Okay, I have a very precocious 5 year old. I would NOT label her as gifted AT ALL...but she's smart. Sometimes she scares me. She's our third, so...she has the benefit of older sister and brother....I think. Anyway, on recommendations of many here, I bought her Horizon's K for Math for Kindergarten. Well...when we first started, we did two lessons a day because they were super easy. Well...she's on lesson 75, I think. She still insists on doing 2 lessons per day (not me, SHE insists). And, she does it mostly ALONE. I help her with directions, and if it's something new, she always calls me over to teach it to her....then she flies. She'd do more if I let her. I'm REALLY considering cutting her back to one lesson a day....at this rate, she'll be done by March. I know we should let them move at their own pace, but when is too fast too much?
My dd is doing the same math as your daughter. She's at lesson 77, also and she started in August. The workbook is too easy and she can count to 100, but the skip counting is a challenge. My dd just turned 6 last month. My dd is the same way with most subjects and tends to get bored easily. I just haven't found her challenge point yet. I say that moving at their pace is one of the best things about homeschooling. If they were in school they'd have to sit in that classroom and have to do what they already know. How boring is that? Take advantage of her interest and keep moving on! And yes, I think it helps to have older sibs. The little ones are like sponges! For example, I have my older two doing times table drills daily (to finally cement them into their brains!) and my younger one was becoming jealous and wanted a drill, too. So I printed her off +1 drill sheets. She's doing pretty good! But I would not have started her on drills at her age normally. I don't think there is a such thing as too fast Someone may correct me, though. We know a boy that graduated high school at 15. That is highly unusual I know, but the point is let 'em go as far as they want!
I say to let her do what she wants! Why hold her back if she is content doing that? I think she will let you know when it is too much.
If she's enjoying it, and she wants to do it just let her go. My boys are nearly done with their 2nd grade math book, and will be ready to begin the 3rd grade book in late January, I am ok with this because I know there will come a day when they will slow down and maybe even need to take extra time on a concept, and I'm ok with that too! what is important to me is that they are learning and enjoying it.
I'm with mom 2 3. If she is trucking along, don't slow her down. I think she'll get bored and lose her enthusiasm. She may slow down a bit eventually anyway, so she might as well get as far as she can early. I go through this with both of my kids. We might fly through several math lessons in a row only to need extra practice with one that takes us twice as long as normal. Then it's off to flying through again. I don't think each concept takes the same amount of time to learn, so really it would seem silly to make them adhere to a pace that implies they should all take the same amount of time. Edited to say....several of us were posting simultaneously, so I'm with Blizzard and Birbitt, too.
I say let her run with it. Maybe math is just "her thing". So what if she gets a year or two ahead with it. She'll either slow down at some point, or she'll have the option to do a higher level of math than her peers when she's in high school. Either way, she'll be doing what she likes, and it'll be good for college if that's the route she chooses. I'm not the type to hold a child back from anything unless it's emotionally/morally beyond their reach.
I should have also added that my dd blew through two years worth of math in K. She is still ahead now and I anticipate her being finished with school early and after taking advanced math classes in high school.
Same here, my 6 year old is half way through Saxon Math 2, reading on a third grade level, etc... She is my third, and I also give credit to the fact that she wants to keep up with her older brother and sister. I won't slow her down until she wants, she just really picked up reading this past month and is now reading chapter books to herself late into the night. I figure she will know when to slow herself down... I also look at it as when I want to take a vacation from school I can without feeling guilty, heck, we won't fall behind during our break! Danielle
I'm making it unanimous! Don't slow her down. She'll slow herself down when she feels the need. If she finishes in March, you have options. Get the first grade book and start it right away, or find lots of "fun" math that you can do without a book for her to do, or stop math altogether until August. Reminds me of one of my "homeschool heroes" I knew when I was first starting out. It was August, and she was complaining because one of her boys had just finished the math book she had delivered back in June, the book that she had planned on using from September through May!
Ditto to what everyone else says. My 5.6 yr old daughter is halfway through 1st grade CLE math. Some days she does 2-3 lessons a day, I let her tell me when she is done. I see no reason to slow her down, she is doing it at HER pace.
She's my third, so you think I'd know this by now! LOL Alright, thanks for the reassurance everyone. I feel better. I was just looking at the work saying "Gee, my oldest did this in first grade!" And she did Abeka Math for first grade...so, you know....I was just getting worried. Yes. Math does seem to be "her thing". She loves to read also. Love that!!! THANKS!!!!
I was going to agree with everybody else. I might add that if you slow her down you will have to deal with that (my dd cries when I tell her she has to stop math) She did one of the K workbooks from walmart in a week. So we are going to start Math 100 from CLE in Jan. That is the first grade level, and she will turn 5 next week. She knows most of the math facts up to 5+5, just because she listens while I work with ds. ( I think she picked it up faster then her older brother) I would know of a reason to stop her at all.
I agree! Why slow her down? One of the beautiful things about homeschooling is that the kids can learn at their own pace.
I wouldn't slow her down anymore than I would speed a child up who is having difficulties. If she finishes in March, let her be done with math until next year. OR, if she really wants to let her start on next years then. I wouldn't worry about the scope and sequence that someone, somewhere made up at sometime in the past. I don't get how they figured out that all children should be able to follow that without boredom (fast learners) or frustation (slower learners). As far as grade levels go--through them away or act like they don't exist. I really don't think they help anyone.
She will slow down when she is ready. My dd was exactly the same way. When she hit 5th grade level math, it got hard. But we were able to take it slowly and even repeat half a year's work because she needed it. Make sure she knows you are proud of her no matter what level of math she is. I think I hurt my dd because she heard me bragging (I'm embarrassed to admit it now) about how far ahead she was. Then when it got hard and she had to back up and relearn some stuff, she had a very hard time accepting it. She didn't want to let ME down. So as long as it is about her goals then let her go ahead.
Rachael was doing Algebra in 6th grade, and was bragging to her friends that SHE was in ALGEBRA!!! But she was struggling, and finally DH decided that he would listen to me and do pre-Algebra instead. And yes, it WAS a better fit (one I had wanted from the get-go!!!), but she was now all embarrassed because of her bragging. But it was a good life-lesson for her not to be prideful!
I agree with everyone else don't slow her down! We are in the same situation. My dd finished the last half of CLE 1st grade when she was 5 and is now working on CLE 200's at barely 6. Shes finally starting to slow some. She already knows multiplication too and thats fine but we're saving really starting that until CLE covers it. If I hold her back she tends to get really bored and doesn't want to do much schoolwork. She loves to learn new things. And I know that around 5th grade it will all even out.
Yep that’s right. She will slow herself down when she's ready. Let her go! My now 10 year old was like this from age 3 up until this year. He has always been ahead by at least 2 grade levels 3 in some subjects like reading. Now on math for this year he is struggling, even though in the past he was able to do 6th & 7th grade math with ease. 5th grade is giving him problems because it requires him to go back to the basics. This year he is moving at a much slower pace. In fact he has been going back and reviewing all the things he sped threw over the last year or so. Often he will tell me" Hmm, I must have missed that" Last year he finished our 4th grade Calvert curriculum in 5 months and that was with all the enrichment I added. He did very well on his standarized test so I let him move on. He’s still above his Grade level but he is definitely moving much slower this year than ever before. More like one lesson a day with review of what he THINKS he knows instead of 2 or 3 lessons of the same subject per day like previous years. I am wondering if i gave him the same test would he still do just as well?
I'll jump on the train and agree! LOL I understand. My son is the same way with science. It's just his thing, so we do science galore here. Some days *I* don't want to do science though LOL
I know. I'm dropping her reading program because she's just beyond it. LOL!!! I think I'm just going to read with her and such. I MIGHT start doing First Language Lessons with her after Christmas break. Figuring if we do one or two lessons a week, and just stretch it until 2nd Grade (its supposed to be first and 2nd). Sigh. I can't keep up with this one! LOL
