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AmblesideOnline Year 4 Booklist

"We wish to place before the child open doors to many avenues of instruction and delight, in each one of which he should find quickening thoughts."
Charlotte Mason, Volume 3, p. 170

A Basic Overview of Year 4

Note: These booklists and curriculum suggestions are incomplete without a thorough understanding of Charlotte Mason's ideas and methods. We cannot emphasize enough that you take time to familiarize yourself with her philosophy by reading her books.

If you're planning to use AmblesideOnline, your first stop should be the FAQ for some information about the curriculum and basic instructions. Our FAQ answers all the questions that people routinely ask: AO's history scope and sequence, how to schedule your school days, how to do narration, and more.

Key: (What do all those symbols mean?)

Book titles are linked to Project Gutenberg (which offers free etexts in a variety of formats) or other online text when no Project Gutenberg text is available.

Asterisks refer to which term the book is used: * Term 1 ** Term 2 *** Term 3

β - manybooks.net, another free ebook site.
α - free etext at archive.org; newer books can be borrowed for one hour at a time.
(ChrBk) - purchase from Christianbook.com using AO's affiliate link.
K - free Kindle text from amazon.com.
(£amzn) - Living Books Press purchase using AO's amazon.com affiliate link.
($amzn) - book purchase using AO's amazon.com affiliate link.
(K) - Kindle purchase using AO's amazon.com affiliate link.
(£) - Purchase directly from Living Books Press with an affiliate link; save 10% with discount code: AOBooks
Λ - free audiobook at Lit2Go
Ω - free audiobook at Librivox ^[2]
∩ - other free audiobook source
^[0] - Click the bracketed numeral to view any notes about the book near the bottom of the page.
∫ In upper years, this means a book is integral to that year
^[0] - red footnotes indicate a heads-up for parents about the title. We cannot foresee every incident that might potentially be an issue to every family, but we have red-flagged those that are commonly a concern.

AO is an affiliate of Living Book Press, which means that when you purchase from our (£) links, we receive a commission which allows us to keep offering AO for free.

AO is an affiliate of Christianbook.com, which means that when you purchase from our (ChrBk) links, we receive a commission that helps with our costs.

AmblesideOnline is part of Amazon.com's Affiliate program. If you use the Amazon links, we receive a small commission which enables us to cover the costs of keeping the website and curriculum. Amazon links are identified like this: ($amzn) or (£amzn) or (K).

AmblesideOnline Year 4 Curriculum

Note: If your child has completed Year 3 and is not quite ready for Year 4, you might consider Year 3.5 as a transitional course of study between Year 3 and 4. It has been designed so that it can be started at any week during the first term, so if you get started on Year 4 and find that your child is struggling, you can switch mid-term. A 36-week schedule is also provided.

For the first time this year, students plunge into studies of Plutarch's Lives as well as three Shakespeare plays. They will continue with daily copywork, adding in studied dictation and grammar study this year. This is the year students begin keeping a Book of Centuries, in addition to the timeline. Every scheduled reading will still be narrated, most orally as in past years. Written narration, begun weekly now, will replace some oral narration and serve as further preparation for composition. Foreign language study continues as begun in previous years, and this year the study of Latin should be added.

---

Bible ^[6]

Old Testament - 1 and 2 Samuel
New Testament - The ministry of Jesus taken from all four gospels

History: 1700's up to the French and American Revolutions

Keep a simple timeline. ^[4]

This Country of Ours by H. E. Marshall β α ($amzn) K (£) (£amzn) (£amzn) Ω ^[8]
** *** George Washington's World by Genevieve Foster (ChrBk) ($amzn) ^[10]

Biography

Trial and Triumph by Richard Hannula (ChrBk) ($amzn) (K) ^[16]
Answering the Cry for Freedom by Gretchen Woelfle ($amzn) (K) ^[17]
* Poor Richard by James Daugherty (ChrBk) ($amzn) (There is no Kindle edition; check author before purchasing.) ^[18]
** *** Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution by Natalie S. Bober ($amzn) (K) ^[20]

Literature

The Heroes of Asgard by Annie and Eliza Keary ($amzn) ^[38]
* ** The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe β α (£) (ChrBk) ($amzn) Ω ^[40]
** *** Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson β α (£) (ChrBk) (£amzn) ($amzn) Ω
*** The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford (ChrBk) ($amzn) (K)

The following short works - Purchase all three for Kindle: (K):
*** The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving β (ChrBk) ($amzn) Ω Λ
*** Paul Revere's Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (ChrBk) ($amzn) Ω
*** Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving, or here ($amzn) Ω Λ

Follow AO's Shakespeare Rotation.

Poetry ^[35]

* Alfred Lord Tennyson
** Emily Dickinson Λ
*** William Wordsworth

Purchase AO's Volume 4 poetry collection which includes Tennyson, Dickinson, and Wordsworth in paperback or Kindle ($amzn) (K)

Copywork

A curriculum or program for handwriting is not necessary, but if you want to use one, these are some we've used and can suggest:
A Reason for Writing Level A: ($amzn) Level B: ($amzn)
Getty Dubay Italic Handwriting Series

AO's Language Arts Scope and Sequence for this level
AO's Year 4 exam questions will focus on subject/nouns and predicate/verbs.

Recitation ^[recit]

Term 1
Joshua 1:9; Mark 6:34; Mark 8:36; 1 John 4:4
Break, Break, Break by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
A passage from the term's Shakespeare play
Term 2
Joshua 24:14-15; Mark 9:35; Mark 16:15
I Never Saw a Moor by Emily Dickinson
(There is no frigate like) A Book by Emily Dickinson
A passage from the term's Shakespeare play
Term 3
1 Samuel 2:2; Acts 4:12; Acts 5:29
The Rainbow by William Wordsworth
Daffodils by William Wordsworth
A passage from the term's Shakespeare play

Foreign Language

Latin

Geography

Minn of the Mississippi by Holling C. Holling (ChrBk) ($amzn) ^[22]
Material World: A Global Family Portrait by Peter Menzel ($amzn) ^[24]
What the World Eats by Faith D'Aluisio and Peter Menzel ($amzn) ^[24]

Ten minutes of map drills each week ^[26]
Locate places from the day's reading on a map

In addition, these geography concepts should be explained and taught this year: ^[28]

Term 1:
Earth's surface is mostly water
Highlands are cooler, lowlands are warmer
Mountains (foot, slope, summit) and valleys

Term 2:
The water cycle: clouds, rain, rivers, ocean, evaporation (vapor); dew, snow

Term 3:
Rivers and waterways
Rivers start at a mountain spring and flow to the sea
A river's source, mouth, bed, two banks, tributary (branch), rapids, cataract, waterfall.
Oceans and their parts
Why rivers wind, work of rivers (fertile after flooding, pebbles, gravel, sand)

Citizenship ^[36]

Follow AO's rotation of Plutarch's Lives.

Nature Study and Science

The Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock α (ChrBk) ($amzn), as scheduled for Nature Study.

Supplies for Nature Study:
Nature notebook and pencils or paint for each student
Begin to build a library of regional field guides
Plenty of time to allow Nature Study to be a fun learning experience for both parent and child

Follow AO's Nature Study Rotation of subjects.

Madam How and Lady Why, Volume I, A Walk Through the Glen by Charles Kingsley, with notes by Anne White ($amzn) (K) ^[30]
The Storybook of Science by Jean-Henri Fabre α (£) (£amzn) ($amzn) (K) Ω ^[31]
Gregor Mendel: The Friar Who Grew Peas by Cheryl Bardoe and Jos. Smith - a picture book ($amzn)
The Ocean Of Truth by Joyce McPherson or other biography of Isaac Newton (ChrBk) ($amzn) (K) ^[32]

Optional: Physics Lab in the Home by Robert Friedhoffer α ^[34]

Mathematics

Select a program that meets your family's needs from our page of Math Options.

Art

Follow AO's Artist rotation; Picture Study helps on YouTube.

Music

Follow AO's Composer Study rotation.

Follow AO's Hymn Rotation.

Follow AO's Folksong Rotation.

Physical Education

One option is Swedish Drill Revisited by Dawn Duran purchase

Additional Books for Free Reading ^[42]

Are Free Reads required reading?

Black Beauty β, by Anna Sewell (ChrBk) ($amzn) (K) Ω Λ
Pollyanna β, by Eleanor Porter (ChrBk) ($amzn) (K) Ω
The Secret Garden β, by Frances Hodgson Burnett (ChrBk) ($amzn) (K) Ω Λ ∩
The Railway Children β, by Edith Nesbit (ChrBk) ($amzn) (K) Ω
Bambi by Felix Salten ($amzn) (K)
Little Britches by Ralph Moody (ChrBk) (K) (some language; please preview)
The Borrowers by Mary Norton (ChrBk) ($et) ($amzn) (K)
Lassie Come Home by Eric Knight ($amzn) (K)
Gentle Ben by Walt Morey (ChrBk) ($amzn)
Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright (ChrBk) ($amzn)
Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright (ChrBk) ($amzn) (K)
Return To Gone Away by Elizabeth Enright ($amzn) (K)
By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder (ChrBk) ($amzn) ($amzn) (K) 9-bk series: (ChrBk) ($amzn) Paperback: ($amzn) (K)
** Calico Captive - girl interest (ChrBk) ($amzn) (K)
       or The Sign of the Beaver - boy interest (ChrBk) ($amzn) (K), by Elizabeth George Speare
*** Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (ChrBk) ($amzn) (K)
Tree of Freedom by Rebecca Caudill ($amzn) (K)
Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates (ChrBk) ($amzn)
*** The Reb and the Redcoats by Constance Savery (British view of revolution) ($amzn) (K)
Justin Morgan Had a Horse by Marguerite Henry (ChrBk) ($amzn) (K)

The Chronicles of Narnia series (ChrBk) ($amzn) ($amzn) (K), by C.S. Lewis
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ($amzn) (K)
Prince Caspian ($amzn) (K)
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader ($amzn) (K)
The Magician's Nephew ($amzn) (K)
The Silver Chair ($amzn) (K)
The Horse and His Boy ($amzn) (K)
The Last Battle ($amzn) (K)

The Peterkin Papers by Lucretia Hale β α (£) ($amzn) (K)
22 chapters; The Complete Peterkin Papers has a few additional chapters, but each chapter can stand alone. These were originally printed as serials in a magazine. Ω Ω

If you would like some easier, but still excellent, living books, for a year 3/4 student to read independently for free reading, consider choosing from this list:

The Matchlock Gun by Walter D. Edmonds ($amzn) (K)
The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh ($amzn) (K)
The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen by Lloyd Alexander ($amzn)
Twenty and Ten by Claire Huchet Bishop ($amzn)
Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson ($amzn)
The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois ($amzn) (K)
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George ($amzn) (K)

Sarah Plain and Tall series by Patricia MacLachlan
Sarah Plain and Tall ($amzn) (K)
Skylark ($amzn) (K)
Caleb's Story ($amzn) (K)
More Perfect than the Moon ($amzn) (K)
Grandfather's Dance ($amzn) (K)

If your students in years 4-6 could benefit from some easier, but still excellent living books for free reading, consider choosing four or five books from this list:

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien (ChrBk) ($amzn)
The Rescuers by Margery Sharp ($amzn) (K) (and others in the series)
The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden (ChrBk) ($amzn) (K)
Homer Price by Robert McCloskey (ChrBk) ($amzn) (K)
Centerburg Tales by Robert McCloskey (ChrBk) ($amzn) (K)
The Great Brain by John D. Fitzgerald; particularly interesting to boys; skip (or preview) the last chapter, ch 8, "The Great Brain's Reformation," as it's a light-hearted tale told in a frivolous manner about a boy's attempts to do himself in after his father disparages his disability. ($amzn) (K)

Noel Streatfeild books (appealing to girls in particular)
Ballet Shoes (ChrBk) ($amzn) (K)
Skating Shoes ($amzn) (K)
Dancing Shoes (ChrBk) ($amzn) (K)
Theater Shoes (ChrBk) ($amzn) (K)

Kate Seredy books, including:
The Good Master (ChrBk) ($amzn)
The White Stag ($amzn)
The Singing Tree (ChrBk) ($amzn)
The Chestry Oak ($amzn)

(Purchase a Kindle)

Footnotes

2. Note on Audiobooks: While links to audio books are added as a courtesy, Miss Mason's approach to grammar and composition is heavily dependent upon the children receiving an immense amount of visual exposure to the written word over many years, so parents should exercise extreme caution in how many audiobooks they use each year. Our brains just work differently when we see the words.

For children who have difficulty reading, one solution is to have them follow the audio version along in a written text.
Librivox free audio is done by volunteers, and some are better than others. Heidi Nash has a list of some favorite Librivox readers. Be aware that apps, including Librivox, that have clickable ads can open a browser and allow children unfiltered access to the internet, even when browsers have been disabled by the parent. There are options: either download mp3 files from Librivox and listen without the app, or only install the app on a parent-controlled device. Librivox has a pay option to turn off ads.

Cindy Rollins did a Circe Mason Jar podcast that included the role of audiobooks with difficult books.
(Back)

04. Timeline: Students who are ready for more timeline work than they have done before, but who are not quite advanced enough to begin a Book of Centuries (recommended for ages 10 and up), may like to begin a slightly more detailed chart, which Laurie Bestvater has named a "Stream of History" (The Living Page, p. 47-50). However, such a chart must still be kept quite simple, with a focus more towards general time periods and centuries rather than single years: "[it should be] conveniently visible as a whole, say within the compass of at most a yard in length" (p. 48). (This chart will continue to be used even after the Book of Centuries has been begun.)

Those who are ready may add the Book of Centuries, a lovely and important notebook which has been described elsewhere. Two Book of Centuries options: (£) (£)

Resources: Read an Advisory member's blog post about early timelines at Wendi Wanders. Instructions for timelines and charts are included in these Parents' Review articles: Book of the Centuries; Teaching Chronology; The Correlation of Lessons. For more details about the why, when, and how of keeping CM timelines (and other notebooks), we strongly recommend reading The Living Page by Laurie Bestvater ($amzn). We have more links on our history page here. (Back)

6. Bible: Bible Gateway has many versions of the Bible online. It is preferable for a child to become accustomed to the language and flow of the King James Version of the Bible, as a familiarity with King James English will make other literature more accessible. Please read Lynn Bruce's article on the King James Version.
Year 4 students read stories from 1 and 2 Samuel, and the life of Jesus taken from all four gospels. See AO's Bible plan. Charlotte Mason taught both with commentaries, reading the Bible passage first, then narration, then reading the commentary, but Smyth's commentaries may reflect the doctrine of his era and denomination; they are not necessary to follow the Bible schedule.
Note: Parents/teachers may want to preread 2 Sam 13 (scheduled in week 28) and 2 Sam 18 (scheduled in week 32).
Optional Bible Resources: TimelineTimeline; Study questions with maps. (Back)

8. This Country of Ours is available in an "Annotated, Expanded, and Updated" version that includes correct tribal names, added information, and a pronunciation guide. Vol 2, used this Year, contains ch 29-63. Available in Paperback: ($amzn) or Hardcover: ($amzn) as well as Kindle: (K) More details are explained on our blog.
If you prefer, you can still purchase the original version: ($amzn) K The link to Project Gutenberg's etext and Librivox's audiobook have used the original public domain version.
Scheduled this year: ch 29-63 Charles I-George III.
Term 1: ch 29-40 (Charles I-Charles II/Anne, 1636-1680)
Term 2: ch 41-50 (George I-George III 1723-1766)
Term 3: ch 51-63, p 344-418, 74 pages (George III, 1765-1782)
Be aware that the edition for sale from Wilder Publications has no Table of Contents or chapter numbers. Public domain texts are available for anyone to copy, paste and publish, and many new companies are springing up publishing and selling these texts without editing for typos.
For planning purposes, there is a table of contents with dates for This Country of Ours. (Back)

10. George Washington's World: There are various editions of this book. If you have the older version, use this alternate weekly schedule; if you have the newer Expanded Edition by Joanna Foster published by Beautiful Feet Books, use this alternate weekly schedule.

If you need an online option, we suggest The Story of Mankind by Hendrick Van Loon ($amzn) (K) β α Ω
Read Charlotte Mason's book review of Van Loon's Story of Mankind.
Term 1: ch 44-45 Religious Warfare, 1535-1648; English Revolution 1714
Term 2: ch 46-49 Balance of Power (Louis XIV), Peter 1698; Frederick William I, Prussia, (1740-1886)
Term 3: ch 50-52, Mercantile System, American Revolution; French Revolution, 1789-99
For planning purposes, there is a table of contents with dates for The Story of Mankind.
Optional: For those who wish to supplement, or to combine students in the same year, corresponding chapters of A Child's History of the World for younger children are as follows:
Term 1: ch 71-72 (ch 67-68 in 1st ed) Charles I, Louis XIV, -1620
Term 2: ch 73-74 (ch 69-70 in 1st ed) Peter the Great, Frederick the Great, 1750)
Term 3: ch 75-76 (ch. 71-72 in 1st edition) American Revolution, French Revolution, 1789)
Corresponding chapters of An Island Story:
Term 3: ch 95 and 96, 1760-1820, George III.
Corresponding chapters of An Island Story by H. E. Marshall β α (£) (£amzn) (£amzn) ($amzn) (K) Ω (Back)

16. Trial and Triumph: Descriptions of some trials of the Christians may be intense; parents should preview chapters to determine suitability based on their children's sensitivities. If you prefer, you can skip this book and cover church history in Years 7-9 with a different book, Saints and Heroes, by George Hodges.
This book tells church history from a definite Protestant perspective; some families may wish to skip this book or find an alternative.
Trial and Triumph used to be online, but now only a sample of the book is available online. This is what we used to post about the online posting: Google Books does have permission from Canon Press to have Trial and Triumph in full online. Here is a statement from Canon Press: "I believe we have extended permission to them to display that title. Obviously we would love for folks to purchase hard copies but we understand the limitations of many folks. If they do benefit from the online version though, we would be grateful for some sort of review whether it be on a blog, on Amazon, or on our own website. Thanks for contacting us to check. We really appreciate it." - David Hoos, Canon Press - Customer Service www.canonpress.com (Back)

17. Answering the Cry for Freedom: This book is scheduled over three years. Parents, please note that the most offensive racial epithet is included in chapter 2, about Agrippa Hull, as part of a quote. We suggest reading this aloud and skipping or replacing the word. Additionally, there is a reference to amputation without anesthesia. (Back)

18. Poor Richard: There is no Kindle version of this book. When you click on the link AO provides to the paperback edition, amazon may try to suggest a Kindle link to a book of the same name, but it's not the same book. Make sure the book you get is the one by James Daugherty. The publisher of the currently-available book is Beautiful Feet Books.

The Poor Richard chapter "The Flaming Border" (pgs 71-77) has wording that reflects the time the book was written: "red men," "white men," and "squaw."

18a. No, your copy of Poor Richard is probably not missing a page. ;-) The book seems to end abruptly on page 158, and the next page has the image of a faded historical document. But it's intentional. The document is the epitaph that Franklin wrote in 1728, and which is referred to on page 52. Page 158 ends with the words "He remembered something he had written long ago about" and then the next page adds "the Body of B. Franklin, Printer; Like the Cover of an old Book, Its contents torn out, And stript of its Lettering and Gilding, Lies here, Food for Worms. But the Work shall not be wholly lost: For it will, as he believ'd, appear once more, In a new & more perfect Edition, Corrected and amended By the Author. He was born Jan. 6, 1706. Died 17" (Back)

20. Chapter 3, p. 17 of the Abigail Adams book contains this paragraph - 'Their love was growing giddy and passionate. Increasingly their meetings started with conversation, but quickly turned to lovemaking that pushed hard against the bounds of prudence. Both had so much -- yearning, called 'excessive sensibility,' that they actually became ill from anxiety and anticipation as the years of courtship continued.' The word 'lovemaking' is used in the old context of courting, but today's Hollywood movies have changed our perspective on the word. You might want to think twice before you leave it out.
Also, Chapter 3, pg. 20 refers to a servant named Tom. Abigail herself was staunchly anti-slavery. However her parents owned four slaves. Tom is referred to as a servant here, but he was one of the four people her parents held in slavery. Read more at https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/globelocal/2019/02/06/the-untold-stories-slaves-who-lived-abigail-adams-birthplace/HKhfj6jdy7r161zjJPaYII/story.html
If you're using the 36-week schedule posted, chapter 3 is scheduled in week 15. (Back)

Recitation: Charlotte Mason's PNEU schools expected children to be able to recite two Bible verses and a poem for their term exams. We have listed suggestions, but students should be allowed to have some input into what is memorized for recitation. Some students will gravitate towards a specific poem, or want to memorize all of a Psalm, and that should be encouraged. There are some possible suggestions for Shakespeare passages on our Shakespeare recitations page. (Back)

22. Minn of the Mississippi: These links have information and/or maps about the Mississippi River Page: The Great River; Map; Wikipedia. Beautiful Feet Books sells a set of maps for the Holling books; click on the link and then do a search for Holling Maps. (Back)

24. Material World/What the World Eats - How to use these books:
Leave them out, preferably near a globe or world map, and browse through them together from time to time.
Leave them out, browse through them and maybe once a month pick a country that especially interests your child. Look it up (briefly) on Wikipedia or in a good atlas. Read a little bit more about it. Find it on a map or globe.
If your child is interested, he can pursue additional research in his free time and learn more about countries that particularly interest him, but this should be his own delight directed study or hobby.
How not to use these books: as the basis of a unit study or a burdensome checklist of additional tasks to fulfill.
Note: Material World: pg 16 and pg 70 have some National Geographic types of photos that parents may want to screen.
Hungry Planet: What the World Eats by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio looks similar to What the World Eats; we think it could be used interchangeably. ($amzn) (Back)

26. Geography: SeterraOnline offers Free Map Quiz Games. If you have an iPad or iPhone, TapQuiz is a free map quiz app. (Back)

28. The following geography concepts should be explained and taught this year; a book is not necessary as these can be explained informally during walks and outings.
AO's complete list of geography topics

Term 1: Earth's surface is mostly water; highlands (cooler), lowlands (warmer), mountains (foot, slope, summit) and valleys
These topics are covered in these chapters:
Charlotte Mason's Elementary Geography (£) (£amzn): The Surface of the Earth Part I
Charlotte Mason's Elementary Geography: The Surface of the Earth Part II
Charlotte Mason's Elementary Geography: Highlands and Lowlands
Long's Home Geography α (£) (£amzn) 11. Plains
Long's Home Geography α 12. Hills, Mountains, Valleys

Term 2: The water cycle: clouds, rain, rivers, ocean, evaporation (vapor); dew, snow
These topics are covered in these chapters:
Long's Home Geography α 13. Rain, Wind, and Snow
Long's Home Geography α 14. How Water is Changed to vapor
Long's Home Geography α 15. How Vapor is Changed to Water
Long's Home Geography α 16. Dew, Clouds and rain
Long's Home Geography α 18. How Rivers are Made
Long's Home Geography α 19. More About Rivers
Charlotte Mason's Elementary Geography: Rivers

Term 3: Rivers and waterways; rivers start at a mountain spring and flow to the sea; a river's source, mouth, bed, two banks, tributary (branch), rapids, cataract, waterfall. Oceans and their parts, why rivers wind, work of rivers (fertile after flooding, pebbles, gravel, sand)
These topics are covered in these chapters:
Long's Home Geography α 21. Work of Flowing Rivers
Long's Home Geography α 22. Waterdrop's Story
Charlotte Mason's Elementary Geography: Countries
Charlotte Mason's Elementary Geography: The Waters of the Earth Part I
Charlotte Mason's Elementary Geography: The Waters of the Earth Part II
Charlotte Mason's Elementary Geography: The Oceans and Their Parts (Back)

30. Madam How and Lady Why: This year, the first half of the book is covered:
Term 1: The Glen, Earthquakes
Term 2: Volcanos, Transformations of a Grain of Soil
Term 3: The Ice-Plough, The True Fairy-Tale
Anne White has formatted the text with her study notes into separate volumes. Volume 1, "A Walk Through the Glen," is scheduled in Year 4. Volume 2, "Further Afield," is scheduled in Year 5.
Walk Through The Glen text with a few edits (mostly for comments that would be considered racist by today's standards) for your student to read along.
The text with Anne White's study guide which is linked above is recommended but not required. If you prefer just the original book without the study guide or edits, it is available at these links: Project Gutenberg β α (£) ($amzn) (£amzn) Ω K Schedule for the original book
Madam How and Lady Why is scheduled slowly over two years. This is an earth science book; if you use the study guide, you'll see that it takes time to adequately cover the subject matter. Researching the topics is what makes this useful as a science book.

Of what value is an old science book like Madam How and Lady Why? Apart from the superior writing quality, the best thing you can get out of old science books is a strong sense that science is a constantly changing thing, and that the "scientific evidence/theory/conclusion" of today can be debunked in a year, or two, or ten. Children should learn to take the words "Scientists think . . ." for exactly what they are worth (always worth considering, but never to be considered the final word). Reading older books will help you develop that sense.
Note on Kingsley's "old earth" comments: During the era when Madam How and Lady Why was written, there was no "young earth" discussion out there: evidence seemed to show an old earth, and the Church of England (Charles Kingsley was a clergyman), by and large, accepted a kind of theistic evolution.
This book is invaluable for understanding the deeper ideas of how to approach science. If you do nothing else with this book, at the very least, read the preface and chapter 8 (Madam How's Two Sons) -- that's the bare minimum, but, really, this whole book is truly worthwhile. Some parents are hesitant to use this book because of outdated science information; keep in mind that whatever is current, accurate and up to date changes all the time. Even if you buy a current science book today, there is material in it that is already out of date and will be defunct next year. Some science teachers complain that in some areas what is currently held as true changes so fast that they think science would be best taught using science journals as the text, and even then, in some topics, over half of what is published in journals ends up being retracted later. But that's data, and it's easy to correct outdated data. The ideas in this book are the foundation of a CM philosophy. This is a book to read together with your kids, to discuss, to research together. Some of the style of the writing can be off-putting, but that is also something that could become an advantage: use it as a writing or narration project, asking your student to 'retell what the author is getting at, but in current terms.' (Back)

31. Storybook of Science: Two chapters a week were scheduled, which meant that a few chapters are unscheduled. We tried to leave out chapters that are more outdated, but you are welcome to make different selections than we did, or to read three chapters some weeks so that the entire book is read. Note that chapter 57 (Belladonna Berries) tells of a little friend of Emile and Jules who died; this is meant to be a jarring cautionary tale about eating poisonous plants, and may be upsetting to sensitive readers. Chapter 63 suggests that poisonous mushrooms will be rendered safe to eat if they are boiled in salt water; this may be true for some mushrooms, but different species have different toxins, and not all are safe if they are boiled in salt water. Even "Uncle Paul" admits that using this as a general rule "would be going too far, much too far." (Back)

32. Ocean of Truth/Isaac Newton: If you already have the Sower Series biography of Isaac Newton by John Hudson Tiner (ChrBk), feel free to use that. If you need something online, there is a chapter about Isaac Newton in Robert S. Ball's Great Astronomers. β α K
There's also a chapter on Newton in Nathaniel Hawthorne's True Stories from History and Biography. α (Back)

34. Friedhoffer's "Science Lab in a . . ." books are a great resource, but they're hard to find; don't spend more than $10 on a used copy. Barnes and Noble still has copies. (Back)

35. Poetry: How do you "do" poetry? Simply read it and enjoy it, re-read it, read it again and listen to the sound of the phrases, let them paint a word picture in your mind. Do you feel like you need more direction? How to Read a Poem: Based on the Billy Collins Poem "Introduction to Poetry" by Tania Runyan is "less as an instructional book and more of an invitation." This is a suggested optional parent resource that encourages you read poetry for enjoyment. (Back)

36. Plutarch: for this year, you might use Stories from the History of Rome, by Emily Beesly α ($amzn) (K); available at Project Gutenberg in Australia. Charlotte Mason used this book in her PNEU schools. The book contains 16 fairly short, easy chapters, and could be scheduled at about a chapter every other week in place of a Plutarch's Life each term. If you purchased the Yesterday's Classics Ebook package, this book is included in that collection. (Back)

38. Heroes of Asgard: The online and amazon links above are for Anne White's Asgard to Athens, which includes study guide and corresponding text for Keary's The Heroes of Asgard and Bulfinch's The Age of Fable in one volume for use in Years 4-6. ($amzn)
If you prefer to use the old 3-year schedule for Age of Fable, you can find it here. (Back)

40. Robinson Crusoe Book II, The Further Adventures, in which Crusoe returns to the island and goes to Madagascar, Asia and Siberia, is not scheduled and is not included in most versions of the book. Robinson Crusoe will be difficult for most students; we recommend that it be read aloud, or an audiobook be used. (Book 1 ends at "All these things, with some very surprising incidents in some new adventures of my own, for ten years more I may, perhaps, give a further account of hereafter." and Book 2 begins at "That homely proverb used on so many occasions in England, viz. 'That what is bred in the bone will not go out of the flesh,' was never more verified than in the story of my Life.") The book starts slow, but most students end up loving it. Robinson Crusoe was worked into the 36-week AO schedule using an edition that had 27 chapters. If you use the Project Gutenberg etext or an edition that has no chapters, you may find this breakdown more useful. (Back)

42. Free Reading books are books that no child should miss, but rather than overloading school time, these can be read during free time. No narrations need be required from these books. Advisory member Wendi C. suggests, "How you handle these is up to you..." (more) Parents should also explain to students that historical fiction, while often well-researched, is still fiction, and contains the author's ideas of how things might have happened. Books with asterisks pertain to that term's historical studies. (Back)

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For those on a strict budget, recommended purchases are:

Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock is used for 6 years; ($amzn) (Also online, but would be cumbersome to utilize that way.)
a math program
George Washington's World by Genevieve Foster (check library) ($amzn)
Poor Richard by James Daugherty ($amzn)
Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution by Natalie S. Bober ($amzn) (K)
Material World: A Global Family Portrait by Peter Menzel ($amzn) and What the World Eats by Faith D'Aluisio and Peter Menzel ($amzn) -- these are not required, but they're are nice to look through; we suggest seeing if your library has them.
Minn of the Mississippi if your library doesn't have it ($amzn)
Gregor Mendel: The Friar Who Grew Peas by Cheryl Bardoe and Jos. Smith - a picture book ($amzn)
The Ocean Of Truth by Joyce McPherson or other biography of Isaac Newton ($amzn) (K); we offer an online biography of Newton, but the book is truly a better option.
a Latin/foreign language program
The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford if your library doesn't have it ($amzn) (K)
Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis if your library doesn't have them ($amzn) ($amzn) (K)
Elizabeth Enright books are nice if you can find them cheap (but not worth high collector prices) ($amzn)
Other books can be read online or borrowed from the library.

Last updated March 31, 2023 (to update Bible)