3rd Grade Homeschool | Reaching the Heart, Head, and Hands

April 27, 2026

We are quickly approaching the end of the school year at our house! Today I want to share a little bit of what we did for 3rd grade homeschool.

Often when I consider homeschooling, I am focused on the academics, but teaching and training a child encompasses so much more than pure academics. Homeschooling encompasses the education of the whole child— the heart, the head, and the hands. Academics focus on the head, but as homeschoolers, we cannot neglect the heart (the inner man and attitude) and the hands (physical work and application of skills).

Many times this past 3rd grade year I found myself pulling back on the academics (head) to especially hone and refine the heart (attitude) and consequently the hands (work ethic). To those in a highly traditional setting, my emphasis may not have seemed rigorous enough academically, but I met my student where she was at and focused on her personal needs instead of trying to meet some quota.

If I reach my student's heart, the head and the hands will naturally follow.

Attitude (Heart)

All of life springs from the heart, and if I can reach my student’s heart, learning will naturally flow from an interested and diligent heart.

My greatest goal for my children is that they would walk with God in loving obedience. The work of the heart is a divine one, and the heart is a place that I cannot enter—only God Himself can. But as a parent I can certainly create an environment that is conducive to healthy heart growth in my children. Here are a few ways that I have tried to nurture my 3rd grader’s heart this past year.

We spend time together around God’s Word as a family whether in morning bible time, evening devotions, or just talking about biblical principles as we go throughout our days.

For Christmas, I bought each of my children a Wonder Bible. A Wonder Bible is a small audio device that has the entire Bible prerecorded. It also has some lovely, soothing songs that my children especially love. Another great feature of the Wonder Bible is that it is not connected to the internet so no need to monitor its use.

In the afternoons, I had my 3rd grader listen to a chapter on her Wonder Bible. This is a great introduction to encouraging her to have her own personal devotions someday. She often listens while she is working on a craft.

Another way that I have tried to nurture my 3rd grader’s heart is simply by listening to her. Whenever a child is brave enough to open up her heart to me, I try to treat that little heart with tender care and do all I can to listen and encourage.

 

Academics (Head)

Math

Goal(s)

Complete mastery of multiplication and division tables. Comfortable adding and subtracting multi-digit numbers.

Curriculum

I love the Math with Confidence series and have used it for 4 years now. I plan to stick with it.

History

Goal(s)

Cultivate an interest in what has happened before us. I am not worried about memorizing lots of random facts but that my children will start making connections between the past and the present.

Curriculum

Story of the World—I was quite surprised at how much my 3rd grader and even K5 student remembered from this book. My kids genuinely enjoyed this book which greatly surprised me.

Science

Goal(s)

Cultivate an interest in the physical world around us and how it operates.

Curriculum

We used Apologia’s Zoology, but it’s mile-deep approach was not appealing to my kids who quickly grew tired of the unnecessarily in-depth studies. My kids said, “Mom, I’m tired of learning about bugs. I want to learn about other things!” At this point of students’ lives, a deep study of one area isn’t necessary in my humble opinion--a broad overview is best. I hope to find something more basic and broad next year.

If anyone has some suggestions for simple, Christian-based science curriculum, please share! Most of what I’m finding is too complex for younger grades.

Language Arts

Each day I tried to have my 3rd grader do some form of writing whether copywork, writing spelling words, writing short paragraphs, etc. And every day my student did some form of reading whether a reading comprehension worksheet, a chapter from a short novel, or a story from an Abeka reader.

The ability to compose coherent thoughts mentally and then translate those thoughts onto paper is a complex skill, one that takes time and much practice. With that in mind, we began the process of writing short paragraphs this year, but we still focused on verbal narration in response to reading.

Grammar

Goal(s)

Demonstrate correct sentence structure and punctuation. Develop an understanding of adverbs and adjectives and use them creatively in sentences.

Curriculum

We actually used Abeka’s 2nd grade language arts. Personally, I find that many Abeka books are too advanced educationally. So the easiest solution is scaling back a year, and it worked beautifully for my student.

Spelling

Goal(s)

A working understanding of phonetic structure in words. Correct spelling of common words.

Curriculum

We spent the first half of the year finishing the Abeka 2 speller and then we began the Abeka 3 speller.

Reading

Goal(s)

Develop a love and interest in reading. Read confidently and fluently.

Curriculum

We used a variety of Abeka readers and comprehension worksheets, American girl books, and other readers we have at home. My goal in reading at this point isn’t to grill my student on all the finer points of comprehension but that she would, most importantly, enjoy reading and then also narrate (express in her own words) what she read.

Work Ethic (Hands)

Teaching children how to work is a lot of work in itself. I find that teaching my children how to work is a test of my own personal diligence and work ethic. It’s much easier just to let the children play than it is to diligently include them in caring for our home.

Something I started doing recently that has really helped both the children and me is a morning list. My children were consistently forgetting to do some of their morning responsibilities, so instead of constantly getting after them, I created a list for each of them. I leave each child’s list at her spot at the kitchen table for her so that when she comes down in the morning, she can start working on her list.

For the morning lists, I simply wrote on a piece of notebook paper each child’s responsibilities. I slipped each child’s paper in a plastic slipcover and gave her/him a marker to mark off when a duty is completed. Our mornings have been more focused, and the lists have allowed me to increase my children’s work load.

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In bird-like fashion I have skimmed across the waters of 3rd grade and have certainly not plumbed the depths of its incredible possibilities and potential. Sometimes we as homeschoolers can overly complicate matters in our efforts to achieve and excel. But I have found that taking a step back, remembering my priorities, and focusing on what really matters helps me to stay relaxed and joyful in homeschooling.

To all my fellow homeschoolers, I wish you a wonderful remainder of your schoolyear—wherever you may be in that learning process!

-Ashley

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