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Determining Grade Level
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Hi all;
I am trying to figure out where to jump in here. I would like to start CM with my son in the fall. However, I am not sure exactly where to start. My son will turn 6 in late Nov. He is reading some, and is starting to show an interest in learning to write letters. I have done some reading lessons with him. So when I go to start CM with him this fall should I follow the age 5 plan (in the early years guide) or should I follow the Grade 1 recommendations? Or should I wait until January, then start the Grade 1 things from this website with him? I am really not sure. Hope this makes sense, I am really tired! Thanks 🙂
I think it’s totally possible to mix and match! If he’s ready for the Grade 1 math but still needing to take writing slow, then you can hold off on copywork/handwriting. If he doesn’t have the attention span for the history readings of grade 1, then cut back. The amount you’ll do will also depend on if you have other kids and what their needs are like. I don’t know your son so I’m just making up examples here, but I hope you understand what I mean. This is only my first year HSing and I only have 1 child, so I don’t have a lot of experience to speak from, but I hope others who do will chime in!
Why not start with some of the 5 year old recommendations now, to see how it goes? When we made the decision to homeschool and I learned about CM, it was March and DD was 4.5. We decided to just jump in by adding one new thing each month. In March I read all about nature study, got some ideas, and then we started a weekly trail walk with the purpose of ‘noticing’ one thing new each week. In April, I figured out where I wanted to start with Composer Study. (Music is my thing, so that was an easy one for me). In May, I started having planning specific read alouds and teaching DD the very basics of narration, just a few times a week, with no real expectations other than just having a conversation about the story. We gradually added things in, so that I could build routines for both of us. I run a home daycare, so I needed a gentle start to fit everything and everybody in to the plan! 18 months later, she was 6yo and we started ‘year 1’ officially. Since you know now what you want to do, why not start trying things out? It may give you a better idea about what your son is ready for.
Also, as Kate said, you may end up at different levels in each area (math, language, etc.) By summer it might be easier to decide how structured you want to be next year, depending on how your son matures between now and then. A lot can change at this age. My DD (now 7) learned to read very quickly! She went from not reading to tackling books like Charlotte’s Web in about 4 months, with very little input from me. DS5 did the same thing in about 6 months. If I had planned 6 months ahead, it would have been wasted effort!
My final advice is to err on the side of starting later than sooner. If in doubt, stick with ‘Year 0’ until after your son is six. Many wait until the child is close to or already seven to start anything formal. You can always pick up the pace later if you want, but starting too soon can cause a child to be overwhelmed and burn out.
Joanne
I tend to follow their lead at those ages. I go ahead and purchase any materials for K/1st and give them a try. If it’s too much, we shelve it for a few months and try again. Generally we start learning letter sounds between 4.5 or 5.5 depending on the child. Once that is done, they begin learning to blend the sounds together, then we begin more formal phonics lessons.
For math, I skip K workbooks and start with 1st grade materials. In my experience, the K books are so simple (patterns, writing numbers, opposites, etc.) and my DC have learned this all on their own. The 1st grade books seem to cover the same things, just a little more in depth. We start with 1st materials, but at a slower page (about 1 semester in a year’s time). This year, my K’er used Miquon. Most days we played with C-rods (or other math manipulatives). Once or twice a week she did a WB page. Soon after she turned 6 she asked for more WB pages! So we started doing them pretty much daily.
They develop so much in a matter of months at those ages…I agree that it’s hard to tell where your child will be in the fall. I would probably start with the early years guide and work from there. If he wants more, you could try some of the 1st grade suggestions. I also don’t see anything wrong with mixing and matching…my DC tend to be on several grade levels at once dending on the subject.
For subjects like history, composer and artist study rotations, etc, I would go with whatever grade level corresponds to their state requirements. So in WI your son would be in Kindergarten this coming fall and I would follow the early years 5 year old guides. For Math, Reading, Handwriting, (things that are developmental or skills based) I would work at whatever level they are at.
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