Our school year is in full swing...with many changes. Kaleb has started a VPK program at a local school and J is entering the third grade. I feel third grade is definitely a transition year where J will become more independent with her school work. I have welcomed the opportunity to teach her these skills and look forward to our new school year. Here is our curriculum we are using for third grade.
For our main history curriculum, I chose
Sonlight Core D. I struggled with this decision because I knew it was going to be an intense learning year with lots of reading. With a tot under tow, I wasn't sure that I was going to be able to stay with the schedule. But I am not going to stress about staying true to the plan. I knew I wanted J to have some American History before starting Mystery of History and, after some research, I decided Sonlight would be the way to go. So, she will continue with Sonlight Core E next year and then, we will move on to Mystery of History (I love this program).
For Bible, we are finishing up
Telling God's Story Book 1. We truly loved this curriculum but we didn't finish last year because of the new baby. We will finish the rest of the lessons from book 1.
I felt like we need some character training as well so this year, we will be working through the
Virtue Training Bible series. This is an interesting take on character training that I am truly excited about. You read about different virtues in the bible and mark them with post-it flags and highlighters. At the end of the program, we will have a bible full of marked scriptures about great qualities we need in our lives.
For Math, we are continuing the program from
Horizons. J started Horizons Math in Kindergarten and we have just continued with this program through the years. It seems to work for her math concept understanding.
For Language Arts, J is using
Learning Language Arts through Literature - the yellow book for grade 3. I used this program with my older children and always loved how it worked through literature passages to teach Language Arts. It also has some hands-on-learning which I am truly fond of. We will use this program through high school.
For added phonics practice, J is using
Explode the Code Books 5 1/2, 6, and 6 1/2 this year. Again, we started this series in kindergarten and have followed them through to third grade. She is able to work these books on her own.
And I am teaching her cursive handwriting from
Handwriting Without Tears. I know there are people that say cursive doesn't need to be taught anymore but I guess I am old fashioned. I want her to be able to write in cursive and read cursive. How will she be able to read old documents written in cursive if she doesn't learn it? J loves this because it challenges her.
For Science, J chose
Considering God's Creation. This is a program that I also used with my Olders so I am excited to be using this again. It is a note booking Science curriculum complete with mini books and fun activities. J had a choice between this and
Christian Kids Explore Biology (another program that I love). She chose Considering God's Creation. We will do the CKEB next year.
For some hands-on action, I added
Homeschool in the Woods - New World Explorers. I love this program! I used it to teach my third graders overseas. It has some wonderful note booking pages as well as lap book components and lots of hands-on activities. J loves the "fun" stuff so I added these to give Sonlight Core D more hands-on activities. We will be working through the others CD's as time permits.
Lastly, for art, we will be working through
Great American Artists for Kids. Since J's theme this year is American History, I thought it would be fitting to learn about American Artists. This book allows for one artist per week for the next two years of American History learning. I will be learning along side of her as there were quite a few artists that I hadn't heard of. By breaking up the artists for two years, I don't feel like we have to rush through them - no pressure. I like that. For each artist, there is some history of the their lives and an art project. Most are easy to work with only a few needing extra supplies and such. If I can find a library book about the artist, we will read more and if time permits, J will do a notebook page on the artist to add to her art/music notebook. But like I said, no pressure. That's my kind of program.
We are also working on a state notebook with a new state each week. I want J to learn the states and capitals over the next two years of American History. The notebook pages we are using came from
Primary Graffiti. It is a free set of notebook pages for each state.
Wow! I look at our school plan and I panic. It looks like a tremendous amount of school work. I will definitely adjust the school plan if it proves to be too much. But after the first week, we seem to be finding the time for it. J will also be attending a Friday School (Thanks Mom!) in our area that gets her out of the house and with other homeschoolers. She will have art, music, P.E., chapel, and Rhythm Band. She is super excited about this program and I love that this is available in our area. Well, I hope your school is off to a great start. Enjoy:)
