4th Grade Charlotte Mason Homeschool Plans, 2021-2022

This year feels very different with John in a good way. He is reading with so much more ease than ever before. In a momentary place of insecurity, I googled phonics instruction for older children a month or so ago and found this article which just reaffirmed what I already knew. John needs to practice reading. He needs to see himself as a reader and he needs to build fluency through reading books, not phonics. Period.

Every year I try to intuit what is the right balance of subjects and pages and reading levels for each child. And this year, I cut and simplified for everyone. For John, this looks like doing many of the typical form II subjects and practices while skipping ones like grammar, map drill, and written narration (for now, at least!) because they just don't meet up with his reading ability. 

We are also not including any foreign language. It isn't in my wheelhouse and John doesn't enjoy any kind of rote memorization. He is more of a free-spirit creative type and we love him for it. 

The best part of starting our 7th year of homeschooling is having the security to really enjoy the unique characteristics of each child. I want to challenge them, yes, but it is important for me to know where to draw the line and try to provide the education that best suits their needs as I see them. Here is what I have planned for John's 4th-grade year:

Daily Schedule of Lessons for Student in Form IIB

I'm not sure how helpful this schedule would be for anyone else trying to plan Charlotte Mason subjects because, well, there are so many Form II subjects that I haven't included. Also, many other subjects are included in morning time and afternoon occupations. But I've included it because I enjoy seeing how other people schedule their day.

Items with an asterisk are ones that John is listening to on audio from Librivox. Currently, John is reading most of his American History aloud to me, while I am reading his science and British history readings to him. While I'm working with his sister, John is able to accomplish his first three items on his schedule. Then, after a short break, we do the last two together.

We've been following this schedule for three weeks and it has already gone through one major change. At first, I was going to have the whole family break at 9:30 for morning time, but both John and Peter preferred being able to get all (or almost all) of their work done before we take that break, so I have moved morning time to 10:30 and it is working for us.

Plans by Subject

I love to consult Ambleside Online, a Catholic Charlotte Mason curriculum, A Gentle Feast, Wildwood Curriculum,  A Delectable Education, Sabbath Mood Homeschool, and Heritage Mom for book ideas, but I put our plans together in my own way. I have tried to note in [ ] whether I'm using a free book or how much I paid for each of the resources we are using. I am committed to homeschooling with free or really cheap books as part of our journey to be debt-free while living on one income. I have also listed all of the subjects we do as a family here.

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Language Arts

Reading/Literature

Several days a week John has a slot on his schedule for him to read whatever book he wants. Currently, his choice is something from the Dragon Masters or The Last Firehawk series. Every day he also has a slot to read a chapter (or 10 minutes) of a book of my choosing. Most of those books will relate to our history studies and so far the list includes:

Viking Adventure by Clyde Robert Bulla [$8.99 from Rainbow Resource Center]

The Coming of Gray Owl by Ida May Hobbs[$6.89 from Thriftbooks] 

Pocahontas and the Strangers by Clyde Robert Bulla [purchased for his sister - $4.19 from Thriftbooks]

Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims by Clyde Robert Bulla [already owned, purchased with credit earned on Microsoft Rewards]

The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh [library]

The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare [library]

John will also read several of the books assigned to him for history aloud to me this year.

Cursive/Commonplacing

John is still working on fluency with translating printed sentences to cursive. He will work on copying his recitation pieces into cursive into a wide-ruled composition notebook. Eventually, we will transition to him selecting his own sentences or poems for copying. 

Recitation

John will work to recite beautifully three pieces per half-term of homeschooling (about 6 weeks). He will get a chance to recite them for all of us at our family poetry tea during break weeks. I choose a poem and passage (or another poem) and he chooses one poem.  I align my choices with the term's poet, Shakespeare play, or history as possible. This year I chose:

The Kind Moon by Sara Teasdale

Death Be Not Proud by John Donne

The Sea Wind by Sara Teasdale

Prospero Monologue from The Tempest by William Shakespeare

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

To the Virgins, To Make Much of Time by Robert Herrick

The Oven Bird by Robert Frost

O God of battles! steel my soldiers' hearts; from Henry V by William Shakespeare

The Fly by William Blake

Fool's Speech from King Lear by William Shakespeare

A Poison Tree by William Blake

It Couldn't Be Done by Edgar Albert Guest

Social Studies: History & Geography

History

I describe all of the history plans here, including once-a-week entries in a Book of Centuries.

Geography

I have ALWAYS scheduled geography as an individual subject for my kids . . . until this year!!! I was concerned that by scheduling two more 15-20 minutes blocks for John and Sylvia per week where I would need to read to them and look at a map with them, I would not allow enough margin to our days. 

I fully expect to schedule this subject an an individual subject again when I only have one child that needs me to read it to them. And hopefully that will be next year. For this year, however, we will be including Geography in our morning time, and our readings will not be narrated. 

For this subject, I plan to read Walk the Worlds Rim by Betty Baker [already owned - $5.44 used on Amazon, bought with promo credit] and Minn of the Mississippi by Holling C. Holling [already owned - used book gifted by a friend]. We will read only a small portion at a time and follow the action of the stories on a map. 

Citizenship 

In term 1, John will listen to Stories from the History of Rome on Libra vox and then he will join Peter and I as we read one Plutarch Life per term as described in my family subjects post. 

Math

John is continuing to work through Beast Academy. He is starting the year in book 3D and will continue moving through this curriculum at his own pace. This year, I increased the length of this subject from 20 minutes to 30 minutes per day. He really noticed the lengthier lesson and it was hard for him to stay focused at first for that amount of time, but after a few weeks it is getting easier. He is no longer asking me how much time is left every 5 minutes or so. 

Science

Experimental science

John will study a new science each term with the following books and materials:

Astronomy: Find the Constellations by H.A. Rey [$1 book sale find] with activities from Astronomy for All Ages by Phillip Harrington [already owned]. Peter is also studying astronomy so hopefully we can get them out for some good stargazing together.

Chemistry: Matter Molecules and Atoms by Bertha Morris Parker [already owned for his brother's 4th grade year - $14.79 new on Amazon] along with experiments and activities from or inspired by the text.

Physics: Magnets by Rocco V. Ferovolo [already owned for his brother's 4th grade year - $12.61 new on Amazon] along with experiments and activities from or inspired by the text using this kit [bought for his brother's 4th grade year - $12.60]

Nature Lore

John will listen to and narrate 1 chapter per week of The Story-book of Science by Jean-Henri Fabre on Librivox.

Special Studies

I will include books in our morning time on these topics and other nature topics as needed.

Term 1: Weeds, Water Plants and Grass, Small Mammals

• The Moon of the Mountain Lions by Jean Craighead George [$6.19 from Thriftbooks]
• The Moon of the Deer by Jean Craighead George [$5.09 from Thriftbooks]
• The Moon of the Chickarees by Jean Craighead George [$3.99 from Thriftbooks]
• Guess What Grasses Do by Barbara Rinkoff (free ebook)
• Discovering Cereals by Angela Lucas (free ebook)
• Pigs Wild and Tame by Alice Hopf (free ebook)
• If Grass Could Talk by Anita Holmes (free ebook)
• America's Favorite Backyard Wildlife by George and Kit Harrison [already owned, purchased used from Amazon for $4.99]

Term 2: Fruit Trees and Bees

• The Bee People by Margaret Warner Morley (free ebook)
• Animals That Eat Nectar or Honey by Alice Hopf (free ebook)
• Biography of an Ant by Alice Hopf (already owned - $1 bookstore find)
• More from the library as needed

Term 3: Wildflowers and Weather

• Junior Science Book of Rain, Hail, Sleet and Snow by Nancy Larrick (free ebook)
• All About the Flowering World by Ferdinand Lane (free ebook)
• More from the library as needed

Nature Journaling

John will continue his practice of dictating daily entries of nature observations in his notebook. Once a week, afternoon occupations will include time to paint something from nature in the notebook.

Wild + Free

We will continue to participate in our year-round all-weather nature group at a rural property. John continues to thrive outdoors and is often the first (but not the only!) child to get wet and muddy no matter the weather. Last year we found baby raccoons, snakes, turtles, a skink, countless newts, tadpoles, insects, bones, and the kids caught fish in the pond. Sometimes the parents plan a science or nature lesson, but often mother nature does all the teaching required. I count it as physical education and science on our schedule. 

Art and Music

Artist study, music appreciation, and folk singing will be included as part of morning time, and handicrafts, drawing, and art will be included in afternoon occupations as described here.

Piano

John continues to advance through Hoffman Academy, but he does not love it. I require him to practice 15 minutes most days of the week. He has just begun Unit 7 and I have told him that he can stop piano lessons after he completes Unit 8. Of course, I hope that he wants to continue at that point, but I think he will have gained a wonderful gift of musical knowledge and experience with an instrument either way.

Physical Education

Honestly, this is an area that every member of the family could use to work on! Some items on the agenda this year for John:

• Swimming lessons (summer)
• AYSO Soccer (Fall and Spring)
• Presidential Fitness Challenge @ Home - We are all going to be learning the exercises and setting some personal goals towards completing this challenge.
• Ice skating (Winter)
• Hiking, biking, and frequent walks around our town

And that sums up our plans. I'm so glad I cut back a bit to leave more margin for morning time and giving all of my children one-on-one attention as needed. 

I often hear of young kids doing work on their own, but except for 6th-grade Peter, my kids do best with me at an elbow or at least as close as the kitchen sink. I know one day this will change, but leaving more breathing space allows me to enjoy those needs a lot more!