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Just trying to figure out a plan B for the near future for DS4.5 and for DS3 as well. How does it work if you basically skip grades while homeschooling and then you want the child to go back into public school? Does the school go by age? Do they consider the grade that you have the child in as a homeschooler? Do they do some kind of entrance testing?

DS4.5 will got K in the Fall but should we end up pulling him out, we'd most likely just do couple weeks of catchup on K curriculum (mainly writing as I'm assuming he'll be a decent reader by then seeing his budding interest in reading now) and then we'd finish K doing 1st grade curriculum. At which point if we wanted him back in the public school system he would be ideally entering as a 2nd grader (with the one year skipped doing K and 1st all at once). Would this work? From what I know K in Illinois is NOT mandatory but you cannot enter 1st grade early. He'll just turn 5 couple days before Kinder starts. So if we homeschool K and 1st and skip him that way to 2nd it should work, right? Or am I missing something? (or even if this would happen a year later, going to 3rd when he should be entering 2nd based on his age)? We would only consider the skip if we felt he's ready for it emotionally since he'll be already the youngest in his class given the age cutoff, so skipping a year he'd end up being 2 years younger than many of his classmates.

Is this reasonable? Same thing for DS3.5 if he's ever ready to enter public school system, which at this point he is not but if he will be, we need to have a plan figure out. Especially for him since he's the big brain of the family at least for now.
Does the school go by age? Do they consider the grade that you have the child in as a homeschooler? Do they do some kind of entrance testing?


Could be any/all of those things.

We certainly used a combination to gain DD6 into 3rd grade.

The only age requirements that I found in terms of actual state law were regarding the 1st grade entry so I am hoping we could get away with our little plan if needed. At that point we'd probably have some testing done and would have that to back us up anyways. So I am really hoping this plan would work out for us.

Little off topic but I just had a memory flash back to when I first came to the US as an exchange student in high school, was to spend my junior year here and when they tried to place me in math class, turned out I'd already had everything they could offer me back in middle school (I went to science and math middle school 5-8th grade). Now, granted, it was a huge school but one of the absolute worst in the country at the time and probably still so there weren't that many math class offerings to choose from. Since I was here just for 1 year, they didn't really care if I was meeting graduation requirements so in the end they gave up and let me have choir instead of math! lol Then I went back home and had to take 10 different exams that covered everything taken during my junior year back home if I wanted to keep going with my class and not be left a year behind, so I guess I skipped / tested out of my junior year there and had a ton of fun here! smile

I'd love to ask about the whole grade skip possibility at the school DS4.5 will be attending but I just feel awkward asking them about something like this when he's not even enrolled in school yet?
hmm, I just went through some information the county education board has on it's website and they have a registration form there (which is voluntary) and they want a grade on there. So one of the things would probably be NOT registering him to keep our options open as to our homeschool grade placement!
Originally Posted by master of none
In our district, you must register for age grade no matter what you were doing in homeschool. And then the principal might move you from there.

In fact I pulled dd out after a double skip and wanted to undo one of the skips. She had completed 5th grade. So, I wanted to register for 6th after a gap year. The rules said I had to register for 5th grade. I had to use their policies pertaining to retaining a child in order to get them to let her go to 6th. It was not easy or stress free by any means.

We are probably the extreme and it does vary state by state and district by district.

wow! Now that would get me banging my head against the wall really fast!
Originally Posted by master of none
In our district, you must register for age grade no matter what you were doing in homeschool. And then the principal might move you from there.

Our school district's policy says the same thing. However, I have it anecdotally from another parent that they homeschooled a year ahead, then registered their child at the new grade level for public school the following year, and the school accepted her child at the grade they said.

This is not the first time this district has failed to make policy and reality look alike. It's just the first time it erred in our favor.

We are in the process of doing this very thing. We pulled DD out of 2nd grade, identified/addressed all the gaps the school had created, and then began teaching her through a 3rd grade level. She has taken the statewide assessment test given to 3rd graders, which we intend to use as ammunition should she decide she wants to give school another shot at 4th grade next year.
Most stories I have heard suggest the child would be put at age level. I'm not saying it can't be done but it is unlikely to be as smooth as you hope.
Originally Posted by puffin
Most stories I have heard suggest the child would be put at age level. I'm not saying it can't be done but it is unlikely to be as smooth as you hope.

so, basically we should have testing done to back us up with and be ready for school to test them if they choose to.
Great question! Just yesterday, I was wondering this myself, as I can see that DS needs more people around him. I would like him to go straight to second passing K and first. But I was thinking the odds of that happening are slim to none. I think, but without really looking much into it, I am stuck in some sort of homeschooling for good, and I will just have to search extra hard for social activities on a daily basis. (I did email a private school about it, but haven't heard back if they would even consider it. Just trying to keep options open.)
Originally Posted by Mk13
Originally Posted by puffin
Most stories I have heard suggest the child would be put at age level. I'm not saying it can't be done but it is unlikely to be as smooth as you hope.

so, basically we should have testing done to back us up with and be ready for school to test them if they choose to.

YES.
In our district (d54 Illinois), they will allow the kids to skip kinder and early entrance to 1st IF ( from district website)..

School District 54 follows Illinois School Code which specifies that to enter kindergarten, children must be five years of age by September 1 of their kindergarten year and six years of age by September 1 of their first-grade year.

Early Entrance to First Grade may be considered for a child who meets the following criteria:

The child will turn 6 years of age between September 2 and December 31 of his first-grade year.
The child attended a non-public preschool and will complete kindergarten at that same facility.
The child was taught by an appropriately certified kindergarten teacher.
The child is a resident of District 54.

If all of the requirements above are met, the parent may request an assessment to determine if the child is eligible for Early Entrance to First Grade. To request this assessment the following is required:

Parents must register their child at their base elementary school between February 28 and July 25, 2013. No early entrance registrations will be accepted after July 25, 2013.
An original birth certificate (with the seal issued by the clerk in the county where the child was born) must be presented at registration. Hospital certificates are not acceptable. Please see the District 54 registration website for more detailed information regarding other required registration documents. http://sd54.org/registration
The parent must submit the current kindergarten progress reports from the school.
The child will be assessed in reading and math using the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment.
The child must score a minimum of 90% in both reading and math to qualify for Early Entrance to First Grade. The child’s current kindergarten progress report must indicate excellent academic and social/emotional skills. If the child does not meet the minimum MAP criteria of 90% in both reading and math, the child is not eligible to enter first grade.
Decisions regarding eligibility for Early Entrance to First Grade will be made by a team consisting of a school psychologist, the school principal and a district administrator. This decision is final.
If a child is accepted for early entrance before finishing kindergarten, parents must submit proof by June 13, 2013 that the child completed kindergarten.

The decision for a child to enter school early can have a profound effect on the child’s academic and social performance for the remainder of his school career. It is a decision that needs to be taken seriously. Early school experiences shape self-confidence and influence children for the rest of their lives. Children who enter first grade early may demonstrate social or emotional difficulties due to their relative immaturity, have difficulty fitting in with their peers in social situations as they progress through school, and be less likely to excel in sports because of their age and/or smaller size. We ask parents to carefully consider whether enrolling a child early in first grade will be of long-term benefit for their child.
Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is District 54’s early entrance policy for first grade?

A. District 54’s Policy JEB states “students who have attended a non-public preschool and continued their education at that school through kindergarten, were taught in kindergarten by an appropriately certified teacher, and who will attain the age of six (6) years on or before December 31st may attend first (1st) grade upon commencement of the school term based upon assessment of the student’s readiness by district criteria.” This is in accordance with Illinois School Code 105 ILCS 5/10-20.12.
Originally Posted by frannieandejsmom
In our district (d54 Illinois), they will allow the kids to skip kinder and early entrance to 1st IF ( from district website)..

School District 54 follows Illinois School Code which specifies that to enter kindergarten, children must be five years of age by September 1 of their kindergarten year and six years of age by September 1 of their first-grade year.

Early Entrance to First Grade may be considered for a child who meets the following criteria:

The child will turn 6 years of age between September 2 and December 31 of his first-grade year.
The child attended a non-public preschool and will complete kindergarten at that same facility.
The child was taught by an appropriately certified kindergarten teacher.
The child is a resident of District 54.

If all of the requirements above are met, the parent may request an assessment to determine if the child is eligible for Early Entrance to First Grade. To request this assessment the following is required:

Parents must register their child at their base elementary school between February 28 and July 25, 2013. No early entrance registrations will be accepted after July 25, 2013.
An original birth certificate (with the seal issued by the clerk in the county where the child was born) must be presented at registration. Hospital certificates are not acceptable. Please see the District 54 registration website for more detailed information regarding other required registration documents. http://sd54.org/registration
The parent must submit the current kindergarten progress reports from the school.
The child will be assessed in reading and math using the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment.
The child must score a minimum of 90% in both reading and math to qualify for Early Entrance to First Grade. The child’s current kindergarten progress report must indicate excellent academic and social/emotional skills. If the child does not meet the minimum MAP criteria of 90% in both reading and math, the child is not eligible to enter first grade.
Decisions regarding eligibility for Early Entrance to First Grade will be made by a team consisting of a school psychologist, the school principal and a district administrator. This decision is final.
If a child is accepted for early entrance before finishing kindergarten, parents must submit proof by June 13, 2013 that the child completed kindergarten.

The decision for a child to enter school early can have a profound effect on the child’s academic and social performance for the remainder of his school career. It is a decision that needs to be taken seriously. Early school experiences shape self-confidence and influence children for the rest of their lives. Children who enter first grade early may demonstrate social or emotional difficulties due to their relative immaturity, have difficulty fitting in with their peers in social situations as they progress through school, and be less likely to excel in sports because of their age and/or smaller size. We ask parents to carefully consider whether enrolling a child early in first grade will be of long-term benefit for their child.
Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is District 54’s early entrance policy for first grade?

A. District 54’s Policy JEB states “students who have attended a non-public preschool and continued their education at that school through kindergarten, were taught in kindergarten by an appropriately certified teacher, and who will attain the age of six (6) years on or before December 31st may attend first (1st) grade upon commencement of the school term based upon assessment of the student’s readiness by district criteria.” This is in accordance with Illinois School Code 105 ILCS 5/10-20.12.

I think it's the same policy that our district has. Problem is he's mid August birthday so one of the youngest if not the youngest in his class already. And the early entrance to 1st is only allowed for kids who turn 6 by December 31st and he won't turn 6 for another 8 months after that deadline frown. And the younger one is March birthday so it's out of the question for him as well once he's in that age. This policy would had applied GREAT if DS4.5 was actually born on his due date (fist week of September) but since he came early we at least don't have to worry about that. So glad the NATURE did the first unofficial skip for him! lol
I'm not seeing anything there that would prevent a 6yo from entering second grade, though.

wink
What district are you? Some of us may have additional info. wink
Originally Posted by HowlerKarma
I'm not seeing anything there that would prevent a 6yo from entering second grade, though.

wink

yup! that's my thinking :)))) ... homeschooling K / 1st while he's 5 and then off we go to 2nd grade!
Originally Posted by HappilyMom
What district are you? Some of us may have additional info. wink

Dist 41 / Lake Villa
I am d54 schaumburg
MK.. have you thought about quest in palatine?
Originally Posted by frannieandejsmom
MK.. have you thought about quest in palatine?

I did a little but there's no way we could do private tuition. Plus the younger one has a ton of E2 issues so he is most likely going to end up home schooled anyways. We are actually considering moving up north to Wisconsin in a few years. Our property taxes are killing us! They just went up AGAIN to almost $9K / year on a house that's assessed at $250K (with real market resale value maybe around 200K). I know WI has free online classes, which would be an option for us there too. But that's for the future if the taxes keep going up like they have been (that's where our private education funds are going ... to fund public school through property tax! :()
Sorry. Hoping I could help. I don't know anything about Lake Villa. Our public has been very accommodating once they have gotten to know us and saw our testing. They are starting their own testing and seem to be very open to doing whatever he needs. I had to wait till he hit their "age" rules and now they are figuring out how to catch up to him.
Originally Posted by HappilyMom
Sorry. Hoping I could help. I don't know anything about Lake Villa. Our public has been very accommodating once they have gotten to know us and saw our testing. They are starting their own testing and seem to be very open to doing whatever he needs. I had to wait till he hit their "age" rules and now they are figuring out how to catch up to him.

I've heard some really good things about your school district!
happilymom what district are you in?
actually I got the districts wrong ... I was thinking of your district, frannieandejsmom! lol
yes ours has a nice magnet program starting in third grade. Only 1 more fullschool year until we make it there lol.

Today's first grade work.. using "ore" (the sound) in a sentence. Ds7's work.. "I am bored in class" YIKES. Not once but twice on different worksheets.
Originally Posted by frannieandejsmom
yes ours has a nice magnet program starting in third grade. Only 1 more fullschool year until we make it there lol.

Today's first grade work.. using "ore" (the sound) in a sentence. Ds7's work.. "I am bored in class" YIKES. Not once but twice on different worksheets.

lol! Speaks for itself!
Our gifted isn't till 3rd either... maybe we can just skip to 3rd.
Originally Posted by Mk13
Originally Posted by frannieandejsmom
yes ours has a nice magnet program starting in third grade. Only 1 more fullschool year until we make it there lol.

Today's first grade work.. using "ore" (the sound) in a sentence. Ds7's work.. "I am bored in class" YIKES. Not once but twice on different worksheets.

lol! Speaks for itself!

OH my.

I think that DD did this precise thing with that particular phoneme. blush

Phonemic awareness is a BORE. That was it.
Originally Posted by HowlerKarma
Originally Posted by Mk13
Originally Posted by frannieandejsmom
yes ours has a nice magnet program starting in third grade. Only 1 more fullschool year until we make it there lol.

Today's first grade work.. using "ore" (the sound) in a sentence. Ds7's work.. "I am bored in class" YIKES. Not once but twice on different worksheets.

lol! Speaks for itself!

OH my.

I think that DD did this precise thing with that particular phoneme. blush

Phonemic awareness is a BORE. That was it.

The teacher probably got a heart attack! lol
Luckily, we were homeschooling at the time. But that was the point at which I realized that the "complete homeschool at home: grade 2" was probably not a good idea.

It wasn't that she knew the term "phonemic awareness" in terms of meaning, mind-- she just knew that that was the "lesson purpose" since she had read it in the book that I was grabbing reproducibles from. LOL.
My 2nd son just makes every sentence about brownies when he is bored.

His sentences with the ore sound would look like this...

I was bored, so I made brownies.
Before I knew it, I had eaten all the brownies.
Etc.

By the time he does all 15 of his sentences about brownies, his teacher is probably ready to stop by the store for brownie ingredients.
lol..
Originally Posted by Mk13
Just trying to figure out a plan B for the near future for DS4.5 and for DS3 as well. How does it work if you basically skip grades while homeschooling and then you want the child to go back into public school? Does the school go by age? Do they consider the grade that you have the child in as a homeschooler? Do they do some kind of entrance testing?
We use a virtual school, which is essentially homeschooling, though it's formally a public school. Our son is allowed to accelerate in all subjects and is 1 to 4 grades ahead in all of them. While it is good to have this opportunity, we have always assumed that we are somewhat locked into this school, and that a new school would disregard his progress and send him back to square one.

So homeschooling may be the best choice for you, but don't assume you'll be able to enter school at the appropriate level.
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