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Good morning. I am just getting back into the real swing of things.

I have a question for any of you homeschooling children with delays. We adopted a 7 year old girl from Russia about 7 years ago. She came to us with severe emotional issues and we spent about three years in counseling. She is doing terrific now, thanks be to God! But the toll of dealing with the emotional disturbances plus the second language at age 7, have left her behind in comparison to her peers.

We are using A Beka. She is doing 4th grade work, and is about 1/3 of the way through the curriculum.

At churchschool this year they are asking the kids to put down the grade they are in. Tania ( my daughter) was so embarrassed to be saying she was in 4th grade that she recently told me she wants to go to school.

I am looking for feedback or ideas for her to better handle the constant "What grade are you in?" that well-meaning adults seem to always ask.

We think she will be finished with the 4th grade work by about January and can possibly go gangbusters on the 5th grade work and catch up by one year by next fall. Has anyone ever jumped a grade in filing your homeschool plan with the school district and do you think it will make them come after us? LOL.

I would reassure her that there is no reason to be embarrassed. If it still bothers her, I would suggest that she tell them, "Ask my mom or dad."

We have not yet had our boys ask to go to institutional school. We have pretty well painted them as hell-holes. In fact, sending them there is a pretty good threat of punishment for misbehavior.

Hi, hope you don't mind me offering an opinion!

We homeschool, and my son is in different grades in different subjects. He reads and comprehends very well, so he has already finished the year long Abeka Reading Comprehension program for 6th grade. He is actually in 5th grade in most other subjects, but is only doing 4th grade math.

When people ask him, he delights in saying "different grades"!!

Is there something that she is ahead a tiny bit on? Even if it was reading, if she is reading anything over a 4th grade level, she could use that to honestly say "different grades".

Could you explain the situation to the church and have them not ask in front of other people?

Another item about Abeka. It's good and through. But it's designed to keep a whole lot of kids busy for about 6 hours a day. It's totally classroom friendly, for the teacher that is. I have found that *some* of it is simply busy work, designed to keep a child busy in his desk while a teacher deals with other children who may be advanced or slower.

Have you looked at any other curriculums? I do like Abeka, and I think it's probably one of the most through out there, but sometimes, a family has different needs than a classroom.

Doing two years in one can be harder with Abeka, because it does entail so much busy work and to it's credit, it is so through. I don't know what state you are in, but it seems like if she does the work and passes that it wouldn't be a problem to do two years in one year.

Do you have a homeschool umbrella?

Alright, a little late....busy life. With regards to what grade I tell people my homeschoolers are "in", I give the grade they would be in public school by their age. I figure that even in public schools, kids are working at all sorts of levels. I consider the grade level more an indication of age and maturity level. I'm sure your daughter is thinking and acting beyond the 4th grade, despite being only at the 4th grade level in math.