Every day after my oldest comes home from school we have lunch and then sit down for an hour to do school work. Mondays she always has homework, which she breezes through quickly. The rest of the week she works on workbooks I have gotten at Costco and The Learning Palace in town.
K is much farther ahead of the other kids in her class. When she started Kindergarten, her teacher told me she was already at the level the kids are expected to be at when the year is over. Not surprising after I spent some time in the classroom helping out and I saw they were working on the things K learned her first year in a private preschool.
K has always been very smart and eager to learn. But I fear she is going to loose that ambition if she isn't challenged. She has already come home many times this year telling me that she is bored at school and learned more in preschool.
We thought about skipping her to first grade, but she doesn't have very good social skills so we were concerned she would have a hard time fitting in. Plus we don't want to get her burned out in school at an early age.
I thought about home schooling her, but it sounds like a lot of hard work and tons of hoops you have to jump though with the government. I hear the tests are much harder for home schooled kids than the ones public school kids have to pass. Plus, I don't have good teaching skills or much patience. I fear I would go insane while making my daughters life at home miserable.
There is always private school, but they are so ridiculously expensive. I can't see spending as much for a year in elementary school as you would for a year of college. It doesn't seem very feasible.
So this puts us back to where we are now. K is already half way through a first grade workbook and is challenged, but not overly so. She can tell time on a digital clock and sometimes on a regular clock. She can do addition up to 20 and some subtraction. She reads at a first grade level and can spell pretty well. Plus she knows what a noun, verb and adjective are. When I talk to other parents they say she is very advanced for her age. I have nothing to compare to, so I really don't know. But I fear that public school is not going to challenge her enough.
So what do we do? Should we just keep schooling her at home while putting her through public school even though she learns nothing other than social skills there? Do we try to home school her and hope we both survive? Private school is out of the question. Or do we have her skip a grade and hope it works out? These are the questions we have been pondering for a few months now. Any suggestions?
K working on her math paper attached tothe dish washer. Keeps it interesting, right?
I have a friend who has had the same problem with her son. Luckily, this year, his teacher set up a separate syllabus for him that is more challenging. He's doing great. Maybe her teacher would be willing to do the same??
ReplyDeleteIt is unfortunate, though, that today it seems that classrooms have to cater to the kids behind and the excelling students are somewhat ignored.
I loved homeschooling after the initial shock wore off. It is an adjustment, but once you get into a good routine it's really fun. You could try checking out K12 or Connections Academy. I have friends who use both and they really love them. They give you the curriculum and a computer to work on (for free), if you need it. And before you start they test your child to see what level they are at. During the year they do more testing and will move kids up to the next level if they need more challenging work. I wish I could homeschool again, but I'm so sick when I'm pregnant, and I'm still holding out hope that I will get be able to get pregnant again this year. But I have a feeling I will be in the same boat you are with my son Josh. He's 4 and is already adding, and doing simple math. I'm going to work on reading and writing with him in a couple of weeks. Good luck with your decision! Just remember to pray about a lot!
ReplyDeleteMy two cents: social skills are extremely important for her age...and if she doesn't gain/progress in those skills then other skills can become difficult for her. If you are already worried about her social skills then having her skip a grade could possibly only make the social skills even more difficult to gain because her peers may already have them. I would recommend making sure that she has the social aspect in her life whether you do public or homeschooling. And if she loves to read then I would have her keep doing that...it was something that always stimulated me when I was bored in school. Also, I would recommend asking the teacher if there is anything to challenge her...or if next year there is a gifted program.
ReplyDeleteNicole! I've been there. Especially in the first two years of public school. But I can say from experience it does get better (at least at our school I know it's true.) You could consider reapplying for a transfer to PM School. They have a TAG (Talented and Gifted) Class there. Students are automatically TAG students if they get 98% on the state math or reading test. Or, they get 98% on the district TAG test (which you have to ask for.)
ReplyDeleteAre they grouping by ability for reading at her school? They do this at our school. And in 1st grade, also for math. This makes a big difference. When Lowden was in Kindergarten, he was in a 2nd grade reading group.
Also, continue supplementing at home. I've always done that and it makes me feel like they are getting introduced to a lot more than they get at school. Good luck!