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My 3rd child finished his 6th grade math book in homeschool this week.
He is my first child to reach this milestone by the age of 12.
We celebrated his unique learning pace, just like we did his older siblings, who took a little longer to complete those first 6 math books. (We may or may not have whipped up a batch of homemade ice cream)
Around here, we don’t force our kids into a learning schedule. We let their unique developmental style guide their pace.
We took almost a full year off of math with this same child 2 years ago because multi digit multiplication just wasn’t clicking.
Because we homeschool, we had the freedom to focus on other skills and interests while we waited for math maturity.
We circled back around when the time felt right and the confidence and sense of accomplishment he had when he faced the same problems and “got it” easily was worth the wait. And any awkwardness that results when someone asks your homeschooled kid what grade they are in and they say they don’t know 
He is great at math, he loves it, and has been whizzing through his math books every since.
He completed his 6 grade math book in less than 3 months.
His older brother, who was “2 years behind” for the first 10 years of his homeschool journey, just started geometry and does math for the fun of it, sometimes completing 2 lessons in a day.
We do the same thing with reading. I wait for signs of reading readiness, then we take it at the pace that fits the child. When they are ready, they will read. It’s a developmental skill just like walking. And each child does it in their own time.
If you’d like to become more confident at letting your children learn at their individual pace, Better Late than Early by Dr. Raymond Moore was what gave me the peace for this approach starting with my oldest 15 years ago. It’s out of print now, but you can get it on Kindle!
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