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I am a bit concerned about something. My 9 year old is on 3rd grade level this year. (He is 1 year older than his grade level could be). Anyway, he is currently doing R & S 2, and he likes it pretty well and knows mostly all of it. But, shouldn't he be at least in R & S 3? I have even read on this discussion board that some children who are only 8 or 9 are already in R & S 4! This makes me like, "uh oh, we are WAY behind!"

Last year, he was in private Christian school and they did mostly Abeka stuff. I have heard Abeka is more advanced and he always made A's and B's, but didn't LIKE it. He LIKES it better now, but I think it is too easy. Yet, I must say that his comprehension isn't the best from just reading it. I usually have to talk some of the directions, etc out with him before he "gets" it.

Anyway, I don't WANT to get caught up in grade level stuff, I guess I just wonder if anyone else has a child in one grade level "behind" what he could be, and how they are doing. I guess it seems that a lot of the posts I read have children excelling "further" than their grade level, and that makes me a little nervous.
He is also doing Beyond with his younger brother, and he LOVES the read aloud times. That is his favorite parts of the day. I do not do extensions with him this year either. He does do DITHOR with my help. We do it together.

Thanks for any thoughts or encouragement. I don't want to be whiny or nervous or overly fearful, but I don't want him to be TOO behind either.

Blessings,
Tina

My son is 9 (July bday) and I consider him 4th grade. He's in Bigger and it was recommended to me to use R&S 2 also. It is super easy. I thought about dropping it and starting level 3. However, it is really important that I don't switch things up with DS, so we are just going through more quickly than the Bigger schedule and it is a laying a good foundation for him. We will start level 3 as soon as we get through level 2.

R & S English is considered advanced, with Levels 7 and 8 being high school credit worthy. If your 9 yo is appropriately placed in R & S English 2, then I'd continue with it. If you feel he already knows the material in R & S English 2, then you can easily have him do R & S English 3 instead, just doing a lesson a day, and splitting longer reviews over 2 days. Only you can know where your ds seems best placed, but I will say that grammar and math are two subject areas that cannot be fast forwarded with very successful results. Laying the groundwork with 2 is good to do if a child has not had that material previously. Pushing dc to finish a level they're not ready for won't help them know it better, IMHO. Many high schools don't even require grammar, so simply getting as far as you do will probably be just fine, but you will know best here! No matter what you decide, I'd be sure to look at your child and what he needs individually rather than worrying about comparing him to other dc - I know- easier said than done, but wisest in the long run. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie