4th Grade Planning

I have spent several months looking over different ideas for my daughter's upcoming Fourth Grade year. I like a lot of what I used for Third Grade, but not all, so I had to make some new choices. I finally have the majority of the texts and workbooks I decided to use.

For Grammar & Writing, I will continue with Climbing to Good English (pictured), and add in Handwriting Without Tears (not pictured). For Reaeding & Comprehension, I will start with Mary Poppins and a comprehension workbook (pictured), followed by Reading Comprehension (Jane Ervin; not pictured). Besides using vocabulary from her various subjects, I will use a Greek & Latin Roots workbook (pictured).

For Mathematics, I will be using Aha!Math (not pictured), in part because I can print a record of what subject areas she has covered, and the program offers assessments. This is an online curriculum. For a workbook supplement, we both went over several different workbooks, and she picked this 4th Grade Math workbook (pictured). I will keep Sylvan in mind if she seems to be struggling doing written math, but this workbook is formatted in a similar way and did not intimidate her.

For Science, I chose a ScienceSaurus book (not pictured) and combining it with the Basic Not Boring Science for 4th to 5th grades workbooks (pictured).

For History, we are moving into Book 2 of Story of the World (pictured). For Geography, I chose the Geography Coloring Book (pictured). I will only be using certain sections of the coloring book, that are simple enough for my daughter and emphasize what she is learning. Other topics, like Government, may use other materials.

For Health, we will be covering different topics, and I do not have everything, yet. The Basic Not Boring series has a Human Body & Health workbook. I will continue to use ideas from our Hopscotch book (pictured) for P.E.

Art will have a variety of projects from other subject areas (like History). For Music she will continue her voice and instrument lessons.

This year I will be picking different famous people to do a brief look at their lives and how they contributed to the world. I will be choosing according to the topics she is studying, if possible. I also have some games, and am looking at others, that emphasize different subject areas. Abalone (pictured) & Treasure Trove are the newest, but we also have Around the World, Scrabble, Boggle, Bananagrams, and others.

Blue Angels & More

We had a terrific time going to see the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels last weekend. We went to Martin State Airport to see the team up close (very up close!) as well as the numerous other attractions. My husband took my daughter up in a Cessna- the first time for both (a local school was giving rides), and later, they both convinced me my fear of hights would not rear its ugly head. It was not as bad as theme park attractions (where I now keep my feet firmly on the ground!)

On their first flight: my girl is in the back.

My daughter has been practicing chin-ups, copying my husband as he stays Army fit. At Martin State Airport, the Marines had a bar up for any takers- she took their challange and (with a little help after 5) did 10 chin-ups to earn a large goody bag!

We saw various military aircraft, and I watched while my daughter & husband ran around ooohing and aaahing and squealing (okay, that was my daughter) with delight when something took off, did a fly-by, or landed. When the Blue Angels flew, we were able to be close-up for them lining up, taking off, and landing. Afterwards, we got their autographs.

The Angels lining up for take-off.

My girl's favorite pilot was #2 for the very little-girl reason of "he's the tallest!" She was super-impressed with his hight, and I was super-impressed with his gentleness and humor.

During this two-day field trip, we covered the War of 1812- this was the 200th Anniversary of that war; our Armed Forces, flight & aircraft, face-painting, and physical fitness. Whew!

Field Trip!

We have had a super-busy time, including a very fun field trip! My husband is in the Army National Guard, and one of the perks is how our FRG plans really neat events. Recently, the unit and families participated in a fun cookout, including... a rock wall! To say my daughter was overjoyed would be understating. Not only was there a neat lake with ducks and nests, a huge park to run around in, a DJ, tons of food (and deserts), but also a rock wall she must have climbed fifty times.

Racing a soldier to the top!

Homeschooling and Special Needs Children

My daughter is "special needs". It was a big reason why I chose to pull her out of public school and homeschool instead. I have researched a lot of the benefits and struggles with homeschooling a child who has struggles, and here are a few links:

HSLDA Special Needs has lots of information on homeschooling the special needs child.

Homeschooling the Learning Disabled and Other Special Needs Child from Bayshore Educational has links.

Experiences of ADHD-Labeled Kids Who Switch... from Peter Gray.

HSLDA Homeschooling and ADHD

I have found that my daughter responds very well to one-on-one, to being able to take a break- 5 minutes or a day- if necessary, to be able to slowly reinforce skills in focusing and handling emotions, and to be able to use right-brain and alternative methods of learning lessons. I have learned there are numerous different techniques, skills, and options that can be used as needed to help me as her teacher and parent.

Literature: Nancy Drew

A family friend recently gave my daughter a few (revised) Nancy Drew books. What a thrill! I remember reading these, and the Hardy Boys, as a child. While I have been reading to her from other classics, she is hearing the stories, but not understanding enough to get "lost in the book," so to speak. She can hear the words, but she doesn't feel connected to them or the story. I hope these Nancy Drew classics help my daughter gain more interest in reading (she dislikes both reading and writing) and expose her to well-written literature she can understand.

Most of the modern kid's "literature" I've been previewing is not well written even if popular. Many also describe innapropriate behavior, attitudes, and scenes. I thought, at first, that if she got interested in reading, she could progress to better literature. There is a fad she has gotten into, and I let her get the book... But when I ask her about the story, she only desecribes fashion, make-up, and worry about boys. The kids in the story do not have relationships with their parents, and they do not deal with real issues, but just various forms of giving into peer pressure and group acceptance. She also never asked me about new words while reading that modern book. But, in the first chapter of a Nancy Drew, she has already asked me about several words and what a sentence means.

I found an intersting article on the womanly example of Nancy Drew (Nancy Drew and True Womanhood) that confirmed my feelings on the difference between the young woman in this series compared to the young women portrayed in many of the popular modern children's books.

"End" of the school year

Tomorrow I will be marking down my daughter's 180th official day of school. Maryland homeschool laws [PDF] do not specify a certain number of days of instruction, but they do mention that public schools have a 180 day minimum and that homeschool should be "of sufficient duration" for a child to be taught. I use my county for reviews, and my daughter's father also needs a way to be aware of what I am doing with her. I use an attendance chart to demonstrate "sufficient duration" throughout the year. What I count as a "day of instruction" is any day on my calander where I cover three or more subject areas with my daughter, or we have a field trip, even if that field trip covers only one subject area.

Realistically, most homeschoolers teach- in some way- daily. I do not always mark down teaching moments or I would be spending more hours doing paperwork than would be viable. My plan, actually, includes many more school days than the 180 days. Third Grade math is unlikely to be completed before August, and my daughter loves her history text, so has asked to keep working on that through the summer. Swimming, water safety, reading, writing letters, and more. Learning doesn't have to stop! I just don't plan on tracking attendance again until September.

Unexpected Field Trip

We had an unexpected, and rather pleasant adventure yesterday!

Our travel to Spay Now took longer than expected (traffic, of course) and I decided we would stay on the Eastern Shore for the day instead of fighting traffic for an extra round trip. I did not, however, know what we were going to do. A quick Internet search turned up nearby Wye Mills.

We visited Wye Grist Mill. Rhonda explained the history of the area and the Mill. My daughter got to even try her hand at hand-grinding and crank grinding corn. Out back, we saw a large Great Blue Heron just hanging out. He did not seem bothered at our nearness- we were maybe 30 feet away. Rhonda recommended several other places to go. We saw Wye Oak Park- including Maryland's State Tree, the Wye Oak, and an old schoolhouse.

We then went to the Chesapeake Exploration Center as a starting point for a short Cross Island Trail walk. Their museum has a small collection of artifacts from the Bay, and an amazing exhibit from a local artist, Coleman Sellers. On our walk, we had fun getting our toes wet, and my daughter found jellyfish. Lots of them. The lady at the Center was suprised there were jellyfish already. After looking at photos and descriptions of various jellyfish I am not sure what species we saw, but it may have been teeny lion's mane jellyfish. I do not think we saw sea nettles, which are tracked in the Chesapeake Bay because they cause problems with swimmers. While lion's mane jellyfish grow rather large, the colors and general look seem like what we saw, and from what I read very small ones can be found.