Losing Track of Grade Levels... The beginning of Educational Freedom

When we withdrew our children from school, we knew exactly what "grades" they were in. Because I was extremely new to the homeschool scene and wanted to do it "right", I bought a boxed curriculum for each child. My daughter's first grade box and my son's second grade box came in the mail, and I was set to go!

I soon made changes to the boxed curriculum... The reading curriculum wasn't working for my daughter, my son zoomed at record speed through his math book... We started branching out for history using our local library. My children were developing their interests, and wanted to spend more time focusing on things they wanted to learn about. We began to become more eclectic in our geography lessons - my children wanted to learn about different places and cultures. Our journey to LEARNING had begun! And freedom came with it!!

Now, if you ask my son what grade he is in, he will say something like, "I'm supposed to be in fourth grade." I first heard him say this to an adult a few weeks ago. The adult was perplexed... and, of course, the question soon followed: "What do you mean by saying you're supposed to be in fourth grade." He explained that some subjects he works on at the fourth grade level, but that he also does some things at different grade levels. He's losing track of identifying with one grade in particular, and instead he's focusing on what he is actually learning.

For example, we went to a college level electronics class at our local library last week. It was interesting that my "third and fourth graders" easily fit in with an adult class. I worked on the breadboard with my daughter, but she was answering questions in the class, and called the teacher over when she lost confidence in my skills. My son, on the other hand, worked on his own breadboard, and was very confident about his own ability to work by himself! They learned how to wire a flashlight using Ohm's Law in "elementary school"!

Categorization works extremely well when you need to organize a group of individuals and assess them. It is excellent for schools and universities. However, it can hinder independent learners. It is important to remember that the inventors, mathematicians, scientists, philosophers, writers, artists, musicians, etc over time who have made important contributions have thought outside all boxes and categorization!

It wasn't a goal to lose track of grade levels in our homeschool journey. However, now that we have, I am very excited. It's another tether that we have broken. And my children can now focus on learning on their own levels rather than being constrained to learning from a box (literally, a box). The box has an undeniable security to it... However, when we break free from the box, and don't measure ourselves based on the box, it is then that I believe we have begun the journey of educational freedom and deliverance. And, I'm excited to see what will come from it!

T.E.A. 2018