How to decide what grade she's in...

[islandmama]

I have a 13 yo dd who I pulled out of public school in 5th grade (she was bored out of her mind!) By PS standards, she would be in 8th grade today. Our first few years at home I followed the PS standards and did "school at home" until I discovered there was so much more out there! Since then, I've been letting her work at her own level. She actually does the same work my 16 yo does. I have told her that I would graduate her when I feel she is mature enough and has completed her high school level work in history/literature, math and science. I have made a course of study requirement following our state PS model... Next year, she would like to do high school sports, so we will be joining a private Christian school independent study program. She is free to work on whatever we choose for curriculum, but I would have to designate a grade level for her... Do I choose according to her age, or by the work she has completed. By age she would be in 9th grade, but would be doing the work of a 10th grade student. Classes planned for next year include Great Books/History a la TWTM 10th grade, Biology, Geometry, Latin, Spanish 1, Violin, and Ballet. She has been very excited (and motivated!) by the notion of graduating early and taking time to pursue dance and music before she's 18 and ready to be on her own (so she thinks... LOL)... I just know it would bum her out to put her in 9th grade. Any advice? Thanks!

Anita in CA
Homeschooling mom to ds16, dd13, ds11, dd7, and dd2
Relaxed style with classical/CM flavor

[Beth in Central TX]

I would put her in with her age-related peers, 9th grade, because your reason for enrolling her are sport related and not academics. If you all decide not to graduate her early, then she will have the option to participate in all 4-years of high school sports. If you do graduate her early, no harm has been done.

[angela in ohio]

I would just go with 9th grade. Most 9th graders will be taking Geometry and Spanish 1, and some might take Biology, so it won't make her that far off from the norm. Especially for anything with sports, I would go with age level.

[Kanga]

My dd is enrolled as a 12th grader even though she has been taking college classes for 2 years. By having her enrolled as a 12th grader she is able to participate in the local youth symphony, debate team, and sports with her peers.

BTW, my nieces and nephew who attend a public IB highschool are all working 2 grade levels above their actual enrolled grade in most subjects(they started doing highschool level foreign langauge and math in 7th grade). My nephews who attend a private school are also working 2 years above grade level in most subjects. So, I don't think it would be that unusual for a bright ninth grader to be taking tenth grade classes.

[islandmama]

Thanks for the replies! It would give her another year to do sports... It's not that I think she will be ahead of peers academically or anything, but we have been just working at graduating when she finished her course of study... She has been working through the summer and doing extra work to get her diploma early... Now she feels like I'm holding her back. :confused: Actually, it's not really a big deal because I could pull her out of the private school at any time, no matter what grade she is in, and graduate her whenever we want to... And she could still be in 12th grade and start taking classes at the jr college (mostly music and dance if she wants) since she will have met most of her other graduation requirements...

[Margaret in CO]

Just be aware that once she graduates, she's no longer eleigible for high school sports. My second dd had 45 college credits but we did NOT graduate her--she needed those varsity sports for the military academies. We allowed my 3rd dd to start sports at the middle school as a 5th grader by age, but she's "repeating" 8th grade so as not to lose that last year of high school eligibility. It's very important for her since she'll be on a NCAA scholarship for running more than likely.

[Cadam]

List her at her maturity level, probably with age -mates. It has no bearing on her academics so I would go with "best social fit" kwim?

[islandmama]

List her at her maturity level, probably with age -mates. It has no bearing on her academics so I would go with "best social fit" kwim?

That makes alot of sense. She is very mature and interaction with older kids is very natural. I'm not too concerned about how many years of sports or obtaining a sports scholarship at this point. Once upon a time she was working toward a gymnastics scholarship, but due to injuries, her goals have changed... Thanks for the advice! :)