My 4th Grade Homeschool Curriculum Choices

Every year, I enjoy seeing what other families are using for their homeschool year, so I thought I’d share our curriculum choices for the 2026-2027 school year. We are about two months into fourth grade, so I’ll also be sharing how we’re liking each subject and curriculum choice. If you’ve been around here awhile, you know my new 4th grader loves just about everything when it comes to school subjects. Sometimes that makes it hard to keep up with him, but I’m loving the benefits of homeschooling and how I can formulate a curriculum plan that works for him while engaging all of his interests. If you ask him what his favorite subject is, he’ll answer “math,” but he’s also a huge science fan and he’ll spend hours reading his favorite chapter books. When I say he loves it all, I mean it!

I’m getting a bit of a late start at sharing our curriculum choices this school year, but I hope it’s still helpful for those who like to see what others use! The good news is we are a couple of months into using the curriculum so I’m sharing how it’s going with it all. This year, we’re continuing to use what worked for us last year, and we also added a new ad-free online typing program, a new self-directed (and free!) spelling program, along with some exciting co-op classes with our homeschool group. I’m excited to share our 4th grade homeschool curriculum choices with you!

This post contains some affiliate links. If you were to make a purchase through one of my links, I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you. Some products were gifted, including some curriculum from The Good and the Beautiful, Beautiful Feet, and Apologia. All opinions are 100% my own and not influenced in any way. See full disclosure here.

Click on any pink links to shop the curriculum and homeschool supplies.

Morning Time/ Bible & Devotional

Our morning time has evolved over the years as my son has grown. I started doing a morning time routine when my son was only 2 years old (mostly reading aloud a Bible story from his preschool story Bible), and I slowly added in calendar time and other activities when he was 4 years old. You can find all the Bible storybooks and devotionals we have used over the years listed here. Now at 9 years old and in fourth grade, we’ll continue the same routine that we did for the last couple of years which I detail below.

Devotional Time

We always start every morning with our daily devotional while we’re eating breakfast. These family devotionals have made a huge impact on us over the last few years. Every week day has a 10 minute devotional that includes reading a Bible passage (directly from your own Bible), reading a couple of paragraphs about the Bible story, questions (and answers), and a prayer. Although I started using the Old Testament devotional when he was 4.5 years old, my son understood the Bible stories we read and most importantly he grasped onto key elements of the gospel. These devotionals are so unique because they can be used from 4 years old all the way to teens. I feel like everyone would get something out of this devotional time!

Whether we’re doing the Old Testament or New Testament devotional, each day’s reading always makes a connection to Jesus. Once we completed the Old Testament (Long Story Short) devotional book, we worked through the New Testament devotional called Old Story New. I decided we’d go through them each once more now that he’s a few years older. We started the Old Testament devotional again last school year (and we’ll finish this school year in 4th grade as its a 78 week study). I have been humbled by my son’s deep and thoughtful questions and the discussions we have had while doing these daily devotionals together. These devotionals make it easy to regularly have open and meaningful discussions about the gospel, and they have been a foundation to our school days.

World Watch News

The other part of our morning time is World Watch News. This is also 10 minutes long, and we watch the daily episode right after we complete our 10 minute family devotional. World Watch gives us 10 minutes of daily news from a Christian worldview. We have been enjoying World Watch News as a part of our morning time for two years now, and we even continued with it during the summer.

This time has become a favorite staple in our mornings! It gives us the ability to stay informed about current events both here and around the world. The news stories often come up in our conversations later, and it’s nice to be informed. Because the news is produced by Christian journalists, I know I can trust what they’re sharing. We also love the fun and educational segments they add into the episodes! I love how every episode ends with the quote, “Remember, whatever the news, the purpose of the Lord will stand.”

You can try out World Watch News for free for 60 days with my code SARABETH30 at the link below:

Use this link for a Free 60 Day Trial! It’s the perfect way to try it out to see how your family likes it! (Note: the free trial starts with 30 days free then it will renew at $0 (nothing!) for 30 more days!).

Language Arts

Curriculum

Getting into our 4th grade homeschool curriculum choices, we’ll be using Level 4 from The Good and the Beautiful for Language Arts. This will be our 5th year using this curriculum for Language Arts. Both Language Arts and Math start to be more independent for the 4th grade curriculum. The Language Arts course also covers multiple subjects including literature, vocabulary, writing, spelling, grammar, punctuation, geography, and art. The lessons are so colorful and engaging, and there’s often wonderful stories woven throughout the lessons. My son especially loves when a lesson includes a watercolor tutorial. Optional videos cover major grammar concepts for students who prefer video-based learning or who need additional support after reading about the concept in the lesson. Both my son and I have loved these videos, and I love how they teach new grammar concepts.

I also like how the lessons emphasize God, family, high character, nature, and wholesome literature. My son showed an interest in learning to read at 4 years old, and I watched his reading soar once we started this curriculum at 5 years old. The reading booster cards from levels K-2 made it so easy to teach him how to read, and he is now an avid reader of chapter books with over 300 pages! Since we’ll be using level 4 this year, the level 4 course set comes with a read-together chapter book and two independent chapter books that correlate with the lessons. We already started two of the books, and my son is already enjoying them (and wanting to read more!).

Spelling

I can’t tell you how excited I am for this brand new FREE Spelling program for 4th-8th graders on The Good and the Beautiful app! My son was begging to start before our official first day of school so I couldn’t say no! We’re several weeks into starting 4th grade lessons, so he has done quite a few spelling sessions. He actually asks me to do spelling! This has been working so smoothly for us, and it has been much easier for us to do compared to the previous spelling book. At the end of each Language Arts lesson, the student is directed to complete at least one spelling session. Each session, I set him up to go through the spelling activities on my laptop, and he writes down any words that need extra practice into his Simply Spelling Practice Book.

The practice books are optional (but encouraged), and they have different themes. It doesn’t matter which practice book you start with, or if you want to keep it completely free, you can have them practice any missed words on a sheet of paper. The practice books are fun, though, and my son enjoys them! I have heard zero complaints from him about spelling which has been amazing! I’m very excited for spelling that’s done independently on the app, and my fourth grader has been loving it! This spelling program has been a breath of fresh air for both of us, and I can’t believe it’s free! Get Simply Spelling for free here!

You can check out the Language Arts curriculum by clicking here. The entire courses for all levels from Level K through Level 8 are also available to download for free (yes, you read that right!!). This is such a blessing that The Good and the Beautiful offers their courses as free downloads! You can print them to try them out for free. You can also take a free placement test to see which level of Language Arts your child would need.

Independent Reading: Chapter Books

My son continues to love the chapter and independent reading books from The Good and the Beautiful’s bookshop. I love that they’re wholesome stories that model positive character growth and perseverance as well as respect and gratitude for parents, siblings, and teachers. I can trust the content is clean, and I don’t have to pre-read them to make sure we approve of the content. They’re absolutely beautiful and fun stories that he loves to read again and again! He has been enjoying the level 4 and 5 books, also (not shown here). I have shared flip-throughs of several of these books so you can see how each level looks.

Handwriting, Typing, and Cursive

This school year, we’re using the next cursive handwriting workbook from Learning Without Tears. My son just completed their first cursive book over the summer (he started it right before 3rd grade). Since we’re several weeks into this school year, I can say cursive has been going smoothly, and he has been enjoying doing about a page a day. I like the way LWT teaches handwriting and cursive.

Typing

We started using the BRAND NEW Typing from The Good and the Beautiful. I cannot tell you how much we’re loving this new app! It’s ad-free, and it can be done independently. The old version of their typing just was not convenient for me (although my son liked it). We started using the new typing program in early summer, and my son asks to “do typing” almost everyday! He absolutely loves it! The illustrations are nature-based, calm, and beautiful (they really are!). It’s all student-led, and it includes calm and low-stimulating activities for typing practice. You can try it out for free for 10 days to see if it’s a good fit!

Try our typing program for free for 10 days (no credit card required!)

Math

This is our fifth year using the math curriculum from The Good and the Beautiful, and we couldn’t love it more! The Level 4 math course introduces video lessons which we have found so helpful! Each lesson starts off with an optional video lesson or a mini lesson if you prefer to read that aloud. We’re two months into lessons in this math book, and we personally have been enjoying the video lessons. My son prefers the videos then he moves into the lesson practice and review problems independently. The video lessons have really made our lessons run smoothly. I love that this course is student-led and teaches independence!

As someone who has tutored in math for over 10 years (not counting homeschooling!), I have loved the way this math is taught. The curriculum is spiral math so concepts build upon each other more and more throughout the course. Each lesson ends with an independent review section, so the different math concepts also get reviewed consistently. Review sections often include games, logic puzzles, and activities. Every day we do a math lesson, we also do a mental math practice. It takes only a few minutes, and it’s an important skill that helps him increase his number sense and solve problems more efficiently. I have already noticed improvement in his ability to do math problems in his head this school year!

The lessons really hold my son’s attention, and he always looks forward to math lessons! When I was searching for the right math curriculum for us, I knew I wanted it to include colorful pages and fun interactive learning activities. I knew I didn’t want math to be black and white pages full of only math problems (that must be how I remember learning math!). The lessons are so colorful and engaging, and they’re inviting! I love that it’s open and go, and this math course meets and exceeds national standards.

We also have the Musical Multiplication books (this is now all digital and you can download the Musical Multiplication App here). Level 4 math continues to have daily multiplication practice.

The full math courses for all levels from Level K through Level 8 are also available to download for free (yes, you read that right!!). This is such a blessing that The Good and the Beautiful offers their courses as free downloads! You can print them to try them out for free. You can also take a free placement test to see what level of math you would need.

Science

We are blessed to have an amazing homeschool group, and my son is taking a zoology class through our co-op classes. The class is using Apologia’s Zoology 2 (marine animals), and we purchased the Zoology 2 journal to use in class. He also has the occasional homework in the journal, such as vocabulary review. Last school year, we used Apologia’s Exploring Creation with Zoology 3: Land Animals of the Sixth Day (2nd Edition), and we are finishing up Zoology 3 at home, as well.

The Zoology courses are for grades K-6, and they do not need to be completed in order so we’re excited to learn more about the animals God created. Apologia’s curriculum is Christ-centered and Biblically-based which makes me feel confident to know the subject is being taught through the lens of Biblical teaching. Bible verses are woven throughout the lessons.

The Notebooking Journals provide a beautiful space full of notebooking activities and templates, full-color mini books to create, experiment project pages, vocabulary, drawing pages, review questions, coloring pages, Scripture copywork, and field trip sheets.

You can use code SARABETH10 for 10% off at this link: Apologia Homeschool Curriculum

See my flip-through’s of the Zoology 3 textbook and Notebooking Journal in this IG reel.

History

History looks a little different for us this school year! My son is taking a co-op class in Medieval History so his main history will be done in our weekly class. At home, we will be supplementing the class by reading four chapter books together that were suggested by the class. We also started Story of the World Volume 2 to go along with the class. We have been listening to the audio book while driving, and it has been enjoyable so far! He asks to listen it which is so nice! Since he is in fourth grade, we’re sprinkling in some state history as well but we’ll plan to focus on state history next school year. In past years, we have used Beautiful Feet Books for history, and you can read more about the history courses we have loved in this blog post.

Elective: Teaching Character

We love learning through reading rich literature aloud so I’m excited to dive into these powerful books and lessons! We’re using the grades 4-6 literature pack, and they also offer a K-3 literature pack.

“Using impactful picture books, classic literature, and carefully chosen read-alouds, this engaging curriculum helps families explore essential character traits like kindness, integrity, courage, and empathy.

Each lesson includes author and book resource lists, thought-provoking discussion questions, Bible verse memorization, and simple activities that bring virtues into everyday family life. These lessons are ideal for the elementary years and can be adapted for a wide age range, making them perfect for homeschool families.”

Beautiful Feet Books has many different curriculum packs for K-12 in history, geography, electives, science, and more (including this course). We have previously used Beautiful Feet Books for both Early American History and Geography. You can see pictures of us using the curriculum and read more about the curriculum in detail in this blog post.

Music

My son started formal drum lessons when he was 6 in first grade, and he has been taking weekly lessons from our talented drum teacher who comes to our house. We were blessed to get our drum set for free from a Facebook group shortly after my son started showing an interest in drumming. He has always been very musical (since he was a baby really hah!), so we’re happy he has loved formal drum lessons.

He also occasionally completes the free Hoffman Academy piano lessons. We set up our iPad on the piano, and he follows along to the short lessons. He really enjoys them and the only reason we don’t do more is due to time!

Art

I’m not doing a formal curriculum for art, but because my son loves drawing and painting, I thought I’d share a few resources we’ll be using. In the past, he has taken a formal art/art history class with our co-op homeschool group, and he loved it so much! He enjoys drawing and painting at home, often free style. He occasionally likes to follow along to a guide book such as these listed below.

Drawing:

My son really enjoys drawing freely along with drawing with video lessons. We love using Kids Art Hub for free video instructions on YouTube, but we always like to have different step-by-step drawing books (click the link and find them in the activities/games section). These are from The Good and the Beautiful, and I have previously shared about using some of their other drawing books last year.

Painting:

We have had our watercolor paint set for several years, and I’m amazed at how long they have lasted. The watercolor paint set, watercolor paper, and watercolor notebooks are linked here with our other favorite art supplies. The notebooks come in a 2-pack so you can join along in painting, too! 🙂 My son uses the watercolor paints to paint landscapes and various techniques he learned in his co-op art class. We also have the Watercolor With Me in the Forest and Slow Down books which we love. We really enjoy slowing down to paint together, each in our own watercolor notebook!

Extracurriculars

Aside from our 4th grade homeschool curriculum choices, I thought I’d share that we will continue several of our extracurricular activities for fourth grade. These include various weekly church programs, homeschool group class day (he’ll be taking a few classes including history, science, and literature), extracurricular activities/classes, park meetups, and field trips.

Field Trips

Speaking of field trips, we attend several field trips with our homeschool group and also as a family. We absolutely love field trips and learning through experiences so we try to add in field trips, community events, and day trips whenever we get a chance! If you need some field trip ideas, I often share the field trips on my Instagram account (plus I have a few reels with field trip ideas as I have planned quite a few for our homeschool group).