Summary:
In this episode I want to encourage people to let go of "grade levels" and meet your child's needs where they are.
Parents think their child is "behind" or "gifted" if they are behind or ahead of arbitrary grade level standards, when in reality, the child is at their own level and we need stop comparing.
We need to stop looking at a specific grade level book and look instead at the content of the program or book and see if those are the skills that your child needs. Look at the table of contents to see what the content is instead of just assuming the "grade level" on the book is what they need.
We often get stressed when we hear friends with kids in school doing certain things in school and we worry because our child might not be doing the same things. We need to let go of these comparisons and know that our child is learning what they need when they need it. We know we shouldn't stress about it but we do it anyway, it takes a long time to let go of the societal expectations. But we need to consistently remind ourselves.
Julie Bogart of www.bravewriter.com talks about teaching to our child's strengths, not their weaknesses. We need to focus on what they are interested in and what their strengths are to teach what they need to know, it will make such a big difference.
Quit focusing on grade levels, focus on their interests and what they need. You are NOT IN SCHOOL so you don't need to follow their schedule. You WILL cover all the concepts, just in your own schedule, which is exactly why you are homeschooling.