Grade levels in your homeschool

November 19, 7:45 AMRaleigh Homeschooling ExaminerStacey Cotrufo

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Sometimes, there is no one grade level for your child

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So you are homeschooling your child.  Let's say that she is six years old.  She is really strong in math, so she is doing that on a third grade level, maybe reading on a fourth grade level, but spells on a second grade level.  What grade is she?

This is a common dilemma but one that makes homeschooling all the more agreeable for you and your family.  In public schools, most students in a certain class of a specific grade are all taught the same thing.  If a student is ahead of what is being taught, they are bored, if they are behind, they have to get extra help; but for the most part, the curriculum is not going to change, stop or speed up for any one student.  When you are homeschooling, you get to really customize your child's curriculum so that it suits them to their strengths and weaknesses.

So this six-year old child is "technically" a first grader.  Okay, that is your starting point.  That does not mean, however, that you can only purchase and use first grade material.  If she is breezing through her first grade math book, go ahead and move her up to one that suits her.  But a word of caution, don't skip ahead too much.  Why?  This really only applies to math but remember that math skills and facts build upon each other so you don't want to skip too much because an important fact may not be introduced and can cause problems later on. 

Do you even have to label your child with a grade?  Perhaps.  It is particularly important to do so if your plans do not include homeschooling in the long-term.  If you think that your child may be going in to the public school system, then you should have a grade-level for them.  The funny thing is that the question of "What grade is she in?" will be asked of you over and over as a homeschool mom, so it really is easier to just have one for her.  If you don't you'll be standing there describing her grade level for each subject and possibly confuse the person who asked!

Do not be afraid to explore your child's potential and even challenge them a bit with the curriculum that you choose.  Always start with books that are geared for their age but know that you do have the freedom to move ahead or back up should  your child need to.  Another aspect to this is that you can take as long as your child needs to learn a particular subject.  School does not have to end in May or in June and start up with brand new books and curriculum in September.  The fifth grade can last for a full twelve months if you need it to.

Freedom.  If there were one word to describe how to label our grades, I'd say that you have the freedom to call it as you see fit.  It's just a number.  When most of us get our standardized test scores back, you will see what grade level our chldren are scoring on.  Some kids score a grade 14 on spelling when they are in the seventh grade.  Does that mean that we graduate them?  No.  It just means that they are advanced in that subject and we can probably not focus on it quite so much.

So if your six year old can do geometry?  Great!  Is your eighth grader reading on a third grade level?  That's okay too.  Don't focus on a number or grade level on a book.  Focus on your child and teaching to his or her potential and you'll have a happy and healthy homeschool.