Dear Parent,

I am glad that you are considering home schooling all of your children.  Though it will require much time and patience, you will enjoy working with your children, and they with you.

Your son sounds as though he is ahead for his age and grade level.  However, I would not encourage you to skip 2nd grade completely, because you might find that he is not ahead in every level.  Boredom, however, is a sure sign that your son does need to go at a faster pace.  In the average public school, it is usually all or nothing.  The student is either expected to stay at one level, which can bore the students who are way ahead, or skip a grade, which is dangerous because the students might then miss some necessary material.  It has been my experience that very few children are ahead, or behind, in every single subject area.  One of the joys with home schooling is that you can set the pace, and go as quickly or slowly as needed.  I would highly recommend that you not skip the 2nd grade materials completely, but accelerate through them.  Instead of completing a page a day, complete two or three pages per day.  You can go through the books quickly, until he starts finding the pages more challenging and then slow the pace down.  You might find that it takes your son longer to go through some areas than others, or that he understands certain sections more quickly than you expect.  

One simple thing that you can do, for instance, is to add to your existing lesson plans.  By this I mean that you take an average lesson, and make it more advanced.  It does not have to be too complicated, or detailed.  For instance, once your son has successfully completed the English lesson for the day, which could be writing two sentences using telling words, you can easily make the lesson more meaningful by asking him to write five or six sentences about something he has learned in science or history, using telling words.  This way, you can make the lesson more challenging without completely skipping over it.  You can encourage your son to read as much as possible, and use those books to practice grammar skills, oral and silent reading, and reading comprehension.  If you feel that he is ready, you can have him writing reports, giving presentations, all the while using what he has learned.  You can do so much with him, and continually challenge him to think deeper and go higher.     

You will gain more confidence as a teacher, as the years go on.  Always remember that you know your children the best, and can therefore understand and teach them in the manner most appropriate for them. 

Good luck!

Laura Nicholson