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1st g ages?


bbrandonsmom
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I see quite a few 5-6yr olds doing 1st g here, and then 7yr olds. Are we expecting too much from the younger ones? Should we be doing K w/ them, or just follow their lead for the most part? I'm loosely following TWTM 1st g, because ds has already surpassed some, and is almost caught up to the rest of the K curric here (math).

 

I keep thinking about the LA aspect of things for 1st g. Do we really need to teach them nouns, pronouns, sentence structure, verbs, spelling etc? Are they going to retain it at ages 5 & 6? Should we just be reading a lot, and if they can read, have them read? And skip actually teaching them the other stuff for LA and wait until they are 7? Does any one else feel this way?

 

Maybe I'm looking at it wrong, since our kids are home?

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I think it's so individual. Some parents just teach to where their kids are, so you get a 5 year old who is ready for 1st grade content, but may be called a K'er.

 

But are you saying you disagree with the content that some are teaching, even if their child seems ready? Again, I think it's individual. Early grammar stage is el primo time for memorization, so learning the definitions of nouns or other parts of speech, spelling/phonics rules, etc., can be practically painless if the application of those rules isn't required until a little later.

 

I absolutely agree that there's no need to push, and happen to think that reading, and being read to, is GREAT prep for more mature LA work.

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I keep thinking about the LA aspect of things for 1st g. Do we really need to teach them nouns, pronouns, sentence structure, verbs, spelling etc? Are they going to retain it at ages 5 & 6? Should we just be reading a lot, and if they can read, have them read? And skip actually teaching them the other stuff for LA and wait until they are 7? Does any one else feel this way?

 

This is very much how I feel. For younger kids, I read a lot and teach language usage, but don't worry about teaching grammar itself. I don't think that first grade is the best age, developmentally, to cover that information. With my first grader we are focusing on phonics, reading and handwriting through WRTR, using a math workbook, but are otherwise doing things in a mostly informal way. We use Aesop's Fables and lives of the saints for narration and do catechism every day, memorize some poetry, occasionally get out the Child Sized Masterpieces, and that's it for our scheduled learning. Otherwise I have several different literature lists that I choose library books from.

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I should also say that since I follow the ideas in Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum, by Laura Berquist, I consider grades K-2 to be primary stage, grades 3-5 to be the grammar stage, 6-9 to be dialectic/logic and 10-12 to be rhetoric. I don't consider those boundaries to be set in stone, but it does end up with different emphases than following the WTM sequence.

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Our state has a December 1st cut off, so a 6 year old in 1st grade is "normal" to me. I started K when I was almost 5 and started 1st when I was almost 6 (October bday). So if your kiddo is 5 and will turn 6 in the fall and is in *1st grade*, that is normal here.

 

So I don't think it's terribly outlandish because that's how my state operates.

Edited by MissKNG
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I think it depends on the method. At 5 I am very reluctant to sit a child down at a table and give them seat work. I really don't do it unless they beg to. Instead I focus on teaching basic phonics and reading for the entire K year and I do not do much else. However most of my children know what nouns, adjectives, verbs and so on are because we lay MadLibs all the time. I think learning through fun activities is very beneficial at that age.

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My daughter turns 6 in November and missed the cut-off for First Grade. But she most definitely does first grade work or higher, especially in language arts, so we're calling this year "First Grade".

 

When I was her age, I started school a year earlier than the official cut-off, plus the school wanted me to skip another grade or go to a special school. So I didn't think much of it to have my daughter start first grade earlier than normal.

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DD is 4.5, and we are calling this year kindergarten, even though some of her work is 1st grade. So next year she'll be starting 1st grade at 5.5. (January birthday)

 

I think it is hard to make generalizations about children. Some children don't need (and aren't interested in!) things like formal math study, grammar, spelling, etc. Other children are ready and eager to do formal studies. I don't necessarily think either way is wrong. As far as retaining things, I think as long as the child continues to use it, they will hold on to it. But I'd never study grammar for a year and think I was done. It is an ongoing thing.

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I think it's so individual. Some parents just teach to where their kids are, so you get a 5 year old who is ready for 1st grade content, but may be called a K'er.

 

But are you saying you disagree with the content that some are teaching, even if their child seems ready? Again, I think it's individual. Early grammar stage is el primo time for memorization, so learning the definitions of nouns or other parts of speech, spelling/phonics rules, etc., can be practically painless if the application of those rules isn't required until a little later.

 

I absolutely agree that there's no need to push, and happen to think that reading, and being read to, is GREAT prep for more mature LA work.

 

No, no. I know it's individual, and some kids are even at a higher level due to being more advanced. Yesterday after we had done our grammar, I realized the white board was covered in all these c&p nouns, and ds had written a dictation (& he's fine w/ that). But I started to wonder if it was a bit much. Especially when I saw that quite a bit of the 1stg here are over 6. Of course I've met people irl, who think that teaching a child to read or even start math, at 5 is crazy, so...

I'm in agreement that the mind is like a sponge and that getting them familiar with these things are good. Maybe it's a first child thing? Shrug. In 2 yrs I prob won't think much of teaching my little guy nouns at 5. That or I'll want to put it off since he's my baby, baby :)

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Anyone else with a later cut off?

 

In my experience, the norm for age cut offs in most of the country is around September. So children going into K would range in age from just turned 5 to nearly 6. However, there is also a trend in some places to hold back kids with summer birthdays, and start them the year after they're eligible for K, so in fact in many kindergartens some of the children are already 6. So the age span for starting K tends to be more along the lines of 5 1/2-6 1/2, rather than just turned 5 to almost 6.

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In my experience, the norm for age cut offs in most of the country is around September. So children going into K would range in age from just turned 5 to nearly 6. However, there is also a trend in some places to hold back kids with summer birthdays, and start them the year after they're eligible for K, so in fact in many kindergartens some of the children are already 6. So the age span for starting K tends to be more along the lines of 5 1/2-6 1/2, rather than just turned 5 to almost 6.

 

Sorry, I changed my post...

 

So I wonder why NY has it so late? Because of that, having a 6 year old working at a 1st grade level isn't unusual to me thus not unusual like the OP was wondering about. My niece turns 7 next month and started 2nd grade.

 

Isn't that trend the "redshirting" thing?

Edited by MissKNG
I keep changing my mind about what info I want public...sorry!
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I think testing is driving cutoffs earlier. If you need to have all your kids reading on a 3rd grade level by the end of 3rd grade, and we KNOW some kids aren't developmentally ready to learn to read until 6 1/2-7, making K mostly 6 yr olds means those kids who need a little more time to learn to read will have at least a year or two before they have to be tested. Similarly, a lot of preschool teachers will suggest that kids who aren't showing signs of reading readiness at age 5 (recognizing letter sounds, starting to blend) wait a year to start K, and kids who aren't solid on those skills will often be recommended for retention in K.

 

It's also not uncommon here, in private schools especially, to have JK/SK programs, where, while officially kids enter kindergarten at 5, many of them do 2 years of K, one in Junior K and one in Senior K, with most of the kids starting 1st grade at age 7. And many of THOSE programs have even earlier cutoffs than the public schools, often not accepting children for JK who aren't 5 by June 1, meaning that they've been 5 at least 3 months before school starts.

 

So there's a big range in Kindergarten age. I think that's why most of the homeschool programs will tend to give age ranges, rather than grade levels-because there's SUCH a variation on what Kindergarten means even within ps kids, so it's not surprising that there's a wide range among homeschoolers!

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In our area Sept. 1 is the cut-off. My ds' birthday is Sept. 2. We started First when he was six years old. We always start school the Monday after his birthday. This makes it easy from year to year. He's seven now, and just started Second. In only math he's still doing first grade work to catch up (he's finishing up Math Mammoth 1A).

 

However, just last week ds was looking forward to his homeschool friend to join him in Wolf Scouts, and he was just starting first (he'll be seven in November).

Edited by sagira
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Sorry, I changed my post...

 

So I wonder why NY has it so late? Because of that, having a 6 year old working at a 1st grade level isn't unusual to me thus not unusual like the OP was wondering about. My niece turns 7 next month and started 2nd grade.

 

Isn't that trend the "redshirting" thing?

 

We have a lot of k'ers who turn 6 before starting in my district. A lot of it has to do with K being a full day (20 min recess and no rest time). Both of my friends who've waited a year before enrolling were worried that their dc wouldn't be able to handle being at school all day or the social aspects of school. Also, our cutoff is in September and starting early is not allowed.

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My just-5 year old son is considered K here in Fl, but he's doing a fair amount of 1st grade work. His brother, at this age, wasn't. So it definitely depends on the kid. My 5 yo is doing Math Mammoth Grade 1, reading Magic Treehouse type chapter books, writing journals, and working on 2nd grade spelling, but at the same time, he loves very crafty, hands-on projects. So I call him "K" but I just do whatever suits him. :tongue_smilie:

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The cut off date in Nevada is September 30th. My dd will be 7 on October 20th so she is in 1st grade. If we stilled lived in CA she would be in 2nd since the cut off date is December 1st there. It drives me crazy that it's not the same in everty state. I have a friend in CA who is a teacher and waited a year to put her son in K and his b-day is in September. My oldest daughter's b-day is December 30th so she started K at almost 6 but ended up skipping 2 grades and graduated high school at 16.

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I do think that we should not expect them, nor force them, to follow a rigid, school-like structured schedule. I see TOO many posts that say something like, "My 4 year old is rebelling against handwriting lessons." Well, DUH! Their motor skills aren't even to that point of making any writing easy! At that point, I say cuddle with your kiddo on the couch while reading aloud to them.On the other hand, I did do SL Core 1 with my Kindergartner this past year but at the same time taught him to read using a phonics program and did LOTS of reading aloud and lots of letting him take breaks and zoom around outside on his scooter. I only did some handwriting with him but that was mechanics of actually shaping the letters, not formal dictation or copywork.

 

That was my long answer. :^) The short answer to your question is: if they'll pay attention, teach them all they want to know. If they start butting heads with you, take a break. And, yes, I think some people may push their kids too much at such a young age.

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This is our first year homeschooling and the boys came straight out of a public school - so my 6 yr old is officially a "first grader" but when I picked out his curriculum, I just did it based on what I thought he needed to work on. His reading and writing is probably kindergarten level. We're going back to basics on that. His math is the Primer level in Math U See. It seems WAY easy right now, like kindergarten level. However its going to pick up I know.

 

HTH!

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The cut off date in Ontario is the middle of December. DD5 birthday is in November, so if I put her in public school she would be considered grade 1. We have just started the grade 1 year for her and everything seems to be going well so far. I know that she is doing a lot more than she would be in ps because I compared the province government grade outlines to what we are doing. But the nice thing about homeschooling is that you can add to or lessen things as needed.

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"First grade" is really irrelevant for homeschooled children as far as what we might want to teach them or what they are capable of learning. Grade-level designations only serve as a way to group children who are approximately the same age, generally not a necessity when teaching one's own children at home. For simplicity's sake, one could follow the public school requirements for entering first grade, based on the child's birthday and the state's cut-off date. That gets a little weird, but as long as it's just a paperwork thing, it's not a big deal and still doesn't mean all that much.

 

No, I don't think it's necessary for young children--say, under 8 or 9--to formally study English grammar. It doesn't matter to me what "grade" they might be "in." There are only 8 parts of speech and some thingummies like phrases and clauses, and I just don't think that native speakers of English need to study their own grammar for 12 years for goodness' sake. :-) I think they can learn to read and write well without that. A couple of years, beginning when they are 9 or 10yo, should be sufficient.

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My dd is 6. She will be 7 the end of October. Our state cutoff is June 30 so her peers are in 1st grade not second. I chose to just meander the years she was 4 and 5 and let her be. We really didn't start academics until this summer. She is doing superbly so I figure waiting made all this easy instead of the struggle it would have been a year earlier. It is very individual to the child. In the case of my kids, a little maturity and development makes things easier. (I stalled my 4th grade ds so in Math and LA he is about half a year 'behind' but moving really well which he wouldn't have 6 months ago.)

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I think it really depends on your state cuttoffs and the child. I fall into the interest led category as far as starting school goes. If you have a child begging to learn and do work then by all means let them as they find it fun and to them it is a kind of play anyhow. Just as long as you are not forcing a child to sit and do work they do not want to do. DS1 is blowing through a lot of books now and has a ravenous appetite for "school" He's is in week 5 of "pre-k" and is almost halfway done with SM EM K book B and MUS primer. At this rate he'll be higher then 1st grade work in K but we will still be calling it K.

 

I personally was 5 in my first grade year and went on to skip a grade later in life anyway so age/grade level doesn't mean much to me anyway.

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"First grade" is really irrelevant for homeschooled children as far as what we might want to teach them .

 

I don't agree with this - my state has requirements and standardized testing. Testing begins in 3rd grade (not taking into account you can actually "skip" this year and test in 4th grade) and a ps 3rd grader is typically 8 years old since our cut off is later. So if I have an 8 year old doing 2nd grade work, they aren't going to pass the 3rd grade standardized test. Additionally, my state has requirements and I'm pretty sure that grammar begins in 1st grade. So I don't agree that grade level is irrelevant for what we want to teach them - at least in my state. We are required to report at 6 years old and the requirements listed are for 1st - 6th (elementary) so when we begin to report, we begin by reporting them as 1st graders.

 

Ellie, you must have HSed in a relaxed state! Which is what the difference probably is.

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I'm in a less regulated state, so it matters much less for us and in general, I think homeschoolers get too hung up on what grade the kids are in. I pay attention to what the expectations are for their age, but I also just teach to where they are. But that's a personal opinion.

 

Our cut off is Sept 30, but oddly, the age of compulsory schooling is 5 by Dec. 30. Thanks, government people who don't know what they're doing. My kids' birthday is Sept. 27th so we called last year K and this year 1st.

 

I personally feel like they've gotten into a bit of a nasty cycle. More and more parents whose kids are close to the cutoff or even not so close "redshirt" them or hold them back for a year so they can enter grade ahead a little bit. Individually, that's great, but the more parents that do it, the more the K (and subsequently the 1st, 2nd, etc.) teachers expect the all the kids to be more mature. So that pushes them to push the cutoff date later. Obviously there's an end to this somewhere. But with testing also driving everything and the system benefiting from older kids for the testing... well, it's all just a mix that seems to be about statistics and costs and not about what's actually best for kids. Just my opinion.

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It's individual.

 

Now if the kids are 5 and in first grade and doing seat work for several hours per day (not including playing games and reading to them), I think there is evidence that that is detrimental, even for the brightest of children. But I would think even parents with advanced children are allowing plenty of time to play. If a child is that advanced, it is probably because they are able to pick things up quickly. If we are sitting there forcing them and pushing them, then I would say, no, that isn't good at 5 and 6.

 

The other thing is, what is considered first grade work? Forty years ago it meant something different than it means now. Most people on this board seem to start phonics and handwriting at 5, and years ago, that was considered first grade work, and there was no kindergarten for many kids. If you go to private schools and public schools across the country, you're going to find different cut-off dates for school entry, and vastly different levels of what is taught in kindergarten and first grade.

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I keep thinking about the LA aspect of things for 1st g. Do we really need to teach them nouns, pronouns, sentence structure, verbs, spelling etc? Are they going to retain it at ages 5 & 6? Should we just be reading a lot, and if they can read, have them read? And skip actually teaching them the other stuff for LA and wait until they are 7? Does any one else feel this way?

 

Maybe I'm looking at it wrong, since our kids are home?

It depends on the kid. My oldest did a lot more than my ds is doing, but she was a girl, and just more advanced all around. She is an auditory learner, and I did most things orally, so it worked well.

 

DS on the other hand is all boy, is in constant motion, is a hands on learner, has auditory process problems due to ear infections he ran as a baby and delayed motor functions. Translation: doing thing orally doesn't work, he can't write well enough to do bunches of written work and while his reading is progressing he isn't reading well enough that I want him to be focusing on anything else. DS is also 2nd grade not 1st and still not doing grammar, composition and such. He will get there, and he will eventually catch up. No need to push it in 1st grade, or 2nd. :D

 

Heather

 

p.s. My 3rd dd was also delayed and her 3rd grade standardized testing still put her at 75% on a national scale. 74% did worse than she did and only 25% did better. My older girls who weren't delayed did better yet, but how good does one need to do? She did great! BTW she did FLL 1/2 in 3rd grade.

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I don't agree with this - my state has requirements and standardized testing. Testing begins in 3rd grade (not taking into account you can actually "skip" this year and test in 4th grade) and a ps 3rd grader is typically 8 years old since our cut off is later. So if I have an 8 year old doing 2nd grade work, they aren't going to pass the 3rd grade standardized test. Additionally, my state has requirements and I'm pretty sure that grammar begins in 1st grade. So I don't agree that grade level is irrelevant for what we want to teach them - at least in my state. We are required to report at 6 years old and the requirements listed are for 1st - 6th (elementary) so when we begin to report, we begin by reporting them as 1st graders.

 

Ellie, you must have HSed in a relaxed state! Which is what the difference probably is.

 

Exactly, and part of my thought process on teaching LA so young. For us, we can do either an assessment or test as home schoolers. I don't know what's on the test-I think it's generalized by grade, not age. So if you submit your letter and state the year will be 1st g, at the end of the year, they test on 1st g knowledge. We can avoid that via an assessment so we can teach what we want.

But the public school has tests each year and the child needs to know the stuff on it. Our public schools teach to pass the test, and don't stray too much from it. (I have no idea what private does). So, I think Fl is a pretty relaxed state as far as home school requirements, but if you're some one like me, who is doing home school as a trial (for what ever reason), I have to make sure I am covering what the public schools are at least. Does that make sense?

Since they are redoing the curriculum, I'm going to have to make up a ps chart by grade, to see what's covered. If they start teaching formal grammar in 2nd g, then I have to as well. I don't think they do in 1st g, but I'm not sure. But if they are starting formal grammar in 1st now, I must make sure my child knows it.

I had 1/2 day kindergarten when I was a kid. I didn't even realize K was full day until about 6yrs ago, when my cousin started to sub. She said K'rs have just so much to learn, that they have a full day now. I can't imagine sending my 5yr old to sit in school (no recess) for a full day.

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I don't agree with this - my state has requirements and standardized testing. Testing begins in 3rd grade (not taking into account you can actually "skip" this year and test in 4th grade) and a ps 3rd grader is typically 8 years old since our cut off is later. So if I have an 8 year old doing 2nd grade work, they aren't going to pass the 3rd grade standardized test. Additionally, my state has requirements and I'm pretty sure that grammar begins in 1st grade. So I don't agree that grade level is irrelevant for what we want to teach them - at least in my state. We are required to report at 6 years old and the requirements listed are for 1st - 6th (elementary) so when we begin to report, we begin by reporting them as 1st graders.

 

Ellie, you must have HSed in a relaxed state! Which is what the difference probably is.

 

 

Actually I have the same requirement (test at the end of 3rd, 5th, 8th and 10th), have been relaxed and my kids have all gotten at least 75% NP on the CAT 5. Though it just focuses on LA and math. I do have them do a year of Spectrum Prep books, so maybe that helps. None of my girls started grammar till 3rd grade.

 

Heather

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My dd is 6. She will be 7 the end of October. Our state cutoff is June 30 so her peers are in 1st grade not second. I chose to just meander the years she was 4 and 5 and let her be. We really didn't start academics until this summer. She is doing superbly so I figure waiting made all this easy instead of the struggle it would have been a year earlier. It is very individual to the child. In the case of my kids, a little maturity and development makes things easier. (I stalled my 4th grade ds so in Math and LA he is about half a year 'behind' but moving really well which he wouldn't have 6 months ago.)

 

I've had no tears or struggle with my kiddos over school work and I wonder if it's because of this as well. Looking back though, I think I should have started some of my 7 yo's school work last year. He seemed a bit bored last year and I think he would have enjoyed some school work/appropriate challenging.

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I have to make sure I am covering what the public schools are at least. Does that make sense?

QUOTE]

 

Yes, it does. I think I'm one of the *few* that doesn't mind following what the state tells me to teach. I mean, I can't move just because I'm in a strict state. (And no, I really can't move - I would never dream of moving until my parents pass on).

 

Anyhoo, I don't know what's on the standardized tests either but if they are conducted in 3rd grade then it's my job to make sure my girls are on a 3rd grade level to pass them. Even if that's starting grammar in 1st or 2nd or whenever!

 

ETA: hmmm, I messed up the quotes somehow! LOL

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Actually I have the same requirement (test at the end of 3rd, 5th, 8th and 10th), have been relaxed and my kids have all gotten at least 75% NP on the CAT 5. Though it just focuses on LA and math. I do have them do a year of Spectrum Prep books, so maybe that helps. None of my girls started grammar till 3rd grade.

 

Heather

 

 

I don't know what NP means.

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I label my dc by their age...my 7yo is 2nd grade, 5yo is Kindy, and 4yo is preK. Their "grade" truly has little to do with their actual work though, which is all over the board. They each have areas where they shine and I nudge them ahead...and areas where they struggle and I nudge them ahead...

 

As far as grammar goes, ya' never know... I joke around that my dd5 "audited" 1st grade last year (b/c she was always around when ds7 did his lessons). Just this past Thursday she grabbed FLL 1/2 off of the shelf and ASKED me tell her about pronouns. :svengo: When I told her I would but after I started the laundry, she sat down and repeated to herself "a noun is a name of a person, place, thing or idea" as happily as if she were singing a nursery rhyme.:D It's all in the child's perception.

 

I don't think grammar is priority #1 for the younger years, by any means. Still, some dc really take to it.

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I do much the same thing-make sure that my DD can, at the end of X grade, meet or exceed the standards for that grade. I don't consider it the end-all and be-all (and I'm NOT going to give up my history sequence just to meet the pathetic standards listed for 1st grade social studies), but I do want to make sure that she's at or above grade level as far as skills go in the big 2-language arts and math-when she exits that grade, just in case the unexpected happens and she has to go back to a traditional school (for example, were DH or I to die, I don't think homeschooling would be a viable option for the other parent).

 

At least in my state, 1st grade standards sound a lot more impressive than they really are, at least not based on the online samples of the tests they use to judge proficiency.

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I just checked our standards since they are updated now on the web. The math is being taught now-my cousin told me she had to teach the new math the week before school started. I glanced over the LA-some of it is in revision/draft still, but the rest is not. If they actually teach the topics, they will be teaching for 1st g-+ more

compound words

dictionary and how to use it (a simple photo one)

synonyms

nouns,pronouns

singular/plural nouns

verbs

singular/possessive

sentence structure, outlines, paragraphs etc

 

So, most of us teach by level at home, which makes sense to me. But for those of us in my state-we'd have to teach this is 1st gr, if there were a chance the kids would be going into school. I could technically skip this for this year though, because ds would be K, not 1st. So I could relax on the grammar more this year.

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Our PS cut-off is Sept 1, so my oldest two with spring birthdays were almost 6.5yo when they started 1st grade. I don't specifically teach grammar in 1st grade, and I am trying to decide when I should really start. Our PS certainly doesn't teach grammar at this level, and the 2nd grade IOWA test didn't have any grammar in it. From what I can tell, our state standards require specific (as in non-speaking) grammar knowledge beginning in 3rd grade.

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I don't know what NP means.

 

Sorry! NP is National Percentile. I lines up everyone who took the test on a line and the percentage tells you where your child fell. With a 75% score it means that 74% did worse, and 25% did better.

 

Heather

Edited by siloam
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Yes, it does. I think I'm one of the *few* that doesn't mind following what the state tells me to teach. I mean, I can't move just because I'm in a strict state. (And no, I really can't move - I would never dream of moving until my parents pass on).

 

 

Not picking on you, promise. :D

 

You might also look into what score is required to "pass".

 

Here in Oregon you only need 15% :rolleyes: Really my oldest two scored 99% and 98% respectively NP scores on their 3rd grade CAT 5. My 3rd dd is classic dyslexic and struggled with finding the "best" answer or choosing from multiple answers. In other words, ask her to write a sentence from dictation and she does fine with proper punctuation and capitalization. Ask her to choose the right option for a series of possibilities and she starts to get confused. She even scored higher on the inferred section of comprehension than the factual side, which is the opposite of most kids. Why? You have to find the best answer on the factual side, and having multiple correct answers confused her. She would do fine if you just asked the question and let her answer it. That said she still did better than 74% of kids taking the same test.

 

You might find that it is easier to pass than you think. BTW the Spectrum test prep books are generally harder than the real thing.

 

That said if your child is not struggling with what you are doing then don't worry about it either way.

 

Heather

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To be honest, I think I saw 33% somewhere as passing. You gotta be kidding me??? But you said Oregon is 15%???? Is this out of 100%????:tongue_smilie:

 

Anyways, I don't really have any "fears" of my big girl not passing but I do have standards....definitely NOT 33%!! And I really don't mind if the state says to teach XYZ in such-n-such grades. That's the way it is.

 

But I think this is OT of what OP was asking about 5/6 year olds doing 1st grade work. I answered about this on the General Forum....

 

Our cut off is December 1st, so a 6 year old doing 1st grade work is not unusual or advanced imo (or a 5 year old turning 6 with a fall birthday). I'm used to K=5, 1st=6, 2nd=7 and so on. Heck, I have a fall birthday and started K before turning 5.

 

I guess whether it's advanced or not depends on the state you are in - an earlier cut off (like Sept 1st) means it's advanced. Later cut off, normal.

 

Oops...I looked at my first post in this thread and yakked about the same thing! :D

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Here the public school cut-off is they have to be 5 by September 1st. My dd's birthday IS September 1st, 12:55 AM. She misses the cut-off by 55 minutes! LOL! Even though she isn't old enough for ps K this year we are doing easy K type work at home, but I won't call it K until next year.

 

We do OPGTTR, read alouds (we both read some to each other), and handwriting. We are pretty far through OPGTTR and when we finish I'll start AAS. I know I could start AAS now, but I don't want to take the time each day to do both OPGTTR and ASS--it's seems like too much sit down type work. We'll figure out next year later. I'm thinking math, FLL, and AAS, but we'll see.

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Here the public school cut-off is they have to be 5 by September 1st. My dd's birthday IS September 1st, 12:55 AM. She misses the cut-off by 55 minutes! LOL!

 

This is why I think the cut-off dates should be gotten rid of. I guess I understand that they need some sort of guideline, but couldn't they just do evaluations? I mean seriously, how is a child born AN HOUR before yours more ready for school? lol.

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In general for first grade, the child will be 6 and turn 7 during the school year but of course that is only for average. Here are average ages for the trivium:

 

Grammar Stage - grades 1-4 (age 7-10)

Logic Stage - grades 5-8 (age 11-14)

Rhetoric Stage - grades 9-12 (age 15-18)

 

My daughter is 6 and will be 7 next month and is 1st Grade in the state of Washington.

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i think it is really okay to go forth with the grammar. you know your child and know if you are going too fast or too far.

 

i would not consider putting my five year old in a class of seven year olds with an instructor who is forming her delivery for seven year olds and has expectations of the children to be seven years old in every aspect. i do not want my five year old to be a seven year old. BUT i think nothing of covering content with my five year old that is being covered in second grade classrooms. not only do i know my child is five and frame our lessons that way, i know my child as an individual and am engaging with her more intimately than a classroom teacher would have an opportunity to do, thus can read her signals that would be overlooked in a public school setting. i like to think of what is going on in my school room as more enriching than first grade and more nurturing than kindergarten. :)

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My son (who started 1st Grade today) turned 6 in July. He will be one of the younger children in his class. The cut-off was recently moved to September 1st, but a number of parents of summer babies (especially boys) have held their kids back, so there is a mix of 6 to 7 year olds.

 

Bill

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