Comments on: Why I’m Holding My Child Back This Year

By: Karen W

Karen W — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 11:05:53 +0000

I’m curious now how this year has gone for you and for your daughter. I love that in homeschooling we can keep things at a pace that is right for the child. I really don’t know where I would consider my daughters. My oldest should be going into 2nd grade, but we are making our way through My Father’s World 1st grade. We took two years to do K, not because she was behind, but because I am trying to keep my daughters together in our main curriculum. So right now my younger daughter is right on with her grade in MFW. While I have been keeping them together in this (for sanity and financial reasons) I have been supplementing in reading, grammar and math to give my daughter what she needs. I still consider her going into 2nd grade this year.

By: Selena@lookwerelearning

Selena@lookwerelearning — Thu, 22 Aug 2013 18:12:24 +0000

In reply to annette @ A Net In Time.

I agree with that mindset, but we try to make sure that our children remain as close as possible to their grade level. We don’t know what the future holds and there may come a time when we have to put our kids in PS. If that was to happen, we would not want them to have to take remedial classes or be held back. We’re also required to do standardized testing in our state every three years, so keeping up with grade levels to some degree is important for testing purposes.

Thanks for visiting!

By: annette @ A Net In Time

annette @ A Net In Time — Thu, 22 Aug 2013 14:12:01 +0000

i thought one of the joys of homeschooling is that one didn’t need to focus on what grade a child was in, and therefore avoid the stigma of such things. Let children learn as they are able.

By: apronstringsotherthings

apronstringsotherthings — Thu, 01 Aug 2013 00:33:26 +0000

In reply to Selena@lookwerelearning. Seeing how things can all of a sudden, out of the blue, just click really helped me relax as a homeschool mom. I don't put near as much pressure on myself or my children as much as I did in our early years. Keep up the good work!

By: Selena@lookwerelearning

Selena@lookwerelearning — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 10:17:19 +0000

In reply to apronstringsotherthings.

Absolutely. And Tigger is the same way. She’ll struggle with a math concept that I would think is easy and then the next week, I’ll show her a simple algebraic expression that she grasps immediately! We all learn at different paces and in different ways, which is what makes homeschooling so wonderful.

Thanks for the encouragement!

By: apronstringsotherthings

apronstringsotherthings — Tue, 30 Jul 2013 22:43:18 +0000

By the time our 3rd child was approaching ‘school’ age, I had stopped thinking about grade levels (mostly). I did make the decision to slow one daughter down in math at about the 6th grade level because she needed more mastering in the fundamentals. After spending a year on some really basic mathematics, she leaped ahead to where other kids her age were studying.
Another daughter seemed to be having a hard time grasping many things at around what would be 3rd or 4th grade level, so we moved ever so slowly forward, stretching out 1 year worth of material into 2. And then by ‘6th grade’ age she was ready and mature enough to jump up to material more typical of others her age.
Isn’t it wonderful we have the freedom to customize how and when and what our children learn? Sounds like you are doing a great job, Mom!

By: Yahuah's Homemaker

Yahuah's Homemaker — Tue, 30 Jul 2013 12:56:27 +0000

We had a similar school year. Homeschooling gives the freedom to make changes for betterment of our kids…thanks for sharing.

By: Selena@lookwerelearning

Selena@lookwerelearning — Sat, 27 Jul 2013 02:11:30 +0000

In reply to Crystal http://www.crystalstinytreasures.com.

Thanks! I truly appreciate that part of homeschooling. If Tigger was in school, she’d probably have been encouraged to study very hard for the CRCT and then get bumped into fourth grade based on her test scores alone. The only problem is: cramming for a test does not equal learning. We want to make sure she is truly learning what she needs to know and we’ll make whatever adjustments we need to reach that objective.

By: Selena@lookwerelearning

Selena@lookwerelearning — Sat, 27 Jul 2013 02:05:50 +0000

In reply to Nita. That's great to hear! I like the flexibility of homeschooling, but I find it hard to relax and just move them around as needed. We intend to homeschool through high school, but things happen. Right now, I prefer to keep them on a single grade level (when possible) so that if I have to put them in school, it won't be a difficult adjustment. Ideally, though, homeschooling is exactly what you described above. :)

By: Selena@lookwerelearning

Selena@lookwerelearning — Sat, 27 Jul 2013 02:03:59 +0000

In reply to Ashley. That makes perfect sense. If they're not ready to follow directions, moving them on will just lead to frustration for everyone involved. Thanks for stopping by!