Need some Hive Mind Wisdom re: school choice

[sixpence1978]

Let me preface with a brief history...

 

We homeschooled my DS and DD last year and the year before (1st-2nd and Pre-k-K). I was hoping to homeschool for the long run, but DH wanted them in school. This year, they are enrolled at a very small private Christian school that we really do love. My DS is doing wonderfully and we would like him to stay there. I had reservations about putting DD into 1st grade there this year. We struggled a bit through K and I felt I wasn't quite done with her yet.

 

This year, she started off well. She made it about 1/2 way through the school year, but has now been struggling, grumpy, etc... Her 1st grade teacher thinks she should repeat, and the 2nd grade teacher thinks she also might need more time. Their main reasons being, she is small, a bit young, and struggles with spelling and writing.

 

She is reading small chapter books and usually gets 100's on all of her math assessments. For reference, she has a mid-July birthday.

 

So, now the problem...we see that she has 3 options....

 

1. Repeat 1st grade...I don't really have a problem with this in general, but my DH isn't happy about it. He also feels like having her repeat would be a waste of 1/2 a school year, since that is about when the struggling started.

 

2. Move her on to 2nd grade...Unfortunately, this school is small so 2nd and 3rd are a combined class. I think she could handle some of the work, but would continue to be frustrated in her areas of struggle.

 

3. Bring her home for next year and do a mix of 2nd grade and working on her areas of struggle at a slightly lower level....I would really like to do this, but she will be home without her brother, he will remain at the school. We would also homeschool using the same curriculum (mostly) as the school, hoping that she could return to their school for 3rd grade. I'm just not sure how the kiddos would feel being at different places, nor about pulling out and putting my DD back in.

 

So, any wisdom that you could pass on to me? I'm not asking for anybody to make the decision for me, but just for different ways at looking at the big picture.

 

Thanks and sorry for it being so long!

[wapiti]

Let me preface with a brief history...

 

We homeschooled my DS and DD last year and the year before (1st-2nd and Pre-k-K). I was hoping to homeschool for the long run, but DH wanted them in school. This year, they are enrolled at a very small private Christian school that we really do love. My DS is doing wonderfully and we would like him to stay there. I had reservations about putting DD into 1st grade there this year. We struggled a bit through K and I felt I wasn't quite done with her yet.

 

This year, she started off well. She made it about 1/2 way through the school year, but has now been struggling, grumpy, etc... Her 1st grade teacher thinks she should repeat, and the 2nd grade teacher thinks she also might need more time. Their main reasons being, she is small, a bit young, and struggles with spelling and writing.

 

She is reading small chapter books and usually gets 100's on all of her math assessments. For reference, she has a mid-July birthday.

 

So, now the problem...we see that she has 3 options....

 

1. Repeat 1st grade...I don't really have a problem with this in general, but my DH isn't happy about it. He also feels like having her repeat would be a waste of 1/2 a school year, since that is about when the struggling started.

 

2. Move her on to 2nd grade...Unfortunately, this school is small so 2nd and 3rd are a combined class. I think she could handle some of the work, but would continue to be frustrated in her areas of struggle.

 

3. Bring her home for next year and do a mix of 2nd grade and working on her areas of struggle at a slightly lower level....I would really like to do this, but she will be home without her brother, he will remain at the school. We would also homeschool using the same curriculum (mostly) as the school, hoping that she could return to their school for 3rd grade. I'm just not sure how the kiddos would feel being at different places, nor about pulling out and putting my DD back in.

 

So, any wisdom that you could pass on to me? I'm not asking for anybody to make the decision for me, but just for different ways at looking at the big picture.

 

Thanks and sorry for it being so long!

 

Here is my opinion, FWIW. Her birthday and size are not relevant. Just to make sure I have this correctly: she struggles in spelling and writing, reads chapter books and aces math. I think it would be a mistake to hold her back. There is a lot of research out there on retention, most of it is negative. Spelling and writing are the only problems? I really don't see these as a good reason to hold someone back. I'd try to get to the bottom of the problem. First I'd want to rule out vision issues with a checkup, preferrably with a developmental optometrist (www.covd.org). Is it a fine motor issue? I'd rather get an OT eval than hold her back. She would be bored to tears with repeating the same math. Retention could kill her love of learning. If the school won't allow her ahead (which doesn't make sense to me because I don't see how a person can "fail" first grade while getting 100s on math tests and reading chapter books), then I'd homeschool next year.

 

My bottom line opinion in situations like this (as a mom to kids who have had their share of special issues, including writing, but love math :D) is that I'd move her ahead, along with whatever support she may need, be it OT or whatever.

 

Also, assuming we're talking about handwriting, I'd teach typing (for example, http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/ )

 

That's my two cents :)

 

ETA: is she a visual-spatial learner? http://www.visualspatial.org/what_is_a_vsl.htm . There are various tricks for working on spelling http://www.visualspatial.org/Articles/app2spell.pdf I remember it helped dd when she was in first grade.

Edited April 19, 2010 by wapiti

[cougarmom4]

I'd consider the possibility of keeping her with her classmates, moving on to 2nd grade next year, but spend time this summer working on her problem areas. Just 30 minutes a day--you could review the curriculum from the second half of the year or try something completely different that focuses on those areas. And next year, if she still struggles in those areas, you could easily after-school writing & spelling, if needed.

 

Of course, bringing her home would most certainly allow you to tailor things to her specific needs, but if you really want to keep her at the school, I'd personally NOT hold her back. If she is doing well in reading and math, why waste the time doing it all again?