— homeschool, Let's Get Planning —

Let’s Get Planning: 4th Grade

August 25, 2017

Summer is rapidly coming to a close and I am still working on planning!  Here is my plan for Buddy who will be in 4th grade next year.  It is mostly based on Mater Amabilis but I have adapted and added as I saw fit.  Hope you are having a great week. Linking up with Kelly, again, this Friday.

1

Religion:
Faith and Life 4
57 Saints— This is a family favorite!

The First Christians: Acts of the Apostles for Children
Stories of the Child Jesus from Many Lands
My Path to Heaven
St Francis of Assisi
Karol from Poland

2
I am adding a book to supplement Life of Fred this year. It is a very boring workbook, but it reviews all the basic concepts in mathematics.  I am feeling that Buddy needs more practice in mechanics because he has sped along so quickly in concepts. It is an old workbook that I picked up second hand but is solid in practice. 

Math:
Life of Fred Jellybeans and Kidneys
Basic Math Concepts Level E for supplement
How Math Works

3
I know this looks like an awful lot but we are not doing every book, every day Also, many of these books we will not necessarily do every page.  I followed MA’s guide and pulled in a couple of more items to round it out.  The four language arts are speaking, listening, reading, and writing.  I wanted to have a full curriculum that addresses each of these well.  The books marked (I) are for independent reading. A (N) means it is for narration.  I have marked read aloud books with (RA). We will be doing copy work, dictation, and narration, along with poetry memorization.  I have a schedule worked out if anyone would like to see how we rotate among them.

Language Arts:
The Ideal Catholic Fourth Reader (I) OOP
The Catholic Youth Fourth Reader (I) OOP
The Harp and Laurel Wreath— this is a supplement for days when copy work or dictation is scheduled but not in the lesson plan for Intermediate Language Lessons. It also has poems to memorize.
Intermediate Language Lessons
The Good and Beautiful Creative Writing
Shakespeare Audio Dramas from Library
The Children’s Homer
The Aeneid for Boys and Girls (N)
Pollyanna (RA)
Heidi (audio book) (RA)
Swallows and Amazons (RA)

3
We always do a family history study as part of read alouds, however, my children really enjoy history so they each do some private history study as well.  Buddy enjoyed the Story of Civilization so much last year, I decided to continue with the series. Our Island Story is also available as a free download through Librivox.

History:
Our Island Story (audio book)
Story of Civilization: The Medievel World (audio) 
Famous Men of Greece (RA)
Herodotus and the Road to History (I)

4
We are going to do some map work and basic geography as part of our read aloud time each day.  In addition, Buddy will be reading/listening to the literature listed to give him a better understanding of the Americas and the people who live there.

Geography:
Map Work
Paddle to the Sea
Seabird
Elementary Geography (RA)
An Illustrated Atlas of South America and Antarctica (I liked this books so much, I bought it 3 times!)
An Illustrated Atlas of North America
Maya Quest: Interactive Expedition (I)
Secret of the Andes (I)
Chucaro: Wild Pony of the Pampas (I)

5
Last year, Buddy enjoyed Swimming Creatures from the Apologia series so much, he can’t wait to do Land Creatures this year. Having the audio book to go along with the program made it so much easier to get through, however it will only play on our computer.  We will still get the audio, even though it wasn’t convenient.

Science:
Archimedes and the Door to Science
The Librarian Who Measure the Earth
Apologia: Exploring Creation Land Animals 

6

 As I mentioned previously, Buddy will be helping Little Man with his nature study while doing his own.  I am very loose on nature study requirements, mostly because my children are so intrigued by nature they need very little prompting.  I am filling a basket with nature guides, including ones for younger children and some supplies.  The boys are already excited.

In addition, I purchased two Thinking Tree journals as supplements to the general curriculum.

Teach Yourself to Draw Forest Animals
Thinking Tree All About Animals

7
Lastly, we have “electives” if you will to round out his education.  

Seton Art 4

Latin for Children

Computer Science with Kano computer kit

Abeka Developing Good Health

Guitar instruction at fine arts school

Drama class at fine arts school

Chimes choir at fine arts school

Irish Step Dancing at dance school

Soccer at our parish school

Basketball through local Christian intramural league

This seems like a lot of books, and in some ways it is.  I have managed to get all of them by shopping Thriftbooks and using our local library. It was fairly affordable and still so mcuh cheaper than private school.

How is your planning going?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *