Delaying Academics – Clarification of when to start.

You can begin the academic year when she turns 5 or 6. But it will depend on the curriculum, or book choices, to determine if you’ll use a Kindergarten version or a Grade 1 version  or a combination of the two 🙂

I would do “preschool” until she is 5, then reevaluate at the time if she is ready for “kindergarten” material.

Honestly, you’ll just have to try out books, lessons, etc., to gauge your daughter on whether or not she is ready for Grade 1 material at 6.

My youngest is/was a s.l.o.w. reader (he’s getting so much better!), so although he could comprehend material above his “grade” level or “reading” level, he could not read most of what was geared for his grade/age on his own. So don’t be surprised if you’re using material that is way above what is considered her grade/age level and some material that is somewhat below.  We use a combination of a lot of different “levels.”

I hope that helps at least a little.

Island Mama..

One of the hurdles of homeschooling mindset is grade vs age.  Grade levels for certain ages are so engrained in our systems (Countries might be different, but there still is that ‘institutional age’ criteria).   I had my now 7 year old enrolled in a private Christian school for 3 years! Ha!  When he was 4,5 and 6.  Every time I walked out of that building, I had this ‘feeling’ I wasn’t going to send him there.  I had considered homeschooling, but was ‘on the fence’.  God hadn’t finished ‘nudging’ me yet.:-)

One of the many motivating factors for me was having my kids spend time together, get to know eachother, play etc…before they were in school all day.  Well, I had my surprise 3rd and was like, I can’t send him now.  I kept getting pregnant and wanted them all to be together as much as possible!  I didn’t want to send them away at 3 and 4 years old.  To me, this is a normal feeling.  For our children to be away half the week and then the whole week, seemed crazy to me after I had kids.  (No matter what age, until they were ready to leave the nest.)

I knew I was going to send them to school as late as possible.  I wasn’t Charlotte Mason educated at that time, but something in my being told me that school could wait.  I could be teaching them stuff and not have them enrolled in school.  We moms teach all the time, right?

Fast forward to 3 years later and we have been home schooling for two years now.  (Well, all of us moms have been homeschooling since birth.:-)  At our church they group kids according to grade level.  My oldest is with all the 1st graders and technically he should be with 2nd graders if you use his age.  He constantly gets asked what grade he is in. When he tells his age, they are like, “Why aren’t you in second?”

To be honest, you know your children better than any school system.  Homeschooling takes you enough ‘off the grid from everyone else’ that you get used to not ‘matching’ normal culture.

If you choose homeschooling; the beautiful thing is, you get to choose when they are ready.  (Well, I am not sure about the laws in the UK..but, within the laws you get to put together your children’s schooling.)  You no longer have to be within confines of what everyone else is doing.  Except follow the laws.  It is amazingly freeing!

Trust your guts and choose a path you want to take ‘curriculum’ wise.  It is a hard thing to step out of the ‘norm’ and take the road less traveled.  Then is hard to find your stride among what ‘everyone’ else is doing.

Having a pretty clear path, conviction in what you are doing, and faith in the process of home schooling make it a much easier transition from institutionalized school vs home.

Hope this helps!

Blessings,

Renee

Also that uneasiness about deciding to homeschool is common.  When my oldest was about the age to start Kindergarten, I was a total wreck… we knew we were going tohomeschool, but I would see the K open houses, and the signs to register, and I’d second guess myself.  Again when he was age to start grade 1…. and even when he was ready to start grade 2 and my next was K age.   But each year that uneasiness was less and less.

(Well, until this year…. my oldest is almost high school age…. and homeschooling high school is our plan…. but it all those fears are raging.)

Island Mama..

One of the things you will hear a lot  of home school moms say is, take it one year at a time.  Especially, when you are starting out.  That undeniable ‘nudge’ as I call it; I believe the Holy Spirit:-), gives you the strength to ‘do it’.

You will be amazed, as you get your stride, how your confidence builds and you start ‘feeling’ it all come together.  Yes, there are hard days.  Yes, sometimes you think, “what am I doing, am I capable?”  BUT, that original gut feeling you have gets you through.  And wonderful support groups like this SCM group.  You will hear all the challenges, break downs, celebrations, break throughs, suggestions, questions etc…from this group alone.

Yes, there will be nay sayers! I even have  them in my family!  Obviously, the conviction and trust that I am doing the right thing for my family trumps all that.  For me, it was a 3 year process of reading, talking, praying and more praying..to get to the point of ‘taking the leap’.  It is not for the faint of heart.:-)  You are ‘going through the process’ I think we all have been through when stepping out on this home school journey.

It is great you get the freedom in the UK to choose your schooling for your children.  So, if you are feeling strongly you want to do it, then take it one year at a time.  (Or even one month)  I never dreamed I would consider high school, when I started this.  Now I can not see me not doing it.  So, things change as you move along.  Maybe God will re-direct me in the future.  For now, I choose to listen and continue to ‘take the leap’.:-)

I will pray that you see the clear direction for your family!

🙂

Blessings,

Renee