Reading List for Fifth Grade

This is the reading list we are starting with.  The PLAN is for him to read one book (at least) every two weeks, or less.  We are starting with Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling.  Noah will read this on my Kindle Fire.
So here it is …
Captains Courageous  by Rudyard Kipling
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
Hans Brinker by Mary Mapes Dodge
The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S Lewis (the whole series)
Holes by Louis Sachar
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman
Because of Winn- Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

When he finds a book he likes

I am constantly on the lookout for books Noah will read.  For that my goto places are  the Sonlight website, the Well-Trained mind forum, and my local librarian – she’s great, and always has wonderful suggestions. 
Last Monday, I was studying the Sonlight list again.  (I do this often).  I noticed a book about dragons.  We all know that Noah loves Dragons.  This certainly had some possibilities.  It had some things going against it.  First, it was rated for 12 years plus. (on Amazon)  Though I knew he could read it.    Second, it was 288 pages.  If we got that in book form, he would let the size of the book, um, prevent him from reading it.  He’s just like that.
So, I knew how to get around that…  I put it on my Kindle Fire.  And it worked!  He hasn’t stopped reading it since –Every. Single. Spare. Moment. 

So this is what I see.  He tries to get out of schoolwork, by telling me he is reading, and that is part of school! 
I love it when he reads!  This is the book he is reading now. 

Plus, it’s a series. 

Reading List for 4th grade!

I am working on a reading list for Noah’s 4th grade year.  So, here it is (in no particular order)

Noah will be reading:
The Courage of Sarah Noble  by Alice Dalgliesh
A Lion to Guard Us by Clyde Robert Bulla
Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright
All of A Kind Family by Sydney Taylor
Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
Henry Reed, Inc by Keith Robertson
Homer Price by Robert McClosky


Audio books for Noah:
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
Our Town by Thornton Wilder
Pollyanna by Eleanor Porter
The Red Pony by John Steinbeck
The diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank


Missionary books he will read:
Brother Andrew by Janet and Geoff Benge
Corrie Ten Boom by Janet and Geoff Benge
Eric Liddell by Janet and Geoff Benge
Jacob Deshazer by Janet and Geoff Benge
Jim Elliot by Janet and Geoff Benge
Nate Saint by Janet and Geoff Benge
Richard Wurmbrand by Catherine Mackenzie

Our Curriculum for 2011-2012

Ok.. so I am a planner... or I try to be. 

    So.. I FINALLY (to me) have our next years curriculum all set.   And I discovered something about myself  :)  I like curriculum that is multi-grade level...   I don't know if it has a specific name or not, but...you know...  those subjects that are not just "for 4th grade", but more like Tapestry of Grace, for instance.  Which brings us to our first one. 

HISTORY
We will once again do Tapestry of Grace for History,  I will get  some geography, and his missions, with a little of writing (see all-inclusive?) 

I LOVE Tapestry of Grace, we started with Year 3 - mostly just because that's the part of history I was interested in, and being a new program, I wanted an idea of what I was doing. 
There are different levels depending on the acedemic level of the child, for instance  Lower Grammar, Upper Grammer, Dialectic, and Rhetoric.   I, in all honesty, did a blend of some of these, based on what I wanted to do, and what he was especially interested in.
                                    Story:  We got to the part of slavery, and the Underground Railroad.  Now, I      KNOW Noah can be sensitive at times, but I had him watch about slavery on YouTube. I shouldn't have  Though, I was busy elsewhere,  after he was finished I came in and asked him what he learned and all.  He was so distraught, he DID NOT want to talk about it. I felt so bad.  So, needless to say, that was about all the slavery subject we did.  We will learned more when we come around to that part of history again -- in four years! 

There are field trip suggestions, links to the internet, project suggestions, and church history.  I currently don't go over the church history part, but we do read the missionary books given as suggestion!
Oh... and I don't really buy the books listed, unless I absolutely think I will need it, we have a great library system, and that works just fine. 


Click the image to learn more





MATH -

Again, we will stick with Christian Light.  I think it's great.  Just the right amount of work, and review for NOAH.  Not to much.   Not to little.  Though sometimes for incentives sake, I do allow him to work every other problem. 

...otherwise we would be on math FOREVER. This is just one of those things I don't get.  If he is calculating something in real life {read:  his money}  he does it quickly and correctly every time.  But, the minute that paper comes out, and he has to write them down....well..I think you know what I mean. 

Language Arts -

This will also be from Christian Light Publications.  We don't do the Penmandship part, or the Spelling.  I just use other curriculum for that. 

Spelling -

Spelling this year to say the least was a disaster.  He just doesn't get it. His week to week test look great, because he can memorize really well.  However, when it comes to the standarized test he gets a low spelling grade.   So... for next year I am going to try Spell to Write and Read.  From what I have read, it might be the key to what we need.  Hopefully.  Again, this one is an "all the way to 12th grade curriculum"  I like that, we can just start where we need to start and work our way from there. 

Vocabulary -

This is the first year I am going with a separate vocabualary program.  I have read some articles that said one of the most important things to know in the SAT's is vocab.  So.  I know, college?  But I told you I was a planner.  Besides, he likes vocabulary and words.  He seriously has his dictionary by his seat in the car, just to randomly read it.  Which can lead to some pretty funny conversations.  Trust me.  This is the book we are using... 

Reading -

Last year, we did reading with Christian Light, and it was very good.  But, this year I think we are going to try some more of the books listed in the Tapestry of Grace program.  I will just be buying a separate Reading Comprehension book, though he has no problem with comprehension.  We also have a book report book from Lakeshore Learning, he will fill in after he has read a book. (time limits imposed, of course!)

Geography -

I am going to be using some of the MANY resources that are on the internet, and we   he is going to make a Geography Notebook. 

Other Stuff We Do

Rosetta Stone Spanish 

Latin   - Visual Latin

He will be writing his own blog (his idea), to give him more writing skills (my idea)

For Handwriting we will do A Reason For Handwriting

Art -- Artistic Pursuits

So... that about covers our curriculum for next year....  It's going to be a great year!

Catch the Reading Bug

The month of May is "Get Caught Reading" month. 

To celebrate this we are going to take a day, to read our favorite books, and I might even read some to him.  Actually, we do a lot of read-alouds.   (though mostly in the evening)

BUT... don't let the reading stop after May is over, and summer is getting ready to begin.  I have found several "reading incentives" for summer reading. 

Check out the ones that interest you, just click on the images for details: 

For Education:  you know...when you just need to kids to sit quietly for a while and rest.  



This site has all ages of books suggestions/worksheets



Scholastic has a bunch of ideas for books suggestions, and contest for kids.

Click the image for more info

For fun:  summer contest for kids

Barnes and Noble

Chuck E. Cheese has a reading rewards chart for free 10 tokens.

They actually have a lot of rewards charts for free tokens for just about every behavior you could think of.

I'll post more if I find out more.  I'd also love to hear if you know of any I hadn't found yet!

Almost the end

I cannot believe that we are coming to the end of his 3rd grade year!  We started this year the second week in August, and time has really flown by!




We have a few things planned for summer, though!

This book, plus the summer reading program at our library.  We have a deal, Noah and I, where if he reads 10 books before our start of school date, he gets a "reasonable" prize of his choosing.   As part of my trying to get him to be more independant, I do not remind him to be reading his books.  He has a chart with stickers all labeled -- that is his reminder.  Believe me, as his mother, it is hard for me to not be reminding him.  

This year I will be adventurous and make his an ice cream cone for his wall --- for each book he finishes he may put on a flavor, similar to THIS.

And, of course, LOTS and LOTS of swimming at the lake!