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

** This post contains affiliate links. Using affiliate links is a great way to support your favorite content creators.**

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The grammar stage in homeschooling spans from about kindergarten or first grade through fourth or fifth grade, depending on the child. I include my young ones in our grammar schooling, as they usually want to keep up with their siblings and they enjoy the readings and such. Some things are specific to the actual place the child is in a subject, some things are more universal. If you’ve never seen planning by stage, this may seem confusing that first and fifth graders can go by the same curriculum plans. But trust me, I’ve been combining ages for a long time and can tell you, even with the same sources, kids work and understand at the level they are.

Bible

The Ark, The Reed, and The Fire Cloud (4 days/week; weeks 1-17)

The Dreamer, The Schemer, and The Robe (4 days/week; weeks 18-32)

History

Story of the World, Volume 1 (1-2 days/week; weeks 1-34) (This is the history spine. There are additional readings for history, but this is the main portion of history. I cover 1-2 chapter each week to get through the entire volume in our three 12-week terms.)

Story of the World, Volume 1, Activity Guide (weeks 1-34) (This book is used for weekly activities and contains coloring pages and suggestions to “beef up” Story of the World.)

It’s Disgusting and We Ate It! (week 1)

You Wouldn’t Want to be a Pyramid Builder (weeks 2-3)

You Wouldn’t Want to be a Sumerian Slave (weeks 4-5)

Gilgamesh the King (week 6)

The Revenge of Ishtar (week 6)

The Last Quest of Gilgamesh (week 6)

One Grain of Rice (week 7)

The Story About Ping (week 7)

Anasi the Spider (week 8)

Temple Cat (week 8)

Baby Moses (week 9)

In Search of a Homeland (weeks 9-14)

Tales of Troy and Greece (weeks 13-20)

D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths (weeks 21-36)

Classical Kids (activity guide for making history activities)

Old Testament Days (activity guide for making history activities)

Science

Nature Study: Christian Liberty Press Nature Reader on Student’s Level (1-3 days/week; weeks 1-36)(individual readers availble for sale on Christian Book)

Core Science: General Science 2: Survey of Geology and Archaeology (just using the books for the grammar stage. The logic and rhetoric stages are using the full curriculum. This is our main science curriculum. We’re adding some more books to further study the topics found in these books.) (weeks 1-32) (Individual books: Archaeology, Geology, Fossil, Cave)

Geology Lab for Kids (weeks 33-36)

Rocks, Rivers, and the Changing Earth (weeks 1-28)

Archaeologists Dig for Clues (weeks 1-2)

The Street Beneath My Feet (weeks 3-4)

What is an Archaeologist? (weeks 5-6)

Ancient Civilizations (weeks 7-10)

Planet Earth Inside Out (Week 11)

Rocks, Fossils, and Arrowheads (week 17)

A Rock is Lively (week 19)

Rock Collecting for Kids (weeks 20-21; 28-32)

Caves and Caverns (weeks 22-25)

Jurassic Poop (week 26)

Let’s Go Rock Collecting (week 27)

Language Arts

Once kids can read, they start grammar. I do read the Literature books out loud for the younger kids. Free Reads are for kids old enough to read chapter books alone. If you’ve got a great reader, check out the books for the logic stage. If you’ve got ones learning to read, reading Bob books during the free reading time is a great option.

Grammar

Beowulf Grammar (4-5 days/week; weeks 1-36)

Literature Reads

The First Dog (week 1)

A Cry from Egypt (weeks 1-8)

Mummies Made in Egypt (week 3)

Mummies in the Morning (weeks 4-8)

Hour of the Olympics (weeks 9-12)

The Children’s Homer (weeks 13-20)

The Trojan Horse (weeks 15-18)

Romulus and Remus (weeks 21-22)

Aesop’s Fables (weeks 22-36)

Free Reads

The Mouse and the Motorcycle

Runaway Ralph

Ralph S. Mouse

Fortunately, the Milk

The Fantastic Mr. Fox

James and the Giant Peach

The Boxcar Children

Handwriting

Draw, Write, Now (1-2 days/week; weeks 1-36)

Logic

Creative Problem Solving (1 day/week; weeks 1-36)

Languages

My kids have been learning French. I usually don’t start Latin until the Logic stage.

My First French Lesson (1 day/week; weeks 1-36)

Math

Use whatever math works for your child. This is just what we use for this stage.

Math Mammoth on child’s level (4-5 days/week; weeks 1-36)

Character

The Mess Detectives and the Case of the Lost Temper (week 10)

Junior Comes Clean (week 11)

Bob and Larry and the Case of the Missing Patience (week 12)

Larry Makes a Choice (week 23)

All is Fair When We Share (week 24)

I keep everything planned out as seen above for each week. For the grammar stage, I try to plan the majority of the work Monday-Thursday and add extra subjects in on Fridays.

** This post contains affiliate links. Using affiliate links is a great way to support your favorite content creators. **

I encourage you, don’t feel like you have to buy all your school books new! Check out ThriftBooks.com for some great deals on used books. (That link is my referral link!) Also, check out Scribd, which is like Netflix for ebooks and audiobooks. (That link is my referral link!) There are so many great books available through both that will save you money. Also, remember to check your library. Libby is a great app that many library systems use where you can get ebooks and audiobooks through your local library. Of course, you can also max out your library card checking out great books, as well.

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