Jeanne is being evaluated in two weeks. The lady I talked to asked me some preliminary questions over the phone, to see what Jeanne is doing. She said, based on what I told her we have covered and how Jeanne grasped it, that Jeanne will probably test at mid- first grade level. I take that to mean that when this school year ends for us, she will be ready for 2nd grade material. Holy cow. If this lady is correct, I'm worried about what will happen when she eventually goes to school. She'll be so far ahead in some cases, that I'm afraid she won't fit in. I also don't want her to lose that lead, either. How does one handle this?
When do you anticipate putting her into school? Or are you not really anticipating, just asking because you're more open to that possibility? GENERALLY SPEAKING, elementary kids going back into ps are NOT put ahead, regardless of how they test. There's a good chance she would be put in with her age and be totally bored. High School would be a bit different, because she could possibly test out of certain classes. In high school, your grade is based on the number of credits, not your age.
If you were to go into any public school and take a grade level and test them...many, many kids would test above their grade level. I was always "above grade level" in reading and math. So, I think it's fine. She might get a little bored with some things but I never really saw that when I taught school. Afterall, each grade typically builds on things they already know so when you know the foundations of things it just makes your life a little easier. Most kids that say their bored are more likely having other issues and not just they already KNOW EVERYTHING. I have heard so many parents use the excuse of boredom for every kind of school problem. Jeannie seems like a wonderful child (from all your posts) and I'm betting that she would do great.
Missy, it's been my experience when I was in the classroom that the more advanced students are ignored because they are getting the A's without effort. They are often expected to "tutor" the slower kids. The teacher spends all her time working with those that "need help". My husband, currently in a high school class, complains of all he can't do because of the few slower ones. Of course, it varies from district to district, so there are ALWAYS exceptions. Yes, boredom can be used as an excuse for bad behavior, but it's not fair to make a child who is already reading to do basic phonic pages, or to make a child who is ready to multiply to do pages of basic adding and subtracting. Our schools simply are not designed to deal with children as individuals. An example: When I was in the classroom, we had a group of kids gifted in math. There were about seven of them. The 4th grade teacher worked with them as a group, and they finished the 5th grade math book in 4th grade. The next year, their 5th grade teacher, knowing they had completed that book, continued them in the 6th grade book. That was all fine and good. BUT the next year, they moved to Middle School, and were put in General 6th grade math. The parents went AS A GROUP to the principal, who told them they could not make accomadations for these kids, and it was wrong of the previous two teachers to allow them to go ahead. Those kids wasted the entire year doing the same book they had done the year before. Again, it will vary within districts, but this has been my experience.
Hi Becky, I am in the same boat! Edie is going to be five in December, she is on paper in kindergarten. But she reads at a grade two level. The only subject she is within a normal range in is math. So next year, when she is five she will be doing the grade three curriculum for everything but math! I find it overwelming at times. Other times I am very proud of her. Her inteligence is a big reason we homeschool, I want to always challenge her. Good luck, and how old is your dd? Tracy
Becky~ Jeannie sounds so much like Gracie~ I know we've compared them before. There's no doubt about it~ they are advanced. I look at Gracie as a prime candidate for homeschooling~ I know (in some ways) she wouldn't have been ready for kindergarten this year (I don't think either her or I would have been ready to seperate! LOL) but in other ways, she would have been soooooo bored in a kindergarten classroom. She is reading some 2nd and 3rd grade level books~ and understands them to the point that she can repeat the stories to me in summary (Ashley even sometimes has trouble summarizing a book!) She is writing in cursive, which the public schools around here don't teach until the end of 2nd or beginning of 3rd grade. I DO NOT push her at all~ she has such a desire to learn that, even if I wouldn't work with her at all, she'd find a way to learn it! For those reasons, I am not prepared to put her into a public school setting. I want her to be able to work at her own pace, and would never want to hold her back. That's not fair, and only causes problems. Jackie~ The schools around here seem very much like the schools that you have described. Even though they may test Gracie, there is no way they would put a 5 year old into a 2nd grade classroom! She'd go with the kindergarten class and get "lost in the shuffle". I'm looking for the day to come when I need to just "encourage" her and support her in her learning, because I know the day is coming when she will bypass me! LOL
When my brother was in school he was able to take half of his classes with the upper grade he passed into and take the other classes he didn't strive in with his regular classmates. Don't know if this helps, but wanted to point that out because not all districts are the same.
Tracy, Jeannie just turned 5 in September. You know, this really is the down side of homeschooling. The kids can get as far ahead as we let them, but what happens if things change and they HAVE to enroll in school? I know she'll fit in as far as her attitude toward others, but I do wonder how it will go academically if this evaluator is right. Oh, lord. It sounds like Momma Bear is going to have to be ready to wrastle!
Becky, Afriend of mine hsed her kids and had the same situation like yours Becky. The only thing they did in school is moving them into upper grades only in the subjects that they have covered like reading or math, but they continued their same level for the rest of the subjects. Randa
Becky: Forgive me for asking, but I'm curious about why you are enrolling Jeanne in school if homeschooling her has worked so well for her. Is it for the social aspect? If I recall correctly, you've had problems with that issue? I only offer one thought. Our kids were in ps until this year, having completed 2 and 3 years respectively. While they did have friends there, there was a lot of the social aspect we wish they were not exposed to. Just wondering... Carol
Becky, everyone and every child's and families needs are different. You do what you feel is the best thing for her, regardless of what other people say.
I think many homeschooled kids are ahead in many subjects. My kids have always been ahead of the "norm", and do well with the ITBS test they take each year. I used to homeschool one year at a time, but now I plan to homeschool as long as I can, meaning, I let them go at their pace and get way ahead in their favorite subjects if that's what they do, and not put them in school. If my kids were to have to go to school for some reason, they would go to a Christian school, not a public school, which can be more flexible in allowing them to work at their level. At least the one they would go to is. For a few years I have taken my kids to a local Homeschool "thing" called HomeBase. They do science fairs, country reports and fairs with a potluck, skits and plays, singing, history, and all sorts of neat stuff. We really liked it! Last year my dd ended up in a classroom with older kids. She was 7 & 8 (turned 8 in March) during the year, while the other kids were 9-12 in age. They called me a couple of weeks into it and said they needed to move her to a class with kids more her age, but had talked to her and she really didn't want to move back, since they did too much "baby stuff" in the other classroom. They ended up letting her choose and she chose to stay in the classroom. She thrived in there. The teacher was fine with her being in that class (it was once a week for a couple of hours), and treated her the same as all the others. My dd said on her own to me that she liked it because the classes were more interesting and challenging. The teacher said she did well, and she made some good friends (she gets along well with oder kids). When they were planning for this year they said she couldn't be in that classroom because she was too young. I questioned that, since she was a year older than when she started in it last year. They said it just wasn't right for her to be there, she should be with her age group. Then they told me the class she would be put in would be a 2nd-4th grade class (she's in 4th grade this year). That there would be one other 4th grader, so the material would be taught more toward the 2nd and 3rd grade level! My dd, who has always loved HomeBase, did NOT want to go in that class, even though two of her good friends were going to be in it. It bothered me that a homeschool organization, that is supposed to represent the rights of homeschooling, obviously, was going to require my child to be in a class with 2nd grade amterial being taught, when she was just in a class doing the 4th-6th grade work with no problem! It was only because of age, no matter what her abilities! Also, my son, who just turned 12, was going to go into the next level of HomeBase, the 7th and 8th grade classes, and the lady didn't want him in their either, since he wouldn't be 12 by the end of August, even though he is doing 7th grade this year! I was very surprised at those comments, since we'd had no inkling of it before this! Needless to say we decided not to join this year, and do other things instead. I just wonder why they (schools and this HomeBase) are so stuck on keeping them with a certain age group despite the proven fact they do fine academically and socially in a higher grade level, and WANT to be challenged?!
Deena, I would seriously reconsider putting the kids in that group. Maybe it's because other kids want in the older group, and they don't want that, and they don't want to rethink how they teach..... Who runs this? Other HS parents, or the school district, or what?
Because everyone think's their child is advanced. Not saying some aren't and that yours are not. But do you know how many parents I have met being an educator that think their child is gifted and they are behind? It's pretty much just a safety net so they have their butts covered, KWIM? When you don't have set policies and procedures, that's when the "you know what" hits the fan and chaos erupts. Accomodating everyone is not possible, sadly enough. You know, the old saying, you can't make everyone happy? Kind of goes like that.
The group is run by homeschool moms. My kids are not WAY advanced, nor do I go bragging about levels or anything, that's certainly not what I was trying to do! I was an educator also. I taught elementary, at different age/grade levels, for many years. But I did not hold back a child that wanted to advance. If they showed me they could do the work, then I would allow them to move on. I understand that accomodating everyone is not possible. The way they run their program though, is that the first ones there get the spot. So if she was in that class last year, she should get first rights to be in that class again. If she did well in it that year, as her teacher said she did, and was excited about going, then imho she should be able to have one of the first rights, along with the others in that class, to be in there again. These classes cost about $200 or so per child per year, so that's nothing to sneeze at. I don't understand why I should put her in the lower class, Jackie. She didn't want to go there, it wasn't just me. I didn't want to pay $200 for her to be bored and have playtime. We have times planned that we get together to play with friends on our own, so it didn't seem worth paying that much to me.
Carol, I'm debating school for next year because I feel Jeannie is too isolated here.She hasn't had one playdate, invitation, or any of that yet. I invite moms and kids to come over and there's just no interest. I don't understand it at all. I could understand it if she was bratty, spoiled, and stuck on herself, but she's not. She will happily play with any kid- boy or girl or alien from Mars. She's just a pleasant, lovely girl. She shares willingly and quickly and doesn't throw a fit if she loses a turn or doesn't get her way. First I will pray about what God wants for her education. If a school is the answer, my theory is she will have friends at least during the school day. If the parents don't like her for some reason, it won't interfere with that. I know interaction can be negative, too. My thinking is, it won't be a problem. I know my girl, I know how I plan to raise her, so the negative aspect should be small. I just hate to see her here with no one to play with. I can enroll her in a jillion classes, but it's not the same as a friend to play with regularly. She starts Daisy Scouts on Wednesday, so we'll see if that helps at all.
Just out of curiosity, is Jeanie seeming depressed or isolated? I wasn't sure if I had noticed you mention that or not. If she is doing well then I wouldn't be too concerned about getting her kids to play with on a regular basis. Sometimes it's us mommas who have the harder time with our kids not being surrounded by children all day since we were brainwashed from the age of 5 (or younger) that it is necessary. If she seems like she is fine I would also be thankful that she isn't peer dependent, which is what will happen if she goes to school. My ds went for a couple years to ps and all he gained was peer dependency and a rotten attitude about learning because he was bored to literal tears. Just some things to consider. I'm sure you have mentioned it before, but does your local homeschool group have play dates? Ours meets at least once a month for strictly "play" and once a month for an educational play time at the local nature center. Then we have field trips and a co-op to round out the rest of the month. It's all free (except when we go skating or have a supply fee for co-op). I seem to remember now your local group having a fee????
I never did join that group. They changed their meeting date and I wasn't informed, so I assumed they didn't want new members very badly. Even so, a play time once a month is not even slightly better than what she has now. Daisies is twice a month, but the girls all live nearby. The drawback is, their moms are all friends and they've known each other since they were inutero.(sp??LOL) Jeanne is expressing a desire for friends, so this isn't me pitying her.
