Dear Parent;

Thank you for your question!

Welcome to the beginning of your great homeschooling adventure, and congratulations for planning ahead.

Since this will be your first year of homeschooling, you might just want to begin with the Lesson Plans for the grades that your daughters would be in naturally next fall, 3rd and 1st. This will make it far easier for you to plan, and make for a more enjoyable, relaxed school year. As the weeks progress, you will quickly see where the girls can move ahead and where they are on grade level.

As you know, most students aren't exactly on grade level in every single subject, but are ahead in some, right on target in others, and sometimes just a little behind in some, too.

You probably know that no two schools in any state are at the same point in their lessons and texts. The same goes for tests to determine a student's academic level. When a student changes schools, he is changing books, teachers, programs and even testing expectations. You might discover that the reason your second grader is doing 3rd grade reading is because the 2nd grade reading program isn't as challenging as the one used in the next school down the road! [You might also discover that she is reading at 4th grade level in another school's program.]

The beauty of homeschooling is that, after only a few weeks of school, you will be able to see where they are ahead and can advance as necessary. I would suggest that you follow the Lesson Plans, and see where the girls are for the first several weeks of school. After that time, you will all have settled into a happy routine, and you will have the good information you need, based on their performance, to know which subjects to move ahead in, or perhaps let them remain at the 'top of their class.'

God bless you and your family,

Laura Nicholson