The kitchen table is covered with art supplies and books. My eight-year-old is sort of patiently waiting for me to pour another cup of coffee so we can get started. “I know what I want to do today,” she tells me, grabbing the whiteboard where we write down our daily schedule. “Will you write,” she asks and before I answer continues, “I want to work on cursive, I want to read these books (she points to a stack), and I set out a craft to wake up our minds.”

Smiling, I do so love this girl’s spirit, I grab a marker and begin to make her list. As I do I ask a few questions, “What do you want to do first? What about math? Did you still want to go to the library?” She agrees we should add math and the library to the list and determines the order of her day. We also add to the list an errand I need to check off my list.

The five minutes or so we spend organizing our day happens each morning. Our lists may resemble each other, but they are never the same. This is what Interest-Led homeschooling looks like for our family. My eight year old very much chooses what she learns and when/how she learns.

My daughter isn’t pulling her ideas from thin air. The books she chooses, the math program she’ll use, art and cursive are all things she decided she wants to do this year. They make up her curriculum. This third-grade Interest-Led curriculum, pieced together by a variety of sources, will evolve and grow throughout the year, much like my daughter.

NOTE– Choosing a homeschool curriculum is not always easy. The first one I chose for my children ended up being a total flop. Not because it wasn’t a great resource; it wasn’t the right fit for them. This expensive lesson is what led our family to interest-led learning and to pulling from a variety of resources to create our curriculum.

You can read more about how we choose our curriculum and plan our homeschool year. I’ve also written about how we’ve homeschooled during the early years, early elementary and upper elementary years.

So, what does my third grader’s curriculum look like? Here’s what she’s learning and hoping to learn in third grade this year.

A Third Grade Interest-Led Curriculum (2018-2019)

My daughter’s interests and goals help her choose what she wants to learn and help me find resources to support her.

She’s interested in horses, mythology, architecture, animals, storytelling, being with friends, being outside, and illustration.

Her long and short-term goals are to own a horse, be in a horse show, work with animals, become an architect, publish her novel, and become an independent reader. With these interests and goals in mind, we’re using the resources below.

Reading

My daughter’s love of animals, good stories, and her goal to become more of an independent reader have led her to a number of book series. We read together throughout the day, often at lunch and before bed.

Our reading time often looks like- I read a page, she reads a page, back and forth. We stop to talk about the story, I casually use reading strategies in our conversations to help her check in with her comprehension, and phonics, spelling rules, and literary terms often come up as well.

Right now we’re reading:

• Magic Tree House

• Magic Tree House Fact Tracker

• Ella Diaries

• Fairy Ponies

• Wings of Fire

• Tales of Dimwood Forest

• Pet Rescue Club

 

Reader’s Workshop

This year I’m holding a small weekly reading workshop in my home. Held similarly to how I taught reader’s and writer’s workshop in the classroom, this class’s aim is to get kids excited about reading and help them continue to become proficient readers.

Once a week we:

• Read books together, use our good reading strategies, and discuss plot, character, setting, conflict, etc. We’re starting with a book they chose- Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

• Use reader response

• Do pre, during, and post-reading projects like this one

• Find Just Right Books

Writing

I try to encourage writing whenever I can. Writing is something we just do. From grocery lists to short stories, much like reading and breathing, it’s part of our everyday. I believe the best way to teach writing is to get kids writing!

Creative Writing

Last year she started writing a fictional story on our computer. Still a new writer and typist, she often uses speech to text or her father or I type for her. This year she’s eager to keep going. Her story is over 5000 words.

Email/Texting

She recently got an email address and an old phone. She loves writing emails and texts and of course, receiving them. (Hello great reading practice!)

Letters

Thank you, I Miss You, Holiday, Birthday- sending cards is something we all do regularly.

Journaling

Much like with books, can one ever have too many journals?? We don’t think so! She has a journal for every subject, topic, interest and uses them often to write and draw.

Note Taking

This year she is creating both a math and a writer’s handbook.

Writer’s Workshop

Along with the reading workshop, I am also offering a writer’s workshop. In this class, kids learn to write by writing and being in a community of writers. We’re creating writer’s handbooks, learning and talking about different genres, and playing with words.

 

Math

My daughter loves math and she’s pretty opinionated about how she learns it. We’ve tried many different programs over the years with varying success. This year we’re giving Beast Academy’s new online class a go. So far it’s wonderful!

She’s also creating a math handbook to keep track of everything she’s learning.

She has a job this year as a neighbor’s dog walker. She’s keeping track of the money she earns and is putting much of it in savings (for a horse).

We cook together and play a lot of games!

 

Science

Animals, nature, dinosaurs, and chemistry are where many of her current interests live. Here are some of the ways she digs into these interests.

• Wild Nature Project bi-weekly class

• New Magic School Bus videos (Netflix)

• Kiwi Co- Chemistry Crates– we do these as a family

• We read a lot- see above

• Butterfly Cycle- We recently ordered caterpillars, watched them grow, turn into chrysalises, butterflies, and released them.

• Nature walks and collections

• Playing Ark with her brother

• The Who Was Show (Netflix)

 

History

Like with every subject, much of our children’s (and our) learning stems from interests and questions. Many of my daughter’s history related interests and questions also come from the books we read, the projects we do, travels we take, and the shows she watches.

One of the most important ways we help her learn history is by talking about current events and taking the time to answer her questions. Magic Tree House, The Who Was Show, Ark, and many of our family conversations lead to Google searches and new library books.

She loves

Art & Music

Classes

Definitely a passion, my daughter’s rarely not drawing or making something. This year she’s continuing with Masterpiece Society’s wonderful art classes.

She also goes to Little Tree- a local Waldorf inspired class filled with singing, art, plays, and connection.

Time and Supplies to Create

She’s into mask making, painting, sewing, drawing, jewelry making, and illustration. A new passion is also architecture. She loves this book! I stock up on all the things at Michaels, Target, and with Amazon Prime.

Family Craft Night

Thursdays at our house are Family Craft Night. We grab anything we’re working on and watch our new favorite family show Making It!

Physical Health

Play

We are outside playing a lot so I rarely worry if my kids are getting enough physical activity. Walking the dog, hiking, kayaking, and our new obsession, Family Foursquare are things we try to do in the evenings and weekends.

Cooking and Eating Well

Both a part of our every day, my daughter learns about these things when we:

• Make grocery lists

• Go grocery shopping

• Read Labels

• Cook together

• Eat together

Classes

While each season brings new classes, these are two of her favorites.

Horseback Riding

Wild Nature Project

Mental Health

I was thirty before I started addressing and tending to my severe anxiety. It’s important my kids have the tools they need to handle worries, sadness, fixed mindsets, and their overall wellbeing. Therapy, mindfulness, and mediation are a daily part of all of our lives and “curriculum”. We use a variety of resources. These are some of the ones we turn to again and again.

• Go Zen

• Sparkle Stories Podcast

• Peace Out Podcast

• Yoga

• Headspace App

Five years into homeschooling and any fears I once had that my children wouldn’t be motivated to learn if they were given choice over what they learned has dissipated. Their interests lead to more interests, and those lead to even more. I’m confident they will learn everything they “need to know” or at the very least will know where to find the information they need and how to process it.

I’d love to help your family create an interest-led curriculum. The beauty in an interest-led curriculum is it’s customized for each child and family. Student-centered, kids are given the tools they need to meet their goals. Reading, writing, math- all the important things kids need to learn are included, but the interest-led approach helps keeps them engaging and fun.

However your family learns, I hope you have a wonderful homeschooling year!

This post is part of the iHomeschool Network’s Back to Homeschool Blog Hop. Click here or on the image below to find all sorts of wonderful curriculum related posts. Follow us all month long for more homeschooling posts and ideas!