any moms of 8 year old boys that are 2nd graders?

[Emmy]

In the regular school world most of my friends with 8 year old boys have them in 2nd grade - but I'm noticing among homeschoolers that doesn't seem to be the case. My oldest is a July birthday kid and turned 8 this year. I pretty much consider him a 2nd grader. Anyone else with an 8yo 2nd grader?

[Camy-7 boybarians 1 lady]

Emmy, are you uncomfortable w/ the fact that you have your little guy in second grade at age 8? Just fyi, my now 9 yob was a second grader at age 8. Blessings.

[jg_puppy]

I have an 8 year old girl who is in third, but I wish she was in 2nd. She has a May birthday and was ready for kindergarten at 5, but is not as ready for 3rd grade work at 8. My husband suggested we split the different and say that her 3rd grade year starts in January. I think we may do that.

 

Jan

[Emmy]

I wouldn't say I'm uncomfortable with it as much as I am wondering if I'm the only one LOL. On an IRL level, it totally makes sense for me to identify my son as a 2nd grader. All of his friends are in 2nd grade (although many are also held-back-a-year kids or have fall birthdays just missing the cutoff) and he seems to gravitate towards kids in that grade whether it be at coop or church. I've just been noticing that in the homeschool community people don't tend to "hold kids back a year" as much as they do in regular school.

 

I guess it doesn't really matter how I identify him since we are homeschooling in a state that has no reporting or testing; I just tend to reference other people's threads and the WTM book for what a "so and so grader" should be doing so I tend to need that label for myself. I think the recent threads about "is my 3rd grader doing enough" and "is my 2nd grader doing too much" got me thinking on it.

[Scarlett]

My 8 year old is a third grader. He was 8 in March and started this fall as a 3rd grader. He is in a public school charter so he is in a grade...otherwise I don't think it would matter.

 

My friend has an 8 year old with a late July bd and she tried to keep him back a year so that he would not be barely 18 going to college. It was a mistake because he was academically ready to be with his age peers...now she homeschools and she just let him skip 2nd grade.

[Testimony]

My son is 9 years old now and in third grade. He was 8 years old last year and in second grade.

 

Blessings in your homeschooling journey!

 

Sincerely,

Karen

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony

[Kisa in CA]

One boy was 7 in 2nd and one will be 8 in 2nd. Where I live most boys are 7 in 2nd, but my youngest could not handle it. This is common here with boys. Many are a year 'older'. It was a great decision to have my youngest do Kindergarten twice, (thus making him 8 in 2nd next year). School is so enjoyable now and he can handle what is required of him. I didn't want to have him older because it was harder on me having 4 years between my boys instead of 3, but I thought it best for my son. Now, I am so glad I did! I would encourage you to rest in the choice you have made because I'm sure it is best. :001_smile:

 

HTH!

[Lizzie in Ma]

I have her in second grade because that is where she woul be placed if she were in ps. Having said that, it has little to do with what work she is doing, just a convenience for reporting.

[Quiver0f10]

My son turned 8 in September last year and did 2nd grade that year.

[Nestof3]

In our state, a child must be enrolled in first grade when they are 6 in September. This is the guideline I followed.

 

Nathan started 1st when he was 6 in Sept, but turned 7 in Oct. When he was in 2nd, he started out as 7 years old, but he was 8 for most of it. He is now in 3rd and will turn 9 this month. I am perfectly fine with it.

 

Ben will be 7 for all of 2nd grade.

[Titus.Two.Five]

My 2nd grade son is 7 years old. He will turn 8 next May and still be at the end of 2nd grade.

 

HTH

[Mommamia]

You are not the only one! My twin boys are 6, we consider this their K6 year. They will be 7 in 1st, 8 in 2nd. These are just the grades I will be reporting and considering them in......they are all over the board as far as abilities.

 

We are the minority among homeschoolers in our area. Many with 6 yr olds say they are in 1st(even 2nd??). I'm SO happy we reported as K this yr(and that they will be 8 in 2nd). I have to say, for some odd reason, it makes me feel better knowing others have 6yr olds in K(7-1st etc).

 

IMHO-I wish we could just say they are ___yrs old. instead of they are in ___grade.

[turnin' 360s]

My 3rd grader was 8 in second grade. I was uncomfortable with it, too. His b-day is in Oct. so he just missed the cut-off. His best friend is a year and two months older, but he is two grades higher, b/c of where their birthdays fall.

[Mom0012]

My son is 9 years old and in 3rd this year.

 

Lisa

[Sheila in OK]

My son in 2nd grade will turn 8 in two weeks. He would *so* not be ready for 3rd grade work!

[KAR120C]

For homeschoolers who go with the higher grade, might be that a lot of what boys are "kept back" for has to do more with school structure, the length of the day, the sitting still and being quiet part, or the writing, rather than academic abilities.

 

If DS had been going to PS for kindergarten, we might have seriously considered keeping him out a year (he has a late summer birthday, and boys here generally are kept out a year in that case... especially short boys who don't write at all!). As it was, we didn't have to make any kind of official decision, so we could just do what he was ready for and not worry about it.

[anissarobert]

You're not the only one! My ds is in 3rd grade and he just turned 9. I made this decsion so he would not go to college so young. This is what I call him officially. He is about 3rd grade level in math, but he reads at a jr. high. level, so history and science I use higher level materials. It doesn't really matter what grade we assign in our state, but it has bugged him a bit that his best friend who is 2 months older is in 4th.

[Scarlett]

You're not the only one! My ds is in 3rd grade and he just turned 9. I made this decsion so he would not go to college so young. This is what I call him officially. He is about 3rd grade level in math, but he reads at a jr. high. level, so history and science I use higher level materials. It doesn't really matter what grade we assign in our state, but it has bugged him a bit that his best friend who is 2 months older is in 4th.

 

I wonder though....if he is doing 3rd grade work as an 8 yo, thereby finishing his high school relatively young...why couldn't you just let him have an off year at age 17 to do some volunteering or something...just thinking out loud because this is what my friend did too for your exact reason...I don't have a problem with holding a kid back if they need it....but my friend's child did need it. He was bored with the level of work the private school was giving him.

[bethben]

My son just turned 8 in September and he is in 2nd grade. In Minnesota, the cut off to start kindergarten is September 1st. I usually told my friends who have those boys with summer birthdays to look at my son as a reference for their boys. "He is almost 1 year older and in the same grade as your son." They would see that 1 year really did make a huge difference in maturity, getting out of the "wiggly" stage and even size. I have a bunch of friends who held their boys back a year and do not regret it at all. We were just blessed with a birthday in September that made it so I didn't have to really decide which grade he should be in.

 

Beth

[camibami]

My DD is 7 and in second grade, but if we PS'ed, I would have held her back. She has a late summer birthday, and while she would make the cut-off, she was in no way ready for K at just-5. Not PS K anyway! We know many, many children who don't start K until 6, and are 8 in second grade. Its pretty common.

[katilac]

My July-birthday 8-yr-old is in 3rd grade (girl).

 

The fact is that schools have to have a cut-off age, and no matter what, there's going to be kids in the class that are quite a few months apart, and kids who are only a couple of months apart, but in different grades. My 10-yr-old's friend is 6 months younger but a full grade lower.

 

Luckily, we hs'ers don't have to worry with that, but my kids do like having a 'grade,' and it's always one of the first things people ask kids!

 

If there were issues with the workload, I would go with 2nd - it's easier to promote later rather than hold back. But I wouldn't have any concerns about my kids going off to college at 17 or barely 18; that's the normal age, in my mind!

[deeinfl]

He just turned 8 on Oct. the 5th. While being very bright, there was no reason he was anywhere near being ready for third grade work.

 

I made this decision when he was 5 and no where being ready for formal work that he would start kindergarten at age 6, first at age 7, and now 2nd at age 8. He is totally ready now for the reading, writing, and arithmetic that we are doing.

 

I don't regret holding him back one bit. Had he been in the public school they would have left him back for not being ready as well.

 

I think we forget that many years ago before kindergarten, the average child started school between 7 and 8.

 

Dee

 

ps I started school in 1974 at age 4 and a half because I would be 5 by December. It was some type of experiment(different cut off dates) and they allowed it. Needless to say I was way behind and totally unprepared for school and didn't catch up until the 4-5th grade. I graduated highschool at 17 and was too young. All my friends were older, more mature, and much better prepared...I always felt I was with the wrong group. I didn't go to college until I turned 19 anyway. By then I felt ready. Just sharing my experience.

[MrsMe]

My dd was 8 in June and she is 2nd grade. She'll either be really old or really young for the level and I'd rather have her be older and wiser. I used to do a level change in January, but really know that she's a full 2nd grader beginning this year in Aug/Sept.

 

My neighborhood is big on homeschool and every one of them that homeschool has an 8 yr old in 2nd and 9 yr old in 3rd... Seems if they're public schooled, they're in 3rd when their 8. Maybe they just want them out of the house asap. LOL!

[Renai]

Why just boys? My dd was 8 last year in 2nd, and just-turned-9 (September) this year in 3rd. We followed what she would be in public school, but as it turns out, she's right where she should be. She's doing 3rd grade work.

[akmommy]

My 8yo is in third but had I planned to put him in a building school I would have kept him home an extra year. Academically he would have done fine but he just did not have the attention span at 5 for full day K (i think full day K is alot to expect from any 5yo) When my oldest was in PS K was still 1/2 day.

[Emmy]

I asked about boys specifically because that's what I'm dealing with (a boy) and because from what I've seen there's a vast difference between boys and girls in the early grades.

 

Thanks for all the responses everyone - it's great to read what everyone is doing. It seems no matter the choice, there's always at least one other person doing something similar. I appreciate all the viewpoints.

[Malenki]

My 7.5 year old son is in 1st grade and will be 8.5 when he starts 2nd. We don't regret it one bit at this point.

[linders]

Hi Emmy,

 

My DS8 also has a July bday, and where we live virtually all the summer bday boys "wait" to start school. Thus, for purposes of Cub Scouts, Sunday School, sports, etc, we say he is 2nd grade this year, and he fits in perfectly with those kids. (Actually, some of the 8yo we know are getting into more mature things than I want my DS exposed to. A subject for another thread.) For our schoolwork, we do whatever level he can do, regardless of age and grade - I do love that about homeschooling.

 

I have noticed a few of the local homeschoolers with younger kids calling them a higher grade level. At first I thought maybe they were acclerated academically, but I have figured out that some are actually behind (I have a "3rd grader" in one of my co-op classes who is just learning to read). Maybe some parents look at the age cutoffs for public school and automatically use them, maybe some aren't aware of the local grade level standards, maybe some have family/friends who use the "what grade level" question as a challenge, I don't know. I figure that "grade level" matters more from a maturity/behavior/interests standpoint, so that's what we use as our family's guideline.

 

Bottom line, I would go with your mommy instinct and look at what group of kids he best fits with. It will be fine.

 

Blessings,

Linders

[Mesa]

Around here most second graders are 7.

I'm considering my 8 yr old a second grader this year.. but since he's homeschooled he is doing 3rd grade work. If he were in public school I'd 'hold him back" and he'd be in 2nd grade. He's academically advanced but behind in maturity and with gross and fine motor skills.

It's all so confusing I try not to label him with a grade.

[Sweetpeach]

My ds#2 is 8 but he's doing the second half of MEP Yr 2 math. We're halfway finished with Book 1 AAS, and he's struggled with a few of the words. He's registered in third grade . . . but I would say academically he's somewhere in the middle of second and third for most subjects. A late bloomer, perhaps . . .

[Scuff]

My 7yo is a 3rd grader. He missed our state deadline by 2 weeks. But since he was ready for the work, I started him anyway. I'm glad I did. He's advanced in some areas and I like that he's working a year "ahead", so to speak. But if he were in PS I would have held him back. Socially and physically, he is *not* advanced. He would not have been socially ready for PS kindergarten. Or, looking ahead, probably not middle school or high school either. But with HSing, I can tailor things to him, so it's not a big deal. He can work ahead in some areas, and still have poor handwriting and be home with mommy ;) So, yeah, there's a difference, but the needs are different in PS vs. hs.

[elegantlion]

My ds was 8 in 2nd grade. He was in private school for prek and Kind. He has a Sept birthday and had to be 4 to start prek. Hence, he turned 5 in prek, 6 in kindergarten, etc.

 

If we had thought about homeschooling earlier he'd probably be in 6th grade. He will turn 19 shortly after starting college.

[Storm Bay]

Officially, ds 8 is in gr. 3. But in reality it's more of a mix. He was 8 in June & is just finishing SM 2A but easily doing CWP 2 as well. However, he's hit a point where he's really moving all of a sudden and will be done SM 3B by the end of the year easily. He hated reading until this fall, too, so that slowed him down, but as soon as it clicked, he's gone from barely able to read early second grade reading in the late spring to handling third grade reading. His writing skills are behind because I'm waiting for his math and reading to take off first, which they are.

 

However, I will say that his slowness is more developmental than anything else--he has a different developmental curve than most, which I learned when he was a toddler, and his conceptual understanding is way ahead whereas his academics have lagged behind. Think of a little boy trying to do critical thinking of the stories in the Bob books while he's learning to decode words and you'll have a bit of an idea.

[Dawn in OH]

My son is 7 and is working on first grade material. His birthday is in May. That is probably also around the time where we will be moving into 2nd grade material.

 

We don't discuss grade levels in our homeschooling. If either of my children were asked what grade they were in they wouldn't have a clue what it meant. They would reply that they are in their 2nd year of homeschooling.

[Annie Laurie]

Mine will be 8 next month and he is a 2nd grader. He would have turned 6 after the PS cut-off for 1st grade anyway, and been placed in K at 6, so I went by that. Also, from my experience with my oldest son, I just knew it would be easier on ds not to start formal school work to soon.

[Tree House Academy]

My, now 9 year old has an August birthday and I put him in school at 5, so he is now in "4th grade." However, he is also doing some older grade work and some younger grade work. I think, with homeschoolers (especially ones who don't go with the "box") just don't identify totally with a grade. My son would be 3rd, 4th, 5th grade of I were to actually go by what level work he does. KWIM?

[Sandy in Indy]

My youngest will be 8 next month and he's in 2nd grade. Technically!

[Mama Lynx]

In the regular school world most of my friends with 8 year old boys have them in 2nd grade - but I'm noticing among homeschoolers that doesn't seem to be the case. My oldest is a July birthday kid and turned 8 this year. I pretty much consider him a 2nd grader. Anyone else with an 8yo 2nd grader?

 

My 8yo has a September birthday, so he turned 8 and started 2nd grade at pretty much the same time :)

[FloridaLisa]

I asked about boys specifically because that's what I'm dealing with (a boy) and because from what I've seen there's a vast difference between boys and girls in the early grades.

 

I have 3 children with late summer birthdays (July, July, August). You'll find folks on both sides of this (redshirt them for a year or not). We redshirted because we wanted that margin so that we wouldn't be sending just-turned-18-yos off to college.

 

We know folks who wished they had redshirted (usually not for academic reasons but for sports or maturity) and folks whose children have zoomed ahead even more in high school so that they graduate with their AA at 17. Just keep doing what *your* gut says is right.

 

Blessings,

Lisa

[Paisley Hedgehog]

nm

[sagira]

Interesting discussion. My ds' birthday is on September 2, just a day after yours. We're doing K now, but in a gentle way. I'm glad because we can take things easier in general, go slower with Math without feeling like I have to rush. In addition, with History we could linger two years over SOTW 3 and incorporate American History without having to worry about "wasting a year" because we'll be in his correct grade by then.

 

Somebody, a school teacher, actually had the nerve to ask me the other day when I told her my ds was born on September 2, "How could you do that to your child??" :glare: I told her I was homeschooling him anyway, and she looked at me like, "Oh" in a cold way. Oh well, I'm starting not to care about what people say anymore and just smiled :)

[mom2att]

I have two boys with August birthdays in a state with a Sept. 1 cutoff. My 8-year-old is a 2nd grader this year, my 5-year-old k'er will be a 7-year-old 2nd grader in a couple of years. I base this on the fact that the older one was so not ready for K at five, but the younger one is. To me it depends totally on the kid.

[Denainms]

my son turned 8 on June 28th and he is a second grader, he was so not ready for 3rd grade work, maturity wise, and now he has taken off with reading and math, and loves to learn, I struggled over this decision too, but I am so glad I held him back. :001_smile:

[chiguirre]

My ds will turn 8 in November and is doing fine with 2nd grade academics, but his social immaturity is becoming more noticeable. I'd like to hold him back a year by sticking with extracurriculars meant for slightly younger kids. Eventually I do think we'll need to take a gap year in academics to make sure he has a firm foundation for highschool but we haven't hit that point yet.