Homeschool 4th Grade Curriculum Questions...

[mrs.b]

So we're pulling our son out of public school after he finishes 3rd grade, and are putting our plans together to be off and running with a much happier and healthier academic environment for him. We already found a bunch of local groups to get him some daytime field trips and other outings with similar-aged peers, but have run into a minor snag with curriculum choices.

For arithmetic and history, we are using A Beka. I bought both after reading all the reviews I could find, and after receiving and digging through it, believe they are paced perfectly for his learning style (or at least his current learning style, which I imagine will change once we break him out of the traditional classroom setting). For science, we are using R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey and are very excited to get started; it is all hands on, direct application, which is how he learns best.

Language Arts... This is the issue. I bought the full LA curriculum from A Beka, but...it is not going to work. Not for him and his circumstances; we are working on getting him to a point where a system like that would not confuse him, but at least right now, he is not at a point where it would make any sense to him. We are going to return it and are hoping to find a secular (or less scripture-filled) LA curriculum. Does anyone have suggestions? We stumbled across Houghton Miflin who are just coming out with a 4th grade LA homeschool curriculum - they've done 5th through 8th previously - but this is the first release of 4th grade and will come out in April, so there are no reviews. Are there any that are tried and tested?

P.S. - We are hoping for an "out of the box" type of curriculum if possible. Maybe in a year or two when we have a better comfort level ourselves, we'll be better able to just grab random books and put something together ourselves, but to get started, we'd like something that walks us through it a bit more directly. (i.e., do this lesson here, give this test now, etc.) We'll still both be working full-time, so having it planned for us is a definite selling point until we know what we're doing.

[collegebyclep]

Go for Tapestry of Grace. My mom had me go through A Beka all through high school for language arts and it was one of the worst curriculums we could have chosen. A Beka stifled my view of literature and only showed me what it wanted me to see--only "Christian" literature. I was actually talking about this with friends last night. We concluded that education has to show what "is" and that A Beka only shows what they want to "be." It's pretty bad.

Tapestry of Grace is now what she uses for my siblings and I am so jealous of them! They are learning everything as far as literature goes and in order too. A Beka has a great grammar/vocabulary/spelling guide up until 10th grade (and then you need to forget it and start teaching your student MLA and APA format). But I think that Tapestry of Grace might even include a grammar/spelling/vocabulary guide too, and if they do, I'd go with it.

I hope this helps! I only took T of G for 12th grade writing, so there will be others out there who know more.

[cookderosa]

So we're pulling our son out of public school after he finishes 3rd grade, and are putting our plans together to be off and running with a much happier and healthier academic environment for him. We already found a bunch of local groups to get him some daytime field trips and other outings with similar-aged peers, but have run into a minor snag with curriculum choices.

For arithmetic and history, we are using A Beka. I bought both after reading all the reviews I could find, and after receiving and digging through it, believe they are paced perfectly for his learning style (or at least his current learning style, which I imagine will change once we break him out of the traditional classroom setting). For science, we are using R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey and are very excited to get started; it is all hands on, direct application, which is how he learns best.

Language Arts... This is the issue. I bought the full LA curriculum from A Beka, but...it is not going to work. Not for him and his circumstances; we are working on getting him to a point where a system like that would not confuse him, but at least right now, he is not at a point where it would make any sense to him. We are going to return it and are hoping to find a secular (or less scripture-filled) LA curriculum. Does anyone have suggestions? We stumbled across Houghton Miflin who are just coming out with a 4th grade LA homeschool curriculum - they've done 5th through 8th previously - but this is the first release of 4th grade and will come out in April, so there are no reviews. Are there any that are tried and tested?

P.S. - We are hoping for an "out of the box" type of curriculum if possible. Maybe in a year or two when we have a better comfort level ourselves, we'll be better able to just grab random books and put something together ourselves, but to get started, we'd like something that walks us through it a bit more directly. (i.e., do this lesson here, give this test now, etc.) We'll still both be working full-time, so having it planned for us is a definite selling point until we know what we're doing.

Wow you decided to do it then!? Good job on standing up for your child. Don't get mad at my comment, but curriculum doesn't mean squat. Just get something that meets your legal requirements and that you can afford, and that looks interesting. I'll bet you ten cents you change next year anyway. A show of hands of all homeschoolers using the same curriculum more than a few years in a row? Anyone? Anyone? Nope. Why? Because even if you found a perfect curriculum, your child changes and so does the dynamic. Don't hold your breath looking for the best, just look for good, and then have you or grandma do it every day. Consistency is more important. Also, if it's awful, you have my permission to toss it in the trash I promise you, your son's future does NOT rest on the curriculum you choose. I hope others can chime in on this one, because it took me about 10 years before I realized that was true. I wish I'd known 18 years ago!!!

[mrs.b]

I'm not mad at the comment! I came here to ask because I respect your opinions; many of you have already done what we're just starting. The thing is, he needs structure - he thrives with it, and flounders without it - so until my husband and I know what we're doing and have a comfort level ourselves, I do not want to try piecing something together ourselves. We've seen what came home from school, but are not privy to what was actually done there to try to replicate something on our own. He needs a structured delivery method because that's one of his "deals," and while we hope to be able to go a bit more freeform in future years, for this first one as we transition him out of the traditional school setting, we do not want our uncertainty to put him in a little tailspin. Change must be very deliberate, planned, and intentional with him; it is a characteristic of many Autistic kids, and definitely a huge consideration with him. It's one of the things that he has a hard time with in the traditional school setting - as structured as their delivery supposedly is, minor "things" such as the teacher being sick and having a substitute would put him in pause for the whole day as he worried if his teacher was okay and floundered with how the one-day teacher handles things slightly different.

I said all that to say...I do sincerely hope his learning style changes as time goes on, because we have seen quite a few different suggestions and options we would love to explore in time, that we think would be very good for him. For now, though, we must walk him through the change from traditional classroom to homeschool in small, incremental steps, and we do not want our own uncertainty and lack of familiarity (or general time constraints) to create chaos and distraction for him. Our best bet, we think, is a structured, detailed, planned out curriculum. We'll branch out from there as his (and our) comfort levels increase.

collegebyclep - I'll take a look at Tapestry of Grace - thank you for the suggestion! A Beka at these lower grades looked perfect at first glance - I love how the flow from vocabulary to spelling to grammar to reading is fairly seamless - but many of the reading and text selections were so... I don't know. Flipping through the books and subject materials, the way they drop scripture in without transition or warning was just overwhelming and a bit strange. It triggered our mental brakes, so I know he'd get distracted by it and miss the purpose of the grammatical message. We knew we were buying a Christian curriculum and were okay with that, but goodness!

Looking for more ideas, too, if anyone has additional suggestions. Until we get our feet wet, and get him transitioned and a bit more open to flipping the script from formal and traditional learning, something LIKE A Beka but with less brain-screeching scripture tossing is ideal (with curriculum lesson plans available for Mama and Papa until we get more cozy with putting together our own).

[cookderosa]

Looking for more ideas, too, if anyone has additional suggestions. Until we get our feet wet, and get him transitioned and a bit more open to flipping the script from formal and traditional learning, something LIKE A Beka but with less brain-screeching scripture tossing is ideal (with curriculum lesson plans available for Mama and Papa until we get more cozy with putting together our own).

Building Thinking Skills through Critical Thinking Press is fun and engaging and we've used it will all of our kinds. They only have 4 levels, so it's not a 1 book = 1 school year type. More like an enrichment activity to do a couple pages per week. They have many good books in other subjects too. Been a fan for about 15 years.

Saxon math for lower grades (under 4th/5th) is very parent-dependent, however, it would likely be perfect because you probably have no idea how your child learns and what he knows. They give you a verbal script to follow, you go through the lesson with your child each day and the child completes the work. Used with all my kids. I'd suggest using SAXON 3 even though he's entering 4th grade. 4th grade with them is like an entirely different company, and totally book/copy/work which is contrary to the point of why I suggest Saxon 3 for your transition. This is for YOU as much as it is for him.

Writing- where is he? Does he need any penmanship work still? If so, try Draw Write Now which is just so fun. It uses story paper (drawing/picture on the top, writing on the bottom) to practice penmanship. When my kids were older 3-4 grade, I had them start back at book 1 but putting the story in cursive. Can count this as art too if you follow the art part of it instead of letting the picture just be busy work. They have excellent art instruction in it.

Reading- again, where is he? Reading is (in my opinion) the number one thing you need to work carefully, deliberately, slowly, and should expect achievement in. Everything else is frosting. I like Reading A-Z (online) up through their "level Z" and Guteberg dot org for freebie good hard reading for young people. I print and bind my own, but the library and used book stores are a good bet. Computer screen reading can be hard and not ideal.
The first time my kids read alone (for school) is using Arthur Scott Bailey books. Jolly Robin is always the first book, and it is read out loud so I can hear it. If you want to see a book list of real literature that will make your child a good reader, google Robinson Curriculum reading list or A2 reading list. Long sentences, complected style and SAT vocab. Kids using reading lists like those will never need to study vocab or spelling, they'll get it in their literature. Also, pick a harder book to read to him each night. A chapter or two. Try Tom Swift by Appleton. (not Tom Swift Jr.) These are fantastic and are about adventure, invention, and excitement. There are maybe 30 in the series.

Fitness/P.E. - find something structured. I've always liked Martial Arts and swimming lessons (I'm a practical person lol).

[mrs.b]

Oh! I completely forgot. Our HSLDA membership is processed, and we've been in touch with someone in their special needs curriculum group, where one very good suggestion was made of multi-sensory format. It's something we planned to build into and increase as we transition him, but if there is a Language Arts curriculum out there that is fairly traditional (again, step-based transition for the little fella), I'm all ears! We looked at Time4learning.com and I'm seriously considering that as a supplement to whatever we get, that we'll increase use over time to potentially using as the primary delivery.

[mrs.b]

As far as "where is he?" on any subject, that is a big question mark for us as well. One of the reasons we're eager to make this move is because we suspect "soft grading," thanks to No Child Left Behind (which we cannot stand, by the way). At least down here, NCLB functions not as additional delivery of material to keep kids caught up, but rather, their grades just get bumped up. He brings home As and Bs, but cannot demonstrate the knowledge here and tests below grade level in Math and Reading Comprehension, and all other subjects. Also, we live in Alabama that was testing so poorly compared to other states in national standardized tests, so they pulled the AL system off national testing standards, so we do not have a good measure to work from. Thanks to earning my Bachelors (thanks again to you all!) I qualify as a proctor Standord, so when he's done with 3rd grade, I'm going to test him. When we build his benchmark requirements, we're thinking of using Massachusetts or some other state to set our grade level standards, so we're not comparing him to the bottom of the barrel.

We suspect we'll need to back him up to 2nd or 3rd grade material to start. I do not think he'll need a full repeat, though. Much like a puzzle, I think he's missing a few key piece of understanding that, once we find them, should help the rest click into place to let him move on with a more firm basis to build. For now, we've bought a bunch of workbooks at the varying grade levels and are experimenting with his level of understanding, and he runs into roadblocks around the end of 2nd grade in Math. For Reading Comprehension, he's been in the STAR system testing at mid-2nd grade comprehension. (Yet, somehow he has As in both subjects in class. How's that possible? We want him to have the pride of good grades, but we'd rather he earn them so he eventually graduates with the knowledge represented in his diploma.)

For Math, we're in love with the A Beka right now - for this year - because of the spiral delivery method, and the constant reinforcement of previous lessons. Since he is behind, we think circling back to the lower-grade material as refresher will help us move him into the 4th grade material while also helping us ID those missing puzzle pieces; if we see him struggling with a refresher lesson, we know to pause the lesson plan and reinforce. Hopefully by the end of "4th grade," we can get him caught up with those missing pieces of 2nd and 3rd grade material, and well on his way through 4th grade understanding to move him into Saxon or Singapore (both of which I was very tempted by, but think a spiral method is ideal in his present level of understanding).

Writing (penmanship) is actually something he excels with and is far above grade level. He's a perfectionist (no idea where he gets that!) and, judging by samples we've been shown, has penmanship on a 4th or 5th grade level, so I was not really going to waste his time with that this year when we can use that time to catch him up on other areas he struggles. If you mean creative writing...that's not even on the radar right now. He's nowhere near a point where he'd be able to, much as it hurts his Daddy and me, since it's one of our favorite pastimes. We want to get him there, but he does not have the confidence of understanding to try right now. It's something we plan to build in, having him journal and the like, but nothing formal...at least not right now.

Reading...again, I don't know. I think he's capable of better than what he's tested, but I'm just not sure. He's very parent/teacher reliant and has no level of confidence (constantly stops to ask if he says words right, and struggles to sound out words). While he tests on a mid-2nd grade level, his comfort with phonics has me wondering if we should not back him up even more and focus exclusively on the building blocks before we press on. He definitely does not have a comfort or familiarity to read independently.

Fitness/PE, like penmanship, is not a big concern for me this year. The boy will run non-stop if allowed because he just loves it; he seriously runs laps until he's panting, and we have to stop him to make him catch his breath and get a drink. With us needing to make up so much ground in other areas, for this year at least, I planned to just let him be him as he plays, and get him into that sort of thing moving forward. He used to be in karate (a local dojo is run by an awesome couple with two kids on the Spectrum and were fantastic with him) but we had a "tiny" issue when a kid at school was being a butt, and he demonstrated his abilities rather than letting the teacher standing RIGHT NEXT to him handle it. (Ahem. We were happy, school was not.) He had difficulty understanding when and where use of those skills is appropriate, however, so we pulled him until we could work on those sorts of things a bit better. We keep in touch with the dojo, though, and he has an open invitation to return, so it's on the radar.

[namwen]

I am on the verge of making the call with almost all of my kids. We have 6 total - four boys 20,17,14,12 - two girls 10,7.

Obviously my 20 year old is done...I'm so proud of him. He's in an apprenticeship program to become a pipeline welder. Right now he is making 70k with housing paid and a daily food allowance. lol, life is so hard for him right now.

I'm thinking of leaving my youngest in public school. She is doing well and we are very pleased with the elementary school that she attends.

My 14 year old is begging to get home-schooled. He has seen the progress that his older brother is making with college credit (on pace for 23 in 16 weeks). He is very interested in business. He's already started two micro-businesses and wants to follow me in becoming a business owner.

My 12 year old is neutral.

There is no way I am sending my 10 year old daughter to the local middle school. No way, no how. I can't afford to have 4-5 kids in private school.

My wife is generally not all that organized so co-op situations will be a must. I can't demand that she do everything...poor girl might lose her mind.

[mrs.b]

I am on the verge of making the call with almost all of my kids. We have 6 total - four boys 20,17,14,12 - two girls 10,7.

We've been considering it here and there since he started kindergarten and we saw how the local school systems function. It looks so intimidating and impossible, particularly if working parents are involved! It's not, though. It definitely will not be easy, but what good thing in life is? A bit of research, organization (between computer episodes this weekend, hubby and I are rearranging and redecorating our family room to include the new BLC (Buddy Learning Center ) so there is a designated place for learning), and determination, and it is possible.

All parents just want the best for our kids. We want independent-thinking, confident young adults when it is all said and done, so whatever we need to do to get them there is worth the effort.

[Publius]

It looks so intimidating and impossible, particularly if working parents are involved! It's not, though. It definitely will not be easy, but what good thing in life is?

True, it will take some sacrifice. However, it also shows the kids that they're a priority and are important, something they may not recognize or necessarily appreciate in the present but will in the years to come.