This is my first post, so let me first start off by saying hi I started homeschooling my now 4th grader last year. Her teachers ever since K had recommended that I hold her back a year since she seems to struggle academically. However since her bday is in the middle of Sept (she just missed the cut off date) she was old for the grade to begin with, so we just kept going. I also had her tested and she qualified for services through the PS since she was diagnosed with auditory processing problems. Last year we finally decided she had been struggling enough so I held her back. Also, since this was our first year HS'ing I wanted to make sure we didn't get in over our head. I was pleased with the decision because she didn't seem bored and the work was something she hadn't mastered in school. My younger dd, who was in K last year, also had her teacher recommend holding her back again this year. I am now homeschooling her for the first time this year. The only issue with her is she is not reading on a level they feel she can keep up with 1st grade work. I ordered K5 books for her and we have been doing them now for 3 weeks. She is completely bored with the material and I am loosing her focus. Just for the heck of it I let her go through her math book and do the worksheets. She went through half the book in about 30 minutes because it was so easy for her. She could have done the whole thing, but stopped because she was getting tired. I am now in the process of ordering new 1st grade level math books for her. The same thing happened with the K5 reading curriculum, I ended up skipping through half the book because it was just going over the alphabet (which she already knows very well). I think by Christmas she will be ready for 1st grade reading material. My main question through is I signed the kids up with a local online accountability site for the homeschooling. At the beginning of the year I have to tell them who I am homeschooling and what grade they are in. Does anyone know if I am allowed to move my younger daugher up to 1st grade ? I strongly feel retention was not the best decision for her this year. BTW I am using bob jones math, reading/phonics. Thanks !!
If you've already signed up with this accountability thing, I guess it would depend on the rules of that program as to whether you can move her up or not. The beauty of homeschooling is that it doesn't depend on what "grade" a child is in, as long as they're working on their own level and learning stuff they didn't know before. A kid can be "second grade" but working on third grade stuff in one subject and first grade stuff in another subject, and it doesn't matter! Not at all like in public school or most private schools, where you're in a grade and have to do every subject at that grade level regardless what your real needs are. So if she's called "K", but is doing first grade work, ... so what?
Kids don't have to be on the same grade level in all subjects. My daughter does 3rd grade in everything except math, where she does second. My son should be doing 1st but is also doing 3rd grade; he'll probably be in 4th grade math by February but still doing 3rd grade in most everything else. The nice thing about homeschooling is that you can move ahead or linger behind as you see fit.
Thank you for your replies. I completely agree with you all about what grade they are in not mattering so much, that is one of the main reasons I chose to homeschool. My kids were having trouble in school academically and it was hurting their self esteem. Being able to tailor the curriculum to their needs is just what we needed. I just emailed our accountability person and am awaiting their reply. I am still very new to this and don't know all the rules yet. I just don't want to get in trouble with anyone for "moving her up".
I don't think you'd get in trouble for moving her up or down. You're the teacher now. In fact, you would be missing one of the greatest benefits to homeschooling if you didn't adjust her curriculum to suit her needs. Personally, I don't worry about grade level; in fact, if you ask my kids what grade they are in, they'll start to stutter as they try to remember.
I report my kids in the grade appropriate for their age - and then, as they other posters have said - give them work appropriate to their ability. If you keep them in the right grade for their age, it means that they will be with kids their age in Sunday School, on sports teams etc. And they will graduate when they are 18 and go to college when they are mature enough to do so. Mine work above their grade level most of the time, but there is so much one can learn out there, that it really isn't a problem. Meryl
Are you SURE you have to report a grade level? This varies from state to state. In Ohio (where I live) you don't, and a few years back I got into a disagreement with someone at the district over that. They told me I had to, I very politely explained that it wasn't required by law. They again told me I had to and OTHERS were willing to do it.... I told them that others are more than welcome to do it, but it wasn't REQUIRE BY LAW, and I chose NOT to. They told me AGAIN that I had to, and they wouldn't process my paperwork unless I did (!!!). I told them that was fine with me, as I had fulfillled MY requirements under the law by turning the paper work in. Whether or not THEY fulfilled THIER requirements was their business and really didn't matter to me.... If it IS required, assign them whatever grade YOU feel is appropriate. Don't worry about them!
I've done a LOT of reading lately (... a LOT) about grade skipping. I believe that children should be in the grade they're academically able to be in rather than the age they're "supposed" to be in. To me, the number doesn't matter. The older a child gets, the more opportunities that will be available. I can almost guarantee my son will graduate early ... probably very early. That doesn't bother me, though. Just because he graduates doesn't mean he's an adult and kicked out on his own. He'll still be under my care and will still be learning... whether through distance learning, community college, life skills (like a job at McD's), and so forth. We've even considered giving him some real-world experience when he gets older by charging him things like "rent", but rather than keeping the money, we'll put it into savings for him. We want him to learn about things like investments, banking, bills, budgeting, shopping, coupons, cooking, laundry, and all sorts of things that most children don't know when they leave home to head off to a college dorm. When he's socially & emotionally ready, he'll be able to go it alone. Until then, I'm not going to hold back his academic learning simply because his friends will be driving. My younger brother is a great example of why someone shouldn't be held back. It's a long story, but my mother is completely distraught over what his life has become. I realize these documents (especially the first one) are mostly about gifted learners, but the concepts (especially the second) are universal. I encourage you to read them before making your decision. http://www.accelerationinstitute.org/nation_deceived/ND_v1.pdf and http://www.amazon.com/Iowa-Accelera...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252378328&sr=8-1 The second is used in all 50 states, Canada, Australia, and NZ for unbiased answers to whether a student is a good candidate, fair candidate, or not a candidate for whole grade acceleration. It takes into account both academic and social standards.
I'm more like Embassy. When people ask what grade, I tell according to their age. But when it comes to picking curriculum, I pick by where I feel they are. When Phillip was "in first grade", he was doing 1st math, 2nd reading, and science/history with his older sisters. 2LitteBoys, I'm in agreement with you. BUT you need to keep in mind the child labor laws. It's fine to say he's "graduated" and you want him working a job; I'm all for that!!! But having raised two teenage dss, the laws aren't very helpful to working full-time during school hours. Though I'm sure it varies from state to state.
Check your state laws.... but I'll tell you - my kids work at different levels - but I tell the state that I am teaching them different levels. DS is taking 3 high school classes but is technically in 7th grade. DD is in all 4th grade stuff.....and she's moving through some of it really quickly and will probably move forward. I'm already thinking of looking at her Saxon math and skipping lessons because she's getting kinda bored with it and doing entire lessons way too quick - LOL.
Thank you for all the replies. The accountability lady got back to me and was very helpfull. She said it was no problem to change the grade to 1st. We do have to report grade level to our district in our state. I worded the title of the thread wrong. I wasn't trying to skip a grade. I was trying to see if it was ok to promote her to 1st, even if her PS teacher last year recommended she repeat K5. I had originally followed her advice and reported to the district she was in K5. After looking over the lessons I realized alot of the K5 material was too easy for her. Not only that but I felt bad I put her in a position to have to do 1 more year of schooling until she graduates than the other kids. I wish I had known last year with my older dd, who I had repeat 3rd grade, that I could have reported her as 4th grade and supplemented 3rd grade work in there where she was having problems.
okay, as for the trouble you should be fine, like most the people said. Secondly your children can be whatever grade you want them to be in. I believe that self paced teaching is one of the best things about homeschool. If your dd is reading where she was supposed to be this year then go ahead and increase her reading levels, same with maths. I mean it sounded to me like you were just bringing them up to wher ethey were supposed to be anyway right? So I say go for it! As for maturity levels at 17, in the states where you go to school at 5 many of us graduate at 17 so there is no real difference there. I would also go to the library to keep your dds involved in reading levels they are interested in let them pick a dozen books every two weeks. If you check wiht yoru library you shoul be able to get an institution card, this gives you 6 weeks and no over charge. All you have to do is prove y ou are homeschooling lol. We brought out afedavit in the first year and as needed they just upgrade our card. It is wonderful!
Well, my 4 year old is doing K work just because she picked up all the letter stuff from when I was teaching her older brother to read. She is in no way ready for a K level public school setting. She doesn't have the social maturity to cope in a K class, but that doesn't dictate what she gets to work on at home! That's one of the awesome things about homeschooling. You get to pick the curriculum based on your kids, rather than based on the average kid in a class of 30.
I list my daughter with the school district according to her age, but curriculum wise, she was able to skip to where my son is. So when anyone asks what grade, I say 3rd, but for the school board, she's still in 1st.
Yes this is how we handle it too. For Sunday school I say Grace is in 1st grade. For tumbling classes I say she is in first grade. In reality she is doing 1st grade reading and in a couple of months she will be in 2nd grade math and then we do history and science at our own pace.
I've done a lot of research on this as well....... With the one-on-one that homeschoolers often get, many of them are "accelerated", because we can spend the time they need to go through problem areas with them, so they can better move forward. Also, many homeschoolers are on different levels, many times quite a ways ahead of their schooled friends. I don't see any benefit to graduating a child early to way early. It's often easier on them for the reasons mentioned in previous posts, to be with their age-level peers. So we, also, report them in the grade they would be if they were in ps. 2littleboys, my kids learn all those things as well. We just expand their learning during each school "year" , and continue to move forward with their curriculum, while keeping them in the one grade. When they finish one book or section, they move to the next level. When children are working above their grade level, the only benefit of saying they're in the grade they are working in, really, is bragging rights for the parent! I don't see that as beneficial to the child! My dd is 12, so we say she's in 7th grade, where she would be if in school. If she's ahead in math by a grade or two, but behind in grammar, right on level for History and writing, taking highschool Spanish, and way ahead in reading level---where would you place her? Does it matter whether I say she's in 7th, or 8th or 9th grade? Because, as homeschoolers, we can give them the work that is best for them, whether it's ahead or behind! Expand in each grade to give them a wider variety, move up a level if they're bored, but I don't see any benefit for saying they're in a higher grade than they would be....except the one mentioned above! Oh, one more thing: Sometimes they hit a wall. They may be plowing full-steam ahead, and you just KNOW you have a genious on your hands (well, at least I thought that! ). Then, BAM! Puberty hits, or they tire of that thing, and the progress comes to a screeching halt, or slows way down. If you've put them a grade or two or more ahead, then they'd have a harder time adjusting to the expectations required, than if they were just allowed to be in their grade and expand. If they DO hit a wall in their own grade, you can say, "You know what? Most kids your age aren't doing that level work. It's okay to back off for awhile and get back to it later!" There's less pressure.... Obviously because we are homeschooling, I can work it to how it best suits my family, and you can work it to how it best fits your family. I've seen things I mentioned above happen, so just thought I'd mention that side of the story. You make your decision based on what you feel is best for your child! Best wishes!
I am still wondering how this thread got so broad, the kindergardener in this instance was supposed to be in first but held back so it would just be a putting them where they would have been right? I guess I maybe read the first post wrong but thats what I though it read.
Teachermom...it got broad because us "broads" are a talkative bunch.:lol: and for my 2 cents...my 4th grader is doing 5th gr. math...with extra multiplication, cursive...easy easy spanish...and 7th grade science, history and literature (with elder brother) I might not ever be "able" to put him back in public school...he might be ruined.
