One of the best things about homeschooling is that each child can progress at his or her own pace. My kids move on to a new topic once they’ve mastered the current one. If they struggle with a given topic, there’s no pressure to skip ahead to keep up with the rest of the class—they keep working on that topic until they understand it. Likewise, if they excel at a given topic, there’s no need to slow down to wait for classmates to keep up.
My eldest child has excelled in some areas, but she’s also struggled in a couple of topics. This isn’t surprising because I started school with her when she was young. She was so bright and eager to learn that I started kindergarten materials with her the fall she turned five. Her birthday is late enough that she would have missed the cutoff date for starting public school kindergarten that same year. Because of her young age and the fact that she has progressed slowly through a few subjects, I decided to continue referring to her as a third grader and to take our time completing her work instead of trying to power through all of it.
I get most of my homeschooling materials from Timberdoodle. Based on what we can afford and what materials interest me, I use their kit customizer to assemble a kit that meets our needs. I then supplement these materials with various resources (books, documentaries, worksheets, etc.) acquired from other sources (such as the library, bookstores, and educational websites). We’ve been very pleased with Timberdoodle kits because they include play-based materials (games, puzzles, building toys, etc.), materials that teach kids how to learn, and materials that address a wide variety of subjects.
Here are the materials we will use for 3rd grade during the 2023-2024 school year.
Language arts
Grammar and writing
This workbook uses concise, engaging worksheets to teach the 6 traits that characterize quality writing (content, organization, word choice, sentence fluency, voice, and conventions). We like this workbook because its content is simple and entertaining. It is set up for students to complete one worksheet each day; however, we find it easier to complete 2 at a time. My daughter is about a quarter of the way through this book already, so she will complete 2 worksheets on 3 days of each week until she finishes it. Then she will focus on finishing Language Smarts D (described below).
Language Smarts Level D is chocked full of worksheets that provide a thorough look at language arts. Topics addressed include spelling, writing, grammar, punctuation skills, and reading. This curriculum is effective because its worksheets are colorful and contain fun activities. Because this book is so thorough, it is quite long. My daughter has completed about half of it, and she will complete most of the rest once she completes Daily 6-Trait Writing Grade 3 (described above). She will complete roughly 2 worksheets on 3 days of each week.
Zaner-Bloser Handwriting Grade 2
Zaner-Bloser Handwriting Grade 2 is a convenient handwriting program that teaches students a vertical manuscript alphabet (akin to the letter forms most widely used in everyday print). This book is engaging because it has colorful pages and simple activities. My daughter will work through this book a little at a time. She will work on it whenever she has completed an independent activity and is waiting for me to finish with one of her sisters so that I can help her with her next subject. There are enough of these times that she will be able to complete the book by the end of the school year.
Reading
This curriculum teaches language arts skills using a variety of written works that include fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, the novella, and novels. The written works are accompanied by worksheets that reinforce vocabulary and evaluate comprehension skills. The worksheets are colorful and engaging. My daughter excels at reading, so we started this curriculum last year after she finished her previous reading curriculum (All About Reading Level 4). We are enjoying it so far! She completes 1 chapter (referred to as a “Lesson in Literature”) each week.
Spelling
All About Spelling Level 2 and All About Spelling Level 3
I have struggled to find a spelling curriculum that works well for my kids. Midway through last year, I ditched what we were using and picked up a copy of All About Spelling Level 1. I finally found a curriculum that teaches spelling in a way that makes sense to my kids! I wish I’d started with this curriculum instead of trying others in previous years, but at least we’re using it now.
All About Spelling uses a multisensory, mastery-based approach to teach why words are spelled the way they are. We love its logical, pressure-free approach. My daughter progressed through Level 1 very quickly, so I believe she can easily complete Levels 2 and 3 this year. She’ll move at whatever pace is comfortable for her, but my best guess is that she will complete 1-2 chapters (referred to as “Steps”) each week.
Social studies
Civics and economics
180 Days of Social Studies for Third Grade
This workbook contains very brief lessons and activities on the topics of civics, economics, geography, and history. The lessons are straightforward and simple. We use the civics content in this book to meet our state’s requirement that homeschoolers teach “good citizenship.” We also use the economics content. We use other materials for geography and history (see below). My daughter completed most of the civics and economics content last year, so there are only a few pages remaining. She will complete 1-2 worksheets on 1 day of each week until she’s finished.
Geography
Skill Sharpeners Geography Grade 3
Skill Sharpeners Geography uses interesting lessons and activities to teach map skills and a variety of geography concepts. The book is easy to use, has full-color pages, and provides engaging activities. The lessons are somewhat narrow in scope, so I supplement them with materials from our library. My daughter has completed about half of the book. She will complete 2-3 pages on 1 day of each week until she finishes it.
National Geographic Kids United States Atlas and The 50 States: Explore the U.S.A. with 50 fact-filled maps! accompanied by The U.S.A. Regions and States Notebook
These books provide a fun and detailed look at the U.S. states. My daughter will use them to memorize the location of each state and to learn more about the landforms, natural resources, and culture of each state. She will use the books to complete The U.S.A. Regions and States Notebook (a free printable available from Becky at this Reading mama). This year my daughter will complete 25 states; next year she will complete the remaining 25 states.
History
Major Events in American History
This book provides short, kid-friendly descriptions of 50 key events in U.S. history. It contains colorful pictures, and the chapters provide pertinent information without being so long that they overwhelm the reader. I selected this book because it addresses some content often skipped by other elementary-level U.S. history homeschool books (for example, the founding of the city of Cahokia, the Nat Turner rebellion, and the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act). My daughter will complete U.S. history on 2 days of each week. On each day, she will either read a chapter in this book or read materials (from the library) on a topic that is not among the 50 events discussed in the book.
The Story of the World Volume 3 and The Story of the World Volume 4
Volume 3 covers Early Modern Times (Elizabeth the First to the Forty-Niners) and Volume 4 covers the Modern Age (Victoria’s Empire to the end of the USSR). These books, which detail world history in a read-aloud format, are a simple way to introduce world history to young students. I abridge the stories while reading them aloud (this makes their lengths and content more suitable for young kids). We will read 38 stories from these books this year. Most will come from Volume 3 and a few will come from Volume 4. This is because the author cautions against reading Volume 4 to younger students (the reasoning is that many events that shaped the twentieth century are particularly violent and difficult for kids to understand). We will read 1 story (and complete the corresponding activities) on 1 day each week.
STEM
Science
Purposeful Design Science Grade 3
My kids love science and I think this curriculum is one reason why. The books in this series are full of colorful diagrams, fun activities, and hands-on experiments. They provide a good level of detail. The Grade 3 book addresses life science, physical science, earth and space science, and the human body. My daughter will complete half a chapter each week.
Math
Math-U-See is a mastery-based, multisensory math curriculum. It uses colorful manipulatives (similar to “base 10 blocks” or “place value blocks”) to teach math. This curriculum has worked well for us because it explains mathematical concepts in a way that makes sense and because each student progresses at his or her own pace. My daughter will complete approximately 1 lesson each week.
Art, physical education, and music
The state in which we live does not require that homeschoolers provide instruction in art, PE, or music. Therefore, I haven’t yet begun using formal curricula for these topics. We do learn about them using various resources (books from the library, field trips, virtual tours of museums, documentaries, etc.). I have ideas regarding how to teach these topics in the future, but our casual approach will continue to work for this coming year.
Final thoughts
I have truly enjoyed the short break from school we’ve had this summer, but it’s time to select a way to celebrate the start of the new year and get back to structured learning! Thankfully, even though we cover so many materials, completing school only takes a few hours each day.
How are your back-to-school plans coming along? What grades are your kids starting? What books and other materials will they be using?
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