Curriculum Guide

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  • July 25, 2011 at 12:46 pm
    dmccall3
    Participant

    So does grade one begin at age 6 then? I always get confused. My DS’s birthday is in March and our school year starts in the fall so does that mean he’d start grade one at 6.5? That’s not too late?

    Thanks!

    Dana

    July 25, 2011 at 12:54 pm
    Sue
    Participant

    First (and probably foremost), it’s never “too late” to start a particular grade level. I would base that on whatever you feel he’s ready for and what fits your family. Second, if your local laws (state, province, etc.) define at what age you absolutely have to start grade one, then you’ll have to take that into consideration.

    We’re blessed here in Ohio in that our compulsory attendance laws state the age at which schooling must begin, but they don’t require homeschoolers to stick to a particular grade level/age match.

    July 25, 2011 at 1:06 pm
    Bookworm
    Participant

    Because of birthday times and state requirements, I started first grade when I was six weeks shy of 7.  It doesn’t really  matter how you do it as a homeschool mom though.  You should do whatever level of work he is capable of, and you don’t need to “call” it anything.  Just school.  I do tell my kids what “grade” they’d be in if they were in school, though, because there is ALWAYS someone asking them and they used to turn to me and say “What grade am I in?”  LOL  I don’t really use ANY materials that are marked or titled “grade one” or grade anything, though.  At one point I had a kid reading high school level for reading, doing about kindergarten level work for handwriting, and about second grade level for math–when he was 6.  🙂  “Grades” as they exist in the public school mindset are really just about  meaningless. 

    July 25, 2011 at 1:29 pm
    dmccall3
    Participant

    Okay. Thanks! I am really just thinking of the SCM’s grade one on their curriculum guide. I am thinking I can hang out in SCM’s “early years” until he’s 6.5. That just seems like a long time for some reason… I mean 3 more years of doing nothing formal!

    I believe according to NC’s laws I just have to start testing at 7 but that there is no grade level/age match to adhere to – but as I’m in the early years phase I haven’t fully looked into this. (I have a DS 3.5 and a DD due in September.)

    I really shouldn’t have begun researching homeschooling so early (I settled on CM when my DS, my first child, was 1, and it wasn’t *that* long after that I decided on SCM) because I’m kind of ready to get started. LOL

    And I’m amazed at what he knows already and I’ve done no teaching! Sometimes I find myself saying, “How do you know that!?” Of course then at other times I find myself saying things like, “We don’t wear our underwear over the outside of our pants.” 🙂 But I digress…

    July 25, 2011 at 1:42 pm
    Bookworm
    Participant

    Researching early is fine!  Keep an eye on your son and start when he’s ready.  There is no reason you have to wait until exactly the September he’s six.  If he’s ready in the early summer when he turns six, then start adding some other things then.  And CM in the early years is so rich–there is so much to do and it is SO fun.  Don’t wish that part away too fast!  Go enjoy those times outdoors and snuggle and read and make homemade playdough and lay on a blanket and look at the clouds and make cookies and have a wonderful time!  “School time” will start soon enough. 

    July 25, 2011 at 2:10 pm
    morgrace
    Participant

    I second Bookworm’s post! While it may sound cliche, time goes incredibly fast! My son is starting this year. And we’ve done exactly what Bookworm mentioned above, we have a light summer schedule and start “everything else” this fall. (His birthday is in April by the way). I don’t think you researched homeschooling too early, you’ll have an advantage by having learned about CM methods before applying them. Try to remember that you are laying a foundation in the early years, ESPECIALLY with habit training. It makes everything so much easier to have those habits in place! A bit like building the foundation of a house, seems so dull, I mean after all painting walls is so much more fun! But a shaky foundation will bring the most beautiful walls tumbling down, likewise with habits – particularly obedience. Also there is no reason you can continue with more difficult read-alouds as he gets older. If you’ve gotten thru all the “early years” books, then start on some chapter books, who says you have to wait for grade 1 for Charlotte’s Web if he’s ready a bit earlier? I guess what I’m trying to say is there’s always reading aloud for “school” before formal lessons. And nature study and you could also do a foreign language too. Charlotte (Mason, not the spider) mentions a french lesson outside in Vol. 1. I wanted to do a foreign language early, but we never got to it and I don’t speak any myself. I’ve got to run, my crew is running amuck! Time to go outside!!

    July 25, 2011 at 3:02 pm
    dmccall3
    Participant

    Bookworm, you make the early years sound – well – different than they are around here – haha. 🙂

    Morgrace, we are Americans living in France so he’s certainly getting a foreign language. Yay.

    Thank you both for the responses. I guess I need to settle into the early years instead of wishing them away. And we could really focus more on habits, especially obedience! He’s at that “I have my own ideas” age/phase. 🙂

    Thanks again to everyone!

    Dana

    July 25, 2011 at 7:19 pm
    Sara B.
    Participant

    I agree – start when he’s ready.  He may even be ready for a few things early, as in the case with my dd.  She’s 4 1/2, won’t be 5 till November, but she is showing definite signs that she’s ready to read and do a couple of things semi-formally.  Of course, I won’t push it, and we’ll make it as informal as possible, but hey, if she’s ready “a year early” according to PS, no problem!  The beauty of homeschooling….  🙂

    PS.  Don’t wish those early years away!  I’m wishing for them back with my oldest 2!  LOL  They are 8 (complete with ‘tween attitude) and 7 (just turned).  I am so glad I am wiser and am not wishing away my son’s toddler years!  Tongue out

    July 25, 2011 at 7:19 pm
    thehauserfamily
    Member

    I agree just start when he is ready.  We do a slow start and my “3rd grader” is just now doing formal school.  Still CM though.  I have questioned my decision so many times, but 2 weeks into school I am SO glad I waited!   My 8yo already reads and knows how to write and such I just teach it in a very slow, easy, when they are willing type of way.  He may not be at the level of “most” 8yo but man what he knows he knows and loves it.  He can recall it and relate it to other things he learns and books we read.  His brain is more able to handle the complex information. He is not just memorizing it.

    My 5yo is doing some learning to read stuff and some handwriting, lots of me reading and him looking at books  He is also listening in on some of my 8yo work, but nothing too stressful.  I don’t want him to dread learning and school…he is too young for that.  He is not really into it yet anyway.  

    My 3yo dd is going to be ready soon she wants to read and knows more letter sounds than her 5yo brother…he he!

    The early years is the best time for habits!  It seems like it is not easy to build good habits when they are small but it is even harder when they are older!  Don’t wish them away…they go too fast anyway!

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