3rd-Grade Plans, 2018-2019


This is our second year of doing a full Charlotte Mason style curriculum with short, morning lessons according to a strict timetable on a wide variety of subjects.

This year will include many firsts for me: the first year where I have to document learning for our local school district, the first year with two students doing a full complement of morning lessons, and the first year as a mother of four. Wish me luck!

I have tried to note in [ ] whether I'm using a free book or how much I paid for each of the resources we are using. I am committed to homeschooling with free or really cheap books as part of our journey to be debt-free while living on one income.

 This post contains affiliate links. Read my full disclosure to learn more.

Language Arts: Reading/Literature, Spelling, Copywork/Handwriting, Recitation, Latin & Greek Roots


Reading/Literature (3x20min/week , oral narration after each reading)

American Tall Tales by Adrien Stoutenburg [$3.99 on Thriftbooks]
Johnny Tremain by Esther Hoskins Forbes [$1 book sale find!]
Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome [$1 book sale find!]
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling [Library or free online]
Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson [.25 book sale find!]
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett [Library or free online]
The Heroes; Or, Greek Fairy Tales for My Children by Charles Kingsley [free online]

We may or may not get through all these titles over the course of the year. I can always save some for read alouds or next year.

Spelling (3x10min/week)

All About Spelling Level 3 (continue from near the beginning of the book where we left off last year)
All About Spelling Level 4 (we'll begin if we happen to complete level 3)

To cut costs, I buy the teacher's manuals for about $10-14 each and make my own cards to use with them.

I know this is not how Charlotte Mason would have taught spelling, but I like giving my son an exposure to phonics through this program. I don't think spelling is a necessary subject at this age but it really working for us right now and it allows me to do dictation with him in an intentional way without any more planning on my part.

Copywork/Handwriting (4x10min/week)

My Book of Writing Words: Learning about Consonants and Vowels (Kumon Workbooks)
He will complete about 1 page from this book a day until we finish it, along with a line of cursive copywork.

Once we finish this book, we will switch to doing only longer cursive copywork, which he copies in a primary notebook from a current poem or song we are learning.

It is a small amount of writing daily, but it must be his best work! I have seen amazing improvement with this small amount of consistent practice.

Recitation (3x10min/week)

Each 6-week half term he works on reciting beautifully (often memorizing) 2 poems and 1 passage. I pick 1 poem and the passage and he picks the other poem with my approval.

You can see last year's Recitation and Memorization Pieces here.

Poetry (Listen to the same poem read aloud every day for a week at morning time)

Focus on a different poet each term:

  • Emily Dickenson
  • Walter de la Mare
  • Alfred Lord Tennyson

Latin & Greek Roots (daily at morning time)

English from the Roots Up Flashcards
We review a card every day working through the roots meaning and definitions of English words that contain that root.

I haven't included a conversational foreign language in our homeschool at this time because it is going to be a doozy for me. But I'm starting to warm up to the idea. I expect that we may add German after I wrap my head around having 4 children! 

Social Studies: History and Geography


History (3x30min/week, oral narration after each reading, plus related mapwork that I keyed to the readings)


Geography (3x10min/week, oral narration after each reading, plus related mapwork that I keyed to the readings)

  • Marco Polo: His Travels and Adventures by George Makepeace Towle [Printed Ambleside Online's free version]
  • The Guyot Geographical Reader and Primer: A Series of Journeys Round the World By Arnold Henry Guyot [free online]
We'll be alternating between these two texts throughout the year.

Mathematics: Math, Number, Geometry


Note: None of my math choices are conventional in the CM community and from what I've read they are not at all how Charlotte Mason would have done mathematics or arithmetic or geometry. However, we do use short lessons and narration. Most importantly, these choices work for us at this time for this child.

Math (4x30min/week, dictated narration after each lesson which I record in our math notebook (we use one of these)

Beast Academy 4B (finish from last year)
Beast Academy 4C
Beast Academy 4D

These volumes were kindly purchased by a grandparent for our math-loving son. I tear up the workbooks and place the pages in slip sheets. My son completes them with a dry erase marker so they can be saved for his younger siblings. 

Beast Academy is a deep and broad program that explores multiple strands of mathematical understanding as discussed in Adding It Up. It is challenging choice for my son who has already completed Life of Fred and Khan Academy through 4th grade for "fun" while in first grade.

 Number (1x25min/week, dictated narration after each lesson which I record in a math notebook)

For lack of a better term, I call this "number," but it consists of working through Gattegno's Mathematics Textbook 1 using Cuisenaire rods.

Geometry (1x10min/week, dictated narration after each lesson which I record in a math notebook)


I don't love Khan Academy for geometry. However, our regular math curriculum does a great job at covering geometry as well, and Khan Academy is free and easy to implement, so it works for now!


Science: Natural History, Special Studies, Nature Notebooking


Natural History (3x10min/week, oral narration after each reading)
Ebooks are read using my small android tablet. Printed books seem to be retained better, but the ebooks are so amazing that I think they are worth it.

Special Studies (1x20min/week, oral narration after each reading)

I chose the following topics for the year:

Term 1: Wildflowers & Seeds / Birds & Spiders
Term 2: Shells and Marine Life / Birds at the Seashore [in preparation for a few weeks at the beach]
Term 3: Wildflowers & Trees / Insects

I used the rotation found on Sabbath Mood Homeschool to come up with this list.

Right now, our special study for each term involves a weekly time devoted to reading about the topic through books I've selected. I also choose additional books on the topic to read during our morning time.

I try very hard to think ahead about something we can observe about our special study while out in nature. I read up on the topic in The Handbook of Nature Study and spend just a few minutes focusing on it while we are out together. I also try to attend local events on our special study, like a wildflower walk at a nature preserve or a guided hike about animals in winter.

Finally, I encourage my son to focus on the special study when he is making daily nature notebook entries. I also set aside one day a week where I expect him to find time to make what we call a weekly nature notebook entry. Usually, he draws something about the topic he has been reading about in his special study and then dictates something about the topic which I record. The rest of the page we fill with random "I wonder . . . " and "I noticed . . ." statements that show me a little of what is on his mind.

Nature Notebooking (daily entries, weekly entries, nature watercolor drawings)

My son is responsible for noticing something from nature and dictating a line or two to my husband or me to write into his nature notebook daily. We still miss a few days a month and that is perfectly fine for us. We do this all year round, 7 days a week.

During weeks where we have lessons, he makes a weekly page leaving room for a drawing and writing about his current special study. Later in the week, he adds an illustration using watercolors.

Morning Time

I select many living science and natural history books as part of our morning time. These titles are not narrated.

Wild + Free Nature Group

New for us this year, we will be participating in a weekly year-round nature meetup at a rural property. The group includes several homeschool families as well as several families with preschool-aged children who intend to homeschool. Right now, everyone is getting to know each other and the property. We'll see how this fits into our special study as time goes on.


Art and Music: Watercolor, Handicrafts, Singing, Artist Study, Composer Study, Music


Watercolor drawing (2x20min/week)

Once a week we use watercolors to draw a specimen that I choose. I try to pick things that the kids are interested in recently or relate to our special studies. Once a week we illustrate something in our nature notebooks or paint a picture based on some of our history or reading books. 

I am going to mix in some drawing lessons based on the lessons in Drawing with Children by Mona Brookes [$1 book sale find!] as well as some drawing with chalk pastels. My son struggles with enjoying this lesson, but I see so much growth in both of us, that we are going to press on with sensitivity and patience.

Handicrafts (2x30min/week)

Once a week, we do handicrafts during our morning lesson time. At this time, I am 100% available for instruction and help. On another day of the week, I have designated a handicraft work session where he is expected to work on his current project or practice the skill he has already been working on with less help from me. He is always able to work on these in his free time as well. 

This year we chose to do:

Term 1: Sloyd using Paper Sloyd: A Handbook for Primary Grades by Ednah Anne Rich
Term 2: Finished up Sloyd gifts for Christmas, then embroidering using this kit.
Term 3: Sewing using Sewing School: 21 Sewing Projects Kids Will Love to Make by Andria Lisle

We used the same books and materials last year and I was very satisfied with my son's ability to progress and improve in meaningful ways. We'll be deepening skills this year and we may add some other handicraft, like weaving with lucets and wood-carving if I can figure out how to do it well.

Singing (2x10min/week)

I choose folk songs and hymns. I consult Ambleside Online but I do not follow their rotation per se. This year, I selected the following:

The Gypsy Rover
Doxology (Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow)
The Minstrel Boy
If I Had a Hammer
Go Tell Aunt Rhody
Low Bridge--Everybody Down (The Erie Canal)
Let There Be Peace on Earth
Cockles & Mussels (Molly Malone)
Amazing Grace
The Rhyme of the Chivalrous Shark
Hail Holy Queen Enthroned Above (Catholic)
Star of the County Down
Turkey in the Straw
Will the Circle Be Unbroken
Shenandoah

To learn more about our folk singing and get links to videos of the above songs, check out 15 Folk Songs and Hymns to Learn with Your Children.

Artist Study (1xweek at morning time)

Each term we read about the life of the artist and study 6 pictures by the artist. My son is expected to observe the picture, narrate about it from memory, then we do a picture talk about it. For the rest of the term, I display the print in our family room.

This year we are studying:

Term 1: Turner [Picture Study Portfolios from Simply Charlotte Mason, $18.95+shipping]
Term 2: Wainsborough [Picture Study Portfolios from Simply Charlotte Mason, $18.95+shipping]
Term 3: Dali [$3 art book from a Half Priced Books store]

Composer Study (1xweek at morning time)

We read a biography of the composer, which my son narrates.  We also listen to pieces by the composer via a Spotify playlist I've made.

After we finish the composer biography, we listen to the short podcasts on the composer from Classics for Kids. We may also read other picture books or watch short movies as a supplement. The additional items are not narrated.

This year our composers/materials are:

Music (7x15min/week)

Hoffman Acadamy [Not an affiliate link! We just love Hoffman Academy.]

He watches a lesson and/or practices at least 15 minutes a day, but often longer by choice. The program includes piano theory, sight reading, and solfege, and my son loves it. The songs are timeless classics that I don't mind hearing over and over and the younger children delight in singing them as well. Mr. Hoffman also has a "method" and you can read more about it here. 

Physical Education


AYSO Soccer (Fall and Spring)
Ice Skating Lessons (Winter)
Swimming Lessons (Summer)
Hikes, bike rides, and walks around town often, especially in spring, summer, and fall

You can see last year's plans here: 2nd-Grade Plans, 2017-2018.
And here is his brother's First-Grade Plans, 2018-2019.

Check out my Planning page for even more plans, lists, and logistics.
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