Getting ready for 3rd grade

It is truly hard to believe my "baby" will be starting third grade this fall.

And it's also kinda hard to believe I've been homeschooling formally for three years, not including preschool. I am in no way an expert, but I have to admit that the planning part of things gets a little easier each year.

As I've mentioned before, we're following a classical style of education. In a nutshell, that just means we're studying history chronologically in four-year cycles, and our subjects align with the history we're learning that year. I use an incredible book called The Well-Trained Mind as my guide, and then I choose my own curricula based on how my child learns.

After this year's homeschool convention, I read the following statement in a pamphlet:

Man, was I convicted.


So I cut it out, highlighted it, and stuck it to the bottom of the bulletin board hanging over my desk in the school room. That means it's eye level when I sit down, and I see it every day. This is my ultimate goal in homeschooling and parenting, and I need to make sure I don't lose sight of that (and that's easy to do when you're stressing about standardized tests or comparing yourself to other moms and teachers!).

So, with that in mind, I will use the following textbooks this year:

Sometimes I like to just stare at all our school books, occasionally running my fingers over the new, not-yet-bent spines. Asher doesn't quite get the same feeling of anticipation and excitement as I do at the beginning of each school year.

Anyway...

The Story of the World continues to be our core history text. For third grade, we'll be going through the 3rd volume/year of the four-year cycle, which is early modern times. I'm excited because it means a trip to Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown! The smaller book is the text (we read one chapter per week), and the larger book has activities, printable pages, maps, and lists upon lists of additional historical texts and literature.

I've fixed our schedule a little differently this year. In the past, I've split the history chapter into three parts, usually on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. However, this year I'm going to move all our other subjects to the first four days of the week, leaving Fridays for history and science only. That means we'll sit down and read the entire chapter together, do the map work and make our narration page, and follow up with some sort of history activity, project, or craft. I'm looking forward to seeing how this works out.

(I just love the flexibility of homeschool!)

And while we're talking about "History and Science Fridays," here are our science texts:

We're studying chemistry this year. Unfortunately, chemistry text books for elementary school are difficult to come by, so our year will mostly consist of experiments and definitions. The goal is not to create a proficient 8-year old chemist at the end of the year, but rather to expose him to chemistry and ignite an interest.

We'll conduct one or two chemistry experiments each week, making a notebook page for each one. Asher will also write down any new term he comes across and then use the science encyclopedias to define it.

Next, we get into my favorite subjects: grammar and writing.

We'll continue to use First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind (grammar) and Writing with Ease (writing).

Also included under the umbrella of our language studies are spelling, penmanship, and vocabulary:

We'll continue using Spelling Workout. I've considered other spelling curricula, but I just haven't found one I like as much as the Workout books. We divide spelling into four days by doing one thing each day: copying the spelling rule, copying the spelling list, completing that week's lesson in the workbook, and finally, a quiz).

Asher will learn cursive this year, and since he successfully (and painlessly, I might add) learned to print using the Handwriting Without Tears curriculum, I'm going to use it again this year.

I also picked up a cool vocabulary book at the homeschool convention called 101 Doodle Definitions. Each page lists one new vocabulary word, followed by instructions on how to draw a picture to illustrate it. The idea is that it reinforces the vocabulary word to the child, helping him visualize the picture and thus recall the word's meaning when he sees the word again later. It seemed interesting and more fun than simply writing out definitions.

I also have several supplementary texts and activity books to use as I see fit.

The little orange book on the top left is set up like a passport, and each double-page spread has room for Asher to record and write down a summary of each book he reads. He will be required to read any assigned reading I give him for 30 minutes each day, and then he will read his own "fun" books for 45 minutes each day. We'll include regular trips to the library to pick out new books. I want Asher to become a voracious reader!

I also have two writing journals - one with blank pages and the other with writing prompts - which I plan to use at least once a week. Asher really enjoys creative writing, so I think he'll like these.

I bought the Abeka Spelling & Poetry not for the spelling words, but for the poetry in the second half of the book. Asher will memorize around 12-15 poems and speeches this year, and there are lots of great ones in this book that go along with our history curriculum.

Abeka's  Writing with Phonics 2 is also a supplement I'll use occasionally to give Asher practice with his cursive writing.

And finally, I just love the box of Famous Paintings I found at the convention! Each card has a different painting on it, and on the back of the card lists all the important information about the painting, artist, time period, etc.

As for math, we'll continue using Saxon. I find that people either love or hate Saxon Math. It's working well with Asher, so we're continuing on. One thing I love about this year's book is that Asher can read and do the lessons almost completely on his own! He's already completed the first 8 lessons throughout summer so far. I told him he has to finish lesson 10 and the first test before we leave for Bermuda.

Asher will also continue to learn German via Rosetta Stone on the computer. Since he's so young, my main goal is for him to be able to speak and understand German. Once he's older and required to take foreign language classes for high school credit, it should be a breeze for him.

We will also continue using Artistic Pursuits for our art curriculum. I have to admit that art is the first thing I cut out of our schedule when we're running behind. I feel bad about that, though I realize I never had any sort of formal art class until middle school. Still, Asher enjoys art, so I'm going to make a concerted effort to do lessons weekly. We'll include the Famous Paintings (mentioned earlier) as part of art.

And finally, we're going with Positive Action Bible Curriculum again this year. Asher enjoys the colorful worksheets, and I really love how meaty the lessons are. I also picked up this other workbook on Christian character to intersperse among lessons in the Growing With God text. Asher will also memorize a Bible verse each week, plus verses for Awanas.

So there you have it. I've already planned out our first three weeks of school, and I'm feeling good (though admittedly, a tiny bit overwhelmed at just how much we're going to cover this year!). Still, I've been enjoying picking out the additional literature selections to go along with our history timeline, as well as poems and speeches that Asher will memorize this year.

Here's my handwritten schedule for third grade:

We'll start in August!