What I learned in First Grade.

On the homeschool email loop I belong to there is an extended conversation with a woman whose children are academically advanced. They attend public school and aren't being challenged. She has asked to have them moved into a higher grade and the school has refused.

Now she is contemplating homeschooling her kids for a year so that she can re-enter them into the school system next year. Her hope is that her children will be tested and subsequently re-entered in a higher grade. Most of the people on the loop are telling her that it won't make a difference. Our school system places students based on their birthday not their academic level.

This conversation came about at an interesting time for me and my first graders. RocketMan just started his new math book this week. He has a natural aptitude for math and I've allowed him to move ahead at his own pace as long as he demonstrates mastery. The math book he just started is the fourth grade book. BirdMan just started the third grade book. Meanwhile, GooseyGirl is in the regular math book for her grade.

One of my aunts, a former public school teacher, has told me that I won't ever be able to enroll them in regular school because they'd be too far ahead and would be bored. She is very encouraging and doesn't mean that comment to sound negative but others have said it to me in a negative way.

Could I be ruining my children by allowing them to advance at their own pace? Wouldn't it be worse to force them to function in a classroom far below their ability and interests? Wouldn't that quickly squelch their love for learning? Moreover, do I even have any control over how quickly they grasp ideas and facts?!?

A woman on the email loop responded with anger to the message. She said, "Let your kids be KIDS. Why make them advance one or two grades above their age group? Why force them to interact with other kids that are older, bigger, stronger? Keep them in the same class with their peers and enrich their academic life after school."

Her response really struck me. She perceives the problem to be a pushy parent who is forcing the child to move faster then others. She must think the Pushy Parent is standing over her kids in a strict academic environment, forcing them to learn just to boost her own ego.

I can tell you that isn't the case in my home. At times I feel like I'm pulling them back trying to keep them from going too far. I have to remind myself to believe in them and let them flourish. GooseyGirl is reading Black Beauty right now on her own. It is listed as 7th grade book. BirdMan just finished The Twenty-One Balloons and RocketMan just started it. That book is also listed as a 7th grade book.

I suppose the email loop made me think today how truly grateful I am that homeschooling is legal in this country. I'm just as thankful for the opportunity to watch my children flourish and see the light twinkle in their eyes when it "clicks". Of course, I can't see into the future very far, but right now I just can't imagine any other path for my kids.

As we wrap up first grade and I order our books for second grade, I think I needed this sort of reality check. What we are doing is working right now. It might not work forever but I can't worry about that right now. I have to spend my time honoring where my kids are at now and meeting them there.

Ya' know? I think I've learned a ton from first grade this year and I know my kidlets have too.