3rd Grade Home School Curriculum
Here is my TOP 3rd Grade Home School Curriculum picks for homeschooling a 3rd-grade student. Homeschooling 3rd-grade students are all about developing the foundations of subjects and always adding in some fun and extra activities!
Whether you have made the decision to homeschool or are still considering the final decision to actually homeschool or home educate your children, one of the most major decisions is which curriculum will be used. The choices can be a bit overwhelming and I have highlighted what I have used over the years. Here are my selections for Grade 3.
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Homeschooling is challenging but wonderful and very rewarding. My children are benefiting from me and me from them!
Your role as a home education parent to a Grade 3 child is that you are a Parent at Elbow (PEW) teacher. What this means is that you will be sitting next to your child helping them understand concepts and complete work to the best of their ability. Parents should be at the elbow working right alongside their child through every subject., every single day! If you want success, this is where you will need to be.
Third Grade Home School Curriculum
Math
Saxon Math Level 3 OR Level 5/4
If you are unsure of the level of Math to place your child, Saxon Math has placement tests you can download and give to your own child to test their levels.
Saxon Math 3: Placement Test (PDF) and Scope and Sequence (PDF)
Saxon Math 4: Placement Test (PDF)
Saxon Math 5/4: Placement Test (PDF) and Scope and Sequence (PDF)
Does it work? Yes
Will I continue to use it? Yes.
My 3rd grader will begin Saxon Math 5/4, but her sister was only at Level 3 when she was in Grade 3 — so it really depends on the child when selecting the appropriate level. We are heavy on Math in this house! {As you can see} This is the second summer we have not tutored during the summer or completed daily work to remain fresh. The reason is that my little one is so far ahead in Math that I needed to slow her down a bit. She literally flew through Saxon 2 & 3 this year - BOTH BOOKS!! We will continue to use Saxon Math as I really like this curriculum, the children are familiar with it and it works!
Grammar
Shurley Grammar Level 3
Does it work? Yes
Will I continue to use it? YES
This is not the greatest Grammar curriculum, but the co-op we attend uses this, so we are a bit stuck. If I could select what works best for my children, I would select Growing with Grammar. LOVE this one so much better!
Spelling
All About Spelling (Level 3) OR Soaring With Spelling Grade 3
Does it work? yes and yes
Will I continue to use it? Yes & We will because I can't locate a curriculum that WORKS well.
My daughter (grade 3) is not progressing in Spelling at all. I'm not sure what the deal is because she is reading at her level, but can not spell to save her life. is a good curriculum, but I don't think it is a good fit for my daughter.
Handwriting/Penmanship
Rod & Staff Grade 3
My daughters have wonderful fine motor skills, but their handwriting is not so great, I think because they are left-handed and struggle with where to place their paper and how to hold their pencils.
Literature/Composition
Introduction to Composition Student Guide (Grade 3)
Does it work? YES
Will I continue to use it? Yes
various literature books Grade 3: Hittite Warrior, Alexander the Great, Archimedes and the Door to Science, D’Aulaires Greek Myths, Detectives in Togas, Bronze Bow
My daughter will be taking Literature & Composition at her co-op. Their assignments are reading and writing reports on the books assigned. I have ordered all the material assigned and after perusing the books have discovered once again, these books are well below my son's reading level, but the books are interesting and engaging, so that helps. My daughter could care less what she reads and if she doesn't know what a word is she will simply guess and move on (trying to break this bad habit).
My daughter loves to write, but not when she is given the topic. She wants to use her imagination, but I think this class will steer her in better directions with a specific assignment.
Omnibus/History/Social Studies
Mystery of History Volume I - Creation to the Resurrection
Does it work? YES
Will I continue to use it? Yes
We are so excited to use this again this year. We so missed it last year!! My son, who will no longer be homeschooled, even told me not to read any pages unless he is home. This is GOOD stuff!!
It might seem like it is a bit out of order as we began with Mystery of History III first — and then moved to Mystery of History II and now in 3rd Grade we are suggesting Mystery of History I. You may begin in any order you like. BUT, since my children are classically educated — all their curriculum ties in with their subjects. So if you decide to begin with Mystery of History Volume I, remember that the time periods coincide with the assigned books for Literature. Just keep that in mind.
HARDBACK BOOK
SOFT COVER BOOK
English/Vocabulary/Language: I feel this is covered well with Shurley Grammar and Lit/Comp work
Science
Exploring Creation with Zoology 3 AND Exploring Creation with Botony
Does it work? YES
Will I continue to use it? Yes, We love Apologia!
YES - you will need both. The reason is each of these textbooks only has 14 lessons. One book per semester. If you want to stick with animals for the entire school year - simply select Apologia Flying Animals or the Apologia Swimming Animals as the other textbook.
My children adore Science and I'm happy to fill their brains up with whatever they want. We all adore Science and I will continue to be Science heavy in this house. This will be an exciting year as we will be hosting/hatching baby quail eggs for the academy - can't wait!! This will be our first year using the Exploring Creation with Zoology with the Notebook Journal and my animal adoring children are over the moon.
Religion/Memory
God's Great Covenant, OT Book 1
Does It Work? GGC - yes
Will I continue to use? yes
I love GGC books! The God’s Great Covenant is a series of 4 textbooks that can be used for four years. Begin with the Old Testament book 1, then move on to the Old Testament Book 2 and then the New Testament book 1 and then the New Testament book 2. Really you can go in any order, but the New Testament is a bit harder for the lower grade levels.
I did recommend this textbook for Grade 2 and if you did use it for Grade 2, just use it again. This year your 2nd grader can complete the assignment in the workbook. God’s Great Covenant is awesome. It begins with the first half of the Old Testament in Grade 3 and you advance your student to the second half of the Old Testament in Grade 4. Grade 5 moves your student to the New Testament, the first half and the student will complete the NT, part II in Grade 6. The book is straight forward and contains age-appropriate information.
Foreign Language
Does it work? yes
Will I continue to use? Yes
We have selected Latin as our Foreign Language and will continue with Latin for as long as my kids enjoy it. My daughter utilizes the Logos Latin book, which we began last year. Sadly, she forgot everything we worked on last year, but that's okay. She seems to enjoy Latin as well. Latin is a struggle and I know we will have many hours of studying this year as well!
I do recommend if you are going to commit to Latin to purchase the teacher’s manual and the test booklet as well.
Art & Music
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers & Private Art Lessons & Violin Lessons
Does it work? Yes
Will I continue to use? Yes
I purchased Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers, Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Gershwin, Chopin, Handel, Stravinsky & Tchaikovsky. We began this last year and worked on it when we had free downtime. We will continue the same idea this year and work on this when there is a bit of downtime.
We read the books, along with books from the local library. We have a lapbook that we are completing and a page and many activities are dedicated to each composer. We conclude the unit study of each composer with a project. The children really love Music this year.
We will also be studying Music through the Rod & Staff curriculum. Learning notes and rhythm and the like. Both of the girls play the violin and they will continue as well with their private lessons as well as the Chamber Orchestra and Youth Symphony Orchestra.
Field Trips
We have many, many field trips since we live in a great city with numerous museums. Field Trip day will always be the favorite I think.
Here’s a post on our workboxes and how we use them in our homeschool classroom! I also have some printable workbox tags.
I really hope this helps in planning your homeschool curriculum for 3rd grade homeschooled students! Make sure to check out my other homeschool grade curriculum picks.
Here are my 1st Grade Homeschool Curriculum Recommendations.
Here are my 2nd Grade homeschool Curriculum Recommendations.
HOW TO MAKE A HOMEWORK SCHEDULE
I am attaching the spreadsheet and also the pdf of the homework schedule I use. I get assignments from my children’s teachers each week and I compile those assignments into a weekly spreadsheet that I then print ours for the,m. The assignments are listed by day fo the week so each day, they simply cross off the assignment once they are done and move on to the next subject. This spreadsheet is easy to navigate and easy to fill in with the assignments you receive from your child’s teacher.
