Homeschool Curriculum, Part 2

In my last homeschool post, I started sharing how we came to select our curriculum.  In this post, I'll share our main printed curriculum pieces.

Eventually, I decided to use The Core Knowledge Series, edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr. The series is broken down by grade level, so the edition we are using this year is What Your Fourth Grader Needs to Know. It is the foundation upon which we have built our curriculum. It is not intended to be a complete course of study, but a guide. Each text is written for the student to read, and is the starting point for further exploration. It does not represent a Christian worldview; but explaining our beliefs within the context of this book has not presented any difficulties.

We are using the Scholastic Success With 4th Grade Workbook for practicing reading, writing, charting, math and mapping skills. The worksheets are interesting, somewhat challenging, and help reinforce the concepts being taught.

For Math, we have chosen the Saxon Math curriculum. The private school she previously attended uses Saxon Math. She has done well with it, so we decided to continue using it. However, we hit a snag back in the fall.

Princess E skipped the 2nd grade. By the end of 1st grade, it was clear she was not being challenged enough in the classroom. This thought was also supported by her scores on standardized tests. She had an excellent teacher for first grade (JK and 3rd grade, too). The school approached us about placing her directly in the third grade classroom. After considerable thought and prayer, and after consulting with several teachers, we agreed she should be promoted to third grade. That worked well for her and she continued to thrive in that environment. It was challenging for her, but rarely to the point of frustration.

This past fall, we realized one area where she needed some extra help. While she had mastered the concepts of math that were expected of a student entering the fourth grade, it was clear she needed more practice with them. So, in the fall, we set aside the Saxon Math temporarily and used the Scholastic workbook for extra practice of basic math facts. It was worth it! Now, with a lot of extra practice, mental math is coming to her easily. In about two weeks, we will start back with Saxon Math. I don’t expect her to complete the fourth grade math book by the end of the traditional school year.  We will, however, continue to work on math throughout the summer. She is only 8, so I am not concerned if next year she needs to work on fourth grade math while the rest of her subjects are based on fifth grade materials.

Interestingly enough, Princess E has a much easier time with division than multiplication. We found the same when she was learning addition and subtraction. She found addition frustrating, but had no difficulty with subtraction. For the longest time, she would have to think, really concentrate, to find the sum of 7 X 6; yet, at the same time, if I asked her for the answer to 42 / 6, she could answer 7 instantly.  If any teachers who read this have any idea why this might be, I’d love to know.  (Hey, Sara, can you offer any insight on this one?)


We have tried to keep Science as hands-on as possible. We are using the series of science experiments by Janice Van Cleave, as well as reading biographies of scientists.


Originally, I created my own spelling lists for the weeks. For the first couple of months, we worked on learning the 50 states. She could already recite them from memory, the result of a song learned on a 3400 mile driving trip. I wanted her to be able to spell them. Eventually, I realized my idea was not the right method for her. After Christmas, we added Spelling Skills from Harcourt Family Learning.

Later, I’ll share some of the other materials we use in our little “one house school room”.