How do I get DH to let go of Grades?

[delaney]

Meaning how do I get him to understand that just because DD is now in grade 4 that next year I may repeat a lot b/c it will be her first year home and I know she is behind and also young(July birthday and the cutoff here is Sept 1). I think that it may be that she can "catch up" with her current peers once she is out of PS but so what if she doesn't? Wouldn't it be smarter to keep her a year longer in k-12?

[6packofun]

Or...you could stick with grade levels and let her work at whatever level she needs in each subject. My dd12 is in 7th grade but does 8th grade math work and reads at a lower level and has major writing issues, yet her critical thinking is through the roof. So what grade is that? lol But we say she is in 7th. Easy.

 

Most school subjects that are taught at certain grade levels in school are not taught that because "6th grade is the perfect time to learn about the Civil War--not 5th grade or 7th grade!!" It's just a systematic way of being sure the things they want to cover in K-12 get covered. YOU can do what you like and cover it when YOU want to. (Obviously math and higher sciences do need to be taught in a logical order and build upon themselves.)

 

Using grade levels just works for many situations (answering the "what grade are you in" question by *everyone*, for sports and classes and Sunday school and...etc. You aren't bound by any scope and sequence, so teach what you want as she's able.

[Catwoman]

Meaning how do I get him to understand that just because DD is now in grade 4 that next year I may repeat a lot b/c it will be her first year home and I know she is behind and also young(July birthday and the cutoff here is Sept 1). I think that it may be that she can "catch up" with her current peers once she is out of PS but so what if she doesn't? Wouldn't it be smarter to keep her a year longer in k-12?

 

If he really objects to it, do you really have to tell him? :sneaky2:

 

Honestly, there's no harm in letting your dd assume that she'll be in 5th grade, and unless every book you use has FOURTH GRADE stamped on it in big block print, I don't think I'd say anything about it.

 

The biggest factor (for me, at least,) would be whether or not your dd will be upset at the thought of repeating a grade. I wouldn't want to do anything to undermine her confidence in her ability to handle the work, so at the very least, I would tell her that we will start the year with a review, and then move on to new things.

 

You may be able to say something similar to your DH. Call it fifth grade, but say you're spending a few months reviewing fourth grade material, so you will be sure she's up to speed on everything before you move ahead.

 

Cat

[Catwoman]

Using grade levels just works for many situations (answering the "what grade are you in" question by *everyone*, for sports and classes and Sunday school and...etc. You aren't bound by any scope and sequence, so teach what you want as she's able.

 

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

 

That's an excellent point, and is another reason why I'd consider your dd to be in fifth grade, even if she isn't doing all of her work on grade level. Everyone she knows will assume she'll be in fifth grade, so it may be embarrassing for her to think she has been "held back" a year.

 

Cat

[Dmmetler]

My only concern would be that in my state, gr 5 is a testing year, and if a child is already behind a little and you're remediating, doing the grade level test might be a bit more stress than you need that first year, especially if DH is concerned about HSing already.

[Heather in WI]

Or...you could stick with grade levels and let her work at whatever level she needs in each subject. ...

 

Using grade levels just works for many situations (answering the "what grade are you in" question by *everyone*, for sports and classes and Sunday school and...etc. You aren't bound by any scope and sequence, so teach what you want as she's able.

 

:iagree:

 

I don't consider July a late birthday and I wouldn't "hold her back" and have her repeat 4th grade. I think this would do more harm than good socially, especially when she talks with her old friends and they're all a year ahead of her.

[delaney]

My only concern would be that in my state, gr 5 is a testing year, and if a child is already behind a little and you're remediating, doing the grade level test might be a bit more stress than you need that first year, especially if DH is concerned about HSing already.

We dont have that here thank goodness. I just dont want to stress about getting her caught up. I just want her to work at her own pace and if that means she does grade 12 1/2 then so be it!