How to Homeschool Third Grade
Do you have a homeschooler going into third grade? This year will be an exciting one for both you and your child as you notice them becoming more independent readers and learners, taking on new concepts, and exploring new topics.
To help your child succeed and reach all their third grade learning objectives, it’s important to know what to expect this year. This page provides tons of helpful information and answers many of the questions you may have about how to homeschool a third grader.
- How to Homeschool Third Grade
- What Schedule is Best for a Third Grader?
- What Subjects are Taught in Third Grade?
- Third Grade Learning Objectives
- Reading Book List for Third Grade
- Third Grade Homeschooling Tips & Ideas
- How Time4Learning Can Help you Homeschool Your 3rd Grader
- Additional 3rd Grade Homeschool Resources
How to Homeschool Third Grade
Follow the steps below to start homeschooling third grade:
- Find out what your state’s homeschooling requirements are.
- Choose a curriculum that best meets your family’s needs.
- Set goals around your lessons and create a schedule.
- Determine your homeschooling budget to cover all homeschooling costs.
- Track your child’s progress on a regular basis.
- Make learning fun.
With Time4Learning parents don’t need to worry about lesson planning as our curriculum provides all the details of what they need to teach and when. Check out our 3rd grade scope and sequence page for more information.
What Schedule is Best for a Third Grader?
For third grade, it is typically recommended to homeschool 30-45 minutes per subject per day. However, families are free to modify this schedule as they see fit and based on their child’s current schedule and specific needs.
Since homeschooling is a more personal learning experience, you’ll find that the one-on-one time allows you to get more done in a shorter amount of time.
Homeschooling Planner
Start planning out your homeschooling days with this free easy to use daily planner.
What Subjects are Taught in Third Grade?
Depending on your state laws, subject requirements for third grade homeschoolers may vary. However, parents do have the flexibility to determine the scope for their child’s studies. Typically, a third grader’s education will include the following subjects:
- Math
- Language Arts (reading, writing)
- Science
- Social Studies
- Technology (computers, keyboarding)
- Physical Education (PE)
- Art, Music and/or Foreign Language
Does your state require standardized testing for third grade homeschoolers? You may also want to research what subjects are assessed so you can be sure to cover those in your instruction.
Third Grade Learning Objectives
When homeschooling third grade, it’s important to set some learning goals to ensure they are getting prepared for the years ahead of them. Your third grade learning objectives can look something like this:
- Describe characters, identify the main idea and use supporting details
- Learn more elements of punctuation, capitalization, grammar
- Place more emphasis on proper spelling
- Write longer text in chronological order using transition words
- Write different types of text: opinion, informative, narrative, etc
- Learn multiplication table and begin to understand division
- Gain the skills to do mental math
- Understand, compare and identify fractions
- Gain an understanding of economic concepts
- Learn about the characteristics, way of life, and beliefs of various cultures
- Understand how different organisms interact with their environment
- Make inferences about observations, collect data and record information
Reading Book List for Third Grade
The list below is a good starting point to get your third grader homeschoolers reading more:
- Stuart Little by E.B. White
- James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
- Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary
- Encyclopedia Brown Takes the Cake by Donald Sobol
- Eight Balloons by Shel Silverstein
Students have access to tons of excerpts on a wide variety of topics with Time4Learning’s third grade language arts curriculum. Students will learn thematic content as they build their comprehension and vocabulary skills.
Third Grade Homeschooling Tips & Ideas
Families love the flexibility that homeschool provides. There are so many ways to incorporate learning into your homeschool and help your child grow as an individual.
Below are some ideas for homeschooling your third grade student.
- Hands-on activities – Most students love to work on arts and crafts projects and experiments that allow them to get hands-on. These days, there are tons of ideas that can help enhance your child’s studies on just about any topic and subject.
- Mix & match – There are so many curricula to choose from. Chances are, there are several that are a good fit for your child. Mixing and matching different homeschool programs and resources can give your child a more well-rounded education
- Field trips – Whether it’s museums, zoos or any other educational institution, make the time to go on field trips on a regular basis. Not only are they a fun opportunity to get out of the house, but also a great supplement to your child’s learning.
- Local events – Check your local events calendar on a regular basis. You may be surprised by all the fun things there are to do in your area, many of which may be free and educational, not to mention a great opportunity for socialization.
- Let them decide – Let your child have a say in what he or she learns. Let them pick their own books at the library, documentaries to watch, school supplies, and learn more about the topics that they are interested in.
- Talk it out – Talk to your child often. Now that he or she is older and learning more independently, ask them questions about what they are learning, what they would like to learn and what they would like to do differently.
How Time4Learning Can Help You Homeschool Your 3rd Grader
Time4Learning is a PreK-12th grade online curriculum that teaches math, language arts, science, social studies, and more. Our award-winning, comprehensive program can help your child reach all their third grade learning objectives with our interactive, engaging curriculum.
Our student-paced approach helps your child begin to work independently and become accountable for their learning. Parents have access to their child’s records and can log in anytime to see how they are progressing. Below are just some of the benefits that come with using Time4Learning’s third grade homeschool curriculum.
- Detailed scope and sequence helps parents plan their year.
- Automated grading and recordkeeping means one less task to worry about.
- Mix of animated lessons and interactive activities keep third graders engaged.
- Printable worksheets provide extra practice and reinforcement.
- Access to activity planners, resources, Parent Forum, and more.
- Adjustable grade levels and access to one above and one below default grade level.
- Math and language arts curriculum correlates to all state standards.
- Flexibility to redo lessons and activities as well as retake tests and quizzes.
- Access to third grade reading lists, spelling words, and tons of ideas for hands-on projects.
Additional 3rd Grade Homeschool Resources
- Third-Grade Curriculum and Lesson Plans to outline learning goals
- Tips on how to homeschool third grade
- Third-Grade Math Curriculum and Lesson Plans
- Third-Grade Language Arts Curriculum and Lesson Plans
- Third-Grade Science Math Curriculum and Lesson Plans
- Third-Grade Social Studies Math Curriculum and Lesson Plans
