This time of year, many homeschool moms start discussing mastery.How do you know when students have mastered a subject and are ready to move on to the next level? Some experts recommend that you complete at least 75% of a textbook to consider it credit-worthy.
But, what if you don’t use a textbook? Or, what if you switch curriculum mid-year?
According to HSLDA, “For courses that do not use a standard high school-level textbook (perhaps you are putting together your own unit study, or you are using an integrated curriculum), log the hours that your child spends completing the course work. One credit is approximately 120-180 hours of work.” (http://www.hslda.org/highschool/docs/EvaluatingCredits.asp)
With those guidelines in mind, I go one step further when evaluating my students’ readiness to move to the next level. I move ahead when they’re ready, and I don’t move ahead if they’re not.
It isn’t easy to let go of the feeling that you have to complete this or that, or that you have to check this or that box in the plan book. It is also a struggle when you have the feeling that you’re behind if you haven’t reached a certain chapter in the book by now. Believe me, I get it. I’ve been homeschooling for eleven years, and every year is still a new experience as we move into upper level high school classes. But, I decided it is more important that my kids know enough to move forward than it is to finish the book by a certain time.
Aiming for mastery is the goal:
- When my youngest masters printing, we will move into cursive.
- An intended one-semester course might have to stretch into two.
- When my oldest masters Algebra I, we’ll move on to Algebra II.
- We might set anatomy aside for a while and study ecology and astronomy during the summer months, and then pick up where we left off.
- Even when 180 days have been completed, we will continue reading our read-aloud novel until we finish it, because we really want to know how everything turns out.
Equipping my kids with the joy of lifelong learning is my primary target.
That’s one of the great perks of homeschooling. We can go at our child’s pace…and take as long as they need, or rush through something if they pick up something quickly.
Yes!!
Question! I am new to homeschooling and I just pulled my kids out of the public school system. The school board now wants us to give them a years work of what the kids learned. What do I do about that when I really want to focus on the reading as my 12 year old is at a grade 3 reading level and my 6 year old just came out of grade 1 where she should have entered. Any advice?
Hi Laura! I know different states have different regulations for homeschooling. What state are you in? In SC where I live, we have a choice of 3 options for homeschooling, so I don’t have to submit anything to the school board. However, there are some ways to document what you are doing to make the ‘powers that be’ happy. Though I don’t submit paperwork to a school board, I do keep records to stay in compliance with my accountability association. My students’ portfolios encompass each year of school, but they don’t include every scrap of paper. Choose representative work from each subject (their best). As homeschoolers, we can totally teach our kids at their own pace, but it’s hard to explain that to school-minded administrators. I think you are doing the right thing by focusing on the areas that will strengthen your kids’ skills for greater success later on. The schools obviously didn’t do it as well as they should. If there is any way for you to homeschool under a different option and get out from under the umbrella of the school district, that’s what I would do. I would love to talk with you further to see if I can help. Feel free to email me or message me on Facebook. My contact info. is on my About page. 🙂