John Gannon & 4th Grade (Homeschool)

We finally got started with 4th grade around here on August 6th. So far, so good! Here is the schedule we have been following:

We will be attending Healthworks Health & PE classes 2x/month and will be doing a group Biology class on Fridays  in September-ending with a frog dissection. Also, starting in September we will be partnering with 3-4 other families for math/writing classes. We are going to do some active math learning 2x/month with this small group for the year. 

We will continue to try to strengthen writing mechanics. MWF we are creating a writing journal so that he can track his progress over the year.  He has the hard part down-the creativity and great story lines. The language mechanics, handwriting and spelling--well, it is tough for him. I read 2 books over the summer about dyslexia that helped me to understand more about the operation of his brain and thinking. I completely changed the methodology of the way we approach writing and he really likes it. We are also going to experiment with a speech to text app and just try editing the text later in the semester. He is pretty good with editing (minus the spelling correcting)! Both books highlighted that as professional adults-they have good editors! In the meantime, we will continue lots of hard work to improve as much as possible. 

He still loves science and history. He is speeding through physics-we just finished Newton's Laws and did some cool experiments to understand each. We will do some acceleration and projection math but will save the other for the full physics class in high school! We will also be doing several units covering simple/complex machines and then exploring everyday things like cell phones, drones, engines, etc. I wish we had an old car engine here at home to set up outside and learn with. Anyone have one sitting in the back yard wasting away? And by the way--I have no clue about all this stuff--I just found a really cool textbook that has it all broken down for us! We will both be learning.

We are doing world history again this year using an audio approach. He listens to the lesson and writes a brief summary complete with illustrations. We are keeping this in a binder so he will have a world history journal once we are complete. It will take us about 2-3 school years to complete the entire curriculum. Once a week, we throw in a little geography/people group study. He will be continuing to do country studies/presentations with our group this year. The first one is the last Tues. of this month on an eastern European country. He is doing the Czech Republic.

As for math, he still loves Life of Fred. We are finishing up the last book of the elementary series and will be starting on the intermediate books. For additional practice he works on Khan academy for 3 days one week and does work on xtramath 3 days the next week. We have a day where we play any math games he wants--some we play together (like Mathological Liar, store, etc.) others are online. At the end of the week, we review concepts that were introduced via Fred during the week or that he was exposed to via Khan.

And of course, we will be going with our homeschool group folks on many trips and play adventures! We have had 2 park days and will be going to Shelby Farms for some mammal education soon. 

How can I forget the Bookmobile? We will be visiting with Ms. Barbara 2x/month to load up with some great books. Jackson makes sure I bring him plenty home as well. 

There you have it--our plan as of right now...

Live a Meaningful Life!