Spotty Banana Homeschool

7 Comments Add your own

• 1. Laurie  |  Wednesday, June 24, 2009 at 6:40 am

  I agree 100% with teaching your children at whatever level they can handle… that’s the beauty and one of the significant advantages of homeschooling. (And, more often than not, homeschooled students are “ahead” of the “grade level work” of their peers.) That said, however, I will say that I believe it is absolutely best for a homeschooled child to refer to himself, when asked, as being in the grade level that he would be in, according to age, were he in a conventional school program. Homeschoolers announcing things like, “Well, I would be in the fourth grade, but I’m doing seventh grade work” can come across as arrogant and separatist in a way that is alienating and off-putting. And there’s nothing more frustrating to another child or parent, who asked the question merely to get a feel for your child’s age and station in life, using a normative delineation of society as it now stands. So, let you child do whatever accelerated work he can handle, but instruct him to refer to himself in conventional terms. If he “finishes early” and graduates after ninth grade, the people around him can scratch their heads and ask questions then.

• 2. ginac  |  Wednesday, June 24, 2009 at 2:13 pm

  I agree about sounding elitest. We definitely don’t want to be that way. We usually just have our son say ‘no grade I’m homeschooled’ and give his age. We really try to encourage him to be proud of being a homeschooler and an individual, so we don’t necessarily try to ‘fit the mold’. But we feel that way about everything, not just about homeschooling.

• 3. Cindy  |  Monday, January 4, 2010 at 4:56 pm

  I think this is the beauty of homeschooling. I also wish that every child would be able to feel confident where they are, instead of where someone says they should be. The “normal” expectations can leave people feeling less than worthy. We should embrace all talents whether they are physical, intellectual, or relational or whatever.
  I decided not to try to bend my to fit my goal’s recently and it is very freeing. He is intelligent, but has often melted down when given certain types of work or stuff he isn’t ready for.

• 4. Shannon - Living Life at Home  |  Monday, January 4, 2010 at 5:36 pm

  I totally agree that “grade levels” shouldn’t matter in a homeschool, but it is useful to give your child a way to answer the rest of the world who gauges where a child’s at by what grade they are in.
  Over the years we’ve gone from just saying they are homeschooled, to me just telling them what grade they would be in if they were in public school, based on age. Where’s there is room for interpretation I go off whether the child is more or less advanced for that age in the traditional academics or let them choose depending on the event.

  For example, my 10 yo son signed up for a Lego Robotics class that was for 4th and 5th graders. But when we go tthere he had to go either with the 4th grade group or the 5th grade group. I let him choose.

  None of our curriculum is grade based, and each child in each subject is at a completely different grade-equivelent level, But as my 12 yo and 10 yo have gotten older they’ve preferred to have a “grade” to tell people what htey are in – even if it has nothing to do with the level of work they are doing. My 7 yo could care less, but my 6 yo gets very upset when she doesn’t know how to answer the question of innocent inquiriers as to “what grade” she is in. So this is a solution we came up.

  With that said, I totally agree and actually abide by each of these points. Each child is unique and should be allowed to move their their materials at a individualized pace for them. For us, it’s not about completing a “grade level” of work, but instilling and educational base for their future, at whatever pace suits them.

• 5. ginac  |  Tuesday, January 5, 2010 at 2:39 am

  Shannon, I must agree that non-homeschoolers don’t usually understand the whole ‘no grade’ concept. Even some homeschool families have trouble accepting it. I also think that it is much easier to simply tell people what they expect to hear, especially in social situations. The bottom line is that you don’t alter your learning approach to ‘fit in’ socially, and that makes all the difference. Thanks for sharing!

• 6. ginac  |  Tuesday, January 5, 2010 at 2:52 am

  Cindy,
  I couldn’t agree more with your comment. I highly recommend homeschoolers read ‘The Element’ by Sir Ken Robinson if you haven’t already. He challenges us to rethink how we measure intelligence and points out the severe limitations society puts on those who don’t fit the accepted model. Thanks for sharing your experience.

• 7. Pamela  |  Monday, January 11, 2010 at 7:39 pm

  I can’t tell everyone how refreshing and encouraging all of the comments have been. I am constantly trying to make sure I’m teaching what I’m suppose to, based on public school guidelines; since both kids started in public school. My son is physical 13 but doesn’t learn on that level in many areas but is very advanced in others and my 12yr old is just advanced. So now I can continue teaching them based on where they are and sort of unschooled approach.Thank everyone for sharing and helping me breathe and know I made the right choice. If anyone has some good information on activity in the San Antonio area for homeschoolers? I came from austin and they had SAINTS. my email address is bankstonroyalty@yahoo.com

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