4th Grade Curriculum Picks for the 2020-2021 School Year

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Obviously there is a larger age difference between my 4th grader and his siblings in 2nd and 1st. We still do A LOT of homeschooling together (and we LOVE this time). His individual studies are in some ways similar, but in many ways very different and more advanced. I’m excited for his school year ahead, especially with the addition of a couple of new curriculum pieces that we’re going to try out this year for the first time.

Language Arts

The beautiful thing about homeschooling is, if you don’t finish a curriculum in one year you can always just continue with it for the next school year. I DO THIS ALL THE TIME. Why would I waste precious resources by tossing out half finished books?!

This year for Language Arts, Jackson will be wrapping up Level 3 TGATB Language Arts and his Explode the Code workbook. I’ll be honest, Explode the Code is too easy for him, but it is a nice way to sneak in phonics review and printing practice. Once we wrap up Level 3, Jackson will move into TGATB Level 4 Language Arts. Now, there is a NEW edition slated to be released in late October, early November. I’m secretly hoping the stars align and he can just flow right into the new edition around that time. If not, I will most likely just start him in the old edition of Level 4. Level 4 currently comes with a Creative Companion book that incorporates art, writing, and geography projects. It also comes with Geography & Grammar cards (that look AMAZING).

In addition to the above mentioned materials, he will begin Wordly Wise Book 3, a vocabulary program that I found to be a great fit for him last year. From Wordly Wise, he will use each week’s vocabulary list as his spelling list as well. He’ll also practice Grammar and mechanics with Easy Grammar Grade 4.

Jackson is a voracious reader, and (as always) he will have 20-30 minutes of personal reading a day choosing books on his own from our growing library. We have several series that he loves including The Last Kids on Earth, The Bad Guys, Little House on the Prairie, Harry Potter, The Tuttle Twins, and many titles from The Good and the Beautiful Library. He loves to reread books that we’ve read together as read alouds, and I’m okay with that. I don’t like to “assign” reading to him. I want him to choose and be happy with his selections. I also don’t really do a “reading response” or questions to go along with his personal reading selections.

My main goal is for reading to be FUN for him. Now, there are times when I’m making sure he’s reading for meaning and fully comprehending the content. I also check on his ability to read and recall non-fiction text at times too. When I’m “checking in” on his reading abilities, it’s never through a worksheet. It’s always listening to him read aloud and then having a one-on-one discussion. It’s fast, it doesn’t feel like a “test”, and he enjoys reading with me (most of the time).

Curriculum links:
Explode the Code
Wordly Wise 3
The Good and the Beautiful Handwriting Level 3
The Good and the Beautiful Language Level 3 (last unit) and Level 4
Easy Grammar Grade 4

Math

Jackson is my oldest, and therefore was my first homeschooler. He and I have come a LONG way. I will be the first to admit, this mama pushed him WAY too hard at the ripe age of 3.5 when we started doing school work. But I will also say, with persistence, my little guy has really turned into an intelligent young man. He’s had many ups and downs with math. We started out super strong, had a couple of years that it was just plain easy, and then beginning in 2nd grade we had tears. Lots and lots of tears (from both of us). I made a curriculum switch when I just couldn’t take it anymore, and I’m so glad I did.

Beginning in the second half of his second grade year, Jackson began Teaching Textbooks Math 3, and his relationship with math has gotten much better. Do we still have our frustrating days? OH YEAH! But Teaching Textbooks has definitely promoted his confidence in math again. He’ll be starting Math 5 by about October. I have learned a few things about how Teaching Textbooks is best used now that we’re almost through two complete levels of the program.

At the beginning of each lesson is a short lecture. YOU CAN PRINT OUT THE LECTURE NOTES if your child is a visual learner. About halfway through Math 4, I learned that printing the notes for him helps immensely. I also learned that I can’t just turn him loose anymore for math and ignore him while he does it. I sit with him through the lecture. We pause it if he has a question. We do the five practice problems together. I answer any questions he has. THEN I turn him loose for the 22 independent problems assigned for that lesson. Some questions come from previously learned content. It’s always labeled with the lesson number, so he can easily turn back in his notes to find the lecture and review if he’s stuck. In addition to printing out the lecture notes, I have a spiral notebook that he can write any scratch work out. Of course he’d rather “solve it in his head” but you and I both know that multistep multiplication and division problems are not happening in his head.

In addition to Teaching Textbooks, Jackson will work daily in a timed Multiplication Workbook. It’s just basic facts. He knows them. He NEEDS to know them better. I’m hoping the daily review will help. I also grabbed a Math Skills Workbook for Grade 4, just to cover a bit more every now and then. He’s used that book a bit through the summer on days when I haven’t asked him to do a Teaching Textbooks lesson. So far, he knows everything that has been presented, so in my mind, that will be a good review every once in a while.

Curriculum Links:
Teaching Textbooks Math 4 (about 30 lessons to finish up)
Teaching Textbooks Math 5
Math Skills Workbook Grade 4
Multiplication Workbook

Science

Science, as mentioned before, is a family style subject. The reading for our units is always done in the morning time and the kids love to learn these topics together. Sometimes Jackson does have more in-depth assignments that go along with each lesson, and he’s always great about helping his younger siblings understand words on charts and graphs.

Along with all of our family science units and nature journaling, Jackson is going to start Chemistry this year! He’s expressed interest in understanding elements and the periodic table, so I asked in my local Facebook homeschool group for curriculum recommendations, and a couple of moms with older kids suggested R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey Chemistry Level One. From what I can tell, I think it’s going to be so much fun. A lot of the experiments involve common kitchen items. I’m almost positive my younger two will want to participate in the labs with us, but I won’t be having them fill out lab reports. To go along with our Chemistry curriculum, I also purchased the Merka Periodic Table Learning Kit. The flash cards are SO cool, and the different periodic table posters bring the elements to life. I’m really looking forward to starting this unit right away!

Curriculum Links:
The Good and the Beautiful Science Units
-Botany, Marine Biology, Energy, and Meterology
Gather ‘Round Homeschool Oceans Unit
Nature Journals
R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey Chemistry Level One (grades 2-5)
Merka Periodic Table Learning Kit

History/Economics

History is also a family style curriculum in our house. I don’t have any additional resources that I’ll be using with Jackson at this time, but the Student Explorer workbooks that go with our TGATB History 1 course are different for 4th-6th grades. So my younger two will be using the K-3 Student Explorers and Jackson will be using the upper elementary option.

I foresee that he will ask to reread the Heroes of History Books once we begin using those during morning time as well. I may show him the website and see if there are other people he’s interested in reading about and allow him to order a few additional titles.

Curriculum Links:
The Good and the Beautiful History 1
The Tuttle Twins Books
Heroes of History read-alouds

Other Resources

Jackson has been using The Good and the Beautiful Typing 1 daily this past year. He has a few more lessons to finish the book, and then he’ll pick up Typing 2. What I love about their Typing books are that the lesson is presented right in front of them. They know what’s coming for that day. All I need is a blank word document, Jackson completes his lesson and shows me his work. I monitor him at a bit of distance to make sure he’s using proper hand technique, and he’s honestly turned into a pretty good typer!

Jackson will also begin Mindbenders Level 3. This is a logic puzzle book that, if you ask me, is just fun to figure out. I used to do puzzles like this in my enrichment classes when I was in school, and they were always a favorite of mine. He enjoys them too!

The Good and the Beautiful Typing 1 and Typing 2
Mindbenders Level 3
Kitchen Table Classroom (for art instruction)
Daily Gratitude Journals

Don’t forget to check out my First Grade Curriculum Picks and my Second Grade Curriculum Picks for the 2020-2021 school year as well. Not looking for first, second or fourth grade? I’ve got a post on online homeschool resources, science ideas from The Magic School Bus, an overall curriculum overview from last school year (including information for Kindergarten, first, and third grades), favorite Pre-K curriculum, and homeschool organization hacks as well! There is something for everyone here!

Let me know what YOU need. Leave a comment below with requests for future posts and/or Instagram Stories reviews. I’m happy to help and offer suggestions.