Son is sensitive about perceived grade level.....

[Kelli in TN]

Justice has become very sensitive about what grade level his books are. He is 9, he should be in 3rd grade and he has figured that out. He just finished Horizons grade 1 math and is in Rod and Staff 2nd grade. Those are the only two texts he has that have an actual grade on them. I think he could work in the 3rd grade grammar book by this summer without too much stress. But math is a whole 'nuther story. So, I am thinking about NOT buying him the second grade workbooks for Horizons and using the yrros ssa teacher's manual to just tell me what concepts he needs and then pulling it together myself using my RightStart transitions, the Horizons worksheets and internet stuff.

 

What do you think of that? And I wonder if I could move him along a little faster so he can get to the 3rd grade text by summer or early fall? Or do I risk leaving gaps? He just wants to feel better about himself and I want to help him do that, but not by sacrificing foundational math skills.

 

*I* know it does not matter what grade the books have on their covers and I deemphasize it all I can, but lately it has become a very big deal to him. And ripping the cover off won't work, he wants to be AT grade level.

[dalynnrmc]

Well... I dunno if he'd believe it, but.. most folks use R&S a "level" down from the number on it. So, Level 2 from R&S really *is* third grade!! Really!! Many 7th graders who switch to R&S start with the Level 5 book.

 

 

Something that has worked with my kiddo is using the checklist from World Book Curriculum standards website. He can see that we've covered over half of the stuff for fourth grade, almost half of the stuff for fifth grade, about a third of the stuff for sixth grade... and so the 3 things from 2nd grade, 5 from 3rd, etc, don't bother him. :) (PS standards he's a 4th grader, but his history is - obviously - not lined up with the PS schedule.)

 

 

The math we use (MUS) doesnt go by grade levels. That helps. I have a brother who is in the 6th grade (yes, I know...) and my son can do multiplication, division, even as related to geometry (find the area of a trapezoid...) better than my brother. Now, my brother can do simple fractions and decimals, and my son hasn't covered that at all just yet, but ds is okay with it because his uncle can't do division with more than a one-digit divisor. :p

[Merry]

it shouldn't leave any gaps in the foundation.

[Niffercoo]

Kelli, I attempt to use non-grade-obvious materials for Austin. He is also very sensitive about his work level, and even more so because he has a sister who is 3 years younger (she passed him up almost 2 years ago). We use MUS, JAG, and ANYTHING else I can find without a grade level. He also uses different materials from his sister (MUS vs. Singapore, etc) so that it's not as easy to compare.

 

Do you think that would help him?

[Mom0012]

Well, I think RS and R&S are a great combination for a child who is struggling. I think getting the rote practice down in R&S and then following up with RS to get the concepts can work really well.

 

As far as the number on the front of the R&S book, I'm not sure what to say except do you think if he continued to work on it over the summer, he could "catch up"? When we did R&S 2, I was able to skip at least every 4th or 5th lesson. Is he getting his math facts down? That's a lot of what R&S seems to be about in grade 2. You could get some math fact software and have him work on that as well to speed things along a little. That's what I did for my son.

 

Lisa

[Mom22ns]

I hate to suggest switching curriculum when you like what you have, but... Math U See has no grade levels. If you think it might work for him, he would never have to feel behind. That shouldn't be the deciding factor for curriculum, but self esteem is important. I wouldn't try to push through math levels unless you really feel confident he is "getting" it.

[Twinmom]

I have the same problem with DD9 and DS7. DD is very sensitive to the fact that DS is more advanced than she is...esp. in math. In most subjects, I have managed to work them on the same grade level without DD figuring it out, but math is another story all together.

 

My solution was to switch curriculums. I have DD in MUS, which has no grade levels (but rather uses Alpha, Gamma, Delta, etc), and DS in Singapore. So far, no one has figured it out!

[CherylG]

Hi all...

For the workbook type of book like Horizons Math(which I have been using for so long, that when I first started homeschooling they ended at 3rd grade! I called and begged them to make more grades and have been using that math for the whole 16 years.) I diverge, sorry.

 

Anyway, what I did was take the workbooks to Kinkos, have them cut the covers off and then have them three-hole punch the whole book. I then inserted everything into a binder-Wah-la...no big old number 2, 3 or whatever glaring you in the face every day. A Sonlight friend covered up the Year Number with stickers on the front of the teacher's manual. But again, that was years ago when the years correlated with the grade.

 

Blessings!!

[CherylG]

I just noticed in your signature that he's your youngest...I think that sensitivity happens because they will never catch up to the young adults in their lives and that's frustrating for them. My littlest isn't such a great speller-OK-she has mild dyslexia, even with numbers. But we (just today) talked about how everybody has some kind of learning disability. One bro is so brilliant but can't remember really simple things-like taking the keys out of the car before he locks the door. One sibling has to work so hard to get good grades, time management is their issue; another sibling cannot move forward if they are not successful immediately. I know my little one really struggled with the same feelings as your son, when she was his age-she is totally mellowed out now that we found gymnastics and she has her niche or now that she is in 6th grade.

Edited April 3, 2009 by CherylG

[chiguirre]

Could you explain to him that both Horizons and R&S are advanced for their grade levels? Horizons in particular covers quite a bit more than other math curricula in the early years. And yes, it has the grade level at the bottom of every page.

 

Developmental math might work well for masking grade level because the numbers on the books are impressively large. You might be able to move into R&S Math 3, because R&S's math doesn't zoom ahead like the grammar books. Another option is Math Mammoth which has both grade level books and topic books. It's very easy to correlate the blue topic books with the light blue grade grade level books, the grade isn't printed on any pages.

 

Good luck!

[Kelli in TN]

Thanks for all the ideas!

 

For math I have decided to use the 2nd Horizons TM to tell me what to teach him, but to use internet resources and manipulatives to get the job done. I am going to try to boost him through a little bit fast so he can go into the 3rd grade book. I think if he has a grasp on the foundational stuff, he could go into 3rd and we would just work at a comfortable pace.

 

For the English, Rod and Staff, I am not going to worry about it. He will finish the 2nd grade book this summer and go on into the 3rd grade book.

 

I worried more about the math because he just finished the 1st grade and I can see the desperation all over him. I have to try to get him closer to grade level.

[klmama]

Thanks for all the ideas!

 

For math I have decided to use the 2nd Horizons TM to tell me what to teach him, but to use internet resources and manipulatives to get the job done. I am going to try to boost him through a little bit fast so he can go into the 3rd grade book. I think if he has a grasp on the foundational stuff, he could go into 3rd and we would just work at a comfortable pace.

 

For the English, Rod and Staff, I am not going to worry about it. He will finish the 2nd grade book this summer and go on into the 3rd grade book.

 

I worried more about the math because he just finished the 1st grade and I can see the desperation all over him. I have to try to get him closer to grade level.

 

 

Well, if it's any consolation, 2nd grade math books tend to repeat just about everything in the 1st grade books. If he grasps it, you should be able to move through quickly and get to the 3rd grade book sooner.

[swellmomma]

With R&S it doesn't say grade 2, just 2 right? So could you call it level 2 instead of grade 2? I have faced a similar situation with my ds, currently grade 5, but doing a lot of 3rd grade work. What I have found is if I call something a level instead of a grade he is more comfortable. As well we use MUS so our math is not grade levels at all. He and I also had to have a big talk regarding next year. He will be repeating grade 5 to give him more time to mature and catch up academically. Because I am in a province that requires registration I have to say what grade he is in. He was worried at first about what others would say, but he also understands that he has issues that make his brain do things a little slower than others. In the end he is okay now (and openly tells people), he is doing grade 5 again next year, and after discussion with his current sunday school teacher and the one for the next level up (where he would have moved up if he started gr 6) he will be repeating the gr 5 level of sunday school too.

 

Maybe all your ds needs is a heart to heart, explaining that he is at exactly the right level for his needs, that because he is homeschooled grade levels does not mean the same things as they do for his friends, after all his friends don't change just because he uses a different book. Maybe calling the books by level instead of grade, or telling him the work in them is advanced and therefore the right grade level will help?

 

Since ds and I talked and agreed that he would do grade 5 again next year he actually is feeling better about knowing he is doing mainly grade 3 or 4 work now, because he knows that he will soon be doing the grade 5 work while in grade 5 kwim and the following year will move at hopefully at grade level, but if not he knows it is okay.