When we started homeschooling my oldest in 2017 I was so excited about picking out all of the curriculum and diving into homeschooling from the teacher’s perspective. (I was homeschooled 8th grade through 12th grade.) Kindergarten didn’t look typical for him because he sped through basic math and learned how to read really quickly. He also did Story of the World Volume I (heavier social studies than what is typical for that age) his kindergarten year and he LOVED it. He begged me to read more because he just loved hearing about all the battles. ha! He has continued to blaze ahead and it has been fun to find ways to keep him challenged. I feel like fifth grade will feel different, so I am going to enjoy this last year with him being this young and he will continue to do science, social studies, and his beauty subjects with the rest of his siblings. Read to the end for a little teaser of what’s coming later this summer to the shop!
Mathematics
We will be continuing Teaching Textbooks with Math 6. My son has about 25 days/lessons to finish up in Math 5 when we pick back up for our next school year, but he will then move into Math 6 at that point. Teaching Textbooks is an app based annual subscription ($55/year/student) program. We LOVE it! The instruction is built into the lesson, so the student just watches/listens to the lesson, and then works on problems with that new concept and reviews previously learned concepts as well. I like that we can take it with us anywhere, and we have the option to print the lessons if we need to. The gradebook is integrated into the app as well for the teacher. You can also pause your subscription for up to 3 months (minimum 1 week pause). I like that it can be very independently handled, and I just come in sometimes for moral support. Anyone else’s gifted kid also lazy when it comes to working out longer problems?
Language Arts
We will be continuing with The Good and the Beautiful Language Arts Level 4. We have about 30 lessons to finish up in Level 3 when we start back for the next school year, but we have been able to do 2/day sometimes depending on what is being covered. I love that this curriculum covers literature, grammar, punctuation, art appreciation, geography, spelling, vocabulary, and writing. One difference with this level compared to Level 3 that we are finishing up is that it comes with a separate spelling and writing book. I haven’t had a chance to really read through it much yet, but I am anxious to see how they handle the writing this time around since that is something my son still doesn’t enjoy a whole lot. At least of course unless it’s something HE is interested in or initiates. Anyone else? It also looks like it is mostly student led in Level 4, and I may or may not be super excited about that possibility. I love the idea of him taking more ownership in his learning and developing more personal time management. I do still plan to sit with him as he does it to make sure he is grasping things well.
He will also be continuing with Level 4 in The Good and the Beautiful handwriting. I have him do about a page per day and he is to do his best effort on that one page. He is continuing to practice both manuscript and cursive.
We started using Worldly Wise as a direct vocabulary resource last year and we really enjoyed it. It’s open and go and is almost completely done independently by the student. The student is introduced to about 15 new words each week and they will go through various exercises to introduce and reinforce those words and their meanings and usage throughout the week. While we talk about vocabulary… primary definitions, secondary, tertiary, and so on… in our regular lessons and conversation, I think it’s fun to have a new set of words to discover every week and it also gives them more spelling exposure! He will be continuing with Book 4 this year!
Geography
Lastly, as I talked about with my rising 2nd grader, we did not get around to these Evan-Moor geography practice books this past year like I had intended. This really is just busy work, but they come in handy when I need a moment to teach a lesson to a younger sibling, or to grab snacks, or to deal with a household issue. They are meant to be used with a classroom, but I have a way to modify it to fit a single student and it’s worked well in the past. We tend to just do a whole week’s worth in one sitting because the lessons are so basic.
So there you have it. That’s what I’ve got planned for my rising 4th grader for the coming school year! In addition to more independence in his lessons, I am working on an update to my Customizable Homeschool Planner which will have an element that will be useful for the older, more independent students in your home! So be on the lookout for that coming soon! As always, let me know if you have any questions!