[jduggan]

My daughter is 6 yrs 2 months and is in 1st grade.
I just looked to see how much we have left in our Language Arts program (Learning Language Arts through Literature - red book) which is a 2nd grade book, and we only have a few lessons left until it's done!
She is using Math U See Alpha, and again, almost done. We school August 1 to June 15th (ish), totally break from "curriculum based learning" for the summer to travel, garden and just be outside, since summer is so short here. We do LOADS of unit studies, lapbooks, a FIAR book nearly each week, have an instrument lesson, and with all this, we still seem to have a lot of free playtime-which is how we like it since, hey, she's only 6. School takes no longer than 2 hours (at most) a day, and we only do "formal lessons" 3/4 days a week. We have already completed all Socials and Science componants required by our board.

My question: do I move her to the 3rd grade book (she can totally handle the work) and only get halfway through the book before June when we break for school, or just be "done" with this years "official" curriculum and just, well, unschool for the rest of the year? The summer break is important to us, as we are away a lot during that time.
For my comfort, I like the routine of having something solid to work through a bit each day, but I could reorganize my brain to just do fun unit studies until June, that would be fun too.

ideas?? My husband is worried if we keep going at this pace we'll have a 8 year old doing 10th grade work (kidding).

 

[skueppers]

My inclination would be to find out what she'd like to do. Would she prefer to "move on" in her formal curriculum, or would she rather take some time to explore other areas?

If she doesn't have an opinion, I'd probably use a different math curriculum for the rest of the year -- something like Miquon or MEP that's totally different from Math-U-See. For everything else, this seems like a great opportunity to follow her interests and introduce things you might not otherwise have had time for.

 

[moominmamma]

We've always done what our kids want to, moving ahead, continuing, taking a break, depending on how they feel about it. It means that in some areas they're years ahead, but it's not really a problem. Why would it matter if you had an 8yo doing 10th grade work? You're homeschooling. It's not like you can "run out" of things to learn in this great ol' world of ours.

Miranda

 

[Momma Aimee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jduggan My daughter is 6 yrs 2 months and is in 1st grade. I just looked to see how much we have left in our Language Arts program (Learning Language Arts through Literature - red book) which is a 2nd grade book, and we only have a few lessons left until it's done! She is using Math U See Alpha, and again, almost done. We school August 1 to June 15th (ish), totally break from "curriculum based learning" for the summer to travel, garden and just be outside, since summer is so short here. We do LOADS of unit studies, lapbooks, a FIAR book nearly each week, have an instrument lesson, and with all this, we still seem to have a lot of free playtime-which is how we like it since, hey, she's only 6. School takes no longer than 2 hours (at most) a day, and we only do "formal lessons" 3/4 days a week. We have already completed all Socials and Science componants required by our board. My question: do I move her to the 3rd grade book (she can totally handle the work) and only get halfway through the book before June when we break for school, or just be "done" with this years "official" curriculum and just, well, unschool for the rest of the year? The summer break is important to us, as we are away a lot during that time. For my comfort, I like the routine of having something solid to work through a bit each day, but I could reorganize my brain to just do fun unit studies until June, that would be fun too. ideas?? My husband is worried if we keep going at this pace we'll have a 8 year old doing 10th grade work (kidding).

I know you are joking baout DH -- but -- really -- is THAT th epoint of homeschooling ... if your 5th grade can do the work of a high school JR .. then they get to .....

(why i would have loooved to been homeschooled and HATED school)

I agree -- i would personally want something "stay on track with"

If you worry that if you start 3rd grade work, then take summer break, then retrun to it -- that will be determental to the school work ... ie she will loose too much, not have time to really maste

r it before summer, have to redo it all in teh fall ...........then i would do some cool unti studies, read some new books, and so on --

if you feel that the summer break would not hurt .. that is doing the start work of 3rd grade before summer, and when you start back up she would be still in a good place -- i personally would keep going.

I think I would do both -- go on and start 3rd -- it is a natrual progression from what she is doing .. but maybe carve our time to do some really fun, maybe silly, unit she would love, as a reward fro getting her 2nd grade stuff done too

 

[AngelBee]

I would just start the next book. I would not make a big deal and just keep going on with LA on your regular school year schedule.

For my family, it is important not to get out of the habit of doing certain subjects. That is why we school year round.

 

[Momma Aimee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AngelBee I would just start the next book. I would not make a big deal and just keep going on with LA on your regular school year schedule. For my family, it is important not to get out of the habit of doing certain subjects. That is why we school year round.

I see a real diffence in my DN between when they homeschooled all year and now are in public school -- so much so Sis now has a formal curr for them all summer .. reading / writing / math and then a fun summer realted unit or two ..

I too would worry about loosing forward progress -- unless you was to take time to re-master and reinforce skills already learned to make them more automatic

 

[zjande]

Yeah I too just keep going when we get to the end of a school book/curriculum. And if you end up with an 8 yr old that does 10th grade work, well, at least she's not a bored kid stuck doing "grade level" work like many kids in public school. That's the beauty of homeschooling!

 

[ChinaDoll]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jduggan My question: do I move her to the 3rd grade book (she can totally handle the work) and only get halfway through the book before June when we break for school, or just be "done" with this years "official" curriculum and just, well, unschool for the rest of the year? The summer break is important to us, as we are away a lot during that time. For my comfort, I like the routine of having something solid to work through a bit each day, but I could reorganize my brain to just do fun unit studies until June, that would be fun too. ideas?? My husband is worried if we keep going at this pace we'll have a 8 year old doing 10th grade work (kidding).

Boy, can I relate! Mine have whizzed through some curriculum this year, too; it's exciting to see them learn!

I don't think there's anything wrong with moving into the next book, as long as she can handle the work. I would be prepared to watch for signs of stress, and have a plan to reevaluate as needed.

One thing DH and I have committed to, however, is the concept of "broader and deeper." I don't want a kid moving swiftly through curriculum just for the sake of moving swiftly, KWIM? I want to make sure they savor the material, and really dig in. And I don't really want to graduate a kid significantly early. For one thing, there are usually state requirements that a kid is in school until X age. But mostly just for maturity.

SO, I would suggest finding ways to broaden her learning experiences whenever possible. Add in extra books/units/lapbooks/whatever whenever possible on history or science. Add creative writing assignments on certain topics, if that's her thing, or perhaps drawings/paintings to accompany assignments if art is her thing. Add electives as she is interested, not to bog down your schedule but to allow you to stretch her to her fullest potential now, while not rushing ahead in academics. A hobby, an instrument, a language. Computer skills, crafts, handiwork or housework.

As they age, I'm hoping their interests and skills will be able to be more fully developed, so that if one is a pianist or dancer they'll be able to use a significant amount of their time each day to hone that skill. In the early ages, though, it's more about exposure and experimentation. I do academics in the morning, and then sort of unschool the afternoons - a little educational tv or computer game, a lot of outside time and unlimited access to anything in the schoolroom.

I like your idea of fun unit studies as well. Is there some topic you've covered that you'd love to dig deeper into? I've considered an intensive science workshop, or in-depth study on Egypt, which was one of their favorites, for example. I'm just throwing that out there - moving on isn't bad, but neither is thinking outside the box and broadening understanding at her current level.

 

[AAK]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChinaDoll One thing DH and I have committed to, however, is the concept of "broader and deeper." I don't want a kid moving swiftly through curriculum just for the sake of moving swiftly, KWIM? I want to make sure they savor the material, and really dig in.

I agree with that! That is our actual reason for hs my oldest. She was bored in school, and moves quickly through curriculum at home. We work hard to take the same stuff and look at it from a different angle.

For routine, I would reinforce math concepts, continue to read great books together, etc. However, I would look at living math and living science and exploring the topics she recently 'mastered' but at a deeper level.

Amy

 

[moominmamma]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChinaDoll One thing DH and I have committed to, however, is the concept of "broader and deeper." I don't want a kid moving swiftly through curriculum just for the sake of moving swiftly, KWIM?

Good point, but I think it's also worth noting that in many areas "broader and deeper" comes automatically with more advanced study. That's particularly true in the humanities and sciences. For instance, my 11yo could be using a 6th grade science curriculum and doing lots of supplementary assignments and reading, but for our purposes it makes a lot more sense for her to simply work through an AP biology course, that giving her the challenge and depths she's craving in a format that appeals to her and a topic area she's passionate about.

In math andb basic literacy skills I think it's particularly helpful think about "broad and deep." These areas tend to be more sequential and cumulative, and there's an advantage in building a broader base as a foundation for later development. And I also think that if you see a child moving very quickly through things this gives you the freedom and confidence to encourage growth in areas traditionally considered "enrichment." So my newly 7yo, who is two to four years ahead of her age grade in core academics, is having a blast putting lots of time and energy into Japanese language, learning aikido, and violin and piano studies.

Miranda