My son is 9 and doing a 4th grade curriculum. He is ahead in everything but math. He hates math. He is already 3/4 of the way through the work that I have for him for 4th grade. Not because its not enough work for the whole school year but because he's a little bookworm and just wants to work, work and work some more. I have already got him reading harder books, I have got him on a few projects, (growing tadpoles, indoor herb garden etc. and we go to the SPCA once or twice a week and walk dogs) He doesn't have any interest in sports, learning another language etc. When he is done with the rest of the curriculum would you just keep working on math and a few projects? Or would you start him on curriculum for the next grade and just keep working on the math hes doing now? Those are the ideas I'm trying to decide on... or I'm also open to other ideas.
If I am reading this correctly he would be done with LA by January? What time of year would you be regularly starting the next school year, if you didn't continue on with the next grade level LA right away? IF you are thinking about no LA from Jan, till like August or September, I personally probably would NOT do that, seems like a VERY long time to be stagnant with it and even holding him back. Why hold him back from something he likes? Personally I would just keep on going with the next level and so on.
Keep him going with math and next semester try some unit studies on topics he loves. Let him help you pick the topics. That would keep him reading and writing. When you start your new school year, start with your 5th grade curriculum.
Just move on to the next level on each subject as he finishes it. It's okay if he's doing 6th grade science, 5th grade social studies and 4th grade math. Or you could ask him what he'd like to study or learn more about and find a unit study on that topic.
You can move on, but many times, instead of moving on, I expanded my daughters education. It allowed for us to use the extra time learning something that usually would not be learned had we moved on to the next grade level.
I would tend to extend him, rather than accelerate him. Because what would you do when he reaches the final grade and he's not old enough to go to uni yet? Accelerating is often just moving the problem forward. I don't know what your curriculum is, but here there is a lot of repetition, each year a little harder. It wouldnt make much sense to accelerate that, then you're doing the same sort of thing twice in the year.
How about a combination? I'm a big one for a child working a the level he's at. When you're done, you move on. At the same time, it's OK to take longer if needed. (My Faythe took a year and a half to get through both Alg. 1 and Geometry, but she has a better understanding than if I'd push her to finish each in a year!) As far as college, I wouldn't worry about it. You might even get some college classes free if he takes them as a high school student.
We've accelerated doing exactly what you've described. My younger son still isn't "officially" homeschooling yet (he just turned 5), so we "do school" whenever he wants to. I work at his level, so yes, he's very far ahead of where he should be. It's not an issue. My older son is very accelerated. He's 8 and halfway through 5th grade for his weakest subject (also math!). His strongest subject (spelling/reading) is at an adult level. When he finishes something, he moves on to the next book/level. We also take lots of time off to explore other things. We're currently using a 6 weeks on, 1 week off, sort of schedule as well. His assigned work takes him roughly 2-3 hours to finish each day, so sometimes he'll decide to work all day long for a couple of days, and then he'll take a couple of days off to play with legos, xbox, or friends. He also takes bowling & piano lessons, helps me run my business from home, and he's responsible for all of his own laundry/dishes/etc. He stays busy and satisfied without having to do a lot of "busy work". As for college, I wouldn't expect him to be ready for college anyway. He'll be 15 when he finishes high school, but he has Asperger's, so he'll be more like 10-12 socially. I expect he'll probably get a couple of years of college done either from home or through a local community college before transferring to a university at 18. He's very mature for his age, he's very organized, and he's extremely trustworthy, but he doesn't have the social skills necessary to go away before he's 18. I expect my younger son will be ready for college early, because he's not an Aspie. He's a social butterfly (... and a bit of a rebellious daredevil as well. Hmm... maybe I should just lock him in a closet until he's 40?? :lol: )
We just keep moving forward as well. DD works best when she's challenged at the level that's appropriate for her intellect, regardless of her age. I don't worry about the "college early" problem (if it's perceived as a problem). This question is continually posed to me by friends that see her plowing ahead and think -- will she go off to college at 14? There are so many options these days -- university-level classes online, for example. That could keep a kid appropriately challenged at home. Every kid is different, obviously. But if your son is hungering for a challenge, I say feed it! Good luck finding what works for you.
