Thinking out loud: Can I get some feedback on my grade 4 plans?

[Audrey]

Here's what I've lined up thus far:

Main curriculum is Oak Meadow grade 4 which covers:

- social studies (focus on local history/geography)
- science (heavy emphasis on local wildlife, ecosystems, etc.)
- language arts

Supplemented with:
For Social studies: SOTW 4 for World History
For LA: Growing with Grammar 4 (we like it and OM LA is a little light on grammar, JMHO)

Math: Saxon

Latin: Minimus

Art: Artistic Pursuits

Music: Piano lessons (which is a "class" - I'm not convinced that will work well, but we'll see. Previously, I'd taught him myself.)

Pagan studies: continue in Circle Round.

Plus a long list of supplementary fiction to go with social studies and science, and fiction to read & study along with LA.

[Michelle T]

I'm going to be starting Oak Meadow 6 this week.
Michelle T

[Laura Corin]

Looks good - don't forget PE..... I aim for the kids to get an hour of pink-in-the-face exercise a day.

Best wishes

Laura

[Audrey]

Looks good - don't forget PE..... I aim for the kids to get an hour of pink-in-the-face exercise a day.

Best wishes

Laura

Ah, I didn't think to write it in there, but certainly he gets plenty of the fresh air. He's quite the farmyard roaming boy, my little guy. :) The only time he's stuck inside is when, in the case of much of February, our temps are dipping well below -30°C and the wind is blistering. And, even then, we've got our yoga.

Thanks for the reminder, though. I've been having some problems lately from a certain local person who is vociferous against hsing. Her scrutiny leaves me worried at times, and I'm aiming for stricter record keeping (although it is not required in my province), just to keep any potential "problems" at bay.

[Laura Corin]

It's always difficult to know whether this is an issue or not - some people on the board have land and outdoor children, so probably don't need to think about the issue, whereas others do have to make it a conscious part of the day.

Best wishes

Laura

[Melissa B]

I think it looks great!

I did the science portion of OM4 with my girls last year. They enjoyed it. The syllabus also includes art lessons that match up with the science program. The art lessons follow the standard waldorf philosophy of shading rather than actual drawing at that age. I really enjoyed the added element the art classes gave to the program.

I also supplement history and science with a few biographies and non-fiction readers.

[Audrey]

I was wondering about the art part of OM4. I ordered it based on the sample and talking to the Canadian rep. I only just placed my order on Friday, so I haven't seen it yet. That's good to know that it coordinates with the science program. I was hoping that portion of our studies could meld with our usual (but very informal) nature studies.

I'm trying to change things up a bit for next year. I want to encourage more creative expression and pare down the number of subjects we approach. I feel like our studies have been too -- I don't know quite how to explain this -- too "schooly"? I think that's what I want to say. We've focused so much on memorization and history facts, and math facts and so on. I want ds to have more room for expression. He's such a creative little boy and I feel I've ignored that in our lessons when I should be encouraging him to use his creativity in his education as well.

I hope that made sense. :confused:

[Alana in Canada]

Good point about PE, Laura. I have to force my son to go outside. We even got him a dog and it's a struggle.

[Melissa B]

I was wondering about the art part of OM4. I ordered it based on the sample and talking to the Canadian rep. I only just placed my order on Friday, so I haven't seen it yet. That's good to know that it coordinates with the science program. I was hoping that portion of our studies could meld with our usual (but very informal) nature studies.

I'm trying to change things up a bit for next year. I want to encourage more creative expression and pare down the number of subjects we approach. I feel like our studies have been too -- I don't know quite how to explain this -- too "schooly"? I think that's what I want to say. We've focused so much on memorization and history facts, and math facts and so on. I want ds to have more room for expression. He's such a creative little boy and I feel I've ignored that in our lessons when I should be encouraging him to use his creativity in his education as well.

I hope that made sense. :confused:


I absolutely understand!! I have spent the last four years trying to find this balance between a solid college-prep-like education and a more natural, arts-focused education. Added to that I want to make sure my kids continue to have three or so hours of free outside time daily. I do feel like we are getting closer this year!

I like OM, however, 5th grade is American History and 8th grade is American Civics. I don't know whether you would want to spend that much time on American History. 6th and 7th are a really nice world history program though.

After reading extensively on classical, Charlotte Mason, waldorf, TJEd, etc for four years, I have decided to go with the Latin-Centered meets waldorf approach. I'm sure eyes are rolling all over the place from both classical and waldorf followers, but I think it will work. :)

The waldorf set-up is basically one main-lesson class, three year long classes and one practical art class. I think this set-up will work best for us.
Our major change will be that the the year long classes will be the primary focus and the main lesson more of a supplementary class.
So math, language arts and Latin are the main focus (LCC) followed by a main lesson to cover science, history, art, etc.
I really dislike arts and crafts. I do not like cutting paper, glue, beads, projects, foam, scrap-booking, ribbons, etc, etc. But I do like the painting, drawing, wax modeling approach in waldorf programs and the idea of working on ONE practical art. (The waldorf approach focuses on several, but we will only be doing one per year.) So our entire program up until 7th or 8th will be:

Math - Singapore/Saxon combo
Latin - Lively Latin - Latin Prep (adding Greek at some point)
Language Arts - FLL, Michael Thompson, CW
Evening Reading - 2 hours per night
Everything Else - Live Ed

I even love how nice and simple it looks typed up!! :)

[Audrey]

I like OM, however, 5th grade is American History and 8th grade is American Civics. I don't know whether you would want to spend that much time on American History. 6th and 7th are a really nice world history program though.



I had noticed that about the heavy American emphasis. My Canadian rep has suggestions for supplement/replacement and they offer a guide of some sort for Cdn. studies in grade 5. I'm not quite sure yet how I'll approach that year. On the one hand, it's not bad to learn the American history. On the other hand, we're so inundated it with that I think I should take more care to emphasize our Canadian history over it. I like that in grade 5+ the science is separated out. But, the LA is still integrated with Social Studies, so... well, I guess I'm not sure yet. LOL!

I like how you outlined your approach. Thanks for your comments. It really helps to see someone with a similar desire for this type of education and how they've tackled it. :)