What about different grade levels for the same child? Volume 56, Program 3 11/3/2004
Homeschooling isn't limited by some of the restrictions of traditional schools, like grade levels. Home School Legal Defense Association Chairman and General Counsel Michael Farris explains how the flexibility of home education enables parents to truly tailor learning opportunities to each child's needs.
Michael Farris:
One of the greatest advantages of homeschooling is the flexibility it offers you to teach your child different subjects at different grade levels.
This has advantages for children who struggle and for children who excel. Why should your 10-year-old who has a real talent for math have to wait until he's 14 to begin learning algebra? In homeschooling, there is no need to wait. Why should your 9-year-old who just doesn't understand fractions have to keep moving just because the school year continues its relentless march towards June? In homeschooling, a parent can stop for a season and dig into that subject that has your child baffled for the moment.
With homeschooling, you can even skip entire grades. When my daughter, Jayme, completed the 6th grade, I looked carefully at the materials for 7th and 8th grade in the course we were using at the time. I knew that Jayme had already mastered this level of learning, so we skipped her straight to the 9th grade. Jayme graduated from high school at 15. Did it hurt her academics? I don't think so, since she was a National Merit commended scholar. In home education, academics are fitted to the child, not the calendar.
I'm Michael Farris.
How can the Home School Legal Defense Association help you? To find out, contact us and ask for a free copy of You Can Homeschool!. Call us toll-free at 866-338-8614. Or visit us online at homeschoolheartbeat.com.
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