Gap year between 8th & 9th?

[2smartones]

Has anyone done a gap year pre-high school rather than pre-college?  (Possibly calling it "unschooling" if necessary?)  Just curious.  It's something I've considered, but so far, not seriously.

[kiwik]

Be nice if you could go to another country and call it language immersion.

[8filltheheart]

The problem that you would face if you called it a gap yr would be the violation of mandatory education laws for all children under the age of 16. I think couching it in terms of an independent long-term project-based study would be better from a legal issue.

[Dana]

My son's birthday is Aug 29 and state cutoff is Sept 1. We didn't know about redshirting, or I believe we would have. He felt way too young for full day K, so we managed to have him in a half day program and then we started homeschooling in first grade. We've discussed another year of school....not because of academics...he's fine there...but solely due to age.

 

We'd decided that we'd repeat 5th grade and do an unschooling year...he needs 180 days and in the subjects state law requires, but I'm very open to how things are classified. Playing video games all day is NOT okay however.

 

Changed our minds yet again due to test scores, so son is 6th grade this year but is still getting his unschooling year. If things go poorly, we repeat 6th grade and are back where we'd planned age-wise. If we choose not to repeat, then I'd envision a gap year between high school and college if its needed.

 

In my mind and for our situation, the repeat year makes more sense before he could be doing work I might want on the high school transcript. If you do a gap year between 8 and 9, recording it as a repeat year and unschooling may be helpful from a legal standpoint. I know I've done a LOT of thinking about my reasons for doing a repeat year. I'm clearly still ambivalent about it since we haven't done it yet. :)

 

There are many threads with the tag "grade level" that have helped me with my thoughts.

Good luck!

[Chrysalis Academy]

We're strongly considering this - a second 8th grade, with lots of really fun & creative things done/studied, but before the high school transcript/reporting kicks in. Solely for age reasons, as dd started K at 4 and is on track to graduate at and start college at 17. So I'm always very interested to hear other people's ideas & experiences with this.

[2smartones]

My kids have always been accelerated 3 years in their weakest subjects and several years in their strongest subjects.  We live in a state that has no reporting requirements at all (as far as the state is concerned, they don't exist), so I think it would be almost impossible to get caught taking a year off.  Like someone stated, it wouldn't be for video games.  It would be for independent study, travel, etc.  Basically, unschooling.

 

I was just curious if anyone has actually done it and what you thought about it now that you're able to look back.  I know they won't be ready for college when they finish a typical 12th grade year (well, the younger might... too soon to tell ... but the older definitely won't), so I've told them we'll probably go to 13th or 14th grade and simply record the last 4 years on their transcripts when I decide I'm ready to let them go.

[kubiac]

My parents sort of did this with my brother, although he wasn't accelerated. He was severely dyslexic and went to private school for intensive remediation with reading and writing skills. He was also always very small for his age, and somewhat emotionally/socially immature. Long story short, he did 9th grade twice: once in private school and then once when he was ready to transfer back to public school. FWIW, it seems to have "worked." He was very successful socially and emotionally in high school, and his academics were back on track enough that he got into (and eventually graduated from) UCLA. 

 

I think it sounds like quite a clever plan!

[kohlby]

I wouldn't do what I think of when I think of a gap year - but unschooling is different since then you can meet the legal requirements.  Plus, I'd want to make sure that there's some math/reading in there in some way - though it can use the real world instead of books.  I'd want the child to feel like they were still moving forward though, not taking a year off.  So, I'd be more inclined to call it second year of 8th grade or project-based 8th grade or something to the child.   Though not homeschooling, one of my brothers did 9th grade twice, though he passed easily the first time.  He moved from one school to another and desperately needed an extra year for maturity.  The second school was more demanding than the first as well.   It was a great decision on my parents' part.  There was a time they didn't expect him to graduate high school - due to maturity and some other issues, not intellect.  He finished high school and went on to college.  He didn't fully finish college, but he came close which is pretty impressive for a kid they were just focusing on trying to get through high school. 

 

I'm a former middle/high school math teacher.  I noticed that most students seemed to actually lose maturity between 8th and 9th grade.  So, from that standpoint, doing a second 8th grade could be very helpful. 

 

 

[8filltheheart]

I wouldn't do what I think of when I think of a gap year - but unschooling is different since then you can meet the legal requirements. Plus, I'd want to make sure that there's some math/reading in there in some way - though it can use the real world instead of books. I'd want the child to feel like they were still moving forward though, not taking a year off. So, I'd be more inclined to call it second year of 8th grade or project-based 8th grade or something to the child.

I agree.

 

I think of a gap yr as a yr of traveling, missionary work/volunteering, self-exploration for assisting the transition to adulthood for those that aren't ready to leap in feet first.

 

I think allowing an adolescent to not do schoolwork could create habits that might be hard to undo even if the yr was approached with the best of intentions. I would want writing and math done consistently and give more freedom in other areas.

[JennW in SoCal]

Some random thoughts from my experiences.

 

You may find that you do this unschool year only to find your student ready to graduate and move on to college within 2 or 3 years of starting your planned high school.   BUT, it does not follow that the projects and learning done during that unschool year cannot count as high school. Many homeschoolers get admitted to college with transcripts full of project based, or interest led, or otherwise outside the box learning.   Keep records of hours spent, books read, projects completed and unfinished.  Take pictures, encourage your student to keep a journal or to write some kind of description of what was done.   

 

And don't forget that a young 13 or 14yo may wind up being a very mature and poised 17yo.  There is lots of growing up going on during those middle teen years, and you just can't tell what kind of time table your kid is going to have.  Of course you can and should plan, but you should also be ready to adjust those plans, even abandon those plans as your gangly teen grows into a thoughtful young adult.

 

The benefit of an unschoolish year during middle school/early high school is that it offers a chance to explore interests in depth, to perhaps volunteer in the adult world.  It helps young people mature, I think, because it helps them to picture what adult life will be like, to try on different careers, to see how a college education will get them there.  It is a nice thing to do, too, while the teen is in that phase of having lost all higher brain functions.  Just when you are ready to send them to military school because you can not get a single math problem done, you hear from their mentor about how wonderful and bright they are.  It really can be a life saver.

 

Both my boys wound up graduating early, something I would not have imagined when they were 12 or 13. They both are very thankful that I gave them the time to pursue their interests, to volunteer, and do projects. I had to be somewhat creative with their transcripts, but I came to find that admissions counselors liked seeing homeschool students taking advantage of their flexible schedules.

 

 

 

[Bodyandmind]

On 7/13/2013 at 9:40 PM, 2smartones said:

Has anyone done a gap year pre-high school rather than pre-college?  (Possibly calling it "unschooling" if necessary?)  Just curious.  It's something I've considered, but so far, not seriously.

I am looking into this too!  Have you found someone who has done it?