The grammar stage is roughly first through fourth grade. I group my kids together by stage because it allows me to work with them more easily. I still do phonics and math one-on-one during this stage.

By the end of grammar stage, I expect my kids to be self-sufficient learners. So that is something I work with them on as they grow through this stage. Most things, I read aloud during this stage. We do projects together. I don’t give tests in the grammar stage. I don’t give tests much at all– but I intentionally avoid the test/quiz format for grammar students.

Bible Curriculum for the Grammar Stage

For Bible, I purchased my grammar stage kids the same Bible. We’ll spend time in Morning Basket reading, but also during their group work. I find it easier to have the stage in the exact same Bible because it makes it easier to help them as they find their place and learn to read the Scriptures out loud. I’m not having to look over their shoulder because we all have the same version in our hands.

I chose the Adventures in Odyssey NIrV Bible for my kids in this stage this year. I added rainbow Bible tabs to help them find the books of the Bible. The format, the colors, and the little devotional aspects in the Adventures in Odyssey Bible encourage kids to keep looking, keep reading, and keep searching. It really draws them in.

My older grammar kids will also learn the SOAP method of Bible study and do that independently each day. We’ll also be reading The Dragon and the Garden and The Answers Books for Kids Set during our Bible time each day.

Medieval History Curriculum for the Grammar Stage

For history, I’m using Story of the World, Volume 2 as the “spine”. We’ll read a chapter 1-2 days each week. I use the Activity Guide to find activities each week, and I use the coloring pages so they can color as I read out loud. (My logic stage kids also use SOTW as a spine. They have the option to sit and listen to me read it or they can read it on their own in their own time. They usually opt to listen in.)

A history “spine” is just the book we’ll use to keep our timeline going. We’ll add additional readings in as they fit along the timeline of the “spine” book. So none of our books get read out of order. It is just a nice, easy way to keep your real books curriculum moving forward in a cohesive and logical way.

In addition to a history “spine”, I use additional books to help us explore the time and events deeper. For the grammar stage, this means we read quite a lot of picture books about history. I usually buy mine from ThiftBooks, because they are cheaper. (That is a referral link. If you’ve never used ThriftBooks before, you can sign up, spend $30 and you’ll get a free book credit! I will also get a free book credit if you use my link.) Though, I do sometimes have to buy them new. You can also check your local library. (I do not use our library as much as I could. I get anxious about borrowed books.) My history supplements for the grammar stage:

I Wonder Why the Romans Wore Togas

Beowulf the Warrior

How the Bible Came to Us

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Stories of the Saints

Once a Mouse

The Dragon and The Raven

Islam

Cat andRat: The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac

Favorite Medieval Tales

Legends of Charlemagne

Yo, Vikings!

Cathedral

A Street Through Time

A Medieval Feast

Design Your Own Coat of Arms

Saint George and the Dragon

Sir Cumference and the Frist Round Table

Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi

Chanticleer and the Fox

The Bravest Knight

The Sword in the Stone

The Rabbi Who Flew

Ling and the Magic Paintbrush

Marco Polo: A Journey Through China

Baby Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave

Joan of Arc

How the Zebra Got Its Stripes

Columbus

The Discovery of the Americas

Follow the Dream

Cathedral Mouse

Come Worship with Me

The Planets

Good Queen Bess

The King’s Equal

The Bard of Avon

The Ordinary Princess

Do Pirates Take Baths?

The Paper Bag Princess

The Kitchen Knight

Pedro’s Journal

Castle

The Illuminated Alphabet Coloring Book

Medieval History Curriculum Literature for the Grammar Stage

For literature this year, we’re doing fairy tales! I find that a fairy tale literature base works extremely well with Medieval History. I like to compare and contrast different tellings of the same stories. So, we’ll have a story each week, but we’ll read it several different ways. And if there is a movie version, we’ll definitely watch that, too. We can discuss how each author tells the story in their own way. It is a lot of fun to compare and contrast different fairy tales.

I will warn you, if your kids are super sensitive, some fairy tales are quite dark and disturbing– especially in their original forms. So you may want to pre-read (particularly Grimm’s) and make sure your little one won’t be traumatized. My kids are not sensitive, so it isn’t something I generally worry about with fairy tales.

Main Fairy Tale Books

Grimm’s Fairy Tales

Classic Fairy Tales

Time Lord Fairy Tales (if your kids have not been introduced to Doctor Who, this won’t make a whole lot of sense for them)

Hans Christian Andersen’s Complete Fairy Tales

Blue Fairy Book

Supplemental Fairy Tale Books

The Three Billy Goats Gruff

Listen, My Bridge is So Cool

The Three Bears

Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs

The True Story of the Three Little Pigs

The Princess and the Pea

The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales

Aladdin

The Little Mermaid

Frozen

The Snow Queen

Skrek

The Golden Goose

Thumbelina

Dick Whittington and His Cat

The Pied Piper of Hamelin

Henny Penny

Little Red Hen

Three Little Kittens

Medieval History Curriculum Reading Books

My older grammar students also have independent reading. I have had some at that age that could choose their own “free reading” books. But my current group of grammar stage students are more reading hesitant, so I assign their reading to them. The choices are also reflective of reading hesitant students. Their options this school year are:

My Father’s Dragon

Max and the Midnights

Max and the Midnights: Battle of the Bodkins

Dragon Masters: Rise of the Earth Dragon

Dragon Masters: Saving the Sun Dragon

Dragon Masters: Secret of the Water Dragon

Eerie Elementary: The School is Alive

Eerie Elementary: The Locker Ate Lucy

Eerie Elementary: Recess is a Jungle!

Prince Martin Wins His Sword

Prince Martin and the Theives

Prince Martin and the Dragons

Grammar and Writing for Grammar Stage Students

For grammar, all of my grammar stage kids are doing Beowulf Grammar— even the ones who have done it before. It is an excellent program that has plenty of variety for different learners. And it includes sentence diagramming! I cannot recommend this program highly enough! Even for logic stage kids who are poor in grammar or who haven’t really had formal grammar before– this program is excellent!

For writing, the younger grammar stage kids will simply be doing copywork. The older grammar stage kids will be doing this Interactive Writing Notebook and Interactive Poetry Notebook along with keeping a journal.

For handwriting, we’ll be using Draw, Write, Now. We use it every year twice a week for grammar stage kids. They learn to write along with drawing. My older grammar stage student is interested in cursive, so I’ll write his in cursive and the other kids will do print. I draw the picture step-by-step onto our chalkboard wall and then write the sentences for them to copy.

Biology for Grammar Stage Students

For science, everyone is doing biology. The younger kids will do a few activities from Janice VancCleave’s Biology for Every Kid. They’ll also have the opportunity to see what the older kids are doing in biology. The books I’ll be reading to them for science:

Super Simple Biology

Cells Up Close

Barron’s Visual Learning Biology

GIANTmicrobes Cells Coloring Book

My First Book About Genetics

Basher Science: Microbiology

Mr. DNA’s Book of Dinosaurs.

Math for Grammar Students

For math, my grammar students use Math Mammoth at their particular level. First grade, I usually need to sit next to them and work with them one on one. Second grade, I can usually read the instructions to them and let them do the work. Usually by third grade, I can just get it out for them and check it when they are done.

Phonics for Grammar Students

For phonics, we’re finishing up Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons with two of my kids. They’ll begin the Treadwell Readers and Christian Liberty Press Nature Readers as soon as they finish phonics.

Character for Grammar Students

For character, I let them choose what books they’d like. They chose The Berenstain Bears this year. One day a week, we take turns picking a book from the character list. We usually do repeat them. So we have:

The Forgiving Tree

Kindness Counts

The Berenstain Bears and the Truth

The Berenstain Bears Do the Right Thing

The Berenstain Bears Count Their Blessings

The Berenstain Bears Learn About Strangers

The Berenstain Bears and the Bad Influence

The Berenstain Bears and the Trouble with Chores

That’s So Rude!

Patience Please!

Logic for the Grammar Stage

For logic in the grammar stage, you’re mostly just teaching critical thinking skills. This year, the kids are using the Critical and Creative workbooks at their level. These books do have some aspects that don’t apply to homeschool kids (a unit on things in a classroom), but for the most part, we like them. I’m not a fan of the holiday unit, but I usually just skip that one.

Foreign Languages for the Grammar Stage

For foreign languages, my kids who can read well will begin using Rosetta Stone to learn their language of choice. We have a lifetime subscription (that I got free for review) and we have definitely used it a ton! Not all the languages are available on the app version, so be sure to check if you’ll be primarily using the app and not the website. We use a mix of both, depending on the kid.

Other Posts from Notes From the Parsonage You Might Enjoy

• Medieval History Curriculum for the Rhetoric Stage
• Medieval History Curriculum for the Logic Stage
• Medieval History Morning Basket Plans

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I got the idea for a Morning Basket from some Charlotte Mason homeschoolers I came across. We have used similar methods, but this is the first year we are giving it an official name and an actual basket. Morning Basket work is so ideal for large families. We do a lot of our work together. For the younger kids, it provides exposure to more complex ideas and themes. For the older kids, it can be a great jumping off place for their more individualized studies. We already try to do as much together as we can, a one room school house sort of vibe. But the Morning Basket really makes it official and gives it a more organized place in our home and our day.

Our Morning Basket consists of 7 categories. It is mostly reading and discussing. Some people call this “Couch Time” since you’re not sitting at a table pouring over workbooks.

Prayer

Each morning we will begin with prayer. We have time throughout the day for spontaneous prayer, so during this morning prayer time, I wanted to focus on memorizing prayers. We will pray through each prayer daily for four weeks, then change to the next prayer. The prayers we are learning this year are:

The Lord’s Prayer

For Joy in God’s Creation from The Book of Common Prayer

For the Human Family from The Book of Common Prayer

John Wesley’s Prayer

St. Augustine’s Prayer

St. Patrick’s Prayer

St. John Vianney’s Prayer

St. Francis Prayer

John Wesley Covenant Prayer

Truth

This category includes our Bible Study, character reading, and manners study. Our older kids also do their own personal Bible study. And as a family, we also do family devotions. This morning basket Bible study is separate from both of those. During Term 1 and the beginning of Term 2, we are finishing our Herein Is Love: Genesis study. In Term 2, we are also doing The Talk. Term 3, we will be doing Herein Is Love: Exodus.

For our character study, we will be reading through 7 Men. Once we finish that in Term 3, we’ll be reading Fierce Convictions.

For manners, we’ll be reading through the book Modern Manners once a week.

Beauty

Beauty includes art and music. During Term 1 and 2, we will be doing a different hymn each week. Term 3, we will be using a more contemporary worship song each week. For Art, we are reading about one artist each week from 50 Artists You Should Know. Here is our list of hymns and worship songs for the main three terms (Advent has its own unique schedule.):

All Hail The Power of Jesus’ Name

What A Friend We Have In Jesus

This Is My Father’s World

Amazing Grace

Praise to the Lord, The Almighty

Lead On, O King Eternal

Jesus Paid It All

I Am Thine, O Lord, I Have Heard Thy Voice

For The Beauty of The Earth

Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling

Praise Him! Praise Him!

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

And Can It Be That I Should Gain

Trust and Obey

This So Sweet To Trust In Jesus

Be Thou My Vision

He Leadeth Me

How Firm A Foundation

I Must Tell Jesus

It Is Well With My Soul

Jesus Keep Me Near The Cross

Jesus Lover of My Soul

My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less

Savior Like A Shepherd Lead Us

Called Me Higher

Come Alive

Oh How I Need You

But For You Who Fear My Name

Lift Your Head Weary Sinner

The Cost

Up On A Mountain

Burn Like A Fire

In Christ Alone

Old Church Choir

I’ll Always Love You

I Heard the Sound of Voices

Goodness

Our literature selections that we are reading aloud together fall into this category, as well as our once a week poetry readings. For poetry, we’ll be reading a few poems from a Treasury of Selected Poems (Barnes and Noble Bargain Book) one day each week. We are also adding in Mad Libs Mondays just for fun. Our literature selections for the year:

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

At The Back of The North Wind

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

The Pilgrim’s Progress

Minn of the Mississippi

The Swiss Family Robinson

Memory Work

I like challenging my kids to memorize things. But I don’t want them memorizing useless things. This year, we’re focusing just on Bible verses. For the first two terms, I selected random verses, one verse each week, that I felt were worth memorizing. For the third term, we’ll focus on memorizing a verse from Proverbs each week.

History

This isn’t usually in a Morning Basket, but since it is something we do together, I added it here. The older kids have additional work to add to this, this is simply the portion we read aloud together.

I decided to redo Story of the World Volume 3 this year. We used it last year, but we did a really poor job of it. I was tempted to just move on, but there are so many interesting parts of this particular time period, including the American Revolution, that I felt deserved more time. Once a week, we will read one chapter of Story of the World 3. I do have a few weeks with 2 chapters in order to get all the book done this school year. In addition to that, we’ll also be reading the following our loud together:

The Landing of The Pilgrims

The Three Musketeers

The Jungle Book

George Vs. George

Can’t You Make Them Behave, King George?

If You Can Keep It

Little Things Make Big Differences

John Wesley: The World and His Parish (I would seriously love the entire collection of these Christian Heros books. I’m building a library of them.)

Frankenstein

The Mexican-American War

What Was the Gold Rush? (I would also love a collections of these “What Was” and “Who Was” books. They make it so easy for kids to read and understand.)

In addition to these, we’ll also continue our Godbold Academy Geography. The older ones have their own geography specific assignments, but we enjoyed learning about the spiritual needs of various countries and having the opportunity to pray for them. So we will continue choosing a country each week from Operation World.

Science

Again, not a usual Morning Basket inclusion. However, it is something we do together. The little ones have their own science stuff, but they loved watching the experiments last year, so we’ll continue with that. We are continuing with Berean Builder’s: Science in the Scientific Revolution. We’re doing about a lesson per week of that and then some additional Science reading out loud. The Berean Builders series is science chronologically by discoveries made. We chose this particular year because it goes along with our history timeline. It does include experiments, which my kids love. All the ones we have done have used simple household items and haven’t needed anything complex or weird.

It Couldn’t Just Happen

Always Inventing

Madam How and Lady Why

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*** Amazon usually has the cheapest price on classics. However, I love the look and feel of the Barnes and Noble hardback classics. If you go the Barnes and Noble route, be sure to take you declaration of intent or homeschool ID to the store and pick up an Educator’s Discount Card that will save you 20%! Though I also really like the look and feel of Puffin Classics. Even Puffin paperbacks just have a better font and page feel than some of the other publishers.***

**** You can get a lot of the classics in e-book format for very cheaply or even free in some cases. I’m just a book lover than prefers reading an actual book.****

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