So...WWYD regarding fall birthdays and grade placement

[KrissiK]

My youngest is 5 years old, turning 6 at the beginning of October. She did R&S kindy workbooks this year and did fine, but I think she needs to be moving on next year. We did CLE first grade with her sister this year and loved it, so I bought it for the 5 year old for next year. But.... Here's my dilemma. If dd wasn't homeschooled, she'd barely be starting kindergarten in the fall. But if I did CLE with her she'd be in first grade, since CLE doesn't do kindergarten. Well, actually they recommend the R&S kindy workbooks. Which she already did. I kind of like to keep my kids with their age group in things like Awana, and we will probably not homeschool past 8th grade, so if she starts first grade this fall, and then continues on, she will either repeat a grade as she gets older, or be the youngest in her class when she gets to high school, which I'm not too thrilled about either.

 

Any thoughts?

[Sherry in OH]

Five turning six in October is kindergarten.  For reporting purposes and extracurricular activities that is her grade level.   For schoolwork, her level is whichever level of the resource best meets her needs.  If she is beyond kindergarten level work in the program you want to use, move on to the next level.  Keep moving forward at her pace, but keep her official grade level the grade level she would be if in public school.  

 

Eighth grade is a long way away.  She could speed through the early levels of curriculum and then stall.  You might decide to use a different curriculum in future years.  In any event, it is unlikely that any school will use exactly the same curriculum you use, so even if she does 8^th grade level material twice, there will be a different spin to it. 

[kirstenhill]

I would say just because she is using CLE 1st grade materials, you don't have to say she is a first grader. Even if you start CLE first grade now, she may not move through all the material as quickly as an older student, and you may not use CLE all the way through. Worst case scenario, if she finishes all the CLE 8th grade Light Units when she is only a seventh grader by age, you grade skip her at that point to start high school if she is ready, or you have some time for diversions and rabbit trails in 8th before starting high school. CLE takes two years in 7th-8th to do what many courses do in one year for pre-algebra anyway, so if she did CLE math all the way thru starting in 100s in K, she would still only be doing Algebra in 8th, which is really common in public schools anyhow.

 

ETA: My current 4 year old is going to be doing some K level work this year, and so may be doing first grade level work when he is still a K'er on paper. His b-day is also October. My general plan is just to assume he will be "working ahead of grade level" in some or all subjects, but we'll keep him as the legal grade level on paper for reporting purposes unless as we get closer to high school it's clear he is ready early (we also plan for brick and mortar school situation for high school for our kids).

Edited May 31, 2016 by kirstenhill

[fourisenough]

My DD11 has an October 25th birthday, yet she has been my most academically accelerated child so far. She is currently 11, turning 12 in October. Up until this year, we had not committed to a certain grade-level. We have very recently decided to make her a rising 6th grader this fall, thus she'll be one of the older kids in her 'grade' when she begins PS in 9th grade. Our decision is impacted by the fact that we want to ensure she doesn't overlap in college with her older sister (for financial reasons) and because she'll likely attend an all-IB public high school that is very, very demanding (rated the #9 public high school in the country this year), so I'd rather she be older/over-prepared rather than the youngest child in her class. 

 

On to your situation, when our DD was 5 turning 6 in October she was a fluent reader & writer and we just charged ahead with first-grade+ curriculum, but still called her a Kindergartener that year. Grade-level doesn't have to have anything to do with what books you're teaching her at home.  

[rebcoola]

I agree with Sherry call her K because that is her age grade and just work at whatever level she is at their is plenty of things to learn.  Plus if she does slow down stall out you won't feel pressure to keep up.

[rwilk]

DD is a year younger---but is 4 turning 5 in the October. She's working on a lot of 1st grade materials, but we are still calling this year pre-K. Her working level is separate from her grade level.  I plan on keeping her with her age mates for purposes of assigning grade level.

 

 

[Tanaqui]

Where we live, 5 turning 6 in October is first grade. If you enrolled your child in school in NYC for first grade, and then moved to where you live now, they'd have to put her into her assigned grade - even if that's a year ahead of where she'd be if she started there. (Likewise, if you enrolled her there in kindergarten and then moved to NYC next year, they couldn't put her in second grade.)

 

By the time she gets to high school, I bet there will be lots of kids who were held back a year, or who moved to the district from places where they start school earlier - so her grade, whatever grade it is, won't be a strict one-year cohort. There will be some younger than what you'd expect, and some older. And for that matter, like other commenters said, she might not be "ahead" anymore! She might stall a lot in the third grade, or she might get sick for a year and miss a lot of schoolwork, or, or...

 

Well, the point is, you shouldn't overthink this. Call her kindy on her records. Teach her what she's capable of learning now. When she is ready for high school, you and she and the school can decide then what grade she is THEN for the purposes of enrollment.

 

(And yes - for extracurriculars, definitely keep her with her age group! Where she is in Awana or soccer or drama should have nothing to do with what math book she's working her way through.)

[SoCal_Bear]

I have a late September kiddo that would have made the cutoff for his year by 5 days. He was born a few weeks early, so it is only reason he would have made the cutoff. CA was in the middle of transitioning. For the following year, he would not have made the cutoff since they moved the date to 9/1. Anyways, he is an accelerated learner, but we made the decision to keep him as older in his grade level. I've been reading a lot about maturity levels for boys and girls and the increased social aggressiveness of girls in high school and college. So, for me, from a life skills and social maturity level, that extra year is going to be a blessing in the long run. There's plenty to do and learn these days that is very accessible physically and virtually, so I am not worried about that at all. Childhood is short and fleeting. In the end, we decided to give him the gift of time.

[SoCal_Bear]

I have a late September kiddo that would have made the cutoff for his year by 5 days. He was born a few weeks early, so it is only reason he would have made the cutoff. CA was in the middle of transitioning. For the following year, he would not have made the cutoff since they moved the date to 9/1. Anyways, he is an accelerated learner, but we made the decision to keep him as older in his grade level. I've been reading a lot about maturity levels for boys and girls and the increased social aggressiveness of girls in high school and college. So, for me, from a life skills and social maturity level, that extra year is going to be a blessing in the long run. There's plenty to do and learn these days that is very accessible physically and virtually, so I am not worried about that at all. Childhood is short and fleeting. In the end, we decided to give him the gift of time.

[Holly]

I have a DD with a late October b-day.  On paper she is listed as K, but she's been doing a mix of 1st and K work all year.  I also keep her with K students for Sunday school and sports, as I'd rather her be around younger public schooled kids.  While this isn't a big deal at 5 or 6, it becomes an issue with the older ages.

[Ellie]

My youngest is 5 years old, turning 6 at the beginning of October. She did R&S kindy workbooks this year and did fine, but I think she needs to be moving on next year. We did CLE first grade with her sister this year and loved it, so I bought it for the 5 year old for next year. But.... Here's my dilemma. If dd wasn't homeschooled, she'd barely be starting kindergarten in the fall. But if I did CLE with her she'd be in first grade, since CLE doesn't do kindergarten. Well, actually they recommend the R&S kindy workbooks. Which she already did. I kind of like to keep my kids with their age group in things like Awana, and we will probably not homeschool past 8th grade, so if she starts first grade this fall, and then continues on, she will either repeat a grade as she gets older, or be the youngest in her class when she gets to high school, which I'm not too thrilled about either.

 

Any thoughts?

 

The level of formal schoolwork you do with your dd has nothing whatsoever to do with grade placement for outside activities.

 

If your dd is compulsory school age, and would enter kindergarten this year at the local public school, then that's the grade level label that you should go with. You won't ever have to think about it again. 

[KrissiK]

Thanks for all your replies. Pretty much affirmed what I had been thinking, but... being the insecure-but-wants-to-do-everything-right homeschooling mom that I am, just wanted to make sure!

[EKT]

We had the same situation; my youngest is a late October birthday. She is very precocious academically (reading very early, etc.), so I was inclined to claim her as a first grader this past year, even though she would definitely be in kindergarten if she had gone to public school. I looked into skipping kindergarten and entering her on the books as a first grade homeschooler, but I couldn't do that in our county without submitting her to a bunch of testing, which we didn't want to do. So...she is on the books with our county as a kindergartener, but it's in name only; she actually does all first grade work. We decided that was fine for us and we would rather she enter college at a slightly older age instead of slightly younger age anyway. (Plus, we realized that if there were three years of school between our girls instead of two, their college educations would overlap less and that would be more manageable down the road, financially speaking.)

 

As homeschoolers, grade level means very little to us anyway, so we figured the county can call her whatever they want and we would just teach her at her own level. 

[scbusf]

In my state, grade level doesn't matter. So I call my kids whatever grade they would be if they were in school. It's useful for things like church groups, co-op classes, things like that. But then my kids do whatever grade level work I want them to. For example, my 2nd grader (by age) is doing 3rd grade math because she finished the 2nd grade book early.

[carriede]

DD is a year younger---but is 4 turning 5 in the October. She's working on a lot of 1st grade materials, but we are still calling this year pre-K. Her working level is separate from her grade level. I plan on keeping her with her age mates for purposes of assigning grade level.

Same here, 4 turning 5 in early Oct doing 1st grade work.

 

But we are "officially" accelerating her to K. She's ready, maturity wise. Her gymnastics coach asked to put her into the K class based on maturity (4 months ago!), and we'll be starting her in the K class at for religious ed at church.

 

ETA, we will report her to the state at 6 years old aa required and no grade level has to be reported. Don't know what we'll do for testing when 3rd grade comes around. She'll do the work as she is able, but socially we ARE accelerating her 1 year.

Edited May 31, 2016 by carriede

[Farrar]

Another vote to call her K and give her the 1st grade work that she's ready for.

 

My kids are right on the line (they meet the cut off by a few days). I put them in the grade they'd be in if they went to ps and I didn't ask for them to be held back. However, in a lot of jurisdictions, they'd be in the next grade down. I thought that by now (they're in middle school at this point) it wouldn't make a difference, but I still sometimes move them down a grade in my head in order to help myself relax about how they're doing. I think it's much better off to be in the other position - proud that your kid is doing work that technically above the grade rather than worried that they're only just at grade level.

[EmilyGF]

Another vote to call her K and give her the 1st grade work that she's ready for.

 

My kids are right on the line (they meet the cut off by a few days). I put them in the grade they'd be in if they went to ps and I didn't ask for them to be held back. However, in a lot of jurisdictions, they'd be in the next grade down. I thought that by now (they're in middle school at this point) it wouldn't make a difference, but I still sometimes move them down a grade in my head in order to help myself relax about how they're doing. I think it's much better off to be in the other position - proud that your kid is doing work that technically above the grade rather than worried that they're only just at grade level.

We started in CA where both my daughters would have barely (as in, by a few days) have been one grade higher than they would be in our present state. At one point, I wondered why one daughter seemed so immature all the time - and I realized she was constantly being placed with kids about a year older than herself. I'm mulling "changing" her "grade" to one year lower, even though she is doing higher work, so that she is at the place she seems best to fit. 

 

She's a really emotionally smart kid but as ADHD tendencies that make her seem younger. Also, physically, she is obviously younger despite her height.

 

My younger daughter is with her grade mates for our current state mainly because our church has something like 7 girls in that grade and none in the next up. I am really happy with that situation. Instead of constantly seeming a bit awkward, she seems emotionally mature and secure. But that could just be her.

 

Either could graduate earlier. I won't decide on a "forever" grade until they go to B&M school.

Emily

[freesia]

Another vote to call her K and give her the 1st grade work that she's ready for.

 

My kids are right on the line (they meet the cut off by a few days). I put them in the grade they'd be in if they went to ps and I didn't ask for them to be held back. However, in a lot of jurisdictions, they'd be in the next grade down. I thought that by now (they're in middle school at this point) it wouldn't make a difference, but I still sometimes move them down a grade in my head in order to help myself relax about how they're doing. I think it's much better off to be in the other position - proud that your kid is doing work that technically above the grade rather than worried that they're only just at grade level.

Yes, this. I have the same issue with my oldest fall birthday boy. I would have held him back if he'd gone to school. I didn't bc he was accelerated in some areas--but many times, for many reasons I have doubted my decision. It has been SO much easier for my January birthday girl.

 

(And Farrar--this year-10th grade/age 15 I have finally stopped worrying. But last year was a low point. It would have been easier in many years if he'd had that year of maturity, but we did make it through--so you will too.)

[Targhee]

DD is an October bday, and has been grade accelerated since K because she was either in public school or an umbrella school until 6th grade, and is 2e. She needed the acceleration, and this was a way to get it. Maturity wise she is like age mates or perhaps a bit immature. Balancing activities based on grade is tricky, based on age there's no argument about her age.

 

If I were homeschooling until 8th grade I would NOT declare the child a grade ahead, but I would work ahead. if you were considering public school any time before 6th, and your child was an extremely strong or gifted student then I would accelerate a grade.

[RenaInTexas]

If it helps at all, my mom made the decision to put me in first grade when I was 5 turning 6. This made me a year younger than all of my peers. No one, right through high school, ever noticed a difference - not even me or my closest friends. I didn't even know why I was younger than everyone until my senior year when my mom told me that we had to give them my correct birth certificate...  :sneaky2:

Edited May 31, 2016 by RenaInTexas

[mamakelly]

If her birthday falls within your local public school I'd call her K and do whatever work she needs. My youngest's birthday is Nov 19. The cutoff for K moved back to Nov 1st that year, so we waited a year.

[Dmmetler]

I'm one who advocated to accelerate my kid (in PS) and now, in middle school, realize that if she were to go back to PS, it would be better for her to be a grade lower than her official grade socially.o She's just plain a small kid who is developing physically later than many of her age mates, and being a grade ahead really makes her stand out. Add the social stuff that middle school girls are into, and, well, honestly most of her friends are a year or more younger than she is because so few of the girls her age still play. Academically, calling her a 5th, 6th or 7th grader wouldn't make a difference because she's not working on any of those grade levels in any subject, so she'd be about equally bored.

 

Luckily, we're able to homeschool so she can be her asynchronous self, and I imagine it will even out down the road, but I kind of wish I'd chosen to pull her and homeschool her from the start and not had that official acceleration on papers

[FriedClams]

My only lingering homeschool regret is pushing my very sharp, very early reading kid into "school" too early. We're doing a second 8th grade year to fix it, and I'm so grateful the student is good with the plan. I'd suggest waiting. Read, play, do math, count, skip count, hike, learn birds and trees. Have fun. Then do school when they're older. Don't miss a year of their lives by a decision you make based on their reading skills as a five year old.

 

ETA - I wanted to add a couple of things...

 

1. She can always accelerate later if she's really an advanced student.

 

2. As smart and precocious as some kids are, 99% of the accelerated little ones I've seen really do lack the maturity of their peers in groups and co-ops. I'll probably get flamed for saying this. I'm not trying to be offensive, really. I had 2 "accelerated" kids, and in hindsight, reading level (the only real determination for "accelerated" in early grades) is only one tiny factor. Maturity is a whole different deal. It's very obvious when there's a field trip of say "2nd - 5th grade" homeschool kids and there are a bunch of 5/6 year olds attending as 2nd graders. Even if a six year old is reading Tolkien, they're 6. 99% off the time they act 6. Please, let them. 6 is awesome. Please don't feel pressured to make it 8.

 

3. There's absolutely nothing wrong with a kid being the smartest in the class. I think too often we try so hard to meet our kids where they are, and challenge them, that we forget to let them succeed...to be the best...to be a really smart 6 year old without having to be a really smart 8 year old at 6. Sure, challenge them, but let them win too.

 

So, those are my musings. I'm old. I've been doing this awhile. I hope you have an amazingly wonderful homeschool journey whatever you decide. :-)

Edited May 31, 2016 by FriedClams

[MaryMak07]

My sons bday is November 26. He turns 5 this Nov so if he went to public school would be a K NEXT fall. But he's so ready for a little bit of school so we are *doing* a gentle K year here in the fall but I won't call him a kindergartner til NEXT fall, at which point he would be going to school if we did public.

[hornblower]

wow, I'm surprised how much that varies from place to place. Where I am, kids turning 5 by Dec 31 are K, turning 6 by Dec 31 are in Gr 1. 

 

But as far as what to do - for me the whole point of homeschooling was doing what you want to do / what your child is ready for / when you want to do it. I don't really care what anyone calls it.  I wouldn't overthink now what might or might not happen in a few years. She might plateau, or she might be advanced and you may seek out a more advanced program for her, kwim? Worry about it later. Definitely don't hold a child back academically from things they're ready for just because it's now the 'right' grade level....

[SKL]

I would go with 1st grade if she is very advanced across the board and you feel she might go to b&m school someday.  Otherwise, what everyone else said.  :)

[Ellie]

wow, I'm surprised how much that varies from place to place.

 

50 sovereign states, each making its own rules. :-)

[Ellie]

One of my favorite books, Understood Betsy, has a chapter about this. Eight-year-old Betsy comes from a large school where she was in the third grade--3A, you understand, which is almost 4th. Her first day in the little country school was shocking: her teacher placed her in second grade arithmetic and seventh grade reading. what?! Betsy says that she doesn't know what grade she is, and her teacher says that she isn't any grade at all, that it doesn't make sense for her to be in the third grade reading class when she reads so well, or in the third grade arithmetic class when she obviously needs help.

 

Homeschooling is like that. We put our children in group activities based on the grade they would be in if they were in school, because that's pretty much what those activities are doing, putting children together who are of approximately the same age, but we teach them at whatever level they are capable of. It only has to do with their ages by the cut-off date in the state they live in, nothing else.

[Momto4inSoCal]

My boys are sept 30th and our state cut-off is now sept 1st. I really love the way it's worked out with their birthdays. We are officially going by the state cut-off which means next year is pre-k but they will be doing kindergarten work next year. Academically I feel they are ready for it but if they aren't I will just put the books away and wait. If we keep going forward it will be nice to know we have an extra year to play with. We can spend more time on something if they need to and not feel like we are behind. I want them in sports and activities with kids their age so the official grade will be whatever the local schools are. I guess at high school level I will have to really figure out what we are going to do if they stay a year ahead but I will figure that out then. 

Edited June 1, 2016 by Momto4inSoCal

[Targhee]

Don't know if it's entirely accurate, but here's a list of US states and their cut-off dates for school.

 

http://ecs.force.com/mbdata/mbquestRT?rep=Kq1402

 

Most are Aug 31 or Sept 1. Very few are the Jan or Dec 31.

[greenbeanmama]

I'm going to play devil's advocate for most of the responses.  I was one of those borderline birthdays.  The school district I was to start in encouraged my mom to put me in kindergarten, making me the youngest in my class.  Due to a planned move in November, as well as my mom regretting starting my sister as the youngest in her class, I ended up waiting a year to start school.  Unfortunately, I was bored my entire public school education (my mom refused the suggestion that I skip third grade...and then seventh grade, feeling it best that I stay with my "peers", even though I was the oldest by far).  I also hit puberty early - very, very awkward to be a third grader needing a larger bra than the teacher.  One of my friends in my class shared a birthday with me, but was a year younger.  By the time high school rolled around, I was just *done* with school, and ready to move out and be on my own - I ended up graduating early, taking community college classes to fill that last semester, and went off to a four-year college when the rest of my graduating class did so.

 

My daughter is a borderline birthday as well.  Due to my own experience, we decided to put her as the youngest in her class (we needed to "declare" what grade she was for Sunday school, soccer, Awana, etc).  But the plan right now is for her to have five years of high school: three at home and two dual enrolled.  If it was necessary to send her to school though, we would put her a grade lower, so she'd be the oldest in the class.  That is mostly due to her absent-minded-professor syndrome.

 

Sometimes it's helpful to look far, far ahead.  Do you want your child going off to college when they are seventeen, or would you prefer they were eighteen?  Due to my parents' decisions, I was almost nineteen, and the chance to spread my wings was long overdue.  On the other hand, it's easier to bump a child "up" than to "hold them back".  I can't really say which way for a parent to lean with their own child, but I did want to give you another perspective,

 

[katilac]

One of my favorite books, Understood Betsy, 

 

Eek! I read that book so many times!! 

[zaichiki]

When I was in school (in the stone ages) the cutoff was December, so I started 1st grade at 5 and turned 6 after a while. We moved a lot and most of the schools had a September cutoff, making me about a whole year (sometimes more) younger than my classmates. I never noticed. They never noticed. At the beginning of 3rd grade, the school I was in wanted to skip me to 5th. Mom wouldn't allow it. Social reasons.  She wasn't wrong... but starting a year "early" (by most school cutoffs) was not a mistake.  I had no trouble making friends. I was already at the top of my class most years... can't imagine if I had been placed a grade lower...

 

I have two spring birthday kids who are squarely in the middle of their grade by age. So it would be easy... one might think.

 

Oldest was in school for one year when he was 10: 6th grade (grade-skipped and bored anyway). He's now at his appropriate "by age" grade in a high school that is attached to a university. He's in the right place socially (with age peers) but also academically (many challenging class options - and age peers who use the same options). Perfect fit. Sooooo lucky!

 

My younger two have December birthdays... I never know what to do with them. They're "all over the place" grade-wise.

 

10 year old can easily read, understand, analyze, digest, and respond to typical 8th-9th grade level material... but any writing at all is a major chore for him. If I made any attempt at all, I'm absolutely certain I could get him a diagnosis for dysgraphia. Wowsers. He's also got a lisp, a stutter, and a hugely sweet and innocent heart... (I'm in no hurry for him to be forced to grow up any sooner than he has to.) So for now I educate him where he needs to be, by subject, and call him a 4th grader (but knowing that in some places he'd make the Dec. 31 cutoff and be labeled a 5th grader).

 

My 6 year old is a puzzle.  She's the size of most 8 year olds and fits well, socially, with 7-8 year old girls when in mixed-age company play/classes. She's not obviously accelerated, like her brothers were at 6 -- she's reading at a 1st-2nd grade level, using first grade math, wicked amazing fine motor skills since she was a toddler, but struggling a bit with learning to write. She doesn't obviously have dyslexia, like her sister... She's wicked fast at music, like her sister, and socially/emotionally more adept than I expect.  Not sure what path she'll take... We're at the "just wait and see" stage.  What grade to call her... K or 1st? I've already explained to her that we don't need to choose just yet because she's not "in" a grade classroom at home. So no grade label at all. Let's see how long that will last...

 

All that detail just to say that it can be a really hard decision to label a kid with a grade level. I'm SO glad I don't have to do that for my state! And thank God for homeschooling!

 

 

[mysticmomma]

I have 2 girls with October birthdays. I have decided to grade skip my youngest. By our school system she is K this year. She is mature for her age, bright and inquisitive. I wouldn't call her gifted or accelerated, but in our Girl Scout troop she socially fits much better with the 1st graders than the kindergarteners. She holds her own in a mixed age NASA science club with kids all the way up through 7th. We "unschool" through 2nd and I feel she is ready for the academics we do in second grade. She isn't even reading fluently yet, but probably will by summer. All that to say... I don't think your child needs to be gifted to be skipped if they have a borderline birthday. My youngest daughter just fits much better with that age group.

 

My eldest daughter is a rising 6th grader by our system. She is 11 and beginning puberty. She is a much harder puzzle to figure out. She is very mature and responsible. Bright, but less curious. Resistant to academics. Polite and generous and kind. She fits welk socially with younger girls age 9-11. I know very few 11 year olds she gets along with well. Soon I will have to declare a graduation year for her for Lacrosse clubs and camps. While I will probably have freedom to change my mind, I hesitate to bump her up. I think I will keep her as 6th for this coming year and go from there. She's even a year behind in Sunday school because of how she fits with those peers.

 

Hope some of my thoughts help.

[Ellie]

Eek! I read that book so many times!! 

 

It should be required reading for all children. And adults.

[luuknam]

My youngest is 5 years old, turning 6 at the beginning of October. She did R&S kindy workbooks this year and did fine, but I think she needs to be moving on next year. We did CLE first grade with her sister this year and loved it, so I bought it for the 5 year old for next year. But.... Here's my dilemma. If dd wasn't homeschooled, she'd barely be starting kindergarten in the fall.

 

I'm not sure why you threw in the word 'barely'. She'd be in the older half of kids in K if she started K this fall, right? Which would place her quite firmly into K, not barely. Or did you mean she just barely missed the 1st grade cut-off?

 

We have a Dec 1st cut-off here, so here she'd be in 1st grade this coming year if you lived here. Realistically, she'd probably be fine whether you call her K or 1st next year. I'd take your family history into consideration (you and your husband), whether you'd have been better off being on the younger or older side, since apples often don't fall far from trees and all that.

[Tumbatoo]

I'd call her what her school official grade would be. Then, work on the level she is comfortable academically. It doesn't matter if she in the same "grade" in each subject.

[KrissiK]

I'm not sure why you threw in the word 'barely'. She'd be in the older half of kids in K if she started K this fall, right? Which would place her quite firmly into K, not barely. Or did you mean she just barely missed the 1st grade cut-off?

 

.

I think I meant that I'm thinking about her doing first grade work, she did kindergarten work last year, she's pretty mature and yet.... she'd be a kindy and back doing kindergarten work if she was in public school.

[Hobbes]

We put our children in group activities based on the grade they would be in if they were in school, because that's pretty much what those activities are doing, putting children together who are of approximately the same age, but we teach them at whatever level they are capable of. It only has to do with their ages by the cut-off date in the state they live in, nothing else.

This.

 

Our province cuts off each grade on December 31st. This year my six year old DD was first grade, and definitely far less ready for it then my January birthday DD was the year before.

 

I just called them whatever grade they would be in school, since that's how groups for Sunday School and extracurriculars are decided. Then I teach them wherever they are at. My first grader's work this year was much different than her sister's first grade work was the year before, since her sister was actually almost a year older and much more ready.

[Targhee]

I think I meant that I'm thinking about her doing first grade work, she did kindergarten work last year, she's pretty mature and yet.... she'd be a kindy and back doing kindergarten work if she was in public school.

But she is not in public school. And IIRC you aren't planning public school again until high school? At that point, if she is still working a grade ahead then she will simply be an advanced high schooler - possibly finishing calculus as a junior, ready to do some AP sciences, English, History, and possibly electives (Art, Music, second language, etc). She would still be with her age mates socially if just a little older than a few of them. That maturity can be a big advantage when you enter the public school world of kids forced to grow up too fast and early.

[MinivanMom]

*snip*

 

Sometimes it's helpful to look far, far ahead.  Do you want your child going off to college when they are seventeen, or would you prefer they were eighteen?  Due to my parents' decisions, I was almost nineteen, and the chance to spread my wings was long overdue.  On the other hand, it's easier to bump a child "up" than to "hold them back".  I can't really say which way for a parent to lean with their own child, but I did want to give you another perspective,

 

This may be true for homeschoolers, but it's definitely not true in public school. Once a child is enrolled in a particular grade, it's virtually impossible in most districts to get your child moved up. Double-promotion is very rare nowadays (if it's allowed at all), and early graduation isn't an option in many districts. I think that's important to remember if there is any possibility of ever enrolling in a brick & mortar school.

[MinivanMom]

There is very little red-shirting in our area. Our district allows both early-entry to kindergarten and double-promotion, and it's a point of pride here to have your child be the high-achieving youngest child in their class. But I live in an affluent area with lots of techy-type jobs, so we have a somewhat different demographic.

 

We have had many parents who red-shirted their summer boys in another state move here and be surprised to discover that their kid is now the oldest, biggest kid in his class. So I do think it's good to be aware that red-shirting is not happening everywhere. There are still places left where all the Aug boys start kindergarten at 5, and nobody thinks it's a big deal. 

[ReadingMama1214]

There is very little red-shirting in our area. Our district allows both early-entry to kindergarten and double-promotion, and it's a point of pride here to have your child be the high-achieving youngest child in their class. But I live in an affluent area with lots of techy-type jobs, so we have a somewhat different demographic.

 

We have had many parents who red-shirted their summer boys in another state move here and be surprised to discover that their kid is now the oldest, biggest kid in his class. So I do think it's good to be aware that red-shirting is not happening everywhere. There are still places left where all the Aug boys start kindergarten at 5, and nobody thinks it's a big deal.

This varies tremendously by district and by school. Here, it is easy to red-shirt, but hard to advance a grade. It is semi-common for boys with summer birthdays to be red-shirted and even girls too.

 

I considered advancing my daughter a grade and was told, "she can take the kindergarten entrance exam, but even if she passes getting a grade advancement is highly unlikely." This was without meeting her or seeing her. It's just how difficult it is in this area.

[JoJosMom]

I haven’t read the other responses, so if this has all been said, please ignore it. :001_smile:

 

I don’t know that you need to decide right now, Krissi.  For academic purposes, I’d just do the next thing; present to her the next appropriate level of work in each subject.  For Awana, I’d keep her with whatever kids she’s currently with (assuming she’s already a Cubbie.)

 

As for her being young, I would seriously not sweat it.  My short person is a late August birthday; she started kindergarten (she was in a private school then) either the day of or the day after her 5th birthday.  She may be on the young end but, remember, the cut-off used to be December.  Also, FWIW, I skipped a grade waaaaaay back in the early 70’s when the in vogue idea was acceleration not a delayed start.  I’m a May birthday, so I graduated high school right after my 17^th birthday.  And you know how very normal I am, right?  Right? :wacko:

 

In any event, you can always move her along where she is now and, if her maturity causes you concern as she nears high school, extend her middle school another year and explain to her that her birthday means she has to wait another year.

[KrissiK]

She would still be with her age mates socially if just a little older than a few of them. That maturity can be a big advantage when you enter the public school world of kids forced to grow up too fast and early.

I totally agree with this. I used to teach jr. High and it really showed up there. Kids who started kindy a little early really started to struggle in junior high, even if they did well earlier on.

[hornblower]

I graduated high school right after my 17^th birthday.  And you know how very normal I am, right?  Right? :wacko:

I graduated at 17 too & you know I'm normal too  :lol:

[Tsuga]

Enter as K and if she accelerates just call it accelerated. In our schools they can go pretty far ahead in gifted or with an IEP.