First Six Weeks
                                 April 3 - June 2, 1995
                                        Fourth Grade

Math:  Double-digit-divisor long division and greatest common factor (a page to 1 1/2 pages a day in Arithmetic 4, Travis skipped around and did the pages he chose), can sing the multiplication tables to the tune of "Yankee Doodle."  (Grade: 96)

English:  Parts of speech based on original writings and pages Travis chooses in Language A, wrote the text for his Royal Rangers "God and Me" project.  (98)

Spelling:  Lessons 4-8, ten words a lesson, in A Beka Spelling 4, and Units 1 and 2 in Building Spelling Skills, Book 4 (Christian Liberty Press).  He made a 100 on the pretest and looked up a word in the dictionary one day. (109)

History:  Jamestown settlement through the French and Indian War, pages 52-128 in A Beka's The History of Our United States.  Travis can read it himself and answer the questions at the end of the chapters. (101)

Reading:  Pilgrim's Progress (simplified), Clue books 1-8 by A. E. Parker (Who Killed Mr. Boddy?, The Secret Secret Passage, The Case of the Invisible Cat, Mystery at the Masked Ball, Midnight Phone Calls, Booby-Trapped!, The Picture-Perfect Crime, The Clue in the Shadows), Boxcar Children books, by Gertrude Warner, Mystery Ranch, Mike's Mystery, and Indian in the Cupboard and The Return of the Indian by Lynne Banks.

Handwriting:  Journal writing and, the last week, Writing with Grace (Christian Liberty Press).

Art:  Twelve lessons on color in The Lamb's Book of Art, did illustrations for his Royal Rangers "God and Me" project.

Guitar:  Played "As David Did" at Royal Rangers, has an original song, and knows chords em, D, C, A, A7.

Science:  Plants, animal reproduction, and tracks at Science Projects class.  Has some tadpoles.

Activities Day:  Photography (took pictures of still life, spring, trees, and fun), Zoo Adventure (did research on the tiger and designed a zoo), and Basketball (learned various passes and the rules of the game).

Projects:  Made a wooden skeleton of a scorpion and moccasins from kits.

Days Off:  Went to Carlsbad Caverns and McDonald Observatory Easter week, Granddad's Day (May 1), "teacher/student workday" at the Arlington book fair, and Memorial Day.

Awards:  He finished his work every week and got the "Principal's" Award for good behavior three times.
  

 


Second Six Weeks Report
September 5 - October 13, 1995
                                          Fourth Grade
 
Art:  (pages 18-28 of The Lamb's Book of Art) Drew overlapping objects, things that go around, chain links; studied examples from Leonardo da Vinci's journal.
 
Music:  Beginning piano (Usborne), guitar (Melbay), and drums.  (Music or art in a day)
 
Math:  (pages 33-111 of A Beka Arithmetic 4) Measurement equations, division with money dividends, averaging, 3-digit multiplication, division with 2-digit divisor, remainders as fractions, factoring, greatest common factors (GCFs), changing improper fractions. Read Mitsumasa Anno's Math Games, I and III.
 
Science:  Wired a "quick-draw" game on Radio Shack 200-in-one electronics lab, read pages 1-14 in Usborne Introduction to Chemistry.
 
Nature/Bible Study:  Wood duck (illustrates courage in following difficult instructions) and Naaman (pages 152-163 of Basic Institute Character Sketches).
Otter (illustrates responsibility in turning routine tasks into enjoyable experiences) and Moses (his failure to accept responsibilities joyfully ultimately defeated him) (pages 116-125).
Read Revelation, Esther, Philippians, James (in the process).
 
Spelling:  (Units 4-8 Christian Liberty Press Building Spelling Skills, Book 4) Twenty words a unit dealing with word-endings and plurals.
 
English:  (pages 136-186 A Beka Language A) Compound subjects and verbs, diagramming, antecedents, and subject, object and possessive pronouns.
 
Literature:  Read Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson (children's version), heard Beverly Cleary autobiography during story time, and saw two performances of Two Gentlemen of Verona  (2 G's of V) at Duncanville High School, The Story of Doctor Doolittle, by Hugh Lofting.
 
Reading:  Clue Books 1-10 numerous times, We Were There at the Battle of the Bulge, An Artist, by M. B. Goffstein, It's God's World news magazine, Kid's Guideposts.
 
Writing:  Wrote a description, a narrative, reports on Uzi SMG and battleships, and "Bear Clue" stories, drew up a design of an original car, started practicing outlines, wrote to the Prime Minister of Nepal.
 
Handwriting:  Practiced on upper- and lower-case letters in Christian Liberty Press Writing with Grace workbook and in journal.
 
Memorization:  Twenty-one stanzas from Grammy's "Houses" poem, the 48 states from DF Glurp (1 state for each letter), KSTV (2 states), ACO (3), IW (4), and MN (8) (both in the process).
 
History:  (pages 138-195 of A Beka History of Our United States) American Revolution, Constitution and Bill of Rights, Northwest Territory, Louisiana Purchase (1803), War of 1812, Texas Annexation (1845), Mexican Cession (1848), Gadsden Purchase (1853), and      Oregon Territory (1846).
Related reading:  Included Illustrated American Revolution (comic book style), Can't You Make Them Behave, King George? and And Then What Happened, Paul Revere? by Jean Fritz, The Story of the Green Mountain Boys, The Many Lives of Ben Franklin, by Aliki, We Were There at the Battle of the Bulge, The Courage of Sarah Noble, by Alice Dalgliesh, and We Were There on the Chisholm Trail.
Projects:  Made ink from pecan shells, rolled cartridges (using sand instead of black powder) for an imaginary "Brown Bess" musket and practiced loading and firing in an orderly fashion, dramatized Patrick Henry's St. John's Church speech.
The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone, by Giblin, and Greek myths during story time.
 
Geography:  States, capitals, longitude, and latitude on Discovery Toys USA map and Rand McNally sticker book.
 
SWDHSA Activities Day:  P.E., pencil sketching, and outer space, 9:00-12:00 every other Monday.
 
Cooking:  Pumpkin pie, steak and rice.
 
Summer reading:  Number the Stars, The Trumpeter of Krakow, by Eric Kelly, Shiloh, Hatchet, Onion John, by Joseph Krumgold.
 
Grades:  Art/Music A, Math A, Science/Nature/Bible Study A, Spelling A, English/Literature/Reading/Memorization A, Writing/Handwriting A, History/Geography A


 Third Six Weeks Report
October 16 - November 22, 1995
Fourth Grade
 
 
Art:  (pages 47-53) Cartooning.
 
Piano:  (up to page 27) Knows white notes F below middle C to G above; 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 time signatures; quarter, half, and whole notes and rests; dotted half notes; ties; and fingering.  Learned second half of "Chop Sticks."
 
Math:  (pages 113-148) More metric units (weight, dry measures), least common multiples, adding and subtracting fractions with uncommon denominators, more Roman numerals (past a thousand), subtracting fractions with borrowing (regrouping), more double-digit-divisor long division.
 
Science:  They Come From DNA (80 pages), by Billy Aronson, explanation of the periodic table, Molecules and Atoms (30 pages), by Rae Bains, vinegar and baking soda reaction experiment.
 
Nature/Bible Study: Honeybee/Rechabites (reliability), skunk/David and Goliath (confident opposition), wolverine/unnamed prophet (rejecting distractions), ground hog/Solomon (organizing resources efficiently), beaver (good grooming), raccoon/Dinah (prudent initiative).
Read in Kings and Chronicles about kings up to Jehu and read about Gideon.  Verses in Romans about being dead to sin and alive to righteousness and in Proverbs about learning.
 
Spelling:  (Units 9 and 10) One-plus-one rule (e.g., unnoticed) and "ch" sound (ch, tch, t(u)).
 
English:  (pages 188-201, supplementary pages from Seventh Grade Super Workbook) Adjectives, articles, comparisons, diagramming.
 
Reading:  Motor Trend, Road and Track, Car and Driver, Clue books, It's God's World news magazine, Boys' Life, Ivanhoe (second time) and David_Copperfield (children's versions), The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, by Avi (still reading), Million Dollar Autos, Dream Cars (70 pages), by Thomas Gunning, and Here Come the Monster Trucks (65 pages) by George Sullivan.
 
Story time:  Bluebonnet Goes to the State Fair (40 pages), Sir Francis Drake - His Daring Deeds (32 pages), illustrated poem by Roy Gerrard, The Adventures of Marco Polo (32 pages), by Demi, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, by Elizabeth Speare.
 
Writing:  Letters to Grammy, Eddie, Andy, and Grandmother; research report, "Things You Need in a Gun"; "Racing - Le Mans-Style"; two car reports; and a diary page from Murphy's (the dog's) point of view.
 
Handwriting:  Sentences using ordinal numbers, titles and sentences about pictures, journal, and individual letter practice.
 
Typing:  (pages 18-20) Lesson 4:1-6 in Type It.
 
Memorization:  Recited "Houses" to Grammy.
 
History:  (pages 196-210) Civil War - Pages 1-67 of Lincoln and Douglas: The Years of Decision, by Regina Kelly, Dog Jack (a dog in the Union army), by Flora Biros, Great Civil War Escapes, by A. Schuster, and about half of Eben Tyne, Powdermonkey (about the Merrimack), by Patricia Beatty.  We sang Civil War era songs.
 
Geography:  5-state rummy (School Zone), Discovery Toys map with vinyl stick-ons, National Geographic, Canadian provinces and flags in Rand McNally sticker atlas.
 
SWDHSA Activities Day:  P.E., pencil sketching, and outer space.
 
Cooking:  1st-prize winning Brownie Drops in church contest, cookie division; yeast rolls (both from Man in the Kitchen cookbook); and Watergate salad.
 
Citizenship:  Focus on obedience, time management, attitude (no protesting or murmuring), careful work, attendance.
 
One day is math, handwriting, spelling, journal, history, and piano and the next is English, writing, reading, memorization, organizing, and piano.  Science, geography, nature, and cooking are on Activities Day or home-school-association recital days (once a month).  
 
Holidays:  Thanksgiving and the day after.
 
Grades: Piano A, Math A, Science/Nature/Bible Study A, Spelling A, English/Reading/Memorization A, Writing/Handwriting/Typing A, History/Geography A, Citizenship A-


                                   Fourth Six Weeks Report
                          November 27 - December 19, 1995
                                      End of Fourth Grade
 
Art:  A few pages in Cartooning Machines, made a silhouette of himself for a Christmas present, traced characters from Calvin and Hobbes comic book.  Piano:  Working toward page 30, played a couple of melodies by ear.  
 
Math:  Borrowing with uncommon denominators, multiplying fraction and mixed numbers using cancellation, decimals as fractions, metric liquid measures, solving equations, geometry definitions (e.g., ray, congruent angles, perpendicular and parallel lines), geometric shapes (e.g., rhombus, trapezoid).
Building solids with various shaped DIME blocks (Development of Ideas in Mathematical Education) to match diagrams in DIME Build Up, Book 1.  Multiplication and division flash cards.  After the concepts of perimeter and area, T___ will be in the fifth grade of math.
 
Science:  Put up outside Christmas lights, made paper airplane from assembly kit. Nature/Bible Study:  Thinking creatively when faced with overwhelming odds: eastern hognose snake (playing dead), David (acting insane); expending whatever energy is necessary to complete a project: king salmon (determination to return to spawning ground), Jehoash (counterexample); providing specific areas for different functions (orderliness): chipmunk, Joseph; decisiveness: badger, Ruth.
 
English:  (pages 203-238, 257-278) Adverbs (also pp. 182, 185 in Seventh Grade Super Workbook), prepositions, conjunctions, interjections, distinguishing parts of speech, and diagramming sentences, using words correctly (e.g., lie and lay; their, there, and they're; subject and verb agreement; never use "off of").  T___ finished fourth grade English.
From English from the Roots Up, "phone" and "mikros."
Saw "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," "The Gift of the Magi," and "The Last Leaf" at community theaters.
 
Reading:  Car magazines and books, Clue books, God's World Today news magazine (middle-school-age level, I read some of it to him), finished The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, by Avi, The Diary of a Church Mouse, by Graham Oakley (32 pp.), The Life and Times of the Honeybee, by Charles Micucci (32 pp.), A Dangerous Game, by Jeri Massi, The Mice of the Herring Bone and The Mice of the Nine Lives, by Tim Davis, Investigating Mysteries (three short stories from Scholastic, 56 pp.)  Story time:  Beverly Cleary - My Own Two Feet: A Memoir, Ramona and Her Mother, by Beverly Cleary, The Librarian Who Measured the Earth (Eratosthenes), by Kathryn Lasky (48 pp.), half of Dear Mr. Henshaw, by Cleary (depressing), Things Change, by Troy Aikman, The Story of Ruby Bridges (girl in just-desegregated schools), by Robert Coles, illustrated by George Ford.
 
Writing:  A story about when it snowed, agenda for B.I.A. meeting (Bear Intelligence Agency), "Albert's Day," "Drag Racing by Albert's House," a constitution for home and school (unratified), stories on the computer.  Practice on lower-case f.  Spelling Units 11 and 12, review of Units 1-10 rules, and final "j" sound (-age and -dge); car-related words and words in original papers.
 
History:  (pages 210-234, 268-296) The world wars; finished the Civil War; new frontiers; revivals the last half of nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth; acted out "George Washington Carver: the Scientist Who Saved the South," from Famous Americans, 22 short plays for the classroom; American History Brain Quest, modern-times and geography section.  Learning capitals of the states playing "It's a Capital Game" (one-liner puns with cartoon on flash cards) and the Presidents from Yo, Millard Fillmore!  (ten so far).  Set up dome tent and read Powwow, by George Ancona (48 pp.), and listened to audio book The Education of Little Tree, by Forrest Carter.
 
Spanish:  Numbers to 100 using "Triple Play Plus" computer program.
 
SWDHSA Activities Day:  P.E., pencil sketching, and outer space, 9:00-12:00 every other Monday, semester ended in December.
 
Royal Rangers:  Working on Powder Horn gold-track rating and Amateur Radio and Reading merits.
 
Cooking:  Biscuit tamale pie.
 
Holidays:  The week before Christmas till January 2.
 
Extra comments:  We are grouping subjects together and letting art and music be up to T___.  We start the day by praying that we'll spend time on what we're supposed to (Psalm 90:12,14,17).
 
Grades: Math A, Spelling A, English A, Writing A, History A, Citizenship B+


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