to line up with what the state says), knowing that the state may define your child differently.
I am also not technically doing grade levels. When they finish and understand the concepts then they are done and we move on. I am not sure however when we will exactly "know" we are done with highschool! LOL B/c you never get done learning. I will probably consider then grads when they completed all ps highschool requires and are ready for college courses. But I have also been looking into college and hs together for some classes. I have a while as you do too so we will have to wait. For the sake of other people I will tell them they are in the grade that goes with their age. But that wont be entirely accurate as I suppose he will be ahead on some things and behind on others. Jill
I always have to remind myself what grade my kids are in technically. lol. I only use grade level as a jumping off point when choosing a different curriculum. Otherwise, I simply go at my kid's pace...not too slow and not too fast..I like to challenge them. However, "challenge" is also an individual thing.
I am thinking about skipping Kindergarten completely with my dd and starting her on a light 1st grade curriculum when she turns 5. NO sense spending a year reviewing everything she already knows. Amy
I guess another question is, do you test your children to pass into the next grade or just go by their overall knowledge of what you know they've learned that year?
My son learns everything at different paces. I'd be willing to bet that nearly all children do. So, for me, that means my son will rarely (if ever) be in a particular grade. I wouldn't test him before moving him up. Just once he's got the concepts from one grade down in a subject, I'd move him to the next level of books. But again, only in that one subject. I won't hold him back in math because he's not ready for 1st grade English. So now he's doing 1st grade level Math while still working on K English. Many HS curriculum don't even use grade levels. They use plain old levels. Things are in "level 1, level 2, etc". Not 1st grade, 2nd grade, etc. And, as Prairie already said, even the ones that do give levels do so as a general starting point to figure out where your child might fit.
I don't test my kids. I consider them in the grade that they would be in if attending a traditional school, but I do whatever I want. I do not have to mark down a specific grade when I fill out my paperwork, and I don't. The SCHOOL has arbitrarily assigned one (which is a story in itself!!!). Rachael, at 12, took a high school level English class last year with kids as old as 17. Phillip, 8, was doing "2nd grade" reading book last year in "1st". The history book he works out of with his older sisters is written more for 5-6th grade I would say. Faythe and Rachael are working together in grammar. Faythe is two whole math books behind where Rachael was at that same age. That's why I don't like boxed curriculum; I can decide exactly where everyone is without "grade" labels.
Yes, and when my ds14 was 7 and 8 he totally screamed through the math books and almost caught up with my oldest ds! But then he hit a wall, and is now right on the level he would be if he were in school. He's doing Algebra 1. My dd10 is doing Pre-Algebra this year, so is only ONE book behind him in math. But we are taking it at her pace, which slowed down right before Christmas, and is just getting going again. I told her our goal is NOT to finish the book. It is for her to really learn what's in the book! When she has learned it well, we will move on. It's okay if it takes 2 years! Yep, definitely a benefit of homeschooling---working at the child's level and going as fast or slow as they need to to truly get it! If they get a strong base built in their subjects now, they'll do so much better as they get older and the work gets harder!
I have to give the state a specific grade, but when Ems is ready to move on in a subject, I do so. It doesn't matter what the grade is. I also do what Deena mentioned. I try to broaden what she is learning and when I think we can go no further, we move on. Patty
I will be tesing for hubby. He wants to see how they will average against others that take the test. Will we do that every year in the future? Don't know since this will be the second time I give the test to my daughter. This time around I wont have a anyone to answer to since the state I am going to doesn't require it but I will be going back to a state that does. I said I was going to work on her low areas but I didn't we just moved on to our next level of work. What she didn't get the first time she get the second time around.
I have a son that is in the 5th grade but does 6th grade math, I do it as when hes ready to move forward like in math i move him forward, I actually do not use grade levels like 5th grade and 6th grade because alot of HS are advanced in there schooling at some point
