Help me decide what to cut for 4th grade next year...

[amyc78]

My homeschool appetite is always bigger than what is really manageable, AND we are about to have a new baby. I want next year to be an enriching and challenging year for my very bright 4th grader but not to the point of exhaustion or frustration. That being said, what would you cut or change to lighten our load next year. We do focused schoolwork 3 days a week (he also has a sister that will be in 2nd grade) and then 2 days are spent at co-ops and/or field trips, special projects, etc.

 

Here is our current plan:

• Math- CLE 400 or MUS Delta (3x week)
• Spelling- Phonetic Zoo (2x week)
• Copywork / Penmanship- Queen's Copywork for Boys in Cursive (2x week)
• Grammar / Composition- My plan right now is to alternate one week of Fix-It Grammar, with one week of IEW SWI-A but I'm not married to this idea… This will be our first year of a formal writing program, we've mostly used Sonlight and Abeka in the past
• Assigned Reading / Listening Log- This will be a combo of audiobooks, SOTW selections, readers, etc., some done as a family and some independently. (daily)
• CC Memory Work Notebook- to be done independently as a way to review the Memory Work that is not dependent on me- includes fill-in-the-blank and blank notebooking pages (daily)

 

I feel like *most* of this can be done independently or with minimal help from me assuming I have the materials organized for him and a clear check list. My biggest concern is the Grammar / Composition and how much time that will take and if there is a more efficient option...

[Storygirl]

If you want to alternate grammar and composition, you could use BJU, because it is set up that way. We found it to be pretty independent at that age. The grammar was light (DD had completed FLL 1, 2, and 3 before that), but fine for that age. We didn't use the teacher's manual but just bought the student workbook.

 

I haven't used Fix It and only partially used IEW (taught at a co-op with work done at home), so I can't compare them. But it might be more streamlined for you to use one resource that has everything already laid out in the alternating pattern that you desire.

[Janeway]

My homeschool appetite is always bigger than what is really manageable, AND we are about to have a new baby. I want next year to be an enriching and challenging year for my very bright 4th grader but not to the point of exhaustion or frustration. That being said, what would you cut or change to lighten our load next year. We do focused schoolwork 3 days a week (he also has a sister that will be in 2nd grade) and then 2 days are spent at co-ops and/or field trips, special projects, etc.

 

Here is our current plan:

• Math- CLE 400 or MUS Delta (3x week)
• Spelling- Phonetic Zoo (2x week)
• Copywork / Penmanship- Queen's Copywork for Boys in Cursive (2x week)
• Grammar / Composition- My plan right now is to alternate one week of Fix-It Grammar, with one week of IEW SWI-A but I'm not married to this idea… This will be our first year of a formal writing program, we've mostly used Sonlight and Abeka in the past
• Assigned Reading / Listening Log- This will be a combo of audiobooks, SOTW selections, readers, etc., some done as a family and some independently. (daily)
• CC Memory Work Notebook- to be done independently as a way to review the Memory Work that is not dependent on me- includes fill-in-the-blank and blank notebooking pages (daily)

 

I feel like *most* of this can be done independently or with minimal help from me assuming I have the materials organized for him and a clear check list. My biggest concern is the Grammar / Composition and how much time that will take and if there is a more efficient option...

The math will depend on what you did last year. Because of the scope and sequence, you cannot just go between Delta MUS and CLE 400. MUS Delta is division year. CLE has a different scope and sequence. In MUS, between levels Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, and Zeta, you need to go in that order and stay with MUS. And you cannot really jump in to MUS there either. You would pretty much need to start with Gamma if jumping in on those levels.

[Janeway]

If you want to alternate grammar and composition, you could use BJU, because it is set up that way. We found it to be pretty independent at that age. The grammar was light (DD had completed FLL 1, 2, and 3 before that), but fine for that age. We didn't use the teacher's manual but just bought the student workbook.

 

I haven't used Fix It and only partially used IEW (taught at a co-op with work done at home), so I can't compare them. But it might be more streamlined for you to use one resource that has everything already laid out in the alternating pattern that you desire.

At these grades, I have LOVED BJU English. I used the workbook with no TM. It was so easy to use and pretty independent. I loved that it was laid out..lesson 1, lesson 2, etc.

[amyc78]

The math will depend on what you did last year. Because of the scope and sequence, you cannot just go between Delta MUS and CLE 400. MUS Delta is division year. CLE has a different scope and sequence. In MUS, between levels Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, and Zeta, you need to go in that order and stay with MUS. And you cannot really jump in to MUS there either. You would pretty much need to start with Gamma if jumping in on those levels.

 

We did MUS Alpha, Beta and Gamma for K-2. This past year we switched to CLE 300 because I wanted a more traditional approach to math. DS has done great with both so I feel like I could do either for 4th, but I do feel like I would probably need to go ahead and stick with the same program from here on out.

 

I really like CLE Math and so does DS but if you don't do 180 days of math a year (and we don't), it's hard to get it done. I like the way Demme teaches place value and math concepts but if DS has a problem, I have a hard time helping him because it's not the way I learned. CLE is closer to the math I grew up doing.

 

I may have just made my own mind up :)

[amyc78]

At these grades, I have LOVED BJU English. I used the workbook with no TM. It was so easy to use and pretty independent. I loved that it was laid out..lesson 1, lesson 2, etc.

 

I am looking at it now and it looks to be very user friendly and at my son's level. I've hesitated to use a workbook because we used Abeka this past year for Language Arts and other than the Cursive workbook, I've been pretty unimpressed.

[PeterPan]

My ds was born when my dd was about that age (9 1/2), so I know what you mean about wanting to streamline but wanting to still do stuff.  That was when my dd did Wordsmith Apprentice (like), Snap Circuits (like), and the Beautiful Feet Geography (like).  The BF in particular was a surprise for me.  You might kind of look for something like that, something sort of encompassing, that could give him some interest-driven stuff, some creativity, a way to keep appropriately busy, bringing in the writing.  You could even go totally different, like buy some kit he has always yearned for where he would take pictures as he goes and blog or create a Blurb book that you would print at the end, kwim? 

[Storygirl]

If you don't take a big break between CLE math levels 300 and 400, you can skip book 401, which merely reviews the concepts from the 300 level. That lops several weeks off. Some people also skip the quizzes, which would cut off another 18 lessons over the 9 remaining light units. Some people advance things even more and do two lessons every day -- do both of the new lessons but do only one day of the review material. Others reduce the work in each lesson by crossing off some of the problems.

 

What you chose to do would depend on your student (my children needed the review, so we usually did every problem on every page) but there are ways to streamline the program to get through it in fewer days.

 

You may find, as well, that as your child gets older, you will need to do math four or five days a week instead of three, in order to keep up with any program.

Edited April 10, 2016 by Storygirl

[NatashaBrady]

IEW fix it is quick, but should be done daily. It takes like 15 minutes.

[texasmama]

My current 4th grader was switched to CLE math two months into this school year, and I put her back a level to 300.  In order for her to get caught up to grade level, she has been doing two lessons most days.  We school four days a week, with one day for co-op.  She is not a fan of math but likes CLE and is able to do two lessons just fine most days.

[Chris in VA]

Is there any way you can start doing math at least 4 days a week? Even if you start a lesson in the am, then finish it later--As you get higher up, I think daily practice is important. That said, dd (in ps) has math either 2 or 3 days a week because of the rotating schedule, but does math homework every night. So you could still do math lessons 3 days but have review or homework (independent) on another day or two.

 

Is he just at the beginning of learning cursive? If not and it's just practice, I find simply writing in history or english to be enough, without a handwriting program and copywork. Once he gets the letters down, just make him use cursive in all his writing across the curriculum. Shouldn't take more than a couple months to acquire all the letters.

 

Are you doing science at your co-op or another, non-curricula way?

 

 

[SilverMoon]

If I were to chop anything it would be the memory workbook in favor of SCM's system. I would add science of some sort.

 

As for the rest, my 4th graders were expected to do math and all language arts components daily. If it wasn't worth doing daily it got chopped from our schedule.

[zarabellesmom]

Natasha is right, FixIt really only takes 15 minutes and only a moment to check. IEW is pretty easy to divide up so that it doesn't take more than half an hour or so a day (sometimes less) and we still made it all the way through the SWI-A this year. Start of the week, watch the video (or only part of the video if it's a long one). Day two, finish the video and write your outline. Day 3 composition (if it's a short one, which they are for quite a while, this won't take long). Day 4 it editing, Day 5 is a nice finished handwritten or typed copy for your notebook. My daughter is a reluctant writer and major procrastinator and still managed to get this done without complaint.

[amyc78]

Is there any way you can start doing math at least 4 days a week? Even if you start a lesson in the am, then finish it later--As you get higher up, I think daily practice is important. That said, dd (in ps) has math either 2 or 3 days a week because of the rotating schedule, but does math homework every night. So you could still do math lessons 3 days but have review or homework (independent) on another day or two.

 

Is he just at the beginning of learning cursive? If not and it's just practice, I find simply writing in history or english to be enough, without a handwriting program and copywork. Once he gets the letters down, just make him use cursive in all his writing across the curriculum. Shouldn't take more than a couple months to acquire all the letters.

 

Are you doing science at your co-op or another, non-curricula way?

 

Well really, he will do math 5 days a week- 3 days from our curriculum, 1 on memory work and multiplication drills and 1 day he will attend a math-science-art co-op.

[Guest]

With any math program as you progress, the curriculum, not just supplements, really needs to be done every single day. There is no real way around that. We actually do most subjects 6 days a week. With CLE, my kids do 2 lessons on quiz and test days. They also do every single problem because that is the way it's set up to get the full benefits. We do skip the -01 light units because we school year round. Skipping just because you want to get to a certain level faster is not a good idea. It will bite you in the long run.

 

 

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[Storygirl]

:iagree:  We also have done a lesson each day that we completed a quiz (the quizzes are much shorter than a lesson). I do think CLE can be accelerated by skipping some problems, but only when there is more review than the student needs. My kids need lots of continuous practice so we haven't skipped much. Even with doing every single problem, though, you can get through the program in less than 180 days per year. I think there are 17 lessons in each light unit, so there are only 170 days to do if you do it all.

 

One of the things I appreciate about CLE is that the directions are written to the student; you can have a child sit and work through a lesson on his or her own and then check it over later. So on the busy co-op days, your fourth-grader can do a lesson independently. It doesn't require the whole family to come home from co-op and start in on school lessons.