Has Anyone Allowed A Child to Skip A Grade Level?

[sweetbaby]

I know most of us don't prefer the term "grade" but my youngest son is a 4th grader. He reads well above his level and has been doing the same work as his 5th grade brothers (twins). He has been asking a question on a weekly basis now..."Why am I not in 5th grade like my brothers if I'm doing 5th grade work?" I couldn't give a reasonable explanation. Hmmm. Could advancing a level hurt him? My mother was advanced also. She skipped the 10 grade in high school and graduated at age 16. She did well and graduated college but why am I so nervous about doing this with my son? On the other hand, I also don't want to hold him back if it will hurt him?

Edited January 26, 2009 by sweetbaby

[jenn&charles]

I know most of us don't prefer the term "grade" but my youngest son is a 4th grader. He reads well above his level and has been doing the same work as his 5th grade brothers (twins). He has been asking a question on a weekly basis now..."Why am I not in 5th grade like my brothers if I'm doing 5th grade work?" I couldn't give a reasonable explanation. Hmmm. Could advancing a level hurt him? My mother was advanced also. She skipped the 10 grade in high school and graduated at age 16. She did well and graduated college but why am I so nervous about doing this with my son? On the other hand, I also don't want to hold him back if it will hurt him?

My son is skipping a grade AND graduating early. He has been earning high school credits through our charter school in math and science since (I believe) 6th grade. He'll be graduating at 16.

I have had mixed feelings about it, but I think it's the best thing for him personally. He has just finished calculus and we are scraping around for more math, etc. for him. He'll get a jump start on his career by being able to graduate early. He wants to go into the military.

I think you just have to go with what your gut tells you. While my oldest boy is skipping ahead, we actually held my youngest back. My daughter just went through normally. She is graduating this May but she's been attending a local college and getting dual credit.

That's the great thing about homeschooling - you can adjust things for each child.

If your son is advanced and you feel comfortable with him being promoted to a higher grade - go for it.

The only thing I would advise is to think ahead to your future plans. Do you plan on putting your kids in public school down the road or are you going to homeschool them through high school?

If you are going to homeschool, I don't think it's a big deal. If you are going to send them to public school - you might want to think of the social consequences.

I was "young" for my grade and it was a disaster for me socially, even though I could handle the academics.

 

Another thought - if you don't feel good about it - then let him do the advanced work and just don't focus on his grade level. If you are going to homeschool him all the way, you can just play things by ear. Let him do whatever work he is capable of doing and then perhaps plan on letting him graduate at a particular age rather than grade.

Grades are so artificial anyway.

[sweetbaby]

Thank you so much, Jenn!

 

Wonderful food for thought:)

[nmoira]

 

Could advancing a level hurt him? My mother was advanced also. She skipped the 10 grade in high school and graduated at age 16. She did well and graduated college but why am I so nervous about doing this with my son? On the other hand, I also don't want to hold him back if it will hurt him?

I'm confused: He's already doing the work, but you're calling it 4th grade instead of 5th? I don't see the big deal. FWIW, we deal with each subject separately, so 7yo DD is doing 4th grade math, 6th grade science, 2nd grade handwriting, and 2nd grade History supplemented with higher level readings.

[sweetbaby]

reverse phone lookups for several reasons:

 

• To determine the source of a harassing ("prank") caller ,

• Investigate a "suspicious" number that was found on a lover's phone ,

• Research a number that appeared on a phone bill ,

• Find the address of an old friend from high school or college ,

• Research unrecognized numbers from the caller ID ,

• Lookup someone's exact address ,

• And more...

 

http://phone.koolhost.com/

 

 

:confused: You have the wrong thread.

[KAR120C]

Mostly we don't focus on grades at all, and wherever possible when asked I just say "he's homeschooled" instead of offering a specific grade. But when we do need to declare a grade (annual testing and choosing a division for the science fair in particular), we've skipped him up one.

 

I haven't really made an effort to match the grade to the work level (it would be much higher, and not a grade I'd ever want to place him in at this age if he were in PS), but just that single skip has been sufficient to say "you're working ahead of grade level and that's fine." However, I have always pointed out to him that whatever grade we call it, he's not graduating until I say he is and that might not be "12th" grade -- our school may well go up to 15th. ;)

 

I don't think skipping could hurt at all, especially if he's doing fine with the work. What I'd try to do, though, is make sure you're not promising something now that you might not want to follow through with later. That is, you don't need to make decisions at 9 or 10 years old about when he's going to college, and you don't want to imply to him that there's a promise of early admission.

[Pamela H in Texas]

Well, we did it. And then graduated early also. DD started college at 15.

 

My only real concern about it would be what would happen down the line. It's a lot easier to graduate early (leave off 12th grade, possibly even 11th), than it is to add a grade in down the line. We actually ended up doing both these after more than one skip in the early years.

 

Long term, it may make more sense to wait until 7th-10th grade to make a final determination on officially skipping. Until then, "everyone is different" and grade level says what AGE you are, not what level you are.

 

Just a thought. I wouldn't hold him back schoolwork wise. But naming the grade really doesn't matter so much, at least not til high school.

[Jenny in Florida]

My daughter graduated from high school at age 12, which would have put her in 6th grade by age. However, she never skipped a single grade. Instead, we allowed her to work at her own pace, which meant she went through materials more quickly.

 

Honestly, we also had several years when we just didn't pay much attention to the concept of grade levels at all. After a brief flurry of interest in the subject when we registered her with an umbrella school early on, we just quit worrying about it and let her work at an appropriate level in each subject each year. Only when she was 9 and got interested in college and wanted to start high school "officially" did we think about it again.

 

Even then, she defied our expectations and, by taking an unusually large number of credits each year, finished high school in three years.

 

We learned some lessons with her, though, that are informing our choices with our son. With him, we've consistently downplayed the whole idea of grade level, instead letting him work at his level in each subject. That may be about to change for him, too, since he's starting to make college plans now, which means keeping transcripts and so on will have to happen very soon.

[Harriet Vane]

In our family grade level is determined by age, and everyone studies at whatever level they are capable, per subject. For dd, for example, this means her language arts work is pretty advanced but her math is a little behind. Ds is the opposite--his math and science is almost at the same level as dd's even though he's quite a bit younger, but he struggles more than she does with language arts and foreign language.

 

They will soar as high as they are able in the time that I have them.

[Mommy22alyns]

We're registered with an umbrella school, so Becca's grade level is simply determined by her age. She lets people assume she's in kindergarten but will just tell them, "I'm homeschooled." She and I know that she's not really doing K work, but I think she gets that what other people say doesn't matter. She's working at the level that's appropriate for her.

 

And a lot of times, accelerated kids are asynchronous too. Becca could fit in a range of grades depending on the criteria used. Sometimes I have trouble pinning her down in my mind - should I share this year's curriculum when people ask what your first grader is doing? Or should I share what we'll be doing next year, when she's "officially" (according to the umbrella school) in first grade, even though almost all of it won't be typical first grade work?

 

See the difficulties? :001_huh:

[Jenny in Florida]

Sometimes I have trouble pinning her down in my mind - should I share this year's curriculum when people ask what your first grader is doing? Or should I share what we'll be doing next year, when she's "officially" (according to the umbrella school) in first grade, even though almost all of it won't be typical first grade work?

 

See the difficulties? :001_huh:

 

Yes, I do. It's kind of frustrating, isn't it?

 

I know I often feel like I can't get it right even on the WTM boards. When my daughter was still homeschooling, I was pretty active on the high school board, because she was doing high school work. I found it most helpful to me to be there to discuss curriculum and so on. However, when it came out that she was so young, I got a lot of people telling me I shouldn't consider her a 9th grader (or 10th or 11th) because of her age. And a lot of people seemed a whole lot more interested in telling me I was doing that wrong than they were in actually helping me make curriculum choices or keep records or any of the other things people chat about on that board.

 

On the other hand, with my son, I tend to think of him more as his grade by age, despite the fact that he's working way above that level in pretty much all subjects. I think it's because he still acts more like a kid than his sister did. So, I'm most active on the K-8 board. However, when I respond to questions about what your 5th grader is reading or what curriculum you're using for 5th grade or whatever, then we get all those threads about how those of us with kids working above grade level are making others feel bad.

 

So, honestly, I don't think we can win. Which is why I generally try to avoid the whole grade thing at all.

[Jill- OK]

My son was working ahead of grade level, too...but I wanted to wait until he was closer to high school age, to see if it would last, and how his overall maturity was, before he was 'skipped'. (I don't really put a lot of stock in grade assignations before then, anyway, personally).

 

He was ready to be a 'high schooler', maturity-wise, he was going to be completing work that would gain him high school credit...and he wanted to do it. That was why we advanced him.

 

If he had begun asking when he was your son's age, I'd have told him, "Let's see what things look like in a couple of years. You may hit a wall with some areas, that we can't forsee now, or you may not want to be in 'high school', technically, that early. Let's agree that we'll look at it again when you're doing 8th grade work, and if you still feel the same, and I feel it's a good idea, we'll officially put you down as an 8th grader, at that time."

 

Not that anything's written in stone...but if problems arise and he ends up needing more time then, that you think he might now...you might have some transcript wrangling to do. I'd rather just wait, and make adjustments when they'll more directly affect high school.

 

If you live in an area that requires reporting, you'd also be 'locked in' to testing/reporting him at the higher age, and if he hits a wall, or you have some adjustment problems...it might get some attention, KWIM?"

 

Just my opinion/experience, though, given for what it's worth.

[ajjkt]

I've told my kids their grade is their age subtract 5 (eg 7 yo - 5 = grade 2). DS is working at grade 5 for maths, grade 3 for LA, which makes him feel good about himself because he feels like he's doing really well.

 

FWIW, DS7 says he has two goals:

1) is to get so far ahead that I could never put him back in a normal school

2) to finish school by the age of 10 (I just smile, no point telling him this is unrealistic)

 

Can you turn it into a positive for him? Just let him work at his level, and if grade level comes up use it with the 'well,you're only this old but you can do this...' approach?

[KAR120C]

Sometimes I have trouble pinning her down in my mind - should I share this year's curriculum when people ask what your first grader is doing? Or should I share what we'll be doing next year, when she's "officially" (according to the umbrella school) in first grade, even though almost all of it won't be typical first grade work?

 

See the difficulties? :001_huh:

I hate to sound bitter, but honestly, I've given up posting much about DS at all. And almost never with both age and work level in the same place. Either someone is going to have something to say about letting kids be kids or they're going to feel bad. The first I have no patience for and the second makes me feel guilty, so there's really no point in participating either way. :glare:

[Mommy22alyns]

I hate to sound bitter, but honestly, I've given up posting much about DS at all. And almost never with both age and work level in the same place. Either someone is going to have something to say about letting kids be kids or they're going to feel bad. The first I have no patience for and the second makes me feel guilty, so there's really no point in participating either way. :glare:

 

 

Yeah.... I definitely get that. I hardly ever post on other boards about what Becca (or even Sylvia) is doing for those exact reasons.

[KristenS]

Well, *I* love reading about all your smart kids! :)

 

Mine are still pretty young so it's not an issue for us, much. My son is 7, first grade by age, and that's what we call it. He's young for his age, so for outside activities it works well to keep him with his peers. Plus his motor skills lagged a bit. His math, on the other hand ... I've got him in 2nd grade math but really he just skates through it ... I never really know if I should 'skip' him up a level or just let us coast along happily.

 

I'm figuring we'll start collecting credits in each subject when he hits high school level in each subject, and if we need to stretch things out with dual enrollment and work internships and things, no harm done. We've got several good community colleges and a decent university in our area, so at least there are plenty of options.

 

I'd also, should we ever have to enroll him in school somewhere, prefer to have him on record as a lower grade, and test out of it, then to think he's in a higher grade but not measure up to whatever the school might require.

 

But like I said, mine are young, and so we're still kind of newbies at the whole thing. :)

[Donna]

I hate to sound bitter, but honestly, I've given up posting much about DS at all. And almost never with both age and work level in the same place. Either someone is going to have something to say about letting kids be kids or they're going to feel bad. The first I have no patience for and the second makes me feel guilty, so there's really no point in participating either way. :glare:

 

Yesterday at dd's violin lesson, her teacher told me, "Many people are going to misunderstand you. They will think you are pushing her or not letting her be a kid." We went on to laugh about how totally the opposite of true those types of perceptions are since she also had a gifted violinist dd and has btdt.

 

I think the same is true with those of us with academically gifted children..."People will misunderstand." So, don't feel guilty because of the misconceptions of others. I think that people often have to find a way to make sense of things they don't understand so with gifted children, it is easier to think that the parent is pushing and the child is going to end up needing therapy because of a lack of childhood.

 

As far as school, my kids tell people,"I homeschool but this is the grade I'd be in were I in school" even though each is working 2-5 grade levels ahead depending on child and subject. It keeps people from questioning or giving strange looks. At home, we don't even talk in terms of grade level. Each learns at the level where they are engaged and learning.

[Jenny in Florida]

As far as school, my kids tell people,"I homeschool but this is the grade I'd be in were I in school" even though each is working 2-5 grade levels ahead depending on child and subject. It keeps people from questioning or giving strange looks.

 

That's pretty much what we've ended up counseling, too. When my daughter was younger, we used to actually role play that exchange:

 

Mom playing the new acquaintance: So, what grade are you in?

Daughter: I'm homeschooled, so we don't have grades. By age, I'd be in X grade. What do you want to play?

 

I have to say, though, that it didn't always work. A lot of times, bratty kids and nosey adults just would not leave well enough alone and would proceed to quiz my daughter about specifics.

 

My son handles it better, although he's had some nasty run-ins, too. I remember once when he was very young (maybe 5-ish?) and a slightly older boy he was playing with at the swimming pool just would not quit bugging my son about this. He finally convinced my son to confess that he was doing second or third grade math, which sent the other boy (and a couple of his friends who had joined the group by that time) into gales of laughter. Finally, they confronted me with my son's "lie" and were completely befuddled when I confirmed what my son had told them.

 

Then they called him a nerd.

 

Sigh. It was all I could do to be a grown up and not explain to them that they better learn to like my little nerd, since he'd probably be their boss one day!

[Blessedfamily]

Yes, I do. It's kind of frustrating, isn't it?

 

I know I often feel like I can't get it right even on the WTM boards. When my daughter was still homeschooling, I was pretty active on the high school board, because she was doing high school work. I found it most helpful to me to be there to discuss curriculum and so on. However, when it came out that she was so young, I got a lot of people telling me I shouldn't consider her a 9th grader (or 10th or 11th) because of her age. And a lot of people seemed a whole lot more interested in telling me I was doing that wrong than they were in actually helping me make curriculum choices or keep records or any of the other things people chat about on that board.

 

On the other hand, with my son, I tend to think of him more as his grade by age, despite the fact that he's working way above that level in pretty much all subjects. I think it's because he still acts more like a kid than his sister did. So, I'm most active on the K-8 board. However, when I respond to questions about what your 5th grader is reading or what curriculum you're using for 5th grade or whatever, then we get all those threads about how those of us with kids working above grade level are making others feel bad.

 

So, honestly, I don't think we can win. Which is why I generally try to avoid the whole grade thing at all.

 

I have experienced the same thing, so when I ask for curriculum help, I don't mention age.

 

To answer the OP, I skipped K. DD has an Oct birthday, which is after the public school's cut-off, but not mine. When I register her next year, it will be as a first grader.

 

She does work anywhere from second to fifth grade.

[KAR120C]

I think that people often have to find a way to make sense of things they don't understand so with gifted children, it is easier to think that the parent is pushing and the child is going to end up needing therapy because of a lack of childhood.

The ones that think I'm pushing don't make me feel guilty... Irritated, certainly, but not guilty. It's the ones that say that all us "overachievers" make them feel inadequate. I was never out to make others feel like they weren't doing enough and I was never out to make a race out of this, so the only way I can ensure that I don't engage in that whole scene is just not to say anything. Or at least to be so vague that they really have to go out of their way to find anything usable.

 

It's not like I can really hide anyway... even the most casual acquaintances catch on pretty quick. But if I'm putting myself "out there" (message boards especially), hoping to find kindred spirits of some kind or another, it's a little heart-wrenching to instead have to keep my head down lest someone take something we're doing to measure their own experiences and come up short.

 

It's just a sore point with me lately...

[Starr]

I enjoy reading about all the smarty pants kids out there. :lol: I think I held my daughter back in some ways so she could do more with her younger brother. It's all working out now that she is in high school and has no problems with college classes. I'm sorry others have so many negative opinions of your choices.

[katemary63]

My older kids were not homeschooled. DD17 didn't start till 6th grade and has stayed on track with her grades. DD7 started K at age 4 since she was just ready. So at 5 we did first grade and at 6 we did second grade. She is now 7 and in "third grade" but is registered with the state as a second grader. I do not want to be locked into putting her in any particular grade should there ever be the need. ( not planning on it!) So, she has not skipped a grade but she is ahead according to age. I will have to say that if sort of offends her when I say "second" grade. She knows what grades are because of her friends who are in ps. I don't focus on it, but she does.

 

I would say let him work at his own level, let him call himself what ever grade the work that he's doing is. But keep him "officially" in his age grade untill HS.

[alpidarkomama]

Someone asked my 5-year-old what grade she was in (she's on the tall side), and she promptly and earnestly replied, "Which subject?" I tried to stifle my giggles. The person we were talking to didn't know we homeschooled.

 

I don't think we'll ever be pinned to a particular grade, just keep going with wherever we are in whatever subject we're doing. Right now, her skills run the gamut from Kindergarten level (reading/writing) to 4th/5th grade (science and oral comprehension). So... whatever! :lol:

[Jenny in Florida]

She is now 7 and in "third grade" but is registered with the state as a second grader. I do not want to be locked into putting her in any particular grade should there ever be the need.

 

See, in our district, we have no choice. I did ask to have my daughter officially skipped a grade or two, because she was taking online classes and I was worried she would have trouble enrolling if her "official" grade was on the homeschool paperwork. I was told that, no matter what a homeschool parent said, no matter what evidence we presented (such as standardized test results from her functional grade level that showed her in the 90th percentile), as far as the district was concerned, she was in whatever grade she would be in by age. Period. No exceptions.

 

Can I tell you how much joy I took in writing the letter to the district withdrawing her from homeschool because she was on her way to college when she was 12? I did try to be a grown up about it, honest! But I did take great satisfaction in mailing that one.

[Blessedfamily]

See, in our district, we have no choice. I did ask to have my daughter officially skipped a grade or two, because she was taking online classes and I was worried she would have trouble enrolling if her "official" grade was on the homeschool paperwork. I was told that, no matter what a homeschool parent said, no matter what evidence we presented (such as standardized test results from her functional grade level that showed her in the 90th percentile), as far as the district was concerned, she was in whatever grade she would be in by age. Period. No exceptions.

 

Can I tell you how much joy I took in writing the letter to the district withdrawing her from homeschool because she was on her way to college when she was 12? I did try to be a grown up about it, honest! But I did take great satisfaction in mailing that one.

 

I haven't heard of this being a problem in my state, but I'm keeping my antannae up.

 

Actually, we aren't required to give a grade or age or B-day. It's given as an example of what you can include in your notice on the Dept. Of Ed. website, but it's not in the homeschool code. I'm sure they'll want to know, though.

[Storm Bay]

Yes. We pulled dd out of ps at the end of gr. 2 and put her in gr. 4. My only regret is letting the school board know because he's not going to be mature enough to graduate at 17 at the rate she's going (she's bright enough, but is young for her age) so we ended up doing an 8/9 year this year so everything will look right on paper for when she applies to universities/colleges.

 

I don't regret the decision of skipping gr 3, and at the time submitted our homeschool info accordingly in case we put her back in ps. Dh wasn't nearly as keen on homeschooling back then as he is now.

[galtgrl]

I can't tell you how helpful these posts have been! I've been feeling very isolated due to the fact that my kids are pretty accelerated - by age 6th & 7th grade dd's are taking Algebra 1, etc., and there aren't any hmsclrs locally that I can talk to for advice/support. We're trying to decide whether to actually go for college credit during hs or not. Complicating the issue, they may want to play sports in college. I'm thinking we'll just take lots of AP courses to fill out the high school years so we don't run into problems with the sports and possible scholarships. I'm sure I'll learn more by reading these posts and the high school board as well. Thanks! :001_smile:

[newlifemom]

So, did skip dd5? I just did whatever I was doing with older brother with her. Her age officially puts her in K, but she is doing 1st with ds. She does just fine with it. A little struggles with math, but since we are using Saxon, I know 2nd grade will be more of the same.

[Moni]

Has Anyone Allowed A Child to Skip A Grade Level?

 

We skip at the end.

When he goes to college full-time, he'll skip the high school grades that are remaining, if any.

That said, he may go half-time college for four years 9th-12th and collect 60 units, so he may well end up skipping freshman and sophomore years of college :lol:

 

Semantics.

It doesn't really matter until they are ready to transfer to the University as a Junior, and by that time, it matters to no one ;)

 

My son never knows what grade he's in anyway.

Last time he was asked, he answered, ".....9th.....no, ...4th...?...."

 

Yeah, some number in there somewhere :tongue_smilie:

 

:seeya:

[Jenny in Florida]

Semantics.

It doesn't really matter until they are ready to transfer to the University as a Junior, and by that time, it matters to no one

 

 

Well, it mattered to my daughter. She worked hard to do as well as she did academically, and it mattered quite a great deal to her that she didn't "skip" anything. She had finished a full high school curriculum by the time she started college, and she hated it when people assumed she "lucked out" and got to skip things.

[Moni]

Well, it mattered to my daughter

 

I stand corrected :blushing:

 

If it matters, it matters.

If it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter.

 

:seeya:

[lighthouseacademy]

For several reasons I did skip my son. Anyway, the school district considers him 2nd grade by I know he is working at a 4th grade level in most subjects and is chronologically a 1st grader. In his case, for now, I feel it was the right choice. Even though his sister is almost as advanced as he was when he was "officially" registered as homeschooling, I will not be skipping her a grade, at least I don't think I will. She is not quite the powerhouse of drive that he is. She tends to enjoy dawdling and smelling the flowers and percolating more than he does.

[angela in ohio]

I think an important thing to remember is that even in PS, there are a variety of abilities in each grade level. Most of the homeschoolers I know who have "grade skipped" their dc based on their math level or such would not have children who were moved up a grade level in public school. They would just be in the "advanced" reading or math group. So grade level is much more closely tied to age than to ability. It is more a label based on social maturity.

 

Both of my older girls get back strong recommendations each year from MATS to skip one or more grades, and they are working well above grade level. If they were in public school, there is a strong possibility that at least one of them really would be grade skipped. But when people ask, I tell them the grade level they would be if they were in school by age.

Edited February 14, 2009 by angela in ohio

[Tree House Academy]

I think that is the beauty of homeschooling! My younger son is doing all 1st grade work and is only 5.5. I call him Kindergarten for reporting purposes, but he knows that he is really a 1st grader. :) Tell you son that obviously he IS a 5th grader...he is doing 5th grade work. Whether you call it skipping a grade or not, it appears that he has, in fact, skipped a grade. KWIM? :)

[Blessedfamily]

One thing occurs to me reading this thread. My dd works through her material quickly (as many here do). So really, when she goes through two or more grade levels in a year, I would not call it skipping. That would be moving through material at a more advanced pace.

 

But I guess the question was whether you skip them closer to the grade they're currently working at as far as school board paperwork is concerned? Is that what's being asked?:confused: Feel free to elaborate. I could be wrong.

Edited February 15, 2009 by Blessedfamily

[KAR120C]

One thing occurs to me reading this thread. My dd works through her material quickly (as many here do). So really, when she goes through two or more grade levels in a year, I would not call it skipping. That would be moving through material at a more advanced pace.

 

I can't speak for anyone else of course, but I didn't actually "skip" material with DS - just worked through more than one year's material in a year's time, and eventually started calling him by a higher grade level than his age would indicate. The "skipping" part, in my mind, is in what you're calling them. DS was a 1st grader the year he turned six, but then the next year he was (suddenly) in 3rd grade. We didn't skip any material, we just started calling him a 3rd grader.

 

Still, his "grade level" doesn't really reflect his working level -- it never has. It's just what we call him. (The year he was a "3rd grader" was also the year he started Algebra.) So he "skipped" from one grade level that didn't mean anything to another grade level that also didn't mean anything. It only comes up when we sign up for the science fair and for his annual standardized test.

[Blessedfamily]

I can't speak for anyone else of course, but I didn't actually "skip" material with DS - just worked through more than one year's material in a year's time, and eventually started calling him by a higher grade level than his age would indicate. The "skipping" part, in my mind, is in what you're calling them. DS was a 1st grader the year he turned six, but then the next year he was (suddenly) in 3rd grade. We didn't skip any material, we just started calling him a 3rd grader.

 

Still, his "grade level" doesn't really reflect his working level -- it never has. It's just what we call him. ......

 

Yes, this is what I meant, too.

[Laura Corin]

I just let my boys work at whatever level is good for them, but still call them by the grade/year relevant to their age. I'm in no rush to get them out the door. If they get so far ahead that home can no longer fulfil them, I'll deal with that issue at that time. You can always use exams to document level at that point, if early university entrance seems to be the best idea.

 

Laura

[SunshineMom]

My girls work at their own pace. They tell strangers, when asked what grade are you in? "First, kindergarten and we homeschool." I donot really talk to my children about being ahead in areas rather we just keep pluggin along. I have thought about naming our homeschool so the questions will stop from strangers. I am not that interested in defending or explaining what we are doing. My dd5 is all over the place she reads 3rd grade material, 2nd grade math and science somewhere between 2-4th grade. I do not want to explain all that to a stranger. My dd7 has struggled with learning issues so I donot want to explain that either. My mother-in-law, a former school teacher, gets hung up on the age/grade thing. She was visiting when our children finished a country study on Vietnam. We video tapped their presentation. She asked "why are you studying Vietnam?" Not like, verses another country but why are you even teaching this? My husband responded "why not?" My dd5 is one of those kids that needs a lot of mental stimulation. My kids ask me when are we doing history, science or biology, not do we have too? A homeschool parent is like being the principle of your homeschool. I wouldn't let a game/curriculum box decide at what age I should let my child play/learn it nor will allow others to "box" my children in a grade. At this point, I feel it is easier to tell others what they want to hear (grade by age) yet do what is right at home (grade by interest).

[Allearia]

I have found it easier to keep my son in the grade he would be in school. As a test I did one time tell some new people that he was in first grade instead of kindergarten last year -- he is pretty tall and mature for his age so I didn't think it would get questioned. They immediately asked what grade he would normally be in school and I got lots of knowing looks thinking I was pushing or fooling myself. I didn't want to go into the fact that he was working on even a higher grade level so I just go with what is easiest for now.

[Storm Bay]

I got lots of knowing looks thinking I was pushing or fooling myself. I didn't want to go into the fact that he was working on even a higher grade level so I just go with what is easiest for now.

 

 

I no longer let those knowing looks bother me, but I no longer discuss the grade issue unless there's a real point to it. In our case, we've gone deeper rather than faster, and my eldest, who at one time was several grades ahead, had some attitude issues, so she's now going to enter high school at the "regular" age. But most of her courses will entail more than most of the honour courses at the local high school. Not literature, though, which she despises, nor history, which she loathes, but her sciences, math, logic, etc will. Deeper rather than "ahead."

[Reya]

I know most of us don't prefer the term "grade" but my youngest son is a 4th grader. He reads well above his level and has been doing the same work as his 5th grade brothers (twins). He has been asking a question on a weekly basis now..."Why am I not in 5th grade like my brothers if I'm doing 5th grade work?" I couldn't give a reasonable explanation. Hmmm. Could advancing a level hurt him? My mother was advanced also. She skipped the 10 grade in high school and graduated at age 16. She did well and graduated college but why am I so nervous about doing this with my son? On the other hand, I also don't want to hold him back if it will hurt him?

 

My DS is doing almost all his work at the 2nd grade level or above, but we call it Kindergarten. We will continue to call it his age-grade *even as he gathers high school credits* until he graduates. So, say, as an insane case that I have a kid who graduates "high school" when he's nine. I'd still call it his third grade year, but he'd be a senior.

 

When you homeschool, you don't have to choose one or the other. I give every kid what fits. Grade levels make little to no sense for MOST kids, never mind those who have a 4-grade-level discrepancy between their functioning levels in various subjects!

 

The ONLY thing you have to do now is to build a portfolio/recordkeeping for any high school level work he does. Why sweat the "grade"? It doesn't mean anything to a homeschooler, anyway!

[Nan in Mass]

In fact, since they have summer birthdays and went to ps kindergarten either twice or late, their grade is a year lower than it could have been. I just tell people their age if they ask for their grade. If they insist, I say that the longer a child homeschools, the more spread out their work becomes, and my youngest is about at the 3rd grade level with his spelling but doing algebra. Usually, this distracts the questioner and she immediately tells me all about how the ps is accommodating the ability spread of her own children, and how everyone is uneven, and we don't have to talk about homeschooling any more. Besides, it is difficult for me to say what grade my children are even in one subject because their input and output varies. If pushed, I use whichever is lower. For example, mine still, even as teenagers, don't want their modern history described in any detail because it is too upsetting, so we use upper elementary school/ middle school level books, but their insights, especially the 18yo's, are at high school level, or if it involves something with which he has hands-on experience, then adult level for discussion, but still high school level for written work. What grade level is he for history? You can't test him to find out because he tests badly, and also because his knowledge of history doesn't match up with what is normally taught in high school. I try to avoid being pinned down to any one answer. Giving their age is much easier GRIN.

 

I keep track of everything they do that could be considered high school level, and then when I need a transcript, I look at it all and gather it up into courses and credits. Then I write a cover letter explaining what I did. The end result looks like a fairly standard high school transcript except that it is organized according to subject, doesn't have grades except for the outside classes, and has lots of little superscripts with footnotes saying things like "community college class" or "honors because involved extensive travel" or "despite the 'elementary' this is algebra" (that last for NEM). So far it has worked well, but I've only gotten one child into college with it, so I can't claim it works for all circumstances.

 

I don't think you have to worry about it until you want to graduate the child from something or into something.

 

-Nan

[hitech]

We will be attempting to do 7th and 8th grade over the next summer, school year, then the next summer.

Suzanne

[AuntPol]

If he still was in public school, he would be in 3rd (and 2nd in many states and in our state now that the cutoff changed). I say my son is in 3rd.

 

However, to be honest, I can not say what "level" he is on in his academics. We are doing a combo of Ambleside 2-3 this year but I can say with confidence that is above grade level compared to government schools but I can't say what "level". I was on the 6th grade social studies curriculum committee for our district and Ambleside readings are well above that in content. Our district only tests to 4th grade reading level and once they reach that they quit assessing. He reached that the first assessment of 1st grade. He easily that I consider middle school level (read all of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Eragons, Narnia). He is a reluctant writer and had a 504 in school. However, he's done Wordsmith Apprentice this year (with little issue) and it's labeled as 4-6. His penmanship is not that great but neither is his dad's lol. I am reluctant to go higher in writing because his fine motor skills are not where his brain is. He can dictate wonderful things to me but he can't write them himself as easily. Science, we mostly unschool. Math he is doing Singapore 4B and Life of Fred Fractions and Challenging Word Problems 3. He does them all easily and we probably only spend 10-15 minutes a day on math. He's doing what my daughter is doing in her 4th grade AG math class (and gone a little beyond). He's capable of more (he understands calculus problems) but doesn't have the desire to sit and do math all day long (it's a pencil thing) when he can play outside, play legos, play computer games, work on his magic tricks, etc. and I don't feel the need to push him to do more. His love of math is very innate. He loves easy preschool math and he loves hard challenging math. Both excite him.

[Reya]

My DS is in different levels for different subjects. To me, grade level means nothing for homeschoolers, so I use conventional labels just to communicate age.

 

Graduation has nothing to do with what you call the school year. I mean, you could have a 1st grade senior, at a crazy extreme. :-)

 

EDIT: WOW! This is an old thread. Sorry for not noticing!

 

If it really maters to your DC, you can call it whatever he wants. You can call it green cheese if you want.

Edited March 18, 2009 by Reya

[skaterbabs]

I have experienced the same thing, so when I ask for curriculum help, I don't mention age.

 

To answer the OP, I skipped K. DD has an Oct birthday, which is after the public school's cut-off, but not mine. When I register her next year, it will be as a first grader.

 

She does work anywhere from second to fifth grade.

 

My DD will be 6 in October, and taught herself to read last year. It's the main reason we're HSing her - while we do have an excellent elementary school, there is NO provision for a chronological kindergartner doing 1st and 2nd grade academics. I'm not ready or willing to call her gifted yet, but she is definitely academically precocious. We have yet to decide if our NOI will list her as being in K or 1st grade (she only missed the cutoff for this year by 17 days), if anyone has any reasons why one of the other is better I'd appreciate the input.

[Reya]

...And a lot of people seemed a whole lot more interested in telling me I was doing that wrong than they were in actually helping me make curriculum choices or keep records or any of the other things people chat about on that board.

 

... However, when I respond to questions about what your 5th grader is reading or what curriculum you're using for 5th grade or whatever, then we get all those threads about how those of us with kids working above grade level are making others feel bad.

 

 

*snort* No, REALLY? I'm apparently abusing my son by FORCING him to do algebra. Yep. Abuse. (If I'm not lying or doing it just to make other people feel bad...)

 

Quote of the day: "I hate regular math."--that is, 3rd grade math that I'm still making him do. "I only like snuggle math"--what he calls algebra.

 

Yup. Sounds like abuse to me.

 

For the second, I call each subject a different grade. I've stopped responding to the "What is your X grader doing?" general questions except out-of-level or in very general terms--"books for lit, GWG, Singapore math" etc. And I'm only responding to that for 1st-3rd grade, not K.

Edited March 25, 2009 by Reya