How important is it to "finish" a book before starting a new grade?

[sea_mommy]

I'm worried that I might have messed up a bit.  :( 

 

It looks as though my ds isn't going to "finish" the math book that I bought him for 1st grade before what I decided would be the end of the school year.  Should I speed everything up so that we can finish and then start the next level 2nd grade?  Or is it okay to continue working in it a few months into 2nd grade? 

[Chris in VA]

Yes, it's ok to work on it in 2nd grade. You are homeschooling, so you have the luxury of meeting your child where they are.

 

Do look, however, at the next math book; most start with review, and you may find you can just start it because it covers what was introduced in the first grade book.

[boscopup]

I'd look at the current book and the next book and see where there is overlap.

 

You could also use the first grade book a few times a week over the summer to keep math fresh (kids that age often forget everything they ever learned if not doing any school for 2+ months).

 

My middle son was toward the end of CLE Math 207 when we stopped. We'll pick up where we left off at the end of June (when our new school year starts), and I'll skip the 301 light unit, since it is review of the previous year. Since I skip quizzes, we should be able to finish 208-210 and 302-310 in 36 weeks.

 

My oldest is not quite halfway through his math book (I intended to spend 1.5-2 years on it). He'll finish it in January and start the next one in February. We rarely start and stop everything at the grade level break.

[Crimson Wife]

I would school lightly through the summer. Maybe 3 days/week for 20 minutes at a time.

[Ellie]

I'm worried that I might have messed up a bit.  :(

 

It looks as though my ds isn't going to "finish" the math book that I bought him for 1st grade before what I decided would be the end of the school year.  Should I speed everything up so that we can finish and then start the next level 2nd grade?  Or is it okay to continue working in it a few months into 2nd grade? 

 

Before "starting a new grade"? Never. Homeschooled children are not in grades.

 

Before starting the next level? Probably a good idea. Most textbooks review at the beginning of the next level, but it's *review.* I'd be more inclined to finish the textbook and then zoom through the beginning of the next...regardless of when that is. :-)

[AmyinMD]

For math I usually have the kids finish the books but if the next book contained a lot of review I would be okay not finishing the book.   Most other things if we don't finish I will just start with something new in the fall but math is one thing here I almost always make the kids completely finish the book.  For something like Science I don't think we have ever finished every last thing in a program.  This year for example we did all of the reading for the Earth Science program we used but haven't done about a dozen of the experiments.  If they aren't done in a few weeks I will just let it go.  They already do many more science experiments than they would ever do if they went to school anyway.  The kids and I both are definitely ready to move onto something new in the fall I'm not going to start back up with the little science we didn't get to this year.  Same with history.   

 

For my high school daughter she absolutely must finish her math book.  She will likely be doing Geometry all summer because it isn't done yet.  We claim credit on her transcript based on the completion of the textbook so she has no option other than completing the entire thing.    

 

 

[OneStepAtATime]

Agree with others. You are homeschooling.  You have not messed up in any way.  :)  You are not slaved to an arbitrarily assigned "grade level" that does not actually reflect where your child is in their learning (except as defined by your state for homeschooling).  Maybe work very lightly through the summer, as others have said, doing math 2-3 days a week, in small bites.  Play some mathy games (have you looked at the thread below?) and have fun with it.  Inspire a love of the subject while you finish the book.  Then in the fall if you start the next level and there is a lot of review maybe only do a chapter review test for the beginning lesson or lessons and if concepts are solid, just move on.  

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/499692-looking-to-do-some-relaxed-math-here-want-to-share-ideas/

 

Best wishes....

[Mrs Twain]

If I were you I would have my child finish the math book over the summer to stay at grade level, especially since it is math (one of the core subjects).

 

Being concerned about grade levels is important because many homeschooled kids end up going into the school system at some point. I have had friends who recently felt it was best to put a couple of their kids into public school even though they had never planned on doing that. Their kids were behind in some areas because of they followed the practice as described above--not worrying about grade levels and just doing work at a slow speed because they were homeschooling and it supposedly didn't matter.

 

I aim to have my kids at grade level at minimum and surpass grade levels when possible. We are homeschooling and have such an advantage. We can teach our kids more than they do at the public schools. Shouldn't we aim at least as high as the average public school kids but preferably higher?

[warneral]

I would keep him working on math in the summer (I always have my kids working on math through summer).  This is assuming you typically stop for summer break. 

[Ellie]

If I were you I would have my child finish the math book over the summer to stay at grade level, especially since it is math (one of the core subjects).

 

Being concerned about grade levels is important because many homeschooled kids end up going into the school system at some point. I have had friends who recently felt it was best to put a couple of their kids into public school even though they had never planned on doing that. Their kids were behind in some areas because of they followed the practice as described above--not worrying about grade levels and just doing work at a slow speed because they were homeschooling and it supposedly didn't matter.

 

I aim to have my kids at grade level at minimum and surpass grade levels when possible. We are homeschooling and have such an advantage. We can teach our kids more than they do at the public schools. Shouldn't we aim at least as high as the average public school kids but preferably higher?

 

I always recommend that people know the grade levels their dc would be in if they were in school, grade levels which are based purely on their children's date of birth and the cut-off date for school entry their state. :-) However, that has nothing to do with what the children are actually doing at home academically, or finishing a math textbook before starting the next. :-)

[bakpak]

I always find this concept interesting, as I can't remember EVER finishing a textbook in public school. NEVER, in all those years and all those classes.

 

It seems like homeschoolers often hold themselves to much higher standards than is expected in public school in this regard.

[Sherry in OH]

I always find this concept interesting, as I can't remember EVER finishing a textbook in public school. NEVER, in all those years and all those classes.

 

It seems like homeschoolers often hold themselves to much higher standards than is expected in public school in this regard.

 

Public school texts have extra chapters to meet different state requirements and because some classes move through material more quickly than others.  They usually have several chapters that stand on their own and can be skipped, a few chapters near the end introducing next year’s concepts, and great deal of review.  Materials designed specifically for homeschooling have less extraneous material.    The thought is that one level will be completed before the next is started.  If you use public school texts, not quite finishing is usually okay.  Not finishing a level of a program without much built-in redundancy could result in a great deal of frustration and backtracking.  

 

I would look at the unfinished material in the first grade book.  Are there concepts that you haven’t covered?  I would want to introduce those concepts before starting the second grade book.   This could be done by doing lessons 2-3 times a week during the summer, informally through games, or for the first few weeks of second grade.    

[Aloha2U]

I agree with a mixture of responses here. I'd either study through the summer to finish the math book [Crimson Wife] and start afresh with the next level at the beginning of your next school year... or... at least finish the textbook and then zoom through the beginning of the next... regardless of when that is [Ellie]. That being said, I think [Mrs. Twain] made a good point when she mentioned that we should aim high.

 

Perhaps I'll get tomatoes thrown at me for sharing my thoughts, especially since I have an only, but I believe that all too often one is consoled or reassured—it/you/they will be fine—when tempted to soften or lighten a load, when we should be encouraging each other to press on and go for it, whatever that "it" may be. That's still supportive. Sometimes we don't give ourselves and our children enough credit as to what can be accomplished and learned. In many cases, condoning to giving in and taking a break is not exactly being supportive, but is a disservice and (in fact) actually causing a stumbling block by setting one up for continuing bad habits. I know every case and situation is different, but as a whole I see this happening far too often among us here—going for what's easier for the sake of ease, instead of holding ourselves and our children to a higher standard. It is frustrating and disappointing to see. Just my two cents.  :leaving:

[Ellie]

 

 

It seems like homeschoolers often hold themselves to much higher standards than is expected in public school in this regard.

 

And that could be why homeschooled children are doing so much better academically. :-)

[MerryAtHope]

It depends on the curriculum. For example, I used Horizons, and the end of their books still had new concepts taught--concepts that would be reviewed the next year (because it's a spiral-based curriculum) but not with the same level of instruction. So, if you missed the end of the book, it mattered, especially if you had a child who really needed more scaffolding in how a new topic is approached.

 

On the other hand, the first several weeks of lessons in Horizons tended to be a review. Since I wanted the flexibility to spend more time on the harder, new concepts, what I did was have my kids take the tests for the first 3-4 sets of lessons. Then we might start around lesson 27 or 37 (Horizons tended to start new concepts a few days before a test, but the new concept isn't tested until the following test). This way we had wiggle room in our year and could cover everything. 

 

IIRC, Saxon is another one that has lots of review at the beginning of the year.

 

A friend used Math-U-See, which is not grade-level oriented--the student is to work at his or her pace. You don't necessarily finish at the end of a school year--some kids might take more time, some less. Her kids, 2 years apart, ended up just 1 year apart because the younger excelled at math. 

 

So, think through how you want to plan your year, and look at the style of curriculum, how it's set up, etc... and decide what's good for you and your family. 

 

 

[kristinannie]

We school year round, but we just keep going.  My kids are technically in all different grades for different subjects.  I am of the mind that you master something and don't rush through it just to get through it by a certain date.  You can always go a little quicker at the beginning of the next math book if it is a repeat of what you just did.  Also, we are taking our first long break because I am having a baby, but my kids still do a math sheet a couple of times a week so you can get through some of the book over the summer if you want to.  I wouldn't want to go through a couple of months without doing a little math, Latin, and phonics.

[Guest]

nm; pointless post.

[kiana]

I'd work lightly through the summer to finish it. Honestly, a solid foundation in arithmetic and reading are the most important things in elementary school.

 

I'd be reluctant to take a summer break and then try to come back in the middle of the math text. There's review at the beginning for a reason; many students who take summer breaks need that review. Coming in the middle will be difficult. If you DO take a long summer break, I'd move back a bit and repeat lessons if necessary.

 

If math is the only subject, "school" can be over very quickly, and still have plenty of time left for summer activities.

[TheApprentice]

None of my kids finished their math this year within the "school year". Guess what we'll be doing over the summer. I've already given them the heads up. We will finish the curriculum before moving on. Math is the one thing we will not rush through. No point. It will only get harder, so it's better to be solid, early.

[LEK]

For me it generally depends on how much they have left in the book. If it is not too much left to complete I try to get it done before the end of the school year or get them to do maybe 2 days per week of that book over the break until complete. If there is a lot left then i have no worries with just picking up where we left off after the break. I would never skip the end of a math book.

[PeacefulChaos]

I wouldn't speed it up unless he's grasping the concepts really, really well.

 

But you can either finish it after starting second grade, or just keep him working on just that through the summer, at least til he's done.  I've done both.  Link finished up 3rd grade math the beginning of his 4th grade year, and this summer I have both boys finishing their respective grade level maths over summer (just until they finish).  Just doing a bit of math everyday doesn't cut into our summer, so that's what we're doing now.  :)

[Pen]

It depends on the curriculum. 

 

 

 

This!

[LMD]

I'd just pick up again where you left off when you start school.  We often take tangents (yes, even with math) and speed through other parts fast.  We almost never start a book at the beginning of the school year and finish it at the end - we're often moving on to the next one part way through etc.  It did bother me a bit in the beginning, now (grade 4) I can see my child is learning well and we'll get there so I don't panic!