Curriculum Picks: Third Grade

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As we enter our fourth official year of homeschooling (I still don’t totally count Preschool since it’s not required here in CA) I’m facing a challenge I haven’t really come to terms with in the past. Doing “big kid school” with more than one child! Yes, Little Dude did kindergarten last school year, but it was so laidback and sporadic it didn’t feel entirely official. My Kindergarten Journal only takes about ten minutes so it was super simple. First grade and third grade sounds so much bigger to me, and I think my curriculum picks for this year reflect my big kids perfectly. You can read about last year’s curriculum picks here!

I started writing this post originally intending to include all our choices for third grade, first grade, and kindergarten in one post. It was way too long though (I have never been accused of having a minimalist writing style…or minimalist anything, really! Lol!) so I’m splitting it up into two posts. Today we’ll cover Squeaks third grade curriculum and our shared subjects. Have no fear! The post on Little Dude’s first grade curriculum and our picks for Flash’s kindergarten year is next! Let’s get started!

We always start our day with morning basket!

Our beloved morning basket is a great way to get in multiple subjects (check out some useful morning basket tips in this post). This portion of our day is done as a family so everyone gets the benefits. We always start this time with Bible reading. We’re currently enjoying The One Year Bible and it’s fueling loads of awesome conversations. In about 15 minutes of reading we cover an Old Testament passage, New Testament passage, and parts of a Proverb and Psalm. We also add in a devotional (you can see our favorite kid friendly devotionals here), and our New City Catechism.

The past few months we have also added The Story of The World  for history and love it! It even adds a geography element as we enjoy looking up locations as they’re mentioned. There is a corresponding workbook you can add, however we’re using it strictly as a read aloud right now. It reads like a story, not at all textbook-ish, and it’s super interesting. We have all really enjoyed it, and even Flash (nearly five years old) is picking things up.

Keep in mind that, while it is biblically based, there are stories and references to cultural myths, legends, and religious practices (Greek gods, magic, etc.). However, they are presented from a historical perspective and I have no problem with my children knowing these things exist. Just another opportunity to point them back to our Heavenly Father! We’ll read through all four volumes, then we’ll start it all over and add the workbook in for our second time through. I picked up some coloring pages to go along with the books and that’s plenty for my little learners right now. We’ll add the workbooks in on our second time through the chapter books.

Let’s get into our individual curriculum picks for Squeaks third grade year!

Math:

Squeaks has become more and more independent over the school year and has actually thrived when I walk away and let her work on math alone. That might sound strange but isn’t that the goal of homeschooling?! We want to teach them independence! So with that in mind, plus the need to focus a chunk of time on Little Dude’s lessons this year too, I’ve chosen to switch to Teaching Textbooks for Squeaks’ math this year. It’s completely online (she’ll use my iPad for her lessons) and it grades as she goes.

A report of her progress is sent to my email, but of course I’ll be there to answer questions when she needs help. I like that each lesson starts with a short lecture video to explain new concepts and Squeaks really enjoys earning the “stickers” for completed lessons. I’ll be able use the time when she’s working independently to work with Little Dude! She was slightly ahead in Master Books math and completed the level 3 curriculum last year, however with switching curriculum I’m starting her on level three again with Teaching Textbooks. If anything it’ll be a good review and confidence boost, and we can always switch to level four if it really is too easy.

Language Arts:

Out of all of our curriculum picks for Squeaks third grade year, language arts was the hardest to decide on. I knew it was time for us to move on from Master Books (you can read my end-of-year curriculum review here), but finding something to replace it with was particularly challenging to me. Not that there aren’t tons of options, I just had the hardest time narrowing it down! After reading loads of reviews and watching flip throughs on YouTube I landed on First Language Lessons from A Well Trained Mind.

Squeaks and I have used Well Trained Mind curriculum before when we did The Ordinary Parents Guide To Teaching Reading. We’re familiar with the script style lessons (it literally tells you word for word what to say) and it worked really well for us. It’s a classical approach to grammar and focuses on narration, dictation, and memory work. Plus, we get to learn sentence diagramming!! You know you’re a classical homeschooler at heart when you get excited about sentence diagramming. Lol!

The one thing First Language Lessons is a tad bit lacking (in my opinion) is spelling practice.

So to add more spelling into our year I’ve chosen an online course called Touch-type Read and Spell. It adds just enough spelling practice to not be overwhelming, plus Squeaks gets to learn a new skill! She has expressed a desire to learn typing recently, so this kind of kills two birds with one stone. I didn’t want anything too complicated since First Language Lessons is pretty comprehensive on it’s own and I believe TTRS fits the bill perfectly. The lessons are simple, it isn’t game based, it uses a multi-sensory approach, and tracks the student’s progress by accuracy and completion as opposed to typing speed. And it will be another subject Squeaks can do nearly independently giving me a bit more time for Little Dude’s lessons.

As far as penmanship and writing, Squeaks will be using a couple of my own creations.

She started cursive last year and really enjoyed it so I made a Cursive Bible Verses workbook. Each page has practice writing a letter of the alphabet and a corresponding Bible verse. It also includes practice for writing the books of the Bible and The Lord’s Prayer. This is the cursive version of my Alphabet Bible Verses.

Get your Cursive Bible Verses workbook here!

Squeaks won’t have a formal writing curriculum this year. We’ll continue using her Writing Journal (a free resource if you are signed up for my newsletter). The journal has space to draw a picture and comes with penmanship lined or simple lined pages for multiple age ranges. Squeaks has a pretty creative personality and easily comes up with writing topics. If she ever needs a little help though I’ll have her read out loud to me, then write and draw a picture about what she read. We also occasionally use Draw Write Now books that teach drawing skills and offer copy work for each picture. I also invested in a set called Draw and Write Through History; a similar concept to the Draw Write Now books, but for older kids. A little extra history lesson never hurt!

Take me to the FREE Printables Library!

Science:

Science was an easiest of our curriculum picks this year. It’s the only subject we will be continuing on with Master Books. We used the God’s Design series for beginners the past few years and it’s been an easy and fun way explore new subjects. This year we’ll be using God’s Design for Life, and since we already did the beginners version, this will build on nicely to concepts we’ve already covered. Science is not really my favorite subject to teach, but this curriculum feels like a comfortable resource for us. The lessons are only a few pages long and the optional experiments are simple and engaging. If a topic sparks curiosity there’s room to expand, otherwise we can just do a quick lesson and move on. It’s a great fit for us!

For a little added fun, we’ll also be working through The Human Body unit study from the Waldock Way. God’s Design for Life has a human body section but Jessica Waldock’s unit study looks so cool I couldn’t pass it up. She even includes QR codes to corresponding YouTube videos, suggested book lists, games, coloring pages, and activities. It’s so well done and I think it will be a great add on to mix things up a bit!

Lastly for science, Squeaks will also be participating in the fun science I have planned for my younger two boys. No reason to exclude her and it will be a fun treat. More on this is the post outlining our curriculum picks for first grade and Kindergarten!

Latin:

Latin is a slow and steady subject for us. We have been inching our way through Song School Latin and I think third grade is the year we’ll get a bit more serious with it. By serious I mean we might kick it up to lessons twice a week instead of just once. Squeaks is still the only one doing Latin (that first born child always jumps into things a little sooner it seems), but once Little Dude has a better grasp on reading we may start small lessons with him too. 

For Squeaks this year though, I’ve decided on Prima Latina by Memoria Press. After flipping through the book, it reminds me a lot of the Song School concepts but for slightly older kids. I’m excited to try a new resource for Latin and dive a bit deeper into such a useful and fascinating subject. I like that the workbook is simple and the curriculum includes a CD for pronunciation help. If you’re curious about why we chose to teach Latin, check out this article.

Extracurriculars: 

Squeaks has been enjoying weekly sewing lessons with my mom since she was six and that will definitely continue. They both love it and she’s getting really good. She’s sewn several stuffed animals, doll clothes, burp clothes for our local pregnancy center, and several lovely gifts for friends and family. It’s such a great skill and I’m thrilled she’s nurturing it.

Late last year we decided to give online piano lessons a try and it’s gone much better than expected. In fact, it’s one of Squeaks favorite afternoon activities, so we will be continuing with that. We’re using Hoffman Academy and have really loved the extra printables and games the subscription offers. Squeaks also enjoys being able pause and rewind as needed or do multiple lessons in a row. It’s a keeper!

And that wraps up our curriculum picks for Squeaks third grade year! Have you used any of these!? What was your experience like?