Third Grade Homeschool Curriculum 2024-2025

By Janny Jackson

Note: I am not affiliated with Rainbow Resources, therefore all links featured in this blog post are not affiliate links.

We are currently still finishing up our 2023-2024 school year, and as we do so I have been doing research and purchasing curriculum for next school year.

We have been extremely blessed to have been granted the 2023-2024 PEP Scholarship funds from the Step Up For Students program here in Florida. Having these funds has opened up access to many different curriculum and resources that I would not have considered otherwise if I had to purchase out of pocket.

I’ve been in research mode for months now writing down all of the companies and curriculums I come across that seem like a good fit for my rising third grader and watching tons of reviews on the different curriculums. Though we have these scholarship funds available I have tried my hardest to be very intentional with how I spend the funds to only buy things we will need and use in our homeschool.

That being said, my daughter’s lineup this year is $$$ (at least from my perspective) and I would never expect anyone to feel obligated or pressured into feeling like these are the specific required curriculum for third grade. There are tons of resources available to buy books and curriculum used, as well as sales throughout the year when you can purchase what you need for cheaper.

I am the type of homeschool mom that will stick with a curriculum if it is working. I do not believe in switching companies and curriculum just because one of us doesn’t like it or it isn’t colorful enough or some other trivial reason. I prefer consistency from year to year as long as it is effectively teaching my child what she needs to learn. In order to get consistency, you have to stick with a curriculum long enough to adjust to it and allow it to work.

My biggest encouragement to anyone homeschooling is no matter what books or curriculum you use give it time. Don’t rush to throw it away just because your child may push back about it one day. You set the tone and the pace in your homeschool and you can make whatever you are using work as long as it is not impeding your child’s growth and learning.

If you read my post from last year you will notice that some stuff has stayed the same, while some has changed and been added. If you read this blog post, you will see that once I made that change for my daughter and we realized that it is was exactly what she needed I decided to stick with it for her third-grade year.

Independent Work

We have used 180 Days of Spelling and Word Study for years in our homeschool and it continues to work really well. It focuses on grouping vocabulary words with the same sound blends together and using them in the proper context in different ways such as fill in the blank, alphabetical order, analogies, synonyms and antonyms and so much more. These workbooks are great for extra spelling and vocabulary practice and reinforcement.

As I finish up second grade with my daughter, I have noticed that she needs just a bit more practice with reading comprehension, so I purchased Daily Warm-Ups Nonfiction Reading for her to do independently with her morning work. It is very basic with a short story and a couple questions to answer about the story. I used this same workbook for my oldest student, and it worked so well with him. There will be a bit of struggle in the beginning of the year but as time goes on things will start to click and she will be completing these worksheets with ease.

Handwriting Without Tears is another crowd favorite in our homeschool. I really like how effective it is in teaching the strokes of writing, both print and cursive. My daughter has been doing cursive for second grade and has flourished in it. She will continue to perfect her skills next year using the third grade HWT cursive curriculum.

Group Subjects

I have yet to do a formal spelling curriculum in our homeschool, and this is the year we will begin. I taught my daughter how to read using Teach Your Child to Read In 100 Easy Lessons, and I don’t know if it was because of that method or if it just comes naturally to her, but she actually sounds out and spells really well. This curriculum is more for my rising fifth grader, but there’s no such thing as too much spelling practice so we will be doing All About Spelling Level 1 as a group.

My kids have been fascinated with mythology lately so I’m excited to do a little unit study about it together. I am a huge fan of Memoria Press and their literature guides, so I am really excited to see how this topic is presented and taught.

Main Subjects

We have been thoroughly enjoying using Math with Confidence for her second-grade year and will be continuing it in third grade. We both love how hands on it is and love that it uses manipulatives and games to teach the concepts.

This past year was the first time we used BJU Press for any subject, including English, and it has worked really well with my daughter. I really appreciate how it teaches the subjects, how it alternates each chapter with grammar and writing, and it’s gentle, colorful, and biblical teaching style. It fits our homeschool well and we are excited to use it again for the 2024-25 school year.

Mosdos Press Literature is another new curriculum we will by trying this year. I have been eyeing this curriculum for MONTHS and was undecided for a long time whether we should continue with BJU Reading or move into this. BJU Reading is another curriculum that has worked really well with my daughter, and we have both enjoyed it, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try this beautiful reading curriculum. I think it will challenge my daughter even more with not only reading comprehension but also learning about and diving into the elements of the story being read as well as some writing and vocabulary.

With me being the black sheep that I am I am even more excited to try it especially because it is NOT a curriculum that I have seen a lot of information about, so I will be able to draw my own opinions about it as we use it together.

We are back with another BJU curriculum! We have done science unit studies on specific subjects but have never used a formal science curriculum, so this will be a first. Again, I love how BJU teaches, and I think it will be a great fit for my daughter. This science curriculum will be completed in one semester of the school year.

I will admit science is not one of my favorite subjects, mainly because I know it is very hands on and time consuming. I am so glad I found that a Science Kit could be purchased to help with the Science 3 curriculum. It will make teaching it much more enjoyable and fun for both of us since I won’t be stressing about having to gather all of the materials needed for the projects.

Heritage Studies World Regions 3 is the other curriculum that will be completed in one semester, for a full year of BJU Heritage Studies. This curriculum introduces eight world regions and explores each region’s governments, geography, climates, economics, cultures, and religions. It is very convenient to have all of these topics in one curriculum all together and I am so excited for the things she will learn using it.

I also will be curating and acquiring a list of books for her daily independent reading from which she can choose to read in the order of her liking. After she completes a book, she will fill out a simple book report stating facts about the book such as title, author, characters and setting, as well as draw a picture of her favorite part of the book. These are fun keepsakes for her school portfolio as she reads throughout the year.

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I believe this 2024-2025 school year will be a pivotal year in my daughter’s learning and will really challenge her in ways she hasn’t been challenged yet, as well as continuing to grow her love for learning.

I feel so privileged to be part of her learning journey and am so excited to see how much she grows!

As always, thanks for being here!