OT: Age of child at graduation

[inHistiming]

Hello, all. This is a bit off topic, but sort of relevant too, as it plays into which guide I will choose for my son. I have some experience with Beyond, Bigger, and Preparing with my two older children. However, we have only had starts and stops with my younger son with any packaged curriculum. We have successfully used various workbooks that he could complete mostly on his own, such as R&S Spelling and English (only in unit 2 here and I help him with this), ETC, ARFH, etc. However, I really want him to begin getting some history and science. Currently he has just finished 3rd grade....meaning, he moved up to 4th at church and calls himself a 4th grader. However, he just turned 9 in June.

So, to get to my question, how old are your children in 4th grade?

I am just a bit concerned about having graduation for him before he even turns 18! I know that's a ways down the road, but I'm wondering if he should just stay a 3rd grader. We are moving....yes, again .....to Virginia in 2 weeks, so no one would even know he was 'held back'. The thing is, it's not even because he isn't 'smart' enough, I just feel he is immature for his age and I'm not sure he's really ready to be in the 4th grader category. Plus, he just hasn't had the history and science teaching that he probably should have had to be in that grade. I know we homeschool and grade levels aren't that important really, but I don't want him to be at a disadvantage or feel like he is because he doesn't have the same knowledge others his age have. You would think after 6 years of homeschooling this would no longer be a concern for me!

Hopefully you could make sense of all that.....

I own Beyond, but I'm not sure if that is too 'young' since he's 9. If so, should I start with Bigger or Preparing, do you think? He reads very well, is a great speller, and is currently in the middle of Saxon 3. Any and all suggestions are welcome!

[glperky]

IF mine went to PS they would be only 8yo when starting 4th grade. And they would be 8 yo until Dec. That just blows my mind. However, I have a hard time not trying to keep them on that schedule for some reason. I guess because my oldest was in private school until he hit 9th grade and I still have that mind set that I am having a hard time getting over. If that makes any sense.

Anyway, I also have a 15 yr that started off in private school and I held him back a year or but him in Kindergarten twice so that he could "grow up" a little. For us, it was a huge mistake, and I would change it if I could. The reason being is, this just put him with children younger then him so there was no need for him to "grow up."

Don't know if any of that helps or answers your questions, but I hope so.

[Kathleen]

We have late spring birthdays for the oldest 3 here. Grant's b-day is in April, but Allison and Garret have their b-days in late May after we finish our "grade" for the year. We've done K when they're 5, 1st when they're 6, etc. (just like you currently are with your kiddo). Allison will be finishing Bigger this year while she's 8, and it's going well. Since you've done some of the guides, I'd say just to choose the one that he seems the most ready for. Since he hasn't really done any HOD, my not-knowing-him suggestion would be to start with Bigger. But you will defnitely be better at placing him!
Bigger was Grant's 1st HOD year when we found it....and I have to say it was a GREAT 1st guide for him! He's ready to roll into Rev2Rev this fall and I can't believe all he's learned (and I've learned along with him). He learned some great skills in Bigger that have served him well as he's learned to work more and more independently each year with the following guides.
And as far as a grade level for SS or church things, etc, I wouldn't hesitate to change that on a move at all. If that's a better fit maturity-wise, go for it! I know that my kids all have some in their SS classes that are a full year behind them because parents started them in K when they were 6 for the year instead of 5, and it's no big deal.

Hope your move goes well, inHistiming! I can not imagine packing up as many times as you have since I've met you! It would be kind of exciting though. One of those things that a dairy-farming family will never know... Good thing we LOVE rural Kansas!
Kathleen

[basesloaded]

My middle son has a July birthday and turned 9 the summer before 4th grade and that is where he would have been placed if in public school as well if he attended here. He did Creation to Christ that year manly because we stared using HOD the year before with Preparing. He was in 3rd that year and I was combining him with his older brother who was in 5th at the time. When my younger son comes along and is in 4th I plan to put him in Preparing since he isn't combining with anyone.

[netpea]

My daughter was 8 turning 9 in October when she started 4th grade. She is 9 turning 10 in October now for 5th grade. That's pretty normal around here. You can start K when you are 4 as long as you turn 5 by December. Some do, some don't, some do 2 years of K.

And that's just the PS kids I'm talking about, you find everyone with different opinions.

[Tracee]

All three of my children have June birthdays, so I know how you feel. It took me awhile to get out of the mindset of the ps school system. Now, I just go with whatever guide matches best with their ability. We are on on a crazy schedule of January - December, but it works best for my ds. DS just turned 8 in June, he is technically going into 3rd grade at church, but in my mind he won't start 3rd grade until January when we start Bigger. When we get to High School, ds can decide when he wants to graduate.

Also, if you are finished with the guides at 17, and you want him to graduate when he is 18, there are so many things you can do like dual enrollment.


I hope that helps,
Tracy

[countrymom]

We just say our boys are in the grade they would be in if we sent them to school and place them in the guide where they best fit. We don't really spend much time worrying about what grade they are in. I wouldn't worry about graduation. If you son finishes all of the HOD guides prior to 18 he can work, dual enroll in a community college, do additional studies, etc. The best choice for your child is to correctly place him and the other will work out.

[blessedmomof4]

My oldest daughter ( a little to advanced for any level of HOD, unfortunately), just graduated high school at the age of 16 (turned 17 on July 8 ). She is going to continue full-time ballet school/trainee apprenticeship at a dance company here for the next year, and plans to attend college once she becomes 18. She wants to go to an east coast college with a dual academic/dance program, so she said she feels more comfortable waiting until she is "legally" an adult before going away Graduating "early" can open up unique opportunities like this and the options countrymom mentioned. If you live in a state where compulsory education laws require a child to be "in school" until the age of 18, community college or an online college program are great options for the young graduate. (In my state, the compulsory age is 7-18, "unless the child has graduated from high school".) Just place your child where he fits best, and let him soar

[inHistiming]

Thanks so much to all of you who have responded! There are some really interesting options here, so I will be perusing those. I know I have a very long way to go before I really need to worry about this. Thanks for trying to ease my mind, though.

We are in the middle of packing and getting ready to move to VA in less than two weeks. I will be pondering more about our curriculum options and proper placement in any spare time. I'll be back to chat more later in the summer.

Enjoy yours!

[Heart_Mom]

I just wanted to pop in to say that I have some children with late summer birthdays. I've opted to call them the older grade. So my daughter who will turn 6 in about a month (I changed my siggy early! ), I'm calling a Kindergartener this fall. She's doing LHFHG. I figure I can always bump her up and call her a higher grade level in the future if I think that would be good for her.

My oldest will be 11 in a few weeks and he is starting 5th grade.

I hope that helps!