Updated in January 2026.
Here is the third and fourth grade homeschool curriculum we actually used, across five kids, and why it worked well enough that we largely didn’t change it year after year.
As I worked through this post, fixing links and making it easier to navigate, I've been flooded with good memories of the in-the-trenches homeschool years. My youngest student will start high school this fall, so I am well past the third and fourth grade homeschooling years.
I was pleasantly surprised by how similar what we did with all five kids was. I made some tweaks and tried new things here or there, but for the most part I researched hard, had a bias toward real books, and didn't change something unless it really wasn't working (cough Latin and spelling).
So what follows is a consolidated view of our real third and fourth grade homeschooling choices — with notes on how this approach extended beyond those years. Some popular options out there now didn't exist when I got started in 2008. A couple of things I used no longer exist. But, for the most part, it would be totally feasible to borrow my homework here and use what I used.
The magic, after all, isn't really in this curriculum over that one, but in knowing where you're going and why and using whatever curriculum you choose toward that end. As older homeschool moms told me when I was getting started: "Any curriculum will work if you do."
Quick overview: our third and fourth grade homeschool curriculum
Yes, this post is massive because I think a single, go-to spot for all the information is better than many little blog posts. But I also know you don't necessarily want to read a booklet. You want to know what curriculum we used in third and fourth grades. So here is the quick version:
- Math: All five kids used Math-U-See from the beginning until upper high school
- Language arts: I used TATRAS to teach reading, a smattering of spelling options, Italic handwriting with worksheets I made myself, informal oral narrations, and we didn't do anything else until 5th or 6th grade.
- History: Child's History of the World is the first history that I read aloud in second or third grade, then the student jumped into whatever history we were doing in Elementary Lessons, our informal homeschool co-op.
- Science: We read aloud nature books and very haphazardly did nature walks and nature drawing.
- Latin: Although I did start Latin in third grade with my older set, I did not with my younger set and wouldn't recommend it now.
- Bible: In addition to memory and catechism during Morning Time, we used the Covenantal Catechism guides by Harry VanDyken.
| Subject | What we used | How often | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math | Math-U-See + XtraMath | Daily | Mastery-based; pace adjusted per child |
| Language arts | Reading, narration, dictation, italics handwriting | Daily | No formal grammar or composition until 5th–6th |
| History & geography | Living books + Elementary Lessons co-op | 2x/week | Read-aloud, art study, mapwork |
| Science | Read-aloud science books + nature study | 2x/week + informal | No worksheets or experiments |
| Latin | Tried multiple programs; now do not recommend early Latin | — | Vocabulary-only if anything |
| Bible & theology | Covenantal Catechism + Morning Time | 2x/week | Christ-centered, discussion-based |
How we structure third and fourth grade homeschooling
I remembered when my oldest turned 8 in August of 2011. I felt the weight of responsibility sink in even deeper. “Now,” I thought, “things need to get serious. Now it needs to count.”
At the time, I wasn’t sure, and I’m still not sure, what I meant by the need to ‘count,’ but I felt it again when he hit 5th grade.
Yet, really, each year simply built on the previous and despite my feelings, there was no sudden leap off a cliff or climb up a mountain.
From second grade through sixth grade, I combined my kids as much as I could in lessons and think more about opening doors of interest and laying down foundational skills and habits than I do about curriculum objectives and standards. That approach shaped nearly everything else we did.
In skills, however, each student needed to work where they were at. At one point, I had an 11yo and 9yo both in Math-U-See Delta, learning fractions, simply because that's where each of them was in pace. The 11yo eventually graduated having done Calculus for Everyone as a junior and Consumer Math as a senior. The 9yo completed Calculus 2 at 16. The important thing wasn't getting to the same end goal, but to continue being challenged in math and growing intellectually.
We also had a two-hour, twice-a-week lesson time that was more like a second Morning Time than lessons. I didn't really teach. I read aloud, we talked, we memorized related songs or Shakespeare speeches together. This became the academic counterpart to our primarily Bible-centered Morning Time. We generally did it around lunch. Practically speaking, it worked better than in the morning because the toddler was napping and the preschooler/kindergartener was at a friends's house, whose elementary-aged kids joined mine for history and Shakespeare.
Even with our mini co-op lesson time, third and fourth grade students were easily done with school by lunch, which left them long afternoons for independent reading and outdoor play.
Third grade homeschool curriculum (by subject)
With that rhythm in place, third grade became a year of exploring the fascinating world. Yes, the work increased from first and second grade, but it still retained the wonder. The balance mattered to me more than acceleration.
Math
I love Math-U-See! So far it has worked with each of my children. They can hunker down in one concept and keep practicing until it clicked or they can plow ahead if understanding came easily. We could pull old pages to review or pause when needed, and the video lessons made it easy to revisit concepts or move forward without my having to constantly reinvent how to teach math.
They also did daily xtramath drills until they passed all levels.
What I loved most about Math-U-See is the mastery approach and Mr. Demme’s foundational principle that children weren't “behind” or “ahead.” They were where they were, and they can only take the next step. Isn’t that the core understanding we must have to teach from rest? What if a math program was based on that very idea? That idea shaped how I viewed progress across all subjects, not just math.
This is Math-U-See structure: books are consecutive, but not graded. Extra practice can be printed off the website. If a child whips through the lesson with clear understanding and ability the first day he does the lesson, he went onto the next one the next day and skip the extra pages in the workbook.
If he completed every workbook page for the week and still struggled, we watched the lesson again, kept practicing, and printed more practice sheets. We didn't move on until it was solid.
Language arts
Instead of thinking about Language arts as a subject that requires a curriculum (or 5!), I thought of it merely as acquiring fluency in English, which mostly comes by reading.
One of my primary goals was to raise readers. Being a reader was one of the marks of an educated person, so if I’m educating, I’m raising readers who read.
Readers read on their own, when books are not assigned. So I only assigned reading when I need to guarantee a particular book is read slowly and carefully, when I see a reading rut developing, or when I see no reading happening by choice. Assigning reading is a tool to help develop a reader, but someone who reads assignments only is not actually a reader.
For that reason, I viewed assignments as a crutch, useful, but ideally unnecessary.
Here’s what I assigned during those years, and why:
- Bible reading challenge – I didn't want to leave Bible reading up to chance. I wanted to help my kids build the habit of daily Bible reading, so I assigned it. We all enjoyed doing the Bible reading challenge together.
- Reading time – on their checklist, they would have “read 30+ minutes in one of your selected books.” Each term, they’re choosing 2 books off our personal shelves in each of 4 categories: biography, tales (not fluff fiction), history, natural world.
Then I'd help them build habits of attention and keeping by adding the assignment: Add to your reading journal. This was a personal exercise, and supposed to be fun, but built the habit of keeping that I believed most readers desire, even if they don’t actually do it.
Also, during our Monday Meetings, I'd help them choose 2-3 books, rotating between history, biography, nature lore, and story. They weren't required to finish them in a week, but those became their options during reserved reading time.
For handwriting I’ve used Italics: Beautiful Handwriting for Children by Penny Gardner. For $10, I printed out handwriting pages for years for all 5 children. The accompanying YouTube videos were especially helpful, as they allowed someone else to repeat “Start at the top” a million and one times.We’ve also used Typing Club for free typing practice starting in fifth or sixth grade.
During our table time we would do a line or two of cursive practice using either Beautiful Handwriting for Children pages or pages I created with Start Write.
Once students were comfortable in cursive, dictation became our primary tool for spelling, handwriting, and copywork: Each Monday I slowly dictated a verse or two from Psalms or Proverbs (click here to copy my master list), then they would practice any words they had trouble with. Two days in the week they would practice the passage by copying it and by practicing any words individually they think they might miss. On Friday, I dictate the selection again, and they have to write it down without looking at the proverb and usually they have the spelling down.
By the end of the year, my goal was to have them taking their dictation in comfortable cursive. At the very least, my son needs to learn the habit of putting space between each word.
You learn to do so by correcting the work each time you haven’t done it correctly. Basic, simple, doesn’t require a workbook or complicated process or silly games. Before I landed on this method, I did use Sequential Spelling one year with my oldest and Spelling Wisdom one year with my middle daughter. Both are fine programs, but I felt like I got the biggest bang for our time buck with my improvised method.
I didn't do any composition or grammar until 5th or 6th grade, which I'll touch on later in this post.
History & geography
Starting in third grade, students joined our casual mini twice-a-week homeschool co-op, where we did history, geography, art, Shakespeare, and science.
Over the years, the books we read together included:
- Christine Miller's history series
- Synge's history series
- Dover coloring books to color while they listen
- Halliburton's Complete Book of Marvels
- Art study using the prints and plans from Humble Place
For several years I pieced together something very similar on my own, but after I discovered Rebecca's work, I gladly paid her to do the research and sourcing and planning for me in this subject!
Here's what I would do when I was making up my own artist studies: I paged through an art history book and selected significant artists across the timeline that we hadn’t yet studied. In July I’ll pull up the Wikipedia article on each of them, select 3 pieces from each, save the graphics from art commons, and have 3-4 copies of each printed at Office Depot.
One year we also watched bits of Sister Wendy during our co-op lessons, too.
Plus, I’m filling in some slots with history picture books – the best place to get well-written narrative history for young elementary students.
- Tattered Sails
- Paul Revere’s Ride
- Seaman’s Journey
- How We Crossed the West
- Gold Fever
- Iron Horses
- Dandelions
- Rosa
- Fireboat
We also used a few songs to break things up, including the CC Timeline Song, Horrible History’s Kings and Queens of England, and a Presidents song.
Back when my older boys were this age, they did a lot of independent map work, mostly because it seemed productive and valuable, was independent, and I was pregnant and tired. Turns out that it was productive and valuable: they have a good knowledge of the layout of the world (better than mine).
So I added that to the middle set’s independent work. Each week they’d receive a blank black-line map of a continent and be assigned to color and label it over the course of the week – one continent per week, skipping Australia & Antarctica – will take them through the continents each term (and we have 6 terms). They can look at our world map on the wall, the globe, or an atlas to fill in the maps. Then they would also have the assignment twice per week to draw that continent using the Draw Write Now book 8 directions.
To complement our modern history studies, I wanted to do a bit of US geography. Because our class is mostly younger students, I knew many of them were not yet familiar with the “lay of the land” in the country, and I thought it’d be worth 5-10 minutes each class to help them get familiar with the states and major landmarks of their own country.
It’s pretty simple. I printed a bunch of outline maps of the US with the regions marked in bolder outlines. They cut out the map, glue it into their notebook (that automatically makes it a fun activity, right?), color the regions different colors, and then class by class, we label the states in one region, then go through and draw in major mountain ranges, rivers, and other significant spots. They don’t have to write out all the state names – they’re labeling inside each state with the postal abbreviation, but during the labeling process, I make sure the states’ names are said multiple times, so it’s part of a conversation, not just a mindless fill-in-the-blank waste of time.
For the mapwork, on Tuesdays we’d listen to Geography Songs while pointing to the countries on the map. We’d begin each time with the continents & oceans song, then move into one of these segments. Over the course of the year, we’d probably be able to do 3-4 maps each. On Thursdays, we’d use the instructions for “map blobbing” in Draw Write Now: Book 7 and learn to draw a rough map of the world with the continents & oceans labeled.
- Geography Songs
- Black Line Maps
- Learning to draw the world with Draw Write Now Book 7
Related:
- Dawn Garrent’s series on scaffolding
- Scholé Sister’s episode 25 on prereading
- Pam Barnhill on procedure charts
Science
For science, we only ever read books, talked about them, and drew pictures from the books. We added a few videos here and there, but we never did a science program with worksheets or experiments.
Instead of choosing a single topic or a single spine for our science this year, I went with a mash up of topics. I’m a little tired of reading aloud Apologia, having done it two years in a row now, and I wanted to take advantage of some great children’s science books that aren’t necessarily “whole school year” sorts of books.
So we’d learn about trees and identifying them (including nature journaling, of course) over three terms, about astronomy in one term, and rocks in another.
Some of the books we read during our mini co-op included:
- The Mystery of the Periodic Table,
- Exploring the World of Chemistry by Tiner
- "All About" series like All About Animals and Their Young
- The Tree Book
- All About Stars
- Rocks, Minerals, and Arrowheads
- Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology
- My First Human Body Coloring Book
These are well-written, interesting and engaging, and geared more for interest than for factual minutia. My goal was that they see and love how interesting all of creation is, and I believe books like these do that better than most science curriculums. We’d also do nature notebooks and drawn narrations from the reading and from a selection of field guides on the topic we’re reading.
Again, for fun and a transition, we’d use a song to memorize the periodic table.
Pretty much all the rest of their schoolwork happened during our twice a week mini co-op we called “Elementary Lessons.” Three other friends from 2 families joined our table – the older kids work on their independent work and the youngest play and are read to at my neighbor’s. It was a perfect situation for kid-swapping, and it meant we can work through our lessons without interruption and with the accountability of having it as an appointment.
Nature study had a smaller place in our plans than before due simply to schedule changes and needs as a family. We’d do more with browsing and copying from field guides and nature books, more neighborhood and backyard observation, and one planned hike outing per term.
Twice a month or so we’d meet on a Friday with friends for nature study and nature journalling. If I'd keep up my motivation and resolve, we’d also go to the master gardeners’ demonstration garden half a mile from our house on the alternate weeks to observe and draw (maybe even paint).
Read – narrate – look – draw. That was the sum of our elementary science plan for the year.
Latin
We finished – by which I mean we’re done, not really completed – Latin for Children Primer A after 2 years of using it. Four students in, when I found myself contemplating giving up Latin, I finally admitted defeat not with Latin, which I’ve enjoyed when using other programs, but with Latin for Children.
I am not a textbook type. Even with the video lessons, LFC was meant for a teacher, and it just didn’t really work for us. Even on my third time through, I felt like I was missing something that would make it click, and my students’ retention and understanding has always been poor.
Instead of giving up Latin, we switched programs.
I used Visual Latin into middle school with my younger set, but they really didn't retain any more. Learning language really isn't something you can just assign and make happen nor something you can acquire via a textbook.
Picta Dicta was fun, though, and that vocabulary seemed to stick the most. If I was to do it over and didn't have a Latin-speaking teacher available, I'd just do Picta Dicta and not worry about fully acquiring the language in childhood.
Bible / Theology
Old Testament survey this year using Covenantal Catechism books 2 & 3. I love using Van Dyken’s Covenantal Catechism for Bible. We didn't memorize the Q&A given in the book, but the Bible lessons presented in the curriculum are absolutely superb. They are meaty and weighty, but not above kids’ heads; they don’t condescend and they aren’t trivial, feel-good, or vacuous. They kept a central theme and show how it’s developed across Scripture, pointing to the significance of God’s work from the beginning of Creation until now.
It was a one-piece story, but this program didn't present spin-off tales (like Leah being the main point of Jacob’s story, urgh) or sloppy interpretation. It was “The Bible Is about Jesus” reformed, covenantal teaching at its basic, straightforward level, finely done. We didn't use it exactly as written (of course). It included a “catechism” of Bible facts to memorize, which I used only as review questions.
We’ll do one lesson from the book each time we meet:
- use a review question to engage our memories and attention
- read the OT passage (or listen on audio)
- read the lesson in the book (they all develop how the OT speaks of Christ and the Gospel)
- kids can color a coloring sheet of the story while they listen
- use one or two of the questions as a narration/conversation prompt
And, once every six weeks or so, we’d review by using the questions in the lesson as conversation prompts and we'd go over the Line of Promise with timeline figures.
Materials I’m using:
Other studies
In our family, music was not optional. By third grade all our kids were in weekly piano lessons with a minimum of 20 minutes of practice.
Using a checklist was also a skill, and we'd practice that by using it daily and checking it daily. It was not a magic bullet. It was another skill to be taught how to use and then to be accountable to using until it’s habit (like after 5+ years). Need to know what to do? Look at the checklist.
Fourth grade homeschool curriculum (what stayed the same, what changed)
We’re continuing our three-year history cycle, continuing Math-U-See, starting Latin for Children with this second round, and counting Morning Time as the most important part of our school day.
That was the summary, now for specifics.
So, here was my priority arrangement of their work for a year:
- Morning Time
- Math (using Math-U-See)
- Bible reading (self-directed but daily reading)
- Elementary Lessons (history, science, art, etc.)
- Independent but guided reading (1 biography a week)
- Handwriting/Spelling (Spelling Wisdom, StartWrite, & Beautiful Handwriting for Children)
- Nature Study (twice a month group arranged by a friend)
- Latin (Latin for Children)
Was it bad that we were classical homeschoolers but Latin comes last on the list? No. There’s always next year, when I’m not also learning the ropes with high school. It was early to start my second grader, but I’d rather keep them together for efficiency’s sake and because they aren’t too far off in their language abilities.
The elementary students didn't have their own shelves or school bins; their things lived where it was most convenient for me to get at when we need them.
How we managed materials & supplies
Everyone’s clipboards (all 5 kids have them), lived in one bin in our open-to-the-kitchen area. Each evening after dinner cleanup, I would put each person’s papers for the next day on their clipboard. For my elementary kids, this means
- new math page
- any math pages that still need correction
- copywork page (Spelling Wisdom selection printed for tracing & copying with StartWrite)
- Latin page (either from the workbook or an extra Latin practice page)
I think it’s much easier to assign, track, and correct work when it’s on individual pages on a clipboard instead of in a workbook, so that’s what we did. When they’re done with their work, we had an organizer on the counter where they turned their work in.
Once a week we’d do dictation, which they’d write in a spiral notebook which lives in the clipboard bin.
They’d also have a spiral notebook for Elementary Lessons for copywork, written narrations, sketches, or any other work we do in class.
They each also had a nature journal.
How this curriculum works when homeschooling multiple ages
It was a trick with homeschooling multiple ages: How to best use our time & resources by teaching kids together while still serving each child’s needs. We needed to assess each child and each year and try to do our best, compensating one year for the previous year, or stretching in a new direction based on observations and new things we learn. This was part of our responsibility as homeschooling parents.
Elementary Lessons is the name of our mini co-op that I taught twice weekly at my house with 2 of my kids, 2 of my friend’s kids, and 1 child of another friend. My younger-than-elementary kids would go down the street to my friend Kirsti’s while hers walk over to mine. It was an ideal set-up, and not entirely unintentional or accidental.
During our twice-weekly 2-hour lesson chunk, we would do writing (with only the 9-11 crowd), history (modern), geography, science (various topics), Bible (Gospels), Art Study, and Shakespeare.
Short lessons make it possible
So, twice a week in around 2 hours (1.5 for the younger students), we covered writing, history, science, geography, Bible, art, and Shakespeare. Partly, we did this because the pre-K interruptors are at my friend’s house and not around needing help while we read, discussed, and drew. Partly, we could do this because we use our time on the “most-bang-for-our-buck” activities, not the “fun” stuff. Partly, we could do this because we – my cohort and I – knew our goals and had arranged things to meet our common ends.
Sometimes in the planning stage I got off course, thinking about the Best or Right way things should be done – or, more likely – the way other people are doing it that was better than what I did. So I would bring it up to Kirsti, mother of the other half of the class, who was able to say, in effect, “Hey, our kids like poetry and art and Shakespeare. We just need to keep giving it to them.” Right.
If it was working for us, if it’s working for you, it doesn’t have to look like the way anyone else is doing it or the way anyone else says it should be done. We can glean ideas from one another, we can spark each other’s imaginations for what’s possible, but at the end of the day, it’s what actually happens in our school days that matters more than what “should” happen according to some nebulous ideal.
Learn more: How to classically homeschool multiple ages
Our typical homeschool day schedule
So while I am working with the middle set (where is the baby-toddler going to be during this time? Getting into people’s business and making messes, I’m sure. I’m going to attempt to interest her in a single-toy-in-the-pack-n-play time. That worked for my other daughter, but not at all for my third son. We’ll muddle and get on.), the two older boys will start their checklists. This year, their independent work consists of
- piano practice
- xtramath.org drill
- finish math page if necessary
- exercise (I’ll put options up on the board like pushups or running around the block)
- read Bible (this is self-directed; they pick what they read)
- writing homework (what to do each day will be on their list)
- fill in a blank continent map with country names (once per week, each continent once per term – on the day they have map work, they don’t have penmanship and they are allowed to look up it up, but they have to do it on their own)
Then after our one-on-one time (explained below), they also have “EHAP your stuff” on their list. They weren't done until their stuff was put away.
One-on-One Tutoring Time
After teaching the 6yo & 4yo, I would attempt to get them to play with and occupy the baby-toddler. That very well could have be asking for trouble; we would see. Then I’d take a quick break – use the bathroom, move around (go outside for a minute or two if it’s nice), drink ice water, and even have a square of chocolate if I needed it. Then I’d correct the boys’ math pages and call Jaeger for his tutoring time. After his, I’d come up for air for a few minutes and then plunge back in with Hans.
On the agenda for tutoring time is
- go over math mistakes
- 2 lines of cursive practice (I have to watch at their elbow or they don’t form their letters correctly or well)
- sometimes writing tutoring
- Latin work
For this all to happen before lunch, each boy was limited to 30 minutes. We’d tackle the above list in order and however much time was left after math and the less-frequent writing help would be used in Latin work. I augmented Latin For Children with extra writing & translation, and sometimes add reading.
Students were not done for the day until their math was 100%, and they may have to do another draft on their writing if needed. So, after their tutoring time, they may or may not be done, depending on how well they worked.
At the boys’ request, we also reinstituted “Monday Meetings” during their Monday tutoring time. Because some of the daily agenda & pep talk stuff would move to the agenda segment of Circle Time, going over the week’s plans didn't take so long and can be added in.
During our Monday Meeting time, I would
- give them their weekly school checklist
- have them pick a book or two they intend to read that week and write it on their list
- tell them an improvement I saw in some aspect of their work the week before
- suggest an area to focus on improving this week
- have them write their own improvement goal for the week (playing a piano scale perfectly, doing math without complaining, etc. – but the choice is their own)
It only seems right, then to also have a “Friday Follow-up” during their tutoring time where I will
- look over their list and get it ready for filing
- ask them what the hardest part of the week was
- ask them what the best part of the week was
Basically, I wanted to impart some of my own learning and implementing of organization principles and habits to them from the beginning (because why not?).
How this plan extends into fifth and sixth grade
When I made my plans for these two, I was so glad I homeschooled and did not have to choose a grade to put them into. I could work with each of them where they were at in each area – assigning them a grade level that was only for the purpose of communicating with the outside world.
I had my own process for that, based loosely on IEW and refined by over ten years of teaching beginning writing. You can learn more about how I teach writing without a curriculum here. This year we’ll take our writing topics from our current history, science, and geography lessons.
In writing we’d be learning the parts of speech, parts of a sentence, basic diagramming, and composition IEW-style. I taught IEW for a few years and then just did my own thing, but along the same principles – it was a loose, laid-back version that emphasized writing with a clear style rather than over-practicing every possible style. I’ve written more about how I teach writing in my homeschool here.
We’d also use Our Mother Tongue with our writing lessons to practice grammar and punctuation.
We’d meet as a small class with two other friends once a week and they’d have both a writing and a grammar assignment to complete.
My older daughter was also learning typing skills using Typing Club online and my son was not, to his chagrin. Age should come with some privileges.
Next up: Homeschool Middle School Curriculum Choices
Why we prioritize longevity over novelty
The bulk of our homeschooling years were spent in the elementary phase, and I believe the books and curriculum we choose was critical to our own longevity as homeschoolers.
If we choose curriculum that felt official but sucked the life out of learning, we would not have the stamina or confidence to homeschool into the teen years. However, if we picked living books and read them well, alongside our children, we would be excited to enter the next phase with them, as well.
Years of experience (i.e. practice) and adding more children increases consistency.
Prioritize reading time
My middle set of children lived a very different life than my older two did at their age. They kept a full social calendar, with neighborhood friends always eager to play. They were almost never bored, which means they didn't learn the habit of picking up a book to pass the time.
My fourth grader was somewhat picky about what she wanted to read, and it took her quite awhile to finish a book. My second grader read well, but stuck to Redwall and listening to Tolkien.
So my goal was to broaden them both and carve them out some reading time, making it pleasant rather than a checklist chore. After lunch we’d have a quiet reading hour, during which time I would also read. My two older introverts loved to turn to a book to be by themselves; my middle two extroverts would appreciate reading company – and I myself needed the accountability in turning to books instead of online tasks those days!
I used to have my older two select three books to read per week: one story, one history, and one nature/science. That would overload these two, so I asked them to each choose one biography to read per week. During our one-on-one meetings on Monday, they’d tell me about the person they read about the previous week (yes, I know this isn’t adequate or complete narration, but it was going to be good enough for that reading) and then choose another biography for the coming week. We owned lots of biographies already, plus our church library had twenty or more missionary biographies for kids, and if they have any particular interest we'd browse the library collection. I didn't think there’ll be a shortage of options – but they get to choose.
To help the Monday narration motivation, I would type what they told me and they could choose to send it to someone they think might be interested: an aunt or uncle, a grandparent, a friend – and we’d send it by email or text. This was another way I used their extroversion in the cause instead of simply trying to ignore it or override it.
Common questions about third and fourth grade homeschool curriculum
How long should homeschool take in 3rd–4th grade?
Homeschool in third and fourth grade does not need to take all day to be effective. At that stage, most of the essential work can be done in a few focused hours, especially if you’re not padding the day with busywork or redundant assignments.
What stretches the day isn’t the work itself, but uncertainty—switching curriculum too often, trying to do everything, or expecting every subject to feel equally weighty. When you know where you’re going and why, you can work steadily and then move on with the rest of the day.
Elementary homeschooling should leave room for reading, play, chores, and relationships. Those are not extras; they’re part of the formation happening at this age.
Do I need an all-in-one curriculum?
No. You don’t need an all-in-one curriculum for third and fourth grade, and using one isn’t a guarantee that things will feel simpler or smoother.
Over the years, I learned that it was more important to choose a few solid resources and actually use them than to chase the perfect package. I researched carefully, favored real books, and didn’t change something unless it truly wasn’t working.
All-in-one programs can be helpful for some families, but they can also make it harder to adjust pacing, combine students, or keep the focus on long-term goals. A modest collection of well-chosen materials often offers more flexibility and less pressure.
What if my child is ahead or behind?
In homeschooling, “ahead” and “behind” usually mean “not matching an external scope and sequence,” not that something is wrong.
One of the advantages of homeschooling is that you can slow down where a child needs more practice and move ahead where readiness allows. In our homeschool, some subjects stayed consistent year after year while others changed when they stopped serving us well.
Progress doesn’t have to be synchronized across every subject. Children grow unevenly, and that’s normal. The goal isn’t to keep pace with an imaginary standard, but to help each child build understanding and confidence over time. You do want to work for progress, but not panic about timetables of that progress at this stage.
What does a typical day look like?
A typical day in our homeschool was steady and fairly simple. We focused on the work that needed more direct attention first, then moved into independent reading or written work as children were able.
Because we weren’t constantly switching curriculum, the rhythm of the day stayed familiar. That consistency mattered more than having an elaborate schedule. When children know what’s expected and the materials are familiar, the day flows more easily.
Not every day looked the same, and it didn’t need to. What mattered was returning again and again to the work that mattered most, without dramatizing small disruptions or temporary inefficiencies.
Can this work for different personalities?
This curriculum plan definitely works for different student personalities. None of my children have the same personality, but they all thrived in our homeschool. So far, my adult children claim homeschooling is the best education option, especially for kids 10-and-under, so I didn't scar them or hold them back (even though we never did science experiments).
Now, whether or not this curriculum plan will work for different mom personalities is a different story. My plan was created for myself, a bossy-pants oldest sister who would rather make her own plan than follow someone else's. But if you're like me in that regard, you probably are not still reading this post. If you're more cautious, you can rest assured that these choices have stood the test of happy, successful graduates--but that is as much from the home atmosphere and mom actually holding kids to real work and real consequences as it is which books we used along the way.