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We’re well into the second half of the year, a good time to evaluate our 4th grade homeschool curriculum. Here’s a list of what we’re using and thoughts about how it’s working so far.
Math
Primary Mathematics: U.S. Edition 4A & 4B by Singapore Math
We’ve used Singapore math since grade 1 and it’s been a good fit for my daughter. She doesn’t seem to need a lot of the concrete practice, so we breeze through that component or skip it altogether. The lessons move rather quickly from one topic to the next. The only drawback that I’ve noticed this year is that when it comes time for a review lesson, she has trouble remembering some of the skills. And I wish she’d learn her math facts so solving problems is quicker and easier.
Purposeful Math Class
Once a week Julia attends a homeschool co-op math class with 4th and 5th graders that I get the pleasure of teaching. We cover different topics every 3-5 weeks. She enjoys keeping a math notebook that is filled with notes from class, problem solving exercises, and projects.
Math class provides opportunities for her to work with a partner and small groups to complete math tasks and play math games. One requirement coming this spring will be doing a math project that relates math to real life. She will have to write a report, make a visual and 3D model and give an oral presentation. I’m excited to see what she and her classmates create.
Reading
Reading quality literature for the mere enjoyment is a strong priority. I like to listen to my daughter read to me to check up on her comprehension skills, but this year I have not really taken the time to listen to her read or do any formal activities and discussions.
This year we’re casually talking about the books we’re reading on our own, which I feel is still effective.
Sometimes we physically share a book, like when we read Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert O’Brien. We only had one copy from the library, so she’d read it during the day, and I’d read it at night. Then we’d talk about where we left off, share our feelings and predictions.
Julia has read aloud with me on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Every evening her dad reads to her. She reads to herself for at least 30 minutes during the day and then again at bedtime, usually keeping two different books going at a time.
What we’ve read so far (affiliate links included):
Read Aloud with Mom
- The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge
- Lassie Come Home by Eric Knight
- The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman
- Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald
- A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Read Aloud with Dad
- The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
- The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks
- The Cay by Theodore Taylor
- The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
- A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
- The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
Read-to-Self
- The BFG by Roald Dahl
- Matilda by Roald Dahl
- Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl
- Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert O’Brien
- Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
- Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
- The Miraculous Journey of Edward Toulane by Kate DiCamillo
- Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen
- Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George
- Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
- Strawberry Girl by Louis Lenski
- Island of the Blue Dolphin by Scott O’Dell
- Harry Potter Series, books 1-6 by J.K. Rowling
Writing
Julia loves to write. I don’t think there’s a day that goes by that she isn’t working on some type of writing. Most of her writing is self-initiated. When she comes up with an idea, I try to get the tools she needs to get started.
Journal Writing
We buy her journals and she keeps filling them up.
Pen Pals
She writes to three pen pals every month. Again, it was her idea. I just had to find the pen pals.
Blogging
Julia has two private blogs, one about writing and one about her life. A few family members are invited to read her blogs and post comments, which she finds very rewarding.
Writer’s Workshop
Units of Study for Teaching Writing, Grades 3-5 by M. Colleen Cruz, Marjorie Martinelli, Mary Chiarella, Ted Kesler, Cory Gillette, Medea McEvoy, and Lucy Calkins.
I had high hopes of going back to our writer’s workshop days and implement the units of study, but it proved to be much more work for me than I had time for. There’s reading, planning, finding texts to model writing and writing my own samples to use in the lessons.
These units of study are designed for the classroom and most teachers get the privilege of professional training before using them. I’ve used the writing workshop model, but since I haven’t been in the classroom for about ten years, Lucy Calkins’ work is new to me. I grabbed a set of her books to see if I could use them in our homeschool setting. I will definitely try again next year, if not sooner.
Cursive Handwriting
Julia wants to learn cursive, but I didn’t include it in her curriculum last year (probably I was busy with Miles). So this year I’m using Ruth Beechick’s outline, found in You Can Teach Your Child Successfully (affiliate link), for introducing letters. I just write up my own handwriting papers on some free printable lined paper.
Keyboarding
Created by the makers of Handwriting Without Tears, this program truly lives up to its name. My daughter works on the laptop for about 15 minutes, 3x a week and never once has complained about it being too difficult. She’s now typing over 40 words per minute. And I haven’t had to do anything beyond setting up an account. You can read more about why I like it so much here.
Spelling
Words Their Way: Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling Instruction (affiliate link) by Donal R. Bear, Marcia Invernizzi, Shane Templeton and Francine Johnston
This developmental approach to spelling is designed for classroom use, but I use it in our homeschool. We may not be able to do buddy sorts and play some of the group games, but there’s plenty we can do.
I give Julia a spelling inventory in the fall and usually mid-year to determine what stage of spelling she’s in and then plan word lists according to her needs. Throughout the week she practices sorting and writing the words by spelling patterns, parts of speech, or prefixes/suffixes. Then she has a test at the end of the week.
Foreign Language
Julia loves language, so this year she’s taking both Latin and Spanish at our homeschool co-op. Here are the texts for each class.
Latina Christiana: Introduction to Christian Latin, Student Book I (affiliate link) by Cheryl Lowe
¡Cuentame! A TPRS Spanish Curriculum for 4th-6th Grade Students by Christine Anderson and Valeri Marsh
Music
Julia also takes a music class at the homeschool co-op. This year she’s learning more about melody and rhythm, studying 20th century composers and ancient music.
Art
Our plan for the year is to study four artists: Jan Vermeer, Katsushika Hokusai, Edgar Degas, Winslow Homer. We’re using a loose Charlotte Mason approach with the help of these artist study papers from Jimmie’s Collage. Julia learns about the artist’s life through internet articles or books from the library, then each week she spends time looking at one of his/her well-know pieces. Sometimes she views the art in an online gallery, sometimes in a book. I print off a small version of the painting for her to glue onto her paper.
History
The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child Volume 4: The Modern Age (affiliate link) by Susan Wise Bauer
Each week I read a chapter to Julia or she reads one to me. Then she usually does a map activity related to the chapter. We tried using the outline in the companion activity book as a way to review the chapter content, but it didn’t work for us. Also, I really liked the idea of a timeline, so we started one on the wall. But, since we’ve got Miles to contend with and not a lot of wall space, the timeline is almost touching the ceiling. Not very practical for review and seeing the bigger picture.
Science
R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey: Chemistry for Grades 2-5 (affiliate link)
Julia wanted to study Chemistry this year, so this book fit the bill. It’s easy to follow, with hands-on experiments and notebook pages. The only difficult part is gathering materials. If I wait to read the lesson the day we do science, I’m in trouble. But with a little foresight, it’s really easy. Many of the materials are what you’d typically find in your cupboard.
Physical Education
We don’t really do Phys. Ed. (don’t tell my brother, a P.E. teacher). Julia has tried soccer and tennis in the past, but she’s not very fond of sports. She plays outside and gets exercise when we walk around town and to the playground.
Dance is more her style, so she attends a ballet school 2x week.
On a daily basis, I feel like I’m not doing enough. There’s always more I want to do and feel I should do. But when I see our 4th grade homeschool curriculum all laid out like this, I feel better.
As my daughter keeps encouraging me, “Mom, we haven’t dropped homeschooling yet!” I laugh because I know she’s right. It’s an improvement from last year!
Somehow we keep the ball rolling, even with a toddler in the house.
