If you have a 6yo DS, who is starting with CVC words...

[JoyfulMama]

What grade level do you have him in?

 

(This is a spinoff of another thread, the one that talks about 6yo boys and blending, sounding out words, and beginning reading.)

 

I know it's not really important to assign a grade level at 6 years old, but there are some places we HAVE to say he's in "X" Grade.

 

My ds can do so much verbal work, yet is hindered by reading/writing. So for some reasons I want to say he is 1st Grade. Yet part of me wants to say he is Kindergarten.

 

Going by birthday is so much easier if they don't have a birthday AT the public school cutoff.

 

My dd was SO much easier to determine.

 

So, talk to me... tell me what makes you decide, or not decide, or when you do decide... :bigear:

[Farrar]

My two ds 6's have their birthday just a few days before the cutoff here. I figured I had to fill out the forms for them anyway last year for K (the age of mandatory schooling is one of the lowest in the nation here) so we called this year 1st. But I don't think it matters much. One of them is, as you say, starting with CVC words (though he's a little past that now). The other reads pretty well. I meet them where they're at. They're not going to ps unless something seriously catastrophic happens to our family so it won't matter for their future "placement" and I think 1st grade means whatever I say it means. We do one co-op that's a "first grade" group where they're the youngest by about a month and another co-op group that's "kindergarten" where they're the oldest by a couple months. I registered them for K level sports but I registered them for 1st grade Sunday School. I don't really understand fully why people who are homeschooling for the long haul get into such a thing about this... though I know that some people face testing and we don't, so that frees us up in some ways.

[AudreyTN]

My ds7 (8 in Feb) is in 2nd grade this year and is JUST NOW reading CVC words. I've heard that everything sort of evens out by 5th grade so I'm not going to do anything drastic (switching grade level) until he gets closer to High School.... if it's even necessary.

 

Right now (for us) I think it's important to keep him with the kids his age, no matter what his reading level is.

[Soror]

My son turned 6 July 30, which is right at the cut-off here, I think like the day before or something like that. If we had done public school I would have put him in Kindy this year as there was no way he was ready last year. For my purposes I consider him in-between k-1st for most things.

[Crimson Wife]

My November birthday DS will do Kindergarten this year, "transitional" next year, and 1st grade the year that he turns 7. Not because of reading (that's actually a strong suit) but because of writing & other fine motor skills.

[sbgrace]

I've got a six year old who is behind in some areas. If he were not homeschooled he would be in first grade so that's what we call him even though he's probably closer to a mid-K level in many academic areas.

[Mallory]

1st

My second was especially behind in all language areas at 6- didn't read or write at all.

 

Now at 9 and in the 4th grade he is at grade level in reading and writing.

[Guest mrsjamiesouth]

My 6yo (July birthday) is just now doing CVC words. I say that he is in 1st grade based on age. We are at different levels for different subjects, so I don't think it should really matter this young.

[mom31257]

My ds was reading CVC words at the beginning of Kindergarten and he was 5. Reading is so unique to each child that I think it is hard to say a grade level unless you use a lot of grade level specific curriculum. If so, you could say he is in the grade that he is able to do in the most subjects.

 

I tend to say my kids are in the grade that they would be for their ages. My ds is ahead in math and reading above grade level I think, but I still say he is in 2nd grade because that is what his age is.

[Food4Thought]

My DS just turned 7 a couple of weeks ago. He's in 1st grade. He was still in K when he was age 6 and doing some beginning blending.

 

He was a month behind the cut-off date, but even friends with kids with June and July birthdays kept them back so most of the kids were 7 going into 1st grade this year.

[skueppers]

I have a six-year-old who reads quite well, and she's in Kindergarten. She misses our local cut-off, so this is the placement she would have in public school. There are plenty of kids like her in the PS Kindergarten classes, and she has no problem with being with kids almost a year younger for soccer and the like.

 

She does take a very academic "first grade" class on Saturdays.

 

I don't consider her official grade important in choosing what to teach - I meet her where she actually is academically.

[8filltheheart]

I look at a variety of issues to make my decision.

 

My 5 yod has a late July b-day and makes the cut-off for K. Initially I made the decision to label her a Ker this yr, but mentally she is about 6 months behind in maturity. For example, I worked with her for about 4 weeks at the beginning of the yr and decided that I am no longer counting this as K b/c I could see that she was lagging behind in readiness skills. Now, she is learning the exact same material on her own and playing with the concepts with confidence.

 

That lag is enough for me to hold her back.

[2squared]

My 6yo ds has an April birthday. I consider him 1st grade. His reading and writing is probably at K level, but his math is probably at a 3rd grade level. I expect his reading & writing will catch up over the next few years, and I expect his math to progress even faster. But, who knows what will really happen???

[8filltheheart]

My 6yo ds has an April birthday. I consider him 1st grade. His reading and writing is probably at K level, but his math is probably at a 3rd grade level. I expect his reading & writing will catch up over the next few years, and I expect his math to progress even faster. But, who knows what will really happen???

 

It is precisely b/c we don't know that it is so difficult a call. My oldest was like that when he was little. Up until 11th grade I regretted not holding him back. He was advanced in math and science and completely on grade level in everything else......HOWEVER, when it came to reading and writing, it took a lot of prodding on my part to get him to produce length and quality that were grade level appropriate. He was capable of doing it, but his inclinations were typically those of someone a yr below.

 

When he was a jr, he fell in love ;) and started planning for his future. It is amazing how that internal motivator made a difference in his efforts. (FWIW....he is now married to that love. :D) In the long run it was the right decision to press forward, but it was a lot more work for me.

 

Anyway, after seeing where all those yrs ahead went with my oldest, I am much more reluctant to press forward with my younger kids. My kids that have been just a little more mature have been much more self-regulatory. My personal experience is that it is much easier to give kids work that is grade levels above their grade than to work below grade level.

 

It is all a gray area......one where we each have to forge our own path.

[JoyfulMama]

I'm not looking to determine what level of work to do with him at home, as I will teach where each of my children are based on abilities, not age. However, I don't know what to call him when signing him up for something outside the home that is based on grade level.

 

I don't have to assign him to a grade level for another couple years for the state. Yet sports want to know what grade he is in. Co-ops want to know what grade he is in. Church wants to know what grade he is in.

 

This is something I toss around now and then in my own head. I just wanted a peak into your heads, too.

[JoyfulMama]

It is precisely b/c we don't know that it is so difficult a call. ...

Anyway, after seeing where all those yrs ahead went with my oldest, I am much more reluctant to press forward with my younger kids. My kids that have been just a little more mature have been much more self-regulatory. My personal experience is that it is much easier to give kids work that is grade levels above their grade than to work below grade level.

 

It is all a gray area......one where we each have to forge our own path.

 

Thank you, this was helpful to hear!

[Farrar]

I don't have to assign him to a grade level for another couple years for the state. Yet sports want to know what grade he is in. Co-ops want to know what grade he is in. Church wants to know what grade he is in.

 

 

If he's on the line, I would sign him up for both according to what seemed appropriate. I said above that I signed my kids up for K level for soccer because they're not the most coordinated kids on the planet and they could easily be in K if I had held them back like so many people do for boys who have birthdays that close to the cutoff. But they're attentive and good listeners so I've signed them up for some things that are "first grade" in activities where that's the biggest reason for having a cut off.

[Ellie]

Go by the public school cut-off.

 

There will be children in school whose birthdays are "late," and some that are "early." They all even out eventually.

 

Don't make life more complicated than it is, lol. When you need to hang a grade-level label on him, use the one he would be in if he were in school, but teach him at his ability. He'll be fine.

[JoyfulMama]

Go by the public school cut-off.

 

There will be children in school whose birthdays are "late," and some that are "early." They all even out eventually.

 

Don't make life more complicated than it is, lol. When you need to hang a grade-level label on him, use the one he would be in if he were in school, but teach him at his ability. He'll be fine.

 

Thanks for the KISS (Keep it simple, sista)!

I need that gentle smack over the head every once in a while. :D

[i.love.lucy]

My ds has a 8/29 bday, plus he was a preemie. It was a no brainer to call him preK at 5 and now K at 6. He's on track for K skills and I am fine with it because almost all boys around here are 6 in K. Don't they call that "red shirting"? Anyways, it's very common to give boys some extra time.

 

My dd, OTOH, has a mid July bday and went to K at 5. At the time she was ready, now in 5th grade I do wish I had given her some extra time to mature. Academically if I hold the bar high enough she reaches it, but she's a "young 10". We are now participating in CC, which I like that it's not so focused on grades, and I am hoping to keep her back a year so she will mature. Hopefully without any kind of stigma in her own mind of "being held back". Former PS kids are more grade focused.

 

I'd just call him a Ker and go from here. It sounds like that's the best fit. Like 8filltheheart said, why push when you can have some maturity to help with studies?

[MerryAtHope]

What grade would he be if he was in ps?

 

I might go by that.

 

However...it's easier to put him in K now and decide later to bump him up a grade than to put him in 1st now and decide later that he needs another year before heading into Jr. High or High school and try to hold him back.

 

Merry :-)

[Crimson Wife]

I don't know what to call him when signing him up for something outside the home that is based on grade level.

 

I don't have to assign him to a grade level for another couple years for the state. Yet sports want to know what grade he is in. Co-ops want to know what grade he is in. Church wants to know what grade he is in.

 

Sports here are strictly by age- a child whose birthday is the day before the cutoff goes in the higher bracket and one whose birthday is the day after the cutoff goes in the lower bracket.

 

For other classes, I tend to put him in "pre-k" rather than K because of the fine motor skills issue and also because he's small for his age. The only exception is 4-H because that's something we do as a family and I don't want him feeling left out. He met the age cutoff, so I signed him up for this year.

[talexand]

That reading level definitely fits easily within K or first grade. You'll have to make the call based on other considerations. Do you think he would benefit from being with kids a little older or a little younger? He'll have some pretty much his age either way.

 

My 9 year old is right at the cut-off. He is quite advanced academically and he wanted to go to first grade when he turned 6. I was leaning toward K for social reasons but I let him make the call. This was before we homeschooled. He still goes to school part time. He has good friends and fits in socially but he is always the youngest. I sometimes wish that he could be the oldest for once. But I would do the same thing over again. Its not a bad fit. I just question it because he was on the edge.

 

Terry

[AmyinMD]

My 6 yo twins are just starting to read CVC words. They have a summer birthday and were 2 months premature. Age wise they could go either K or 1. If you asked them they'd say 1st grade but they are doing K work. My son had to be 1st grade to do Cub Scouts which is the main reason why we've been calling them 1st. The PS by us really pushes reading though so if they went to school this year they'd need to go into K.

 

I don't plan to put them in school until at least high school if they go at all so I don't think it will matter that we are calling them 1st now. In a few years it won't matter as much once they are reading well. My oldest did 5th grade work at home last year and we put her in 7th grade ps this year and it's been fine academically.