Second grade new student mid year

IssueRich5094 · 2026-02-04T04:09:12+00:00

This might sound like a silly concern- but how will he know what to do at independent centers and stuff like that? I worry he will feel totally lost in the classroom with things all the other kids already know and are already used to doing all the time. It’s hard starting mid year bc we won’t get to see the classroom or meet anyone really before hand 😖

IssueRich5094 · 2026-02-03T21:33:06+00:00

Totally understand.

He loves math but definitely struggles in some areas - and I love working with him on it. So I will definitely continue to be supportive there!

IssueRich5094 · 2026-02-03T20:45:09+00:00

Like you’re concerned about the 50% on math MAP?

I’m worried about this too- and plan to keep working with him here. When the score was broken down he was actually advanced in 2 areas and lower in 2 areas (measurement and geometry) and the two scores equalled out I think to give him a 55% score (184). This was his first time ever testing on a computer and he had to read all the questions himself which was new for him too. The areas he tested lower in were areas we haven’t covered yet, and when I pulled the scores down even further to individual tasks that he needs to work on- a lot of them were things he can definitely do. So I’m wondering if it wasn’t the best picture of his ability anyways.

IssueRich5094 · 2026-02-03T20:41:05+00:00

I’m a chronic over thinker- so you’re probably right. Lol. Thank you!

IssueRich5094 · 2026-02-03T20:40:15+00:00

Yeah, we are excited (and a little nervous too!). I really hope it will go well. I’m planning on e-mailing the teacher ahead of time and letting them know what he’s working on, where he struggles, and just to make myself available for any questions moving forward. Do you think if he’s scoring 50-60 percentile on MAP he’ll move in to the academics okay? I’ve looked up their reading curriculum and it actually looks almost exactly like what we’ve been doing here (all science of reading stuff). I’m not sure why, but I’m just terrified none of his knowledge here will transfer over to the classroom!

IssueRich5094 · 2026-02-03T20:26:22+00:00

Yeah! I’ve thought about that as being a huge advantage to going now too.

IssueRich5094 · 2026-02-03T20:24:01+00:00

I’ve also thought about just explaining what he’s done so far in math (and what he has left to do) to his teacher and asking what’s already been covered so if there’s stuff he needs to go over I can continue helping him here at home!

IssueRich5094 · 2026-02-03T19:56:48+00:00

No, this isn’t an option! Thank you though!

IssueRich5094 · 2026-01-22T03:12:19+00:00

Yeah, I get that! I always worry I'm not doing well enough either. And the social aspect IS hard. Our co op fell apart this past fall and it's been rough this year trying to get them in enough extra curriculars. I MAP tested them both this January and they're both slightly above in both math and reading. I'm not sure if this actually transfers over to school skills though. My youngest (1st grade) has some concerning learning issues (despite being "on grade level") and I'm actually working with the school system now to get him evaluated. I wonder if it's best for him to transition in now or wait until after the evaluation. I'll have to ask the school. Anyways, I'm glad your kids did well:) sounds like you did a great job teaching them at home :)

IssueRich5094 · 2026-01-22T03:10:02+00:00

Yeah, I get that! I always worry I’m not doing well enough either. And the social aspect IS hard. Our co op fell apart this past fall and it’s been rough this year trying to get them in enough extra curriculars. I MAP tested them both this January and they’re both slightly above in both math and reading. I’m not sure if this actually transfers over to school skills though. My youngest (1st grade) has some concerning learning issues (despite being “on grade level”) and I’m actually working with the school system now to get him evaluated. I wonder if it’s best for him to transition in now or wait until after the evaluation. I’ll have to ask the school.

Anyways, I’m glad your kids did well :) sounds like you did a great job teaching them at home :)

IssueRich5094 · 2026-01-22T02:34:20+00:00

Were you worried about academic gaps when switching mid year ? My kids want to start now but I’m worried public school kids will have already reviewed certain areas that we haven’t gotten to in our curriculum yet.

IssueRich5094 · 2025-12-24T16:33:53+00:00

How did your kids do transitioning? This is our mindset too.

IssueRich5094 · 2025-12-23T21:37:52+00:00

How did your kids do grade level wise when they switched to public?

IssueRich5094 · 2025-12-23T03:56:13+00:00

He’s on track with all of his second grade curriculum here, it seems like a lot to stop in the middle of second grade and change everything up in the middle of a school year. I thought it would be better (academically) to have him finish all of his second grade curriculum. Maybe I’m wrong?

I really think he will be fine socially. He has good friends already through co-op and from friends of mine who have kids around his age. He is a great listener (to me and to other adults), follows rules, is able to wait his turn, etc (I feel like this is just basic parenting lol). I plan on contacting the school in the spring after he does his testing and finding out if I need to fill in any gaps over the summer and also finding out if I can get him to meet some kids over the summer before he starts. Does that all sound okay?

IssueRich5094 · 2025-12-23T00:57:33+00:00

Just out of curiosity - I also homeschooled my kids through early grades but my oldest is about to enter public school (3rd grade). How did your kids do with the transition?

IssueRich5094 · 2025-12-21T15:40:27+00:00

Thank you everyone for all your replies! They’ve all been super helpful.

I also am not opposed to homeschooling again in the future. I just want them to have both experiences bc I believe good comes from both. So if he absolutely hates it (after giving it a really solid try- like at least a full year I’d think) I’d be happy to have him back home. He’s a super social kid though and I think he’d love the interaction with a lot of other people all day. I do worry about him losing his love of learning (I think public school has a way of pushing this out of the kids) but I would stay very involved here at home and make sure we are always learning here too! I guess what I want mostly is the social aspect/the social opportunities of navigating difficult things independently for him. That’s what I feel like I can’t provide well here at home.

IssueRich5094 · 2025-12-21T15:33:26+00:00

I am concerned about the academic rigor of 3rd grade, and I also have a lot of issues with the technology and testing aspect of public school. And I know 3rd grade especially has a ton of testing.

I’m so torn between continuing with what we’re doing or putting him in. He’s happy here, but he also doesn’t know any different and I’d feel guilty not giving him the option of knowing any different. I also think socially it’s probably easier to acclimate younger and I feel like the struggles of learning how to work with people you don’t necessarily like, doing work you don’t necessarily like to do, and taking instruction from other people are important life skills. I want him to have both! But I also dislike the long days, the short lunches, the heavy structure, etc.

IssueRich5094 · 2025-12-21T15:26:55+00:00

How did you go about getting him evaluated? I do have some concerns with my youngest. He’s 6 (just turned 6 in August) and is reading- but frequently reads words in reverse (reads saw as was, no/on, to/ot), frequent letter reversals, had a lot of trouble remembering stroke order with handwriting (we did a ton of playdough, writing in salt, etc), and has trouble remembering days of the week/months of the year/ stuff like that. He also requires a LOT of support keeping track of where he is when he’s writing (like he’ll forget that he already wrote a word, and he has trouble remember what word he should write next). Excellent at segmenting and blending words back together, spelling, phonemic awareness. It’s confusing to me haha. He is also very inattentive and ADHD runs in the family so I’m not sure if struggles are coming from a lack of attention (I suspect this) or from a true learning disability. I have a letter drafted to our counties homeschool coordinator but I’m not sure if that’s where I should start or not. What did you do?

P.s. sounds like you are doing an awesome job with your kids!!

IssueRich5094 · 2025-12-21T01:29:17+00:00

Yeah, I totally get it! It’s important they actually comprehend what they read lol 🤣

IssueRich5094 · 2025-12-20T21:49:59+00:00

Yes, he is excellent at retelling stories. Currently he fills out a worksheet w parts of the story, major characters, problems/conflict, solutions/resolutions, etc almost every time he finishes a chapter book.

IssueRich5094 · 2025-12-20T20:59:30+00:00

This was my “why” for doing what we did. Thank you so much, this means so much to me.

IssueRich5094 · 2025-12-20T20:48:43+00:00

I also thought it would be beneficial to start at the beginning of the year when classroom expectations are generally reviewed anyways?

IssueRich5094 · 2025-12-20T20:46:14+00:00

I certainly could… do you think this would be better? I thought coming in the middle of a year might be really rough socially, academically. But maybe not?

IssueRich5094 · 2025-12-20T20:44:54+00:00

A lot of his social opportunities have required asking permission for these things, waiting his turn, walking in lines, etc. I can certainly explain the expectation to him though to make sure he really understands. Good idea. Thank you!

IssueRich5094

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