The BEST 4th Grade Homeschool Curriculum

Below you will find the BEST 4th Grade Homeschool Curriculum picks that we used in our homeschool classroom, as well as alternative choices for those who might be looking for something similar. Since every family’s homeschooling journey and needs are going to be different, feel free to use this list as a starting point and tailor it as needed.

Math and language arts remain the core priorities for 4th grade. Grammar, reading comprehension, and writing provide the backbone of most English programs. Many families also branch out with additional subjects, including science and history or social studies. In a public-school setting, 4th grade is typically when students will study their state history. This is not mandatory in most states for homeschoolers, but it is a good age to introduce the basics of government and an understanding of their local surroundings.

Here is the full list of 4th Grade Homeschool Curriculum subjects we completed this year. Most of the subjects we complete every day, but science and social studies/history, as well as the extracurriculars are done on a semester-block basis. For the last couple of years, we have completed social studies or history in the fall and science in the spring. While extracurricular subjects vary throughout the year. This allows us to complete everything on our list but still keep our school day to around 3 – 4 hours.

• Bible Study
• Language Arts
• Reading
• Spelling
• Writing
• Handwriting (Cursive)
• Math
• Social Studies
• Science
• Physical Education (PE)
• Extracurriculars

Our 4th grade homeschool curriculum usually takes about 3 – 4 hours to complete. This includes time for our read-aloud books (which we still do) and extracurricular activities.

Here are the 4th grade homeschool curriculum picks that we found work best for our family and some alternatives that we considered too.

This is our 3rd year doing a Word of the Day. Besides improving your student’s vocabulary, it’s a great introduction to the school day and we’ll definitely plan on doing it again next year as well. We started doing a Word of the Day in 2nd grade with Mrs. Wordsmith My Storyteller’s Word a Day and then used Mrs. Wordsmith My Storyteller’s Word a Day Book 2 for 3rd grade and part of 4rd grade. Once we completed that book, we moved on to Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day.

For our 4th grade homeschool Bible study, we began The Biggest Story Curriculum by Crossway Publishers. I purchased both the curriculum and the accompanying children’s Bible, The Biggest Story Bible Storybook. It may be the most organized curriculum I’ve ever purchased. The layout is easy to follow and there are many options to choose from for how you plan to use it.

There’s also an activity book that has different activities to accompany each lesson. Although our plan is to use it for 4th grade and 5th grade, it is recommended by the publisher for kindergarten through 5th grade, making it a great option for families that have students in multiple grade levels.

A few other Bible storybooks that we have used in the past include:

– The Jesus Storybook Bible
– Jesus Calling Storybook Bible
– Indescribable: 100 Devotions for Kids about God and Science
– How Great is Our God: 100 Indescribable Devotions about God and Science
– The Wonder of Creation: 100 More Devotions about God and Science

The 4th grade homeschool language arts curriculum we chose was very similar to what we used in 3rd grade. Our focus has shifted more into grammar, writing, and reading comprehension.

Our main curriculum for language arts was BJU English (Grade 4). The detail that I like best about the BJU English program is the alternating sections between grammar and writing. As with 3rd grade, I decided to go with the 2nd edition instead of the 3rd edition (which is the newest one as of this writing), so my opinion of the program is based on that one.

I did purchase both the student workbook and the teacher’s guide and DO feel it is necessary for this curriculum.

The BJU English 4 workbook covers all of the basics in sentence structure including types of sentences, fragments, subject and predicate, nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, clauses, and basic sentence diagramming. Students will also learn how to use a dictionary, encyclopedia, library, and atlas. Lessons are designed for the first part to be completed together and the second half to be completed independently.

Some examples of the writing lessons include poetry, writing a business letter, writing a research report, writing a tall tale, writing a book review, writing a compare-contrast essay, writing a friendly letter, and writing a personal narrative.

If BJU English isn’t quite what you’re looking for, here are some other 4th Grade Language Arts Homeschool Curriculums that we considered:

– Abeka Language 4
– Evan-Moor Language Fundamentals Grade 4
– 180 Days of Language for Fourth Grade

Will we continue using the BJU English curriculum for 5th grade?

Yes! This program worked well for our language arts needs and we will be using BJU English 5 for the fall semester. We will also continue with Evan-Moor Reading Comprehension Fundamentals (Grade 5).

READING AND WRITING

Along with BJU English 4, we also used the Evan-Moor Reading Comprehension Grade 4 and the 2nd half of the IEW writing curriculum that we purchased for 3rd grade. We used BJU English 4 every day and if the lesson focused on a grammatical topic, we would use IEW for writing that week and if BJU was focused on writing, we would use the Evan-Moor reading comprehension book. This allowed us to work in writing each day and reading comprehension on the alternate weeks.

To begin using the IEW writing program, I would highly recommend purchasing Teaching Writing: Structure and Style. It will help you understand and teach the concepts that are laid out in the student book. This way of writing was not something I was familiar with, so the instructional guide was invaluable.

IEW: Fables, Myths, and Fairytales – You will need one workbook per student. Students will learn how to make a key word outline, how to write a composition, proofreading, and creating a final draft. I did purchase the teacher workbook as well, which was helpful in the beginning, but by mid-semester, I did not reference it as much.

Other 4th Grade Homeschool Writing Curriculums you may want to consider include:

– Spectrum Writing Grade 4
– Evan Moor – Writing Fabulous Sentences and Paragraphs, Grades 4-6

Will we continue using the Institute for Excellence in Writing curriculum for 5th grade?

Although I do believe that IEW is a solid writing program, we are going to try something new for 5th grade.

HANDWRITING

This was our 3rd year learning cursive, and I believe it has been helpful for two reasons. One, it helps to read and write cursive, which is almost a lost art, but two, it also forces children to slow down. Handwriting has always been a struggle in our house and part of it is the hurry to complete an assignment. With cursive, it takes more time to complete and therefore requires more concentration and ultimately better handwriting.

At what age do you begin teaching cursive?

Many homeschool families begin cursive handwriting in 2nd or 3rd grade, while others start as early as Kindergarten. We started in 2nd grade and typically only complete one page per day. At this rate, it takes longer than a year to finish a book. Therefore, we finished up Abeka Writing with Phonics (1) Cursive this year and began Abeka Writing with Phonics (2). Once we complete this workbook, the plan is to have cursive practice through short daily writing assignments and copy work.

Abeka Writing with Phonics (2) Cursive – The Abeka Cursive program begins in Kindergarten. If this is your first-year teaching cursive, you should begin at this level regardless of the grade your child is in. The levels build on each other with less practice on the formation of letters as the program progresses.

Choosing a Homeschool Math Curriculum

For those who have been homeschooling beside us for a few years, you can jump down to the 4th grade homeschool math curriculum that we’ve chosen below. However, we always like to include this little snippet on “Choosing a Homeschool Math Curriculum” for those who are new to the homeschooling world and need some extra help in making the right selection for their families.

Math is a core subject and one that a lot of students struggle with. I include this intro with all of our curriculum selections because I think it is extremely important to figure out what works best for your family as early as possible.

If you are new to homeschooling, picking a solid math program will help you in the long run. While some subjects are easy to change from year to year, math is a core subject, so it is important to find what works for your student and stick with it. With that said, if your current math curriculum isn’t working, I would encourage you to try something new until you find a good fit.

When choosing a homeschool math curriculum, you will need to decide if you would like a traditional math program or one that follows common core standards. If you are not keen on teaching math, there are also many online options available.

The second point to consider is whether you would prefer a program that is mastery or spiral. In a mastery program, the student will learn a new concept and practice that concept until it is fully mastered, hence the name. In a spiral program, the student will learn a new concept, practice that concept, and then review other concepts learned. It’s considered a spiral program because the concepts come up over and over again throughout the year, building on each lesson.

We started with Horizons Math in Kindergarten with the anticipation of eventually switching over to Saxon math around 4th grade. When originally researching which math program to use, that seemed to be the consensus in a lot of homeschooling boards. However, Horizons has been a good fit for our home, so we decided to stick with it.

The Horizons math program goes from Kindergarten through 8th grade and is a spiral program. It is important that you begin the program in the correct level. You can find the Horizons math placement test here.

Other popular 4th Grade Homeschool Math Curriculums that we considered include:

– Saxon Math 5/4
– Singapore Math, Grade 4
– Abeka Arithmetic 4

Typically, in a traditional school setting, 4th grade is the year for state history. If you are an Alabama resident, we created a FREE 9-week Alabama History Homeschool Curriculum that is perfect for 4th grade! Each day consists of learning about the different counties, completing Alabama state-related texts and activities, and watching short videos that really pulled everything together.

As a catchall, we also included the consumable Pearson MyWorld workbook (Grade 4). If you are looking for a social studies program that is similar to what is going to be covered in public school, this is a fantastic resource. We’ve used these consumable workbooks for the past several years and would definitely recommend them.

For 4th grade science, we explored the world of Chemistry. Our FREE Intro to Chemistry curriculum is available now! This FREE STEAM-based unit study for upper elementary students explores chemistry topics such as states of matter, the periodic table, atoms and molecules, acids and bases, mixtures, chemical reactions, and more. Designed for students from 4th grade through 6th grade, children will explore chemistry through engaging texts, videos, and hands-on activities and experiments.

4th GRADE HOMESCHOOL CURRICULUM – CHEMISTRY TEXTBOOKS

– Chemistry for Curious Kids
– Usborne Lift-the-Flap Periodic Table

Some states require physical education as part of the homeschooling curriculum. Our state is one of them. PE can come in many different forms. We combined physical activity with learning about health and nutrition for our program. If your child is active in sports, the days with practice or games could easily be considered physical education for that day. Taking a walk around the park, bicycling in the neighborhood, jumping rope in the backyard are also easy to do activities that could count as PE.

Our extracurricular subjects this year focused on health, economics, typing, and art. For young girls, I am a big fan of the American Girl Smart Girl’s Guide series. For fourth grade, we completed The Feelings Book: The Care and Keeping of Your Emotions and A Smart Girl’s Guide: Sports and Fitness.

Usborne came out with a new series for beginners, and we have loved it so far. We worked through Money for Beginners last year and completed Economics for Beginners this year. Economics for Beginners does a fantastic job defining what economics is and explaining how people, businesses, and governments make choices, using limited resources to meet their needs and wants. It explains how people earn and spend money, how businesses decide what to make and sell, why prices go up or down, and the role that the government plays in the daily economics of an area.

Below is what our 4th grade homeschool schedule looks like during a normal day. While I have included times in the schedule below, our day is very flexible. Sometimes we start later. Sometimes not everything gets covered. But somehow, it all ends up working out by the end of the year.

8:30am – Word of the Day / Cursive / Spelling
8:45am – Bible Study
9:00am – Social Studies / History or Science
9:20am – Math
9:50am – Read-Aloud
10:20am – PE
10:40am – BREAK
11:00am – Language Arts – Grammar / Writing
11:20am – Typing
11:30am – Unit Study (Extracurricular)
12:00pm – LUNCH