Homeschooling Without Grade Levels?!

Question:
I am interested in hearing some of the testimonies, about homeschooling without grade levels, that Nancy mentioned in another thread. I am in the research stage of making the transition and would appreciate any input you all may have.

Answer:
- While most of my children have been early readers, my third child was not. Some children just aren't ready to read at 6 yo or even 8 yo. (I suspect this may have been my brother's problem. In my brother's case, he was labelled as a problem and put in a special education class. He has viewed himself as stupid ever since, though he clearly isn't. He has not yet completely recovered from the mess that school made of his education.) As far as I can tell very few late readers make it through the school system without serious damage. Because we homeschooled, my son was spared that. We didn't say to him, "Because you are 9 yo you must read this." We based his learning on his interests and abilities, not his age or grade. He is now, at fifteen, an excellent reader, and even enjoys writing his own stories. I think this is unlikely to have happened if we had tried to force him to develop beyond hs own pace.

- After some 6 years it was a natural transition for us. Grade levels became a ceiling for acheivement not a floor. Now in our 10th year of HSing it is great! My 9th grade daughter is working from an 11th grade literature book, a college level algebra book (which works great BTW). We felt the cirruculum was holding the kids back in some areas. My son was having trouble in reading so we slowed down. Through his interest in computer games he started to read well. At 14 he reads programming books and is teaching himself to program. Being a programmer I help but I encourage him to find it on his own. Programming has put a whole new spin on math. What a better tool to introduce algebra and logic than programming. My daughter has a excellent understanding of algebra, though she doesn't realize she is learning at a college level. Why tell her and spoil it. It is a decision you have to make. We are pleased we made it. But don't feel like you need to beat the clock. Get in tune with your children's clocks, if you know what I mean. Throw out the clock if you have to, sometimes. It is something that just happens as maybe you are finding out. The key for us was when we stopped concerning ourselves with where they were in their learning, and focused on how well they were learning.

- I AM THE COORDINATOR OF A 30 FAMILY HOMESCHOOL GROUP. ARE YOU A STUDENT OR TEACHER? WE HAVE HOMESCHOOLED 4 YEARS NOW. WE LOVE IT. MY SON IS 12 AND WILL BE GOING INTO 9TH GRADE NEXT YEAR. HE COMPLETED LIBERTY UNIVERSITY COLLEGE COURSE THIS YEAR TOO IN BIBLE. GOT A 98 FINAL GRADE (PROUD MOM HERE LOL). IF YOU NEED ANY SUPPORT YOU CAN CONTACT ME AND I WILL HELP IF I CAN. THE GRADE LEVELS OF HOMESCHOOL CURRICULUM ARE ABOUT 1-2 YEARS ADVANCED COMPARED TO PUBLIC OBE CURRICULUM. WE USE ABEKA CHRISTIAN BASED AND GREAT.