Homeschool World Forum

Hi folks, this is my first post.

I HS'd my dd last yr for K and now 1st grade. I think so far so good, but would like some input. I also have a 3 yo ds 'going to school' with us

I try not to compare w/where PS is with 1st grade, but really want to know if I am going at a good pace with her. I am also wondering if I need to be concerned (more on that later).

Last year I botched some of it by starting out great guns and really pushed too much for her and myself (considering we were both beginners). We were so excited Anyhow, we slowed it down during last 1/2 of K. I kinda feel we're on track this year with handwriting, phonics and reviewing sounds we covered and adding new ones. We are loosely using "Latin Road to Reading" which is much like one I've read about here... Writing Road to R? maybe?
Anyhow, we are probably trailing in math, but maybe not. I am using Joan Kotter and not sure how much I like it sometimes. I have printed worksheets off the net lately and dd is using her abacus for +/- this week.

Should I even be worried about this? Do I just need to set goals for where *I* think she should be and put blinders on/quit looking outside our box?

She is reading, slowly, but does fine IMO for a beginner. We take shopping lists to Walmart and she reads/crosses off items, looks for them on the signs above, doing easy readers etc. Her handwriting looks really good for what I think a 6yo would do when she has lines guiding her, uses spaces b/t words mostly. She does well with memory verses.

My main concern is I notice her *conversation* isn't what I would expect. Even though she is very shy with some folks (mostly adults) she has really come out of her shell the past yr or so. We talk lots in our family and I made it a point to have conversations with her even as a baby in the womb, in her car seat or in my arms, so this surprises me. It seems she doesn't speak as fluently or, should I say, grammatically correct? (Geez, I am not even sure if i am getting my point across). I wish I could think of an example at the moment, but it's very late. :/ This is my first six year old guys LOL I think the worry side of me wonders if this is just delayed emotional maturity or something bigger?

Anyhow, this is one of those moments where I wonder if she were in PS would she be 'labeled' some such thing and how would I know to help her if she is needing it?
Am I worrying too much?
Thanks for reading if ya got this far!

I am not familiar with the materials you're using, but it sounds to me like you are both doing just fine. It seems like you have a really good handle on where your dd is at and how she is progressing. It is hard, but I try to put blinders on and not worry about what's going on outside of our home. I think homeschooling works best when you are focused on the child, moving at the child's pace.

As for the language development, 6 is still pretty young. I know it seems like they are old when they're the oldest, but when you start adding younger kids you realize your oldest is just a baby, too. Unless someone other than you has mentioned that something is off, I wouldn't worry about it.

Thanks for your input Jazzy. I guess not having many 1st graders to compare to just made me wonder. I dare not compare her to her 6 y.o. cousin who is male, going to a large, nice public school and scheduled to the hilt with activity.

A few ladies in church are public school teachers and no one has said anything specifically (one even said she was a great help in class)... .but I wonder if they have talked and are afraid to ask things. Her extreme shyness in the beginning caused folks in our congregation to wonder if something was physically wrong with her, but I only found that out that tidbit a year later from a fellow church member who is an RN (I am also, but now a SAHM).

Her Sunday school and children's church teachers have not said anything, but I will ask them what they think. She was the only one in VBS who sat out instead of going on stage at the end of the week, but I was very shy in much the same way at her age. She told me she liked singing with the kids all week, but not with all the mommies and daddies looking at her

One stranger asked me if she was autistic b/c she was barking (playing with another smaller child we sat next to at McDonald's). I see no other symptoms in that direction that would paint the autism picture, from all that I have read. I could very well be expecting too much b/c she does take on responsibility and is very tall for her age, so sometimes easy to forget she's SIX years old and thinks she is grown