Fourth Grade Homeschool Curriculum {2013-2014}

Fourth Grade Homeschool Curriculum

This year Collin is entering fourth grade. Well, that’s not completely true. He actually started some of his fourth grade work last school year, so he will be finishing fourth grade and starting into fifth grade this year.

Collin is a strong independent learner who prefers to do most of his studying alone and uninterrupted. Our curriculum choices reflect this self-directed approach; however, the two of us will be spending more time together this year focusing on math and grammar.

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Fourth Grade Homeschool Curriculum Plan

Math – Math-U-See Gamma

Collin has already started MUS Gamma level, so he will be working through the rest of the book and then beginning Delta level. I really want to encourage him to gain a lot of ground in math this year, but I’m trying to remember that a solid foundation is more important, even if he is considered a bit “behind” by academic standards.

GrammarEasy Grammar 4

We’ve been using Easy Grammar for four years now, and each year my children request to stay with it. It is the simplest method of teaching and learning grammar that I have found yet, so we’re definitely continuing with it again this year.

Writing – Just Write

This is our first time to try the Just Write curriculum. I knew I needed a very gentle approach for Collin, and this looks like it will be a good fit for us.

If you’ve used Just Write, I would love to hear your thoughts and recommendations!

Spelling Spelling Power

Spelling Power is an excellent program for teaching spelling. However, since many of my kids are “natural” spellers, we only use the word lists without any of the hands-on components of the program. If Collin experiences difficulties with spelling, we may begin implementing some of the activities as well.

Handwriting Handwriting Skills Simplified: Learning Cursive Writing

We’ve been using this simple handwriting program ever since we began homeschooling, I think. The workbooks are plain without illustrations or distractions, and that works for us.

Reading – Collin will be reading some excellent literature this year. Since he has an inexpensive tablet with a Kindle app, I chose Kindle versions for his reading material. And of course, I’m secretly rejoicing that I won’t have to try to cram more books onto our over-crowded shelves!

Social Studies School of Tomorrow Social Studies PACEs

Collin loves the independent-learning aspect of School of Tomorrow PACEs, so he is continuing with them this year. Near the end of last school year, I began allowing him to score his own work. This was working pretty well for both of us, so he’ll continue to correct his own work this year. Of course, I’ll check up on things from time to time to be sure that everything is going well.

Science School of Tomorrow Science PACEs

Collin is continuing science PACEs as he did last year. While some students may prefer more projects and experiments, Collin is a “hands-off” learner and loves the textbook-like format of the PACEs.

Bible School of Tomorrow Bible Reading PACEs

These are something new for us. Every year I have high aspirations for Bible study with my kids, but I have such a hard time fitting in family-style learning with so many independent learners. Of course, we do have family devotional time, but I want them to have more Bible time than just that.

These PACEs look like a good fit for Collin, and because they are completed independently, I can be sure that Bible time will get done. The PACEs are similar in format to the social studies and science PACEs. The student reads a passage of Scripture which is printed right in the PACE in a larger, easier-to-read font than most Bibles. The reading is followed by comprehension questions which will help with understanding and retention.

So that’s our fourth grade plan for this school year–always subject to change if needed, of course! Over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing this year’s plans for grades 7, 9, 10, and 12.

What are your homeschool plans for next year?

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11 Comments

  1. Thank you so much for sharing your curriculum choices for the new school year. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed at what to choose. This school year will be our 2nd yr. to Homeschool and I know that some of the material I used last year, I won’t use again this year. So with your list, I can do some research and hopefully find a match for my son. Thanks again and have a blessed school year.

    1. Judy Hoch says:

      Toni, just wanted to reassure you that it is totally normal to make changes along the way. I originally thought that I’d find a “perfect” fit and stay with it for good, but it turns out that we’ve made MANY curriculum changes during our eight years of homeschooling–and I continue to make more changes every year. If you have any questions about anything that we are using, please feel free to ask. 🙂

  2. I am using Just Write this year. I like what I have read and gone over. We are teaching a 10 yo and 12 yo. The standardized testing we have to do is showing they are a little behind on the writing and grammar, so having something that is “gentle” seems nice.

    1. Judy Hoch says:

      So glad to hear from someone else who is using Just Write! My son is 10 (will be 11 in December), and like your children, he is not yet proficient with either grammar or writing. I’d be interested in hearing about your progress with Just Write. 🙂

      1. I wanted to give you a progress report. We are 90% through the book and still struggle with my 12yo (ASD & ADD). She has great imagination and loves to give information but putting it to writing is the challenge. This writing program is so gentle and I sometimes ask her to rewrite something but her writing is blossoming more with this.

        1. Judy Hoch says:

          So glad to hear that you are having some success with writing. (I have one child who, like your daughter, struggles to get words onto paper.)

          We have been slacking a bit on writing since the baby was born, but I’m trying to get back to doing it consistently again. 🙂

  3. I also have a 4th grader this year 🙂 We are using easy grammar – love it!
    The reading list you posted here includes some of our very favorites. Enjoy!

    1. Judy Hoch says:

      Isn’t the prepositional approach in Easy Grammar wonderful? All my kids are doing well with it.
      This is my fifth 4th grader, and some of the books on his reading list are new to us. (How can that be?) 🙂

  4. First, congratulations on your new addition! This is our first year of using Easy Grammar and I was planning on using it for this next school year, but it looks like it is almost the same work. Obviously, where you stated that you have been using Easy Grammar for four years now, you like the program, but I was just wondering if you could give me some comments about that and do you use the daily grams? I have a 4th grader who is using Grade 4 and a 7th grader who is using the Plus book.
    Thank you

    1. Judy Hoch says:

      Thank you, Debbie! 🙂
      Yes, we love Easy Grammar and stick with it year after year. Each level follows the same pattern but is increasingly complex. Not only are more prepositions added, but the sentences are “trickier,” as well. I don’t have the books within reach at the moment, but I would be happy to compare two levels as an example if that would help.
      We have used Daily Grams a few times, but I never use both EG and DG at the same time. Just my personal preference.
      I have my older students do EG Plus in 7th or 8th grade. Then they go back and do it again during grades 9-12 (1/4 of the book each year) while focusing more on writing.
      I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any more questions. 🙂

  5. Hi Judy!
    I came across your blog page on Pintrest. 🙂 I’m always curious to see if there is anything better out there for my son, currently in 4th grade, than what I am using now. I am using the AOP Language Arts Lifepacs, but they seem a little dry at times for my son, or there is too much to cover, and they don’t spend enough time on it…at least from my perspective…FYI, I love their math Lifepacs!! lolI don’t want to put AOP down!…Anyway…My question is, are you still using Easy Grammar and do you still like it? I clicked on the link above and looked at what it covers. Seems like it covers more than the Lifepacs, comparing Scope and Sequence between the two. Since we are already three months into the year, I don’t want to change curriculums now, but finish the year, and maybe try Easy Grammar for 5th grade. Do you think that is something my son can just jump right into for next school year, even though he has not yet used Easy Grammar? Thank you for your input! God bless!