4th Grade
Sample Schedule
At this point I had 4th, 2nd, and Kindergarten aged kids.
6:30-8:00 Mom’s time
7:30-8:00 Kids wake up, dressed, chores
8:30 Active/fun school activity
9:00 Language Arts
Opening Exercise (Language Lesson, Journal, etc.)
Working 1-1 with each and moving around as needed. Keeping them engaged, occupied.
Kindergartner—with MOM
Reading Lesson
Brian Quest/Phonics
Story Time
Letter Rhymes (memory)
Handwriting
Journal /Draw (1/week)
Free Time
2nd Grader
Phonics (handwriting)
Spelling (handwriting)
Journal and Draw
Memorization
Faith in God or Scouts
Grammar with Mom (2x)
Free Reading
4th Grader
MCP Word Study or Spelling Workout
Brain Quest or Journal (rough & polish)
Dictation Study / Test
Church Program or Scouts or Memorization
Cursive or Keyboarding
Grammar with Mom (2x)
Free or Assigned Reading
10:30 Math (with snack)
10:30
4th Grader with MOM
2nd Grader Math or Play time
Kindergartner Stations
11:00
4th Grader Homework
2nd Grader with MOM
Kindergartner Stations
11:30
4th Grader Homework
2nd Grader Homework
Kindergartner with MOM
12:0-1:30 Lunch/Play (Mom check email, etc.)
1:30-Science, Art, Spanish, or clean
3:00-Swim, Library, Go somewhere, Games, Hikes, Free Play, Quiet time
(Flip-Flop mornings and afternoons)
Fridays: American History & Music with Dad
1 week/quarter, project with report
Other: The kids also did whatever sports they wanted, scouts, church, etc
At this point I had 4th, 2nd, and Kindergarten aged kids.
6:30-8:00 Mom’s time
7:30-8:00 Kids wake up, dressed, chores
8:30 Active/fun school activity
9:00 Language Arts
Opening Exercise (Language Lesson, Journal, etc.)
Working 1-1 with each and moving around as needed. Keeping them engaged, occupied.
Kindergartner—with MOM
Reading Lesson
Brian Quest/Phonics
Story Time
Letter Rhymes (memory)
Handwriting
Journal /Draw (1/week)
Free Time
2nd Grader
Phonics (handwriting)
Spelling (handwriting)
Journal and Draw
Memorization
Faith in God or Scouts
Grammar with Mom (2x)
Free Reading
4th Grader
MCP Word Study or Spelling Workout
Brain Quest or Journal (rough & polish)
Dictation Study / Test
Church Program or Scouts or Memorization
Cursive or Keyboarding
Grammar with Mom (2x)
Free or Assigned Reading
10:30 Math (with snack)
10:30
4th Grader with MOM
2nd Grader Math or Play time
Kindergartner Stations
11:00
4th Grader Homework
2nd Grader with MOM
Kindergartner Stations
11:30
4th Grader Homework
2nd Grader Homework
Kindergartner with MOM
12:0-1:30 Lunch/Play (Mom check email, etc.)
1:30-Science, Art, Spanish, or clean
3:00-Swim, Library, Go somewhere, Games, Hikes, Free Play, Quiet time
(Flip-Flop mornings and afternoons)
Fridays: American History & Music with Dad
1 week/quarter, project with report
Other: The kids also did whatever sports they wanted, scouts, church, etc
My Favorite Curriculum & Ideas
Give kids time to play, to think, to dream, to daydream, to explore, to find their purpose.
Scripture Study Ideas:
Language Arts (handwriting, letter recognition, reading, narration/writing)
Math:
Curriculum: Horizons 4 with Teacher Edition and student workbooks. (We tried Math U See and went right back to Horizons within a month.)
Other:
Social Studies/History/Geography Ideas:
I am all about cyclical learning. Teach/explore it at a basic level very young, then intermediate level, then advanced, cycling around to similar topics every 3-4 years or so. So they get it in elementary, middle, and high school.
US HISTORY (my husband taught this one once a week). DK has an American History book that gave a rough outline. Or old US history textbooks. Pretty much the older, the better, so you have real history.
Science Ideas:
Again, I am all about cyclical learning. Teach/explore it at a basic level very young, then intermediate level, then advanced, cycling around to similar topics every 3-4 years or so. So they get it in elementary, middle, and high school.
Thematic Exploration together: (I surveyed the kids and got some input here.)
Resources:
Assignments:
Art Ideas:
Other:
Scripture Study Ideas:
- Get them a copy of the scriptures they can read/write/mark in. Read as a family or have weekly goal.
Language Arts (handwriting, letter recognition, reading, narration/writing)
- Writing: "Journals" drafting and polishing as we went along--daily writing based on 6+ Traits of good writing (I'm a writing teacher, so at this point I broke away from using curriculum and used this general program--you can google it for tons of info. Just teach it point by point and find examples of each trait in storybooks to enjoy together. Then challenge them to do it--model it or try it) There are tons of websites with ideas for topics out there.
- Reading: Mostly Silent Sustained Reading (SSR)
- Grammar, Poetry, Memorization, etc. all-in-one: Fist Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind by Jessie Wise, Level 4
- MCP Phonics D
- Spelling Workout D
- Cursive: Evan-Moor Daily Practice
- Oral Presentations
- Dictation (combo spelling, mechanics, grammar): "Spelling Wisdom" by Sonia Shafer
- Keyboarding (did a couple times a week free versions online or other stuff I bought that wasn't worth it)--I started using TTRS (touch-type-read-spell) with my dyslexic child and it is well worth it!!!
Math:
Curriculum: Horizons 4 with Teacher Edition and student workbooks. (We tried Math U See and went right back to Horizons within a month.)
Other:
- drills
- flashcards
- computer games or apps
- Graphing workbook
Social Studies/History/Geography Ideas:
I am all about cyclical learning. Teach/explore it at a basic level very young, then intermediate level, then advanced, cycling around to similar topics every 3-4 years or so. So they get it in elementary, middle, and high school.
US HISTORY (my husband taught this one once a week). DK has an American History book that gave a rough outline. Or old US history textbooks. Pretty much the older, the better, so you have real history.
Science Ideas:
Again, I am all about cyclical learning. Teach/explore it at a basic level very young, then intermediate level, then advanced, cycling around to similar topics every 3-4 years or so. So they get it in elementary, middle, and high school.
Thematic Exploration together: (I surveyed the kids and got some input here.)
- Used Evan-Moor Daily Science 4 Workbook as a whole group.
- Used state standard benchmarks to study basic concepts
- Topics: Classification, animals and habitat, plants and habitat, review human body, soils, earth science, minerals, rocks, fossils, weather, water, planets, motion, machines, review matter, heat, sound, light
Resources:
- Use what you have to make what you need.
- Summer "cool science" festival at a nearby university
- Eyewitness Books
- Library
- Magic School Bus
- Bill Nye
Assignments:
- Presentations
- Draw & Write about what you learned
- Hands-on experiments
- Games
- Read & Report back to the group
Art Ideas:
- Curriculum: Discovering Great Artists by Mary Ann F Kohl & Kim Solga (Love this one! We'd study the artist, maybe find an appropriate video to watch, look at the actual art, and then do the project)
- Continued with the Adventures in Art textbooks that had great ideas. Really depends on the kid and abilities at this point. Are they ready to learn the elements and principals of "real" art like form, texture, etc. or are they crafty or love to draw or can hardly draw a straight line (like me!).
- Linnaeus, Durer, Michelangelo, El Greco, Rubens, Rembrandt, Gainsborough, Blake, Constable, Manet, Monet, Degas, Morisot, Homer, Cassatt, Renior, VanGogh, Cezanne, Rosseau, Rodin, Gauguin, Toulouse-Lautrec, Seurat, Russell, Matisse, Munch, Mondrian, Klee
- Own art show
Other:
- Early morning ideas: paint to music, make puzzles, invent a game that involves sticks, make your name out of rocks, trace a foot and measure something with your "feet", make up a tree house game, legos, pop beads, play shopping in the pantry, bike repair shop.
- We did a lot of baking this year.
- I started Shakespeare here too, I know....but I'm an English nerd. So we'd watch a version of a play together. Always spend a few years with comedy before forcing the tragedy/history upon them . I think we did Taming of the Shrew (Richard Burton/Elizabeth Taylor).
- Started some Spanish with things I found online for free. If they still have them, the "Salsa" videos from Georgia Public Broadcasting were lots of fun!
