GerBear Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 We pulled our 4th grader out of school to homeschool. There is no plan! I've looked at so many sites but I'm not sure where to start. She definitely needs history/social studies and a language arts curriculum but I'm working with a very limited budget. Can anyone point me to a good, secular place to start? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 Welcome! So do you have math and science figured out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 What kind of budget are you talking about? Limited means different things to different people. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 One already put together for you option is Rainbow Resources secular curriculum packages: https://www.rainbowresource.com/proddtl.php?id=RBW4SP&subject=Curriculum/2&category=Secular+Packages/5673 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GerBear Posted January 19, 2018 Author Share Posted January 19, 2018 She is taking a science class and we are still trying to figure out where she left off with math. We've purchased a few dollar store math books to see where she's at. I always hated history so this seems so daunting to me. We can't spend more than $100. Is it worth using Liberty's Kids to spark interest? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 We like Liberty's kids, the episodes are free on YouTube. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 We pulled our 4th grader out of school to homeschool. There is no plan! I've looked at so many sites but I'm not sure where to start. She definitely needs history/social studies and a language arts curriculum but I'm working with a very limited budget. Can anyone point me to a good, secular place to start? Thanks! Unless your state laws require you to do testing or otherwise interact with school officials to show what you've done, I wouldn't worry about it. Seriously. It will take you many months to figure things out, and that's ok. It will also take many months for her to find herself again. If you feel that you just have to Do Something, go to your local teacher supply store and pick up some workbooks. Those will hold you over until you know more what you're doing. In the meantime, have a routine in your home in general: let her sleep until she finishes sleeping, have breakfast together, get dressed and tidy up the house. Go to the library weekly if there's a library near you. Read good books aloud to her. If you feel compelled, you could have your daughter copy excerpts from favorite books (penmanship); if you don't bug her, she might want to write stories on her own (composition). You can choose some historical fiction from the library (history), and I'm sure there are books there that have hands-on science activities that would be fun. Is there a fire station near you? Y'all could visit that and ask for a tour (social studies). See? There are many things y'all can do that don't involve spending money. :-) 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 Honestly, Liberty's kids plus books from your library will be fine for 4th grade social studies. Maybe have her put together a report on something. No $ spent. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 My advice, if she is reading well, would be to invest time and money in math. Do you think she is at grade level or does she struggle with math? What prompted the school withdrawal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GerBear Posted January 19, 2018 Author Share Posted January 19, 2018 Thank you so much for your help!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 There is a list of free resources at the top of this section of the forum. It's worth checking out. For me, during the years I had little to spend I allocated my resources this wayHistory: develop a simple scope & sequence (for example, cover explorers, state history, or classical-style world history with a span of years). Break that into months or units, and pick one (fiction) read aloud at a time from your library + books to cover that section. Online resources could include Reading Like A Historian and Youtube (History Teachers does a great set of music videos). Set a format of Read, Interactive Activity, Narrate for each week. Language arts - this is where my money would go. Pick one good program, spending around $40. Math - this is where the rest of my money would go. I'd use the curriculum selector to narrow it down. Science - if I couldn't do it in history, I'd buy a used copy or borrow one from the library: The Usborne Internet Linked Encyclopedia. Start creating a notebook and let science be interest led. Read, Interactive Activity, Narrate/diagram. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
importswim Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 (edited) I would also spend the money on math. We use a christian curriculum for math, so that is no help to you even though it is cheap (Christian Light Education - CLE). Your first step, however, would be to try to figure out what she's been learning in math and whether she struggles or not. For my older child we use Saxon. I don't care for it in the younger grades as when we started HS'ing I found it overwhelming! For your first year I'd de-school a bit (you've gotten some really good advice with the above) and do some interest led learning. Try not to worry. We are on our 5th year of homeschooling and I just now feel that I've gotten the curriculum down that works for us. My kids have grown exponentially in many ways that are not quantifiable on standard tests (though with individualized instruction they've done pretty well on those as well). You will probably have many days where you want to put her back on the school bus. That's normal for your first year, you wouldn't be the only one! I can honestly say now, at 5 years in, that I don't ever have those thoughts anymore and HS'ing is probably what we will always do. Seeing fruit of our choices. Good luck to you! Edited January 19, 2018 by importswim 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GerBear Posted January 19, 2018 Author Share Posted January 19, 2018 Our state requirement is a portfolio review and to my understanding it all depends on the reviewer. As for math, the school taught some really overly complicated multiplication and division so we need to undo that LOL Otherwise she seems pretty confident in math. Luckily she enjoys reading so we have joined a book club for her age group and we are reading the books together. Thank you for the reading suggestions, I'm going to look into those 😊 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 Our state requirement is a portfolio review and to my understanding it all depends on the reviewer. As for math, the school taught some really overly complicated multiplication and division so we need to undo that LOL Otherwise she seems pretty confident in math. Luckily she enjoys reading so we have joined a book club for her age group and we are reading the books together. Thank you for the reading suggestions, I'm going to look into those 😊 You could check with local homeschoolers for the name of a reviewer who would be happy with copywork and whatnot, rather than an intense, formal kind of portfolio, if you know what I mean. Even if you needed something kind of formal, you could do that with library books, requiring your dd to write reports and make maps and stuff. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xahm Posted January 20, 2018 Share Posted January 20, 2018 Check out MEP math as a good free math option. It just would cost you printing. It's at Cimt.org.UK (I'm on my phone and can't figure out how to link straight there.) I haven't looked at the upper levels in detail, but the lower ones are sold and fun. There's a workbook and a teacher's book, which has detailed lesson plans. With just one student, a lot of it can be skipped or shortened, but it's nice to have. The main potential drawback is that the order in which topics are presented, while very logical and well thought out, is different than typical, which may make placement tricky. It may also have a bit of a learning curve as you determine how to adapt lesson plans for your student. Others have given great advice, and I support prioritizing math in the budget, but if free works, that's even better. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted January 20, 2018 Share Posted January 20, 2018 We pulled our 4th grader out of school to homeschool. There is no plan! I've looked at so many sites but I'm not sure where to start. She definitely needs history/social studies and a language arts curriculum but I'm working with a very limited budget. Can anyone point me to a good, secular place to start? Thanks! Why did you pull her out? If she's been stressed or bullied it may be a very good idea to take a few months to just reset. Do nothing more than free reading, any history or science or writing that SHE is interested in, any trip that SHE wants to go on, and - at the most - practical, life-skills math in your everyday life. A few months at this grade level can easily be made up over the next few years. While she's deschooling, you'll have time to research curriculum. As for math, the school taught some really overly complicated multiplication and division so we need to undo that LOL Otherwise she seems pretty confident in math. What did they teach? Sometimes - not always, but sometimes - the schools are actually on the right track even if they present the material badly, but those of us who were taught differently might not understand the reasoning. For example, if you were taught to just memorize the steps, you might not understand a method that's focused more on conceptual knowledge. The "complicated division" might be so your kid understands what division is and why it works, rather than only being able to plug numbers in and get an answer at the end. The newer methods take longer, but they last longer too. (But then again, I don't know what curriculum your daughter was using or what the goals were. Other times, the schools are totally full of it!) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMD Posted January 20, 2018 Share Posted January 20, 2018 Here's the free math link that xahm mentioned. I agree that it's an excellent resource. I also agree with Ellie and Texasmom, take some deep breaths, let her read. Nothing else for a few weeks won't make or break your home school. You will find your groove :) http://www.cimt.org.uk/projects/mepres/primary/index.htm#year4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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