Homeschool 4th Grade Curriculum Questions...

[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.