Update post #36: How will taking 2 years for Alg 1 in 8th-9th affect my son's future?

[Garga]

My son is in 8th grade.  He's in Algebra I.  We're using Lial's. 

 

When I was researching this, homeschoolers said it takes about 2 days per section.  Well...not for us. It takes us 4 days. Each day is an hour of work, so it takes us 4 hours per section.  Maybe 3.5.  But that means we take 4 school days for each section not counting reviews and tests, which also take longer than people said they would.  At this rate we will not be done Algebra I by June.  Or maybe even by August. Or maybe September.

 

And when I "grade" his work, he's getting a consistent C. 

 

I don't want him to be getting Cs.  To me a C means he has not mastered the work. 

 

I don't know what to do.  Do we slooooow down and I allow Algebra I to take us 2 years to complete, so that he'll still be doing Algebra I in 9th grade?  Or do I just make him do about 2 hours of algebra a day to keep us on track to move to Geometry next year?

 

What are the ramifications?  Will I have to put on his transcript that he really did only 1/2 a year of Algebra I in 9th grade because we did it at such a slow pace?  Will that make it not worth the proper credits?  How will this affect when he can take SAT/ACT tests?  How will this affect what sciences he can take in high school?  Is there anything else I'm not thinking of that this affects?

 

He's not necessarily a STEM student.  He's generally a good student overall, and this slooooow pace and C average in Algebra I is a bit of a surprise to me.  He's not fooling around when he's working.  He's steadily working, but it's hard for him and it takes up a lot of time. 

 

Some of the errors are calculation errors as he's trying to get the work done:  calculation errors due to speed or sloppiness or distraction have dogged him his whole educational life.  I think if we tossed the calculation errors, he'd be getting a low B in the class.  I'm used to him getting As.

 

I don't want to slow down so much that we mess up his math/science future.  And I don't want to go so fast that he doesn't have a proper grounding and we mess up his math/science future.  Rock/hard place.

[73349]

Do you think he could do geometry next year while finishing algebra? Or the following year, concurrently with Alg. 2 (which I did in PS)?

 

What do you feel is the level he needs to get to by graduation? If you're not going for calculus, he could finish Alg. 1 in 9th, geometry in 10th, Alg. 2 in 11th, and then a trig/pre-calc in 12th and be ready for calc as a college freshman if he picks something that requires that.

 

Few high school science classes require math above Alg. 1. Physics sometimes uses some trigonometry, but he could do that as a senior.

 

IIRC, the SAT math was mostly Alg. 1 and geometry, little or no Alg. 2 and nothing above that.

[Matryoshka]

In our school district, the 'standard' level kids take Algebra I part A in 8th and Algebra I part B in 9th.  The entirety of Alg1 in 8th is only done by the kids that will be on the Honors track in high school, and they call it "Accelerated Algebra", even though it's just Alg1 done in one year.  My less mathy dd did not pass the placement test when she went to the ps high school (we did Algebra with Lial's in 8th), and she took Algebra I part B in 9th.  She's a senior taking PreCalc now and doing well - she'll be some kind of social sciences major, so that's just fine.

[Garga]

 

 

IIRC, the SAT math was mostly Alg. 1 and geometry, little or no Alg. 2 and nothing above that.

 

 

Hmmm..  So if the SAT is mostly Alg 1 and geometry and little to no Alg 2, it might be better to let Alg 1 take longer.  Then, it's fresher in his memory for the test.  The SAT is in 11th grade right and sometimes 12th?  So, he wouldn't have to wait 3 years between the class and the test. 

 

I'm still very new to high school stuff and I'm trying to fit all these pieces together. 

[73349]

Most people take the PSAT in 10th or fall of 11th and the SAT later in 11th (allowing time to re-take in 12th if desired), I think. Algebra is used in geometry, so I wouldn't expect him to forget it.

[G5052]

It's hard to say at this point, but you are wise to look ahead and see where this might go.

 

If sloppiness and distraction are an issue, you may need to double your efforts to get that managed better. It's not going to make math any easier if they continue.

 

One of mine is in a class with someone else because we just were at each over over Algebra II. Math is easy for me, and I'm not good about figuring out alternate ways to explain things in math. We had to fix that issue primarily, but this kid also has a long history of sloppiness and dawdling with math. And guess what? The sloppiness stopped, and progress is being made. I think that they needed to be driven by someone else. I wish that I had done that earlier.

 

My other one who is now in college actually had to repeat Algebra I, so that's an option too. We tried it in 8th, and I just didn't feel like he was getting it. So we did it again in 9th, and he aced it the 2nd time through. He also did very well on the math part of the SAT and has straight A's in college. He finished pre-calculus in 12th.

 

That said, plenty of kids go to college with just Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II. You may not be looking at a selective college, but that's certainly reasonable as long as they have the credits. 

[kiana]

It is more important for him to be solid on algebra 1 than to meet some arbitrary deadline. Let it take how long it takes. It will mess up his math/science future far more to not be rock-solid in algebra. I would aim for solid B's or higher. 

 

I would have absolutely no compunction about writing "9th grade: Algebra 1" even if he had begun the work in 8th and did not finish until 9th. 

[Arcadia]

How will this affect when he can take SAT/ACT tests? How will this affect what sciences he can take in high school?

 

Some of the errors are calculation errors as he's trying to get the work done: calculation errors due to speed or sloppiness or distraction have dogged him his whole educational life.

You can let him work through the summer and just finish up in fall 2016 while starting geometry.

 

The ACT and the new SAT can be done after algebra 2 followed by test prep. Whatever trigonometry questions are in algebra 2 textbook or you can just teach it. Very few questions on trigonometry in any case. Khan Academy has free SAT prep if you want to see what are his weaker areas.

 

The only science affected is calculus based physics. I don't remember anything else that is dependent on mastering calculus.

 

I'll work on the speed/sloppiness/distraction. That affects any kind of test taking. I have a sloppy kid and a distracted kid.

 

ETA:

A scientific calculator is more than enough for ACT and SAT.

 

ETA:

The Holt Larson Algebra 1 & 2 does get it done if you are looking at alternatives.

[katilac]

Have you considered switching texts?  

 

We've had great luck with the Holt 2007 books. 

[Carol in Cal.]

I looked at Lial and would have found it hard to teach.  Also it had far too little practice for DD's learning style.

And I'm an engineering major--algebra is not hard for me.

 

We used Saxon Algebra 1, which had more geometry and unit analysis (extremely helpful later on in chemistry) but didn't go quite as far into the uses of the quadratic formula as other typical algebra books do.  

 

If he is going at half speed AND getting C's, something is wrong.  I think you need to either change texts, or back up into pre-algebra and then try algebra again later (it's pretty abstract--maybe he isn't quite ready to think that way yet), or increase the amount of time per day that he spends on math, or some combination.  On that note, I think that at the high school level two hours a day on math is more typical--40-60 minutes of class time and then 90 minutes of homework.  Algebra is really a high school class, although it has been pushed into 8th grade, so I think he is just plain not spending enough time on it, in addition to probably needing a different text.

 

Also, just in general, I did well in algebra 1 but didn't get fast at it until I was using it a lot in chemistry.  So having to take his time and slow down at this point will pay off later.

[katilac]

I forgot to answer the original question - I don't think it will affect his future at all. 

 

Many, many students take algebra in 9th grade. My dd did, and she is now happily considering her college acceptances - and even considering a math major! 

 

Even for students who do go way off the standard course, what are you going to do? You can't force him to understand it. I would consider switching texts (we tried Lial's one year and I found it verbose and oddly worded), and then just keep on trucking. 

[Tess in the Burbs]

I agree that if he is getting C's he may not really know it.  My son is doing geometry in 8th grade and We had all sorts of struggles with Algebra.  However, he had all A's.  We tried to repeat it this year, but he was so bored.  We finally jumped to geometry and he's doing fine.  He's acing the algebra review sections.  But if your child is not getting a B or above are  you willing to pass the child?  My kids have to get a B in language arts, math, and science.  If they can't get a B, I don't think they really know it.  

 

Why not do some pre algebra review like decimals, fractions, %'s?  The Key To... series are good for this.  Then pick up algebra next spring and see if he is doing better/faster.  

[regentrude]

If he begins Algebra 1 in 8th and finishes it in 9th grade, I would list 1 credit for Algebra 1 on his transcript for the year in which the course is completed.

He will be on track in math and this will have no consequences.

You are doing the smart thing. Algebra 1 is THE foundational course, and the student needs to develop a rock solid understanding. Take whatever time is needed to accomplish this.

 

I agree that getting Cs means he has not mastered the concepts. Is his prealgebra solid? Is he struggling with fractions? Try to pinpoint the problem so a remedy can be found.

[ondreeuh]

 

What are the ramifications?  Will I have to put on his transcript that he really did only 1/2 a year of Algebra I in 9th grade because we did it at such a slow pace?  Will that make it not worth the proper credits?  How will this affect when he can take SAT/ACT tests?  How will this affect what sciences he can take in high school?  Is there anything else I'm not thinking of that this affects?

 

 

My son is enrolled in a correspondence school through our district, and their policy is to award credits as classes are completed. Their transcripts also only show courses by year, not semester. So in your son's case it would just show Algebra 1 credit was earned in 9th grade.

 

Taking Algebra in 9th is still the norm in some places and shouldn't put him as a disadvantage if, as you say, he isn't a strong STEM student. Algebra/Bio in 9th, Geometry/Chem in 10th, Alg. 2/Conceptual Physics in 11th, etc. My son will actually be doing Alg/Environmental in 9th, then Geo/Bio in 10th, Alg. 2/Chem in 11th, and who knows what after that.

 

I would be concerned that he was only getting a low B/C grade in the class, though. If it's not sticking, will there be enough retention to allow him to be successful in Algebra 2?

 

My 8th grader is doing "8th grade math" (Course 3) which is like a half-step between pre-algebra and algebra. My goal was for him to be very solid in the fundamentals so that algebra is not overwhelming in 9th. You might consider stepping back to such a program. I would think you could finish it up this year (could test out of the first couple of chapters) and then with a solid foundation you could do the full algebra book next year in 9th with better success. I use Holt with the Teacher OneStop Planner which gives me quizzes, tests, reteaching worksheets, cumulative reviews, etc. We do a cumulative review at the end of each chapter, and along with Math Minutes 8 he is really getting this stuff cemented. The other advantage of doing 8th grade math is that there is a lot of pre-geometry in it which helps set him up for success in Geo. down the line.

[JoJosMom]

 

 

Some of the errors are calculation errors as he's trying to get the work done:  calculation errors due to speed or sloppiness or distraction have dogged him his whole educational life.  I think if we tossed the calculation errors, he'd be getting a low B in the class.  I'm used to him getting As.

 

 

 

For this aspect of the problem, have you considered bribery?  My DD would do that, so I started paying her for no sloppy mistakes.  It wasn't much, but it kept her focused.  I sort of let the program die over the following summer break. :blush:

[Julie of KY]

Algebra 1 for ninth grade is just fine (even though you started in 8th).

 

I'd look hard at what and why he is having trouble. Are his prealgebra skills solid? does he have any learning disorders? is he distracted? Whatever the problem, I would make sure algebra is solid before moving on - alternatively you can continue algebra while starting geometry, but having solid algebra 1 skills is critical to moving forward in math and science as well as important for college board testing.

 

Consider having an outside person (math tutor) evaluate his skill set that you "think" he already knows and get their opinion on whether he is solid before you keep moving on. If you are building on a weak foundation, you are setting him up for lots of problems in the future.

[chiguirre]

We had the sloppy mistakes issue last year on our first pass through algebra 1. Using the Virtual Homeschool Group's at your own pace class helped immensely because you don't get credit for the problem until it's right. There is no arguing with mom about how right something has to be. VHSG uses Saxon 3rd edition. We also used Keys To Algebra for an easier intro to some topics. I can't recommend Keys highly enough. They are fabulous for introducing algebra concepts in a straightforward way.

[MarkT]

0)  What did you use for Pre-algebra?

 

1)  How is the course run?   Any videos?  Does the student just read the textbook?  Do you teach the material on a whiteboard?

 

2)  Does the student think he understands the material?  Maybe interactive whiteboard sessions are needed to get started on a new topic.

 

 

Do not rush through Algebra 1 - big mistake. It needs to be solid!

[Lolly]

Just one other little note to think about...High school maths usually take at least 1.5 a day. 2 hours/day would not be abnormal at all. It doesn't have to be all in one sitting. Consider an hour of class time and an hour of homework.

[clementine]

Our dd took Alg 1 in 8th and a different Alg 1 curriculum in 9th for high school credit.  No regrets about it at all and she had a very solid foundation for the rest of high school math.  She is actually majoring in math in college, and she feels like her high school math sequence prepared her well. 

[Sunshine State Sue]

Why not do some pre algebra review like decimals, fractions, %'s?  The Key To... series are good for this.  Then pick up algebra next spring and see if he is doing better/faster.  

 

Is his prealgebra solid? Is he struggling with fractions? Try to pinpoint the problem so a remedy can be found.

 

Good points.  I tutor math for GED students.  We have found that often students struggle with Algebra due to a weak foundation in fractions, decimals, and percents.

[Garga]

Our dd took Alg 1 in 8th and a different Alg 1 curriculum in 9th for high school credit.  No regrets about it at all and she had a very solid foundation for the rest of high school math.  She is actually majoring in math in college, and she feels like her high school math sequence prepared her well. 

 

 

Hmmm..  I remember that this happened with me as a kid.  I took prealg in 7th, then prealg again in 8th.  I had struggled in math from 1st-7th, but after 8th grade the struggle was gone.

 

This may be exactly what I end up doing.

[Garga]

0)  What did you use for Pre-algebra?

 

1)  How is the course run?   Any videos?  Does the student just read the textbook?  Do you teach the material on a whiteboard?

 

2)  Does the student think he understands the material?  Maybe interactive whiteboard sessions are needed to get started on a new topic.

 

 

Do not rush through Algebra 1 - big mistake. It needs to be solid!

 

 

There is a little video, but it doesn't really bring anything new to light--the person mostly just reads through what's in the book. 

 

I was just thinking that I'm going to need to spend a lot of time reviewing each morning before the lesson on a whiteboard.  I think I was expecting that he could watch the video, read the book, do the exercises and done.  But now I'm remembering that my best math teacher in school simply took the time to go over 2 problems every morning on the board.  That was it.  But just her doing that made everything so clear.  I need to do that for him, too. 

[Garga]

Good points.  I tutor math for GED students.  We have found that often students struggle with Algebra due to a weak foundation in fractions, decimals, and percents.

 

 

It seems to be those little rules.  If you move a negative sign to the other side of an inequality, then the inequality sign switches.  Does -3 cubed mean you take -3 x -3 x -3 or does it mean you take 3 x 3 x 3, and then make the answer negative?  In other words, does the sign stick to the number or is the sign separate from the number.

 

It's those little odds and ends that keep tripping him up.  So, I think we need to slow down and let them sink in.

[regentrude]

It seems to be those little rules.  If you move a negative sign to the other side of an inequality, then the inequality sign switches.  Does -3 cubed mean you take -3 x -3 x -3 or does it mean you take 3 x 3 x 3, and then make the answer negative?  In other words, does the sign stick to the number or is the sign separate from the number.

 

Does he try to memorize them as "rules" or does he fully understand the conceptual reasoning behind them?

[Garga]

Does he try to memorize them as "rules" or does he fully understand the conceptual reasoning behind them?

Excellent point. I need to assess this. Very good point.

[kiana]

Excellent point. I need to assess this. Very good point.

 

I would speculate that regentrude is spot on with her comment. 

 

If nothing else, I would start checking his work every 2-3 problems rather than letting him drill the incorrect procedures into his brain. 

 

It may be worthwhile, though, to consider re-starting with either the same program or a different program. It is pretty clear that he's learned something, but not really enough, and I would consider it superior to go back to the beginning now than to finish the program and then restart everything next year. If you do decide to switch, I think Algebra: A Fresh Approach might be a good fit given what you've said his issues are.

 

But I'd still start checking his work after every couple of problems regardless of whatever else you do. 

[Carol in Cal.]

It seems to be those little rules.  If you move a negative sign to the other side of an inequality, then the inequality sign switches.  Does -3 cubed mean you take -3 x -3 x -3 or does it mean you take 3 x 3 x 3, and then make the answer negative?  In other words, does the sign stick to the number or is the sign separate from the number.

 

It's those little odds and ends that keep tripping him up.  So, I think we need to slow down and let them sink in.

One thing I did when DD was learning this kind of thing in pre-algebra and algebra is that every once in  while we would do a homegrown summary instead of a lesson.  So, for instance, we would take all the rules about 4 functions as they relate to fractions and put them on one piece of paper.  Ditto for the rules about 4 functions for negative numbers.  Ditto for exponent analysis.  Then those summaries become kind of a reference library, and since DD was part of developing them she would use them pretty well.

[Arcadia]

I think I was expecting that he could watch the video, read the book, do the exercises and done. But now I'm remembering that my best math teacher in school simply took the time to go over 2 problems every morning on the board.

Let him explain to you after he has watch the video and read the book.

 

The keys to series are good for extra drill.

[VANURSEPRAC]

My D12 just finished Phillip Keller's "Advanced Math for Young Students: A First Course in Algebra"

 

 

D12 found this extremely helpful in  understanding  the concepts of Alg 1.

[AppleGreen]

Our dd took Alg 1 in 8th and a different Alg 1 curriculum in 9th for high school credit.  No regrets about it at all and she had a very solid foundation for the rest of high school math.  She is actually majoring in math in college, and she feels like her high school math sequence prepared her well. 

I wish we had done that this year. Sigh.

[EKS]

Are you presenting the material to him, working practice problems with him to ensure he is on the right track, and checking each answer as he gets them while he does problems independently?  If not, that's where I'd start.

 

Also, it is not necessary to assign every problem.  Unless he isn't understanding something, the odds are more than enough.

 

If you are doing the above and he is still getting a C and taking four hours per section, it might be time to consider switching texts.  I highly recommend Jacobs because it develops deep understanding in a gentle (and fun, IMO) manner.

[BlsdMama]

It is more important for him to be solid on algebra 1 than to meet some arbitrary deadline. Let it take how long it takes. It will mess up his math/science future far more to not be rock-solid in algebra. I would aim for solid B's or higher. 

 

I would have absolutely no compunction about writing "9th grade: Algebra 1" even if he had begun the work in 8th and did not finish until 9th. 

 

That's when he receives the credit so really it only makes sense.

 

Also, realize you can always make a transcript that isn't arranged by grade taken (or even mention it.)  My DD's transcript was listed by subject and the classes taken within it PRECISELY because of our math dilemma.  She was *not* a math girl and had a rough go with Algebra I/II but ended up completing both quite successfully.  However, it was to our best interest to not put WHEN. ;)

[Momto6inIN]

My DS is currently in 8th grade and doing Alg I also. He too makes lots of mistakes with negatives and not distributing to the whole expression and whatnot. We watch his math video (using Video Text which is excellent at explaining the conceptual reasons behind the rules) and then go over his assignment with him. He does 2 problems and then checks the answer key to correct any mistakes/misconceptions before doing the rest of the problems. He does the odds one day and if he gets a B or better we move on the next day. I do give him partial credit if his reasoning/understanding was correct but he gets the answer wrong because of careless errors. Slowly but surely he is getting better at catching the careless errors. If he gets a C or below then we review the video and figure out where he went wrong and do the evens the next day.

 

One thing that really helps him is instead of subtracting a number to indicate it's a negative, he writes it as an addition of a negative number.

for example 4x + -7 instead of 4x - 7

I think it has something to do with reminding him that the negative actually means "opposite" but whatever the reason it has really helped him not make so many careless errors.

 

My older DS blew right through Algebra I and II and Geometry because he just "gets" math and he loves it, but this DS has a totally different brain. He doesn't hate math but it's definitely not something he's going to spend the rest of his life doing. If he doesn't get to calculus before college, I'm really ok with that and he'll be in good company with a lot of other students whose gifts lie outside the math realm. :)

[Chrysalis Academy]

We're taking two years to do Algebra 1, along with pre-geometry, pre-statistics, etc.  I can say it's the single smartest decision I've made in homeschooling.  So far (I hope!).

 

Shannon's doing Alg 1 in 7th-8th, so I realize that it's a slightly different situation. But I have found it so well worth it. I love that we don't feel rushed. I love that we can stop and park on a concept that she's struggling with without worrying about getting behind. I love that we can pull chapters from different books to look at things different ways. 

 

I'll also say that if my kid were getting Cs consistently, I would definitely think about trying a different math book.  I've found that there is a big difference in presentation, and a presentation style that clicks for a kid is worth a thousand pages of problems.

[Garga]

Ok.  I have a plan.  I'm going to stick with Lial's for now and see if my plan works.  If not, I'll look into getting a new curriculum.  It's too early to ditch the entire curric before testing to see if that's truly the probem.

 

Here's the plan:

 

Review:

1.  I'll have him take the diagnosic preview that's in the front of the book.  It includes decimals, fractions, percents from pre-algebra and then problems from each chapter of the Lial's book for placement in the book.  We are currently just finishing chapter 3, so I'll have him take the diagnostic preview up through chapter 3 and see if the preview shows areas that he doesn't know.

 

2.  There's an appendix at the back that teaches strategies on how to solve word problems and gives 48 word problems as practice.  We'll read the strategies and then each morning we'll work on only one word problem to get our brains moving.  We'll do this until all 48 problems have been done.

 

3.  There were some "real life application" pages and "do these as a group" exercises that we skipped the first time around.  I'm going back through chapters 1-3 and we're going to do those together on a whiteboard because they were pretty complex.

 

The above will probably take about 10 days or so.

 

Then, going forward, if I find that he really struggled with any of the above, we'll redo that chapter. After that, here's how I plan for each day to be handled:

 

I will expect him to do a full 1.5 hours of Algebra I a day, instead of the 55 minutes we currently do.  55 minutes with me, 35 alone for homework.  I made 3 other of our classes each 10 minutes shorter so that he'd have more time for his homework. (We already school for 6.5 hours a day.  He's pretty worn out at the end of the day.)

 

Next, the classes will be run like this:

While I get my younger son started on his math, oldest will do these three things alone:

One of the 48 word problems from the appendix

Practice problem from a previous chapter (prob's he got wrong in the past)

Practice problem from most recently learned section

 

When I'm done with his brother, if DS13 does the above correctly, he teaches each problem back to me.  If he does them wrong, we work on them together to find the correct answer.

 

If it's time for a new section, we'll watch the video on that section.  The whole video of the section.

Then, even though the video comes right from the book, we'll still read the book, bit by bit.

Instead of reading the entire section all at once and doing all the odds at once, we'll read just one or two objectives, then do just the exercises for those objectives  (Each chapter is divided into sections, and each section is divided into objectives.)

Then we'll learn a couple more objectives and do those exercises.  No more learning the entire section at once.  We'll learn objective by objective.

 

 

If he doesn't improve by the end of chapter 4, or mid chapter 5, I'll probably start searching for a new curric.

 

​

 

 

[AngieW in Texas]

That sounds like a good plan.

 

 

[Tsuga]

He's 12 right now? So, by 8th-9th, you really mean, 7th gifted and talented program and 8th gifted and talented program?

 

I did that, and I'm fine.

 

Algebra is a developmental skill, in my biased opinion. I think taking another year for Algebra prep would be wise. I don't know which one. There look to be some good suggestions on this thread.

[Garga]

He's 12 right now? So, by 8th-9th, you really mean, 7th gifted and talented program and 8th gifted and talented program?

 

I did that, and I'm fine.

 

Algebra is a developmental skill, in my biased opinion. I think taking another year for Algebra prep would be wise. I don't know which one. There look to be some good suggestions on this thread.

He turned 13 in September. If he was in school, they'd have him in 7th, not 8th, due to the cut off date for his birthday. He'd miss moving up a grade, according to the school, by 11 days. I have him in 8th because waaaay back when he was little, he was ready to learn and frankly, because ALL of his friends are a few months older than him and I didn't want him to be the kid they started to shun because he was "too little." Many of his friends are public schoolers and they would possibly think along those lines.

 

And I forget that fact a lot--that he's a young 8th grader. I've considered saying he's only in 7th and giving him an entire extra year of school, but I think come graduation when ALL of his friends are heading off to college and he's still in high school, he'd just die.

 

Since you've reminded me that he's young for his grade, it makes me feel even better to allow Alg I to cover 2 years. He's always pretty easily picked up math concepts, but the problems in alg are more snarly and tangled than he's used to. He needs time to pick them apart without feeling rushed.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

He turned 13 in September. If he was in school, they'd have him in 7th, not 8th, due to the cut off date for his birthday. He'd miss moving up a grade, according to the school, by 11 days. I have him in 8th because waaaay back when he was little, he was ready to learn and frankly, because ALL of his friends are a few months older than him and I didn't want him to be the kid they started to shun because he was "too little." Many of his friends are public schoolers and they would possibly think along those lines.

 

And I forget that fact a lot--that he's a young 8th grader. I've considered saying he's only in 7th and giving him an entire extra year of school, but I think come graduation when ALL of his friends are heading off to college and he's still in high school, he'd just die.

 

Since you've reminded me that he's young for his grade, it makes me feel even better to allow Alg I to cover 2 years. He's always pretty easily picked up math concepts, but the problems in alg are more snarly and tangled than he's used to. He needs time to pick them apart without feeling rushed.

 

I have a young 8th grader too.  I have been considering letting him have a second 8th grade year.  There are some skills that I'd like to see him be more solid with before entering the high school arena, where everything will be weighed, measured and subject to scrutiny by strangers come college application time.

 

What I've found with my older kids is that in high school, they have a pretty wide network of friends.  Some graduate each year and move on to college.  And each fall there is some adjustment as the center of the group coalesces around different kids.  

 

I don't think that most kids go to college at the same place.  I ended up very far geographically from my high school peers.  While he might be wistful that some of his friends head to college before him, odds are in the next 4.5 years he will also make friends with people younger than himself.  

 

I'm wanting to be sure that my ds has time to build quality foundations for his high school work, and is in a position to have a successful college experience.

 

But do take the above with a grain of salt.  We tend to move every 2-3 years, so keeping pace with peers is a super low priority.  My older kids were in four different Boy Scout troops.  My younger one is in his third and will probably hit one more before graduating.  On the other hand, my oldest went to a summer program at West Point and ran into a dear friend of his from the other side of the country.

[freesia]

Here's my 2 cents as a mother of a young for his grade student. My son is a November birthday kid. He just turned 15. We have, oddly, always lived in areas with s December cut off . Having been a primary grade teacher for a decade, I had intended on keeping him back. However, he was reading at 4 and strong in math. All his friends were starting school, so we began,

 

I have had many second thoughts. He, too, did algebra in seventh. I feel that woken we got to algebra 2 in ninth grade he hit a maturity wall.

 

Ninth grade, in general, was way bumpier than I expected as hormones caused that brain shut down just when he needed to get in gear. I wish he'd had another year of maturity to bring to the table. This year he is a different child.

 

I know you are talking mainly about math, but I don't want you to underestimate his age and it's bearing. Even though Ds finished Jacobs algebra with an A-I really really wish we had done another year of algebra. I know that sounds odd, but I had a gut sense he wasn't solid.