Our Classical Christian Curriculum for Third Grade

Okie dokie, homeschool mommas. Before I share our selections for our classical Christian curriculum for third grade, I have a confession to make.

My boys are in between grade levels, and as I talk to more homeschooling families, I’m finding that we’re not alone. Part of the beauty of homeschooling is being able to meet our children where they are, ability wise, instead of hurrying them along according to a state timeline.

Some of the selections you’ll see here will be classified as second grade, while others are third grade. Dive in and see what would work best for your family. (I’ll include links to more third grade plans as well)

Classical Christian Curriculum – Second Grade Literature, Phonics and Spelling

Memoria Press speaks to my heart with their beautiful literature selections – we’re excited to be reading some great novels. On our list this year:

Prairie School
Animal Folk Tales of America
The Courage of Sarah Noble
Little House in the Big Woods
Tales from Beatrix Potter

MP creates amazing Student Study Guides to correspond with each novel, where students work on vocabulary, reading comprehension, literary elements and more. These are some of my favorite MP resources.

Memoria Press also works on reinforcing phonics in the second grade package. We’ll be using Core Skills Phonics and the Phonics Guide to Reading and Spelling.

For Spelling, we’re using Spelling Workout Level C. I was a little nervous about spelling with the boys, since they struggled with reading. So far, it’s been awesome.

$We're using Teaching Textbooks for our classical Christian curriculum and LOVE it. Don't miss these insider tips.$

Classical Christian Curriculum – Third Grade Math

We switched over to Teaching Textbooks last fall for math and love it. The boys are working through level 3 now, studying multiplying numbers and carrying in addition.

For more practice, we also use Nessy Learning’s Nessy Numbers.

Classical Christian Curriculum – Second Grade Cursive

Cursive writing is a subject that we started last year, but fell off toward the end of the school year.

Since the boys are in a Cottage School one day a week, cursive has become a requirement. We’ll be working hard to get both boys up to speed by Christmas, when they will have to submit their classroom work entirely in cursive.

This fall, we’re using New American Cursive Level 2, plus some of the practice pages as we need them.

Classical Christian Curriculum – Latin for Second Grade

Are you ready for this? We’re going to study Latin this year!

My boys have been begging to start Latin for years, but they needed a solid foundation in phonics first.
This year, they are finally ready.

After their first day in their Latin class, both boys declared Latin to be their favorite subject!

Classical Christian Curriculum – Science for Second and Third Grade

We’ll be doing some science as part of the second grade enrichment with Patterns of Nature, but my boys are begging for more.

When cross country season wraps up, I’ll be jumping into the third grade Mammals study, planning for a year round approach for a slower pace.

Classical Christian Curriculum – American Studies for Third Grade

Our American Studies work is going to ebb and flow as the year goes on. Right now, we’re going to read through Great Americans as a family read aloud, to get the boys familiar with great names in history. (see a sample here)

When the weather cools off and our schedule settles down, we will begin our States and Capitals study, using a two year plan. We’ll learn about each state, plus reinforce our learning with games like Scrambled States and Sequence States and Capitals.

Once we start our American Studies, we’ll also pull out this awesome art course from Chalk Pastel.
My boys LOVE working with chalk pastels, and I’ll enjoy reinforcing our lessons with hands on fun.

Classical Christian Curriculum – Enrichment and Fine Arts

One of my favorite pieces of the Memoria Press curriculum is the enrichment portion. We have a read-aloud each week, paired up with a piece of art, a music selection, poetry, as well as science, history and culture.

I have these Meet the Orchestra Cards from the SQUILT music curriculum that will mesh up perfectly. I can use the Music Enrichment Guide to guide our discussion about the composer and get a feel for the time period of the music.

Want to find out more about SQUILT Music? You can access a free lesson here.

Classical Christian Curriculum – the Extra Curriculars

Like I mentioned in one of my other curriculum posts, our schedule looks a little bananas at the moment. Add an extroverted mother to many children, and you might end up with a recipe for calendar madness. I’m holding on to my sanity by reminding myself that we get a breather at the end of October, when cross country season winds up.

This fall, the boys are involved in:
Cross Country – twice weekly practices, plus meets on the weekend. Physical activity is very important to our family. I was questioning the decision to sign up for a new sport, until last weekend, when Thomas crushed his first meet. #proudmomma
Blue Knights – during our Catholic Co-op once a month.
LEGO Robotics – during our Catholic Co-op once a month.
Religious Education – weekly during the school year.

To compensate for this crazy busy season, I’ve learned the fine art of saying no. Nothing else is going on our plate until we’re able to eliminate something first.