ChandlerMom Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Again, for me it comes down to intent: most people are asking because they are trying to get a rough gage of how old, what the child is doing and/or it's just one of those "polite" kid-related questions. I remember as a kid the looks I'd get when I "returned the favor" and asked the adult, "And how old are you?" :D I usualy just say the age-approp grade. I don't mention hs-ing unless they ask which school they go to. I feel that if I made a big deal of level vs grade or how we don't do grade level because we homeschool, it'll just feed into whatever strange notion they might have about homeschooling. Don't need to seem any odder, right? :D My kids have to have *some* non-hs friends so I don't want to scare off the other parents. :lol: By following the expected conventions, if they are interested and ask WHY we homeschool, I will likely include the ability to teach to whatever level the child is at in whatever style is more effective instead of having to teach to the lowest common denominator with some not great - not bad curriculum. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 We have to register with our school board every year so we have no choice but to declare grade level, but we still use materials that are all over the grade level spectrum based on the children's needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 I'm going to agree with all the pps. I don't like the idea of *making* kids do such and such because of an artificial grade expectation. I like to meet my kids where they're at---so that means my ds is grade level in some subjects, behind in others, ahead in a few etc. I started telling him about his grade because he had a hard time wondering what to say when strangers asked him what grade he was in---it makes it less awkward if your kid politely says 3rd grade and then the stranger is happy and we can go on with life. And then community sports, co-op etc. want to know and it does help that he is with age mates for those activities. Although he is on the spectrum and has a hard time with soccer, although he likes it, and I'm not sending him to play with the aggressive, ultra competitive bigger 4th grade and up teams so if I can get by with saying he's 3rd or asking permission to let him stay in the 2nd and 3rd grade league I will. (:tongue_smilie: sorry for that word salad) Also it just sort of happened that a lot of the books we use have fallen into graded levels---we move along when we're done---or take a break and do something else for awhile. And over time my ds has begun to identify with being a 3rd grader and looking forward to "4th grade"---so I've just begun to accept that and plan our year along that concept more or less. It may seem a little unfair to ps kids and parents, but my kiddos will always "pass" lol because we are learning all year long and that grade is just a social convention for grown-ups and kids to identify each other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaichiki Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 (edited) Not us. I try very hard NOT to mention grade levels at all. This started b/c the public Ks in our town would routinely start boys at 6-6.5... Ds could have easily started at 4.5, but didn't do Kindergarten. When he was of typical K age (5.5) I called and asked about the possibility of placement in first grade. I was told that I had a choice: Kindergarten this year or Kindergarten NEXT year. I was in shock. The kid could have easily handled 2nd grade work across the board and they wanted me to consider keeping him out of K! HOW do you choose a grade level according to age when some schools might have placed him in first (he did go to school years later and WAS grade skipped), some might have placed him in K (according to their birthday cut-offs), and SOME would even encourage him to wait ANOTHER year? ETA: One private school we were considering doesn't use grade labels at all. They have "primary," "junior," and "senior" classes which are mixed ages representing K-8th grade. I figured, if a SCHOOL can go without grade labels, we can too. :) Ds wasn't *in* a particular grade b/c he wasn't *in* a classroom. He was physically at home. The prepositions got to me. :-D And I noticed... at the neighborhood playground near our house... kids would ask other kids what grade they were in... and then those askers wouldn't play with the kids if the answered grade level was less than theirs! I found that grade levels were very much, for schooled kids, about keeping each other in boxes and excluding each other. I saw it happen on the playground every day. The funny thing was that they didn't do it to my kids b/c my kids answered differently. No grade number = no discrimination. I saw that and I was amazed. (I guess answering with an age and "homeschooled" was sufficiently distracting and/or confusing to the askers... enough that they didn't bother to think about it further and just played with my kids.) I decided that grade level according to age was hogwash... but I wasn't about to label ds according to ability either b/c it was too variable and the numbers would have intimidated me. When people ask them for a grade, I've always told the kids to answer by age. That's really what the people want to know anyway. Recently, though, my oldest chose a grade level for himself based on the one year of school he attended. Dd has had some deep conversations with homeschooled and public schooled friends and has chosen a grade level for herself too. The funny thing is that they both go back and forth from time to time... and change their minds during the school year. :lol: My third child is quite literally ON the birthday cut-off for our current town, which would have him just miss it for most other states in the US... so I have a dilemma. I can't decide which grade level to call him. I make it easy for myself by continuing to place him in sports by age/birthday and NOT labeling him with a grade otherwise. It's just simpler not to contemplate all the possible numbers. Edited February 11, 2012 by zaichiki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 I was honestly just wanting to hear others opinions of declaring grade levels. At church, he was so excited when he was "allowed" to attend 4th grade service. Church is one place that I really want my kids with kids who are on a similar level. They write/color/draw in Sunday School, and who wants to be the only kid who can't write? Same with kids' worship service - I want my kids to be with kids who can sit still about the same amount of time. Etc. etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandylubug Posted February 12, 2012 Author Share Posted February 12, 2012 Church is one place that I really want my kids with kids who are on a similar level. They write/color/draw in Sunday School, and who wants to be the only kid who can't write? Same with kids' worship service - I want my kids to be with kids who can sit still about the same amount of time. Etc. etc. I agree. In our church; there is children's church for 1st thru 3rd and a special program for 4th and 5th. According to the state he is 3rd grade due to being held behind in K but age wise he is 4th grade level. IF he couldn't read as well as his age peers; etc. it may have been more of a concern.. He really likes being with his age of kids versus being held back to the younger children's service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissamomof5 Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 I like to have an answer for when people ask, plus for Sunday School placement. But, I try to use materials that are skill-appropriate for where each child is at. Plus, so far, two of my children's birthdays are really close to our state cut-off. So, my 2nd daughter's birthday is Nov 4, here in MI she could either be considered 1st of 2nd this year. My 3rd daughter's birthday is Oct 12, so she could be considered Pre-K or K this year. Our cut-off is Dec 1 here. For me, and my personality type and the fact I was raised in the private and public school system, it has been hard to detach myself from the standard grade levels and making my child do work at the "level" they should be at. I am trying hard though! :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenangelcat Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 We're pretty relaxed. I plan curriculum for the year and we complete as we go with no real schedule. We can go weeks without doing anything and then cram a bunch into a couple of days. We declare grade level only because we have to report to the gov. I base grade level on age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheApprentice Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 To me, it's just something that is administrative (to put on paper). In reality, We do things at their level. So academically, there is a bit of a range in skills learned and taught. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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