In our family, we usually homeschool year round, although we take the month of August off and bigger chunks of time off during the rest of the year. Therefore, I usually take time in August to plan for the new year starting in September. This year, I decided to do my planning early so that I can really enjoy our time off in August, especially since my school year at Georgian Court University begins August 25.

Andrew enters fourth grade this year, and honestly, most of the resources we used last year we are using again, making this year’s planning pretty easy. 🙂

Math (Done Daily)

We are sticking with the RightStart Mathematics program. There are several reasons I like this program. First, it is an affordable and comprehensive program. Second, it is a hands-on curriculum with lots of manipulatives and games. Third, Andrew likes the program and that works for me!

Language Arts

We loosely follow the Charlotte Mason, and try to use “living books” and resources when possible.

Reading/Reading Comprehension – We get a variety of books from the library (our favorite place!) for Andrew to practice his reading. (Done Daily)

Handwriting – In the past I used kidzone.ws to teach him cursive. Then I moved on to handwritingworksheets to create custom sheets for practice. Now that Andrew is getting better with cursive, my plan this year is to give him various writing prompts and have him write a paragraph or two or three…to help develop his creative thinking and writing skills. (Three times a week)

Grammar – We use the kissgrammar.com program. The lessons are short, with interesting stories to use for practice. (Daily)

Spelling – For third grade I used the k12reader spelling list and it worked well so we are using their 4th grade spelling list for this year. This is their list. (daily)

Science (daily)

Last year we focused on the planets and the solar system, and then we moved on to Earth science, including living and nonliving things, using a combination of InstructorWeb.com and other resources gleaned from the library and online. This year Andrew is going to learn about the scientific method and then move on to chemistry (starting with the above website) which he has been asking to learn about for a while. He really wants to do some chemistry experiments!

History (3 days a week)

We  have been working through American History, and just recently finished learning about the Guilded Age. This year we are going to finish American History to the present and then move on to World History, starting with Canada, Central America and South America.

Geography (2 days a week)

Andrew has been learning the US states and capitals to go along with History; therefore, we will continue that trend and he will learn about Canada, Central America, and South America as we learn about them in History. We use geography games, such as Seterra which Andrew loves to play.

Physical Education (daily)

I try hard to make sure Andrew gets in some form of exercise and play every day. He also does basketball and this year he wants to play soccer. Also, the boys have an hour of physical education every week at the homeschool co-op with one of the dads where they focus on various sports and training.

Religious Education (daily)

I love our church’s religious education program and usually send him to CCD, but this year, my classes are on the same day, so I will homeschool for religious education. However, I will be using the books from the CCD program and working with them so that he gets “credit” for the time we work on it. Also, we read the bible together often, and of course we do our daily prayers. Andrew is working on learning the Hail Holy Queen.

Other

I am not as consistent as I’d like, but I will also try to get time in for music appreciation, art appreciation, life skills and crafts.

Whew! That’s it. If you are looking for ideas for your homeschooling curriculum, I hope these will give you some suggestions and inspiration.

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P.S. Just to let you know, in my Etsy shop I offer some planning worksheets (attendance record, weekly planners, and a literature list) that you may find helpful for planning your new homeschool year. Also, from now through August 31st, you can get 15% discount off anything in the shop when you use the code “BACKTOSCHOOL” (all caps, no quotes) during checkout. 🙂