What does a typical day for your 3rd grader look like?

[King Alfred Academy]

My boys (1st and 3rd graders) have been complaining a lot about the amount of work they have to do in a given day. IMO, I don't think am "pushing" them hard enough. School is relaxed (in our pj's, at the kitchen table, on the couch, cuddling during read alouds, ect), but I expect focused attention (and usually get it) and the work to be done properly (letters/numbers written correctly and neatly, following directions, ect.). We get done with our work in the morning and they have all afternoon to play, read, attend classes, ect.

 

Here is what a typical Tuesday looks like for my 3rd grader:

(Times are approximate)

Sometime between 7:30 and 8...wake up

8:30...have breakfast

9:00...Science with little brother and me. We read a few pages from a living book and do some fun experiments. I have him draw a picture of what we did and write a few sentences explaining the experiment.

10:00...reads MCT Grammar Island w/me and discusses.

10:20...Math with little brother and me. We are doing MM light blue working on our subtraction facts. We have been doing 3 pages consisting of a total of 20-30 problems. If I feel he understands it, he doesn't have to do all of them. Then we play some sort of fun math game like Zeus on the Loose or Dominoes.

11:00...Spelling...he does his list independently with Phonetic Zoo. This means he writes 15 words, twice.

11:20...IEW...He writes his rough draft from the keyword outline he did the previous day. Roughly 8-12 sentences...we're not even into paragraphs yet! Gripes about the writing.

 

Then we are done. Pretty easy. REAL easy now that I look at it.

 

Anyhow...could you please (pretty please :blushing:) let me know what a typical Tuesday is like in the life of your 3rd grader? One of us (him or me or both) needs a wake up call. Please be gentle in your comments too. I have had a rough day. :banghead:

 

Edited to add: Also...if you could tell me roughly how many math problems they do and roughly how much writing...physical writing. These are my son's biggest areas of complaints. Thanks!

Edited April 7, 2010 by King Alfred Academy

[EKS]

I can tell you about my 2nd grader if that will help.

 

Reads assigned reading--classic children's literature and supplemental reading for history and science

Spelling--Spelling Power

Handwriting practice--HWT Cursive

Writes a paragraph (length is usually one side of a narrow ruled HWT page) or copies a paragraph of similar length

Math--Singapore 4A and CWP 3

Latin--Lively Latin, either a worksheet or flashcards and Minimus, about a page per day

MCT Island materials--Currently just doing the practice and vocabulary books

Literature--Mosdos Ruby level

Science--The Elements, includes reading, activities, experiments, games

History--SOTW 2 reading, coloring pages, mapwork, and supplemental reading (not all at once!)

 

I think that's it. It usually takes 2-4 hours.

[MyLittleWonders]

Here how our typical day looks for my 3rd grade ds (and my 1st grade ds):

 

(All times are approximate and reflect more of what I want to happen, not necessarily how it happens! ;) )

 

9:30: Latin (Song School Latin; we will start LfC A in June)

9:50: Math - a drill sheet (Mad Minute, though untimed) and Miquon

10:20: Spelling (All About Spelling

 

10:50'ish: Break

 

11:10: Language arts: Writing W/Ease (they alternate copywork/dictation & narration), grammar (usually MCT Island level, but also FLL 3/FLL 1), sentence building (from spelling - I dictate 3 spelling words and then ds#1 uses as many in a sentence as possible

 

11:50: Break/Lunch

 

1:00: Phonics/Reading (ds#1 is still working on reading proficiency)

1:30: "Elective" - history/geography/nature study/science/religion/Spanish (if it is Tuesday, it's usually Spanish and/or religion - though I think I'm going to change up my elective schedule and make Tuesday science day)

 

We tend to be done around 2:30 when all is said and done. It's anywhere between 3 1/2 to 4 hours of actual work - spent between the kitchen table in pajamas and the couch fully dressed. Sometimes I don't think I'm pushing them enough; my goal is our "core" every day - Latin, math, Language Arts including phonics/reading. I am very, very happy if we get to electives on top of that. :) I'm sorry you've had a rough day. (((hugs)))

[khall]

I have a ds9 in 3rd also, so here's ours:

 

7ish - wake up, eat, get dressed, chores

8:00 meet with mom - go over daily schedule and do grammar lesson orally

8:20 poem, geography, and buddy reading a living history book with little sister (she's 7, in 2nd grade)

8:45 silent reading while I work with his sister

9:15 play outside, snack

9:45 read aloud (I read to them)

10:15 math lesson

11-11:30- pick up, walk dogs, leave house

11:45-12:30 art class with a homeschool group

lunch

1:00 - attends PE at the public school

1:45 - work on spelling/cursive/

2:15 free time/outside time

about 20 minutes before or after dinner "homework" time - finish up independent work, this is usually math problems and a phonics page

 

We do more with history and science the rest of the week because we have so many outside commitments on Tuesdays, but I think your schedule looks fine. Do you take little breaks for some wiggle time in between your subjects? If mine don't take breaks, they end up taking absolutely forever to do their work, and they whine the whole time and everybody is miserable.

Good luck!

Edited April 7, 2010 by khall

[catz]

I have a 3rd grader and that sounds pretty reasonable to me! We try to be done before lunch most days and my 3rd grader also practices piano a good 45 minutes a day too.

[Matryoshka]

This is something like what my dd9 did today:

 

7:30-8ish

Wake up

Eat Breakfast, get dressed

Practice piano (15 min - 1/2 hr)

BigIQ Kids Spelling on computer (she wants to do this, as she gets 5 min of game time when she gets the list right)

 

9:30

WWE3

Outlining Book

Sequential Spelling (25 words)

Math lesson, then an exercise in Singapore Math workbook

1 page penmanship

Story Grammar for Elementary (1 page)

 

Lunch

 

After Lunch

2 sentences in Practice Island

Read chapter in Mr. Q Life Science

2-3 worksheets from worksheet packet (mixed bag o' stuff)

 

3:45

Theater class

Ballet class

 

At bedtime

Independent reading (currently Moffats, but often assigned history reading)

Read-aloud from K12 Human Odyssey or other history

 

Normally on Tues she also has Spanish homework ~3 pages, but we didn't get to it today (could be because "lunch break" was about 2 hrs - oops). Some days we've been doing Sentence Island when we can fit it in - finshed Grammar Island a little while ago.

[Jen in PA]

Tuesday for my 3rd grader looks like this (ideally):

 

10 - 10:30 Math -- logic puzzle from Logic Safari, oral facts drill, one lesson in SM 4A (reading text, problems in workbook), one page of math review in test prep book (getting reading for first standardized test)

 

10:30 - 10:50 Latin -- 2 - 3 pages of Lively Latin and flashcards

 

10:50 - 11 Grammar -- 2 sentences from Practice Island, one page LA review from test prep book

 

11 - 11:30 Poetics (only on Tuesday; we rotate through MCT books each day and Tues. is Music of the Hemispheres) usually lots of reading and a short writing exercise.

 

11:30 - 12 She works on Calvert Spelling, a handwriting page, and piano practice on her own.

 

12 - 12:30 Break (usually spent using Storytelling Alice)

 

12:30 - 12:45 Spanish (online using Mango)

 

12:45 to 1:30 History (History M and T, Science Th and F). Usually works on coloring or an art project during history read-alouds.

 

Then she is done for the day aside from half an hour of required reading and an hour of required outdoor play that she does willingly and doesn't consider school. She also usually spends some time on Tuesdays prepping for co-op classes on Wednesday.

[lionfamily1999]

Ds is up around 8. We aim to start by 9, but it's usually 9:30.

From there:

Devotions, we're presently working through Acts. This usually takes a half hour or so.

Grammar (FLL3) 20 minutes tops.

Spelling (SWO4) on Tuesdays he reads the story and reviews his spelling list orally. 20 minutes at the absolute most.

Latin (LC), we start our new lesson on Tuesday. This includes reviewing all of the new words, their meanings, new forms, derivatives and a light review of old words. It takes about 30 to 45 minutes.

Writing (WWE, WS), we do two writing programs. For Writing With Ease it's our dictation day and Writing Strands really depends on where he's at in the book. About 30 minutes or so.

Math (Singapore 3a) We do whatever the books tells me to do :p At the absolute most an hour, most likely closer to 30 minutes.

Reading 30 minutes on whatever book I've got him reading at that moment, or else making a page for his notebook.

Greek (Hey Andrew! 3), he usually does a page or two in his workbook and then works to transcribe from his Greek Interlinear NT. I cut this off at 40 minutes.

History (SotW 3) He does his map work and coloring pages, we review the narration from Monday. Maybe 30 minutes.

Science (Classical Chemistry) We either read a chapter or review the chapter we read on Monday. Maybe 30 minutes.

 

History and Science both depend on the earlier part of the day (same for art). The order isn't hard and fast either, although this is the order I prefer.

 

Looking at this I'm thinking we do too much...

[kalanamak]

Okay, could some of you schedule-posters tell me how many days a year you do this?

[lionfamily1999]

Well it's only Tuesdays so.... 36 days :p

 

Lol, we go year round with LOTS of breaks, at least one week a month ;)

[lovemykids]

Without exact times, I can try to relay what we did today. Everyday it changes a little, so we don’t have a typical day, really. But I’ll take a stab at it. We don’t do everything every day, like IEW for instance, or Abeka grammar, etc. Some days all we do is math, reading and art. :D

Morning:

sleep in, wake up, get ready, help me make French toast

clean up

play outside

Before Lunch:

LLATL Orange

Wordsmith Apprentice

Spanish

Lunch

help fold clothes

vaccum w/ baby brother. LOL.

Art

TT 5

Science RSK4 w/ experiment

snacks

Free time-reading and more art

Dinner

play outside again

Bedtime-

History reading and then Bible

[hlee]

Oooooh, I'm finding this thread fascinating. I always wonder, "Am I doing enough? Am I doing too much?" I know this is one of those questions for which there is no one right answer but it still is instructive to see what others do. I have a 2nd grader and a preschooler. This is what my 2nd grader does:

 

7 a.m.-8 a.m.--Get up, get ready, morning chores (tidy room and basement playroom)

8 a.m.-8:30 a.m.--Breakfast

8:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m.--Piano (then he usually has a LONG bathroom break...go figure...!)

around 9:45 a.m.--start independent work while I work with the younger kids. This changes from day to day, but generally includes a page or two of his cursive (New American Cursive), a spelling assignment, history reading, math online drills, Classical Writing Primer.

11:00-11:30 a.m.--Bible, then Science or History or Geography (or some combo of the above) which we do with the preschooler

11:30 a.m.-12 p.m.--break, then lunch (so it's really one long break!)

1 p.m.-1:45 p.m.--Quiet Reading Time (partly assigned, partly free reading from children's classics or other suitable books)

1:45 p.m.-2:15 p.m.--Singapore Math (have to do math when my toddler is asleep otherwise there is no hope for learning anything!)

2:15 p.m.-3 p.m.--Language (Latin or Chinese) and anything else that wasn't finished earlier (usually First Language Lessons)

3 p.m.--done!

 

I always try to be done at 3 p.m., at the latest, and even if we have things we haven't covered, that's the end of our school day. We do this schedule four days a week; on Fridays, my 2nd grader goes to a co-op where he takes gym, karate, and art. Plus he'll do typing and any leftovers from the week.

 

We school four weeks on, then one off, generally speaking. We'll take a summer break after we finish our 34-week MFW curriculum, but we'll still do light school during our break, at least that's my plan!

 

I think this thread is making me realize that I need to loosen up. =)

[Snickerdoodle]

*

Edited April 7, 2010 by Snickerdoodle

[Halcyon]

Here's what my 2nd grader is doing (he is doing some 3rd grade work, so I thought it might be helpful to op if I posted)

 

Wake up: 8 am

Breakfast: 8:30

Begin HS around 9:15

(we don't do this in the same order every day, but for argument's sake I'll choose a typical day)

9:15-9:45 Math (either MEP or Singapore)

9:45-10:00 Spelling

10:00-10:20 Grammar

10:20-10:50 am History/Narration/Coloring/MapWork

10:50-11:05 Writing

11 am: snack time

11:30 I read aloud from whatever book we're reading, currently Black Ships Before Troy

12:15 Lunch

1 pm Math (whichever he didn't choose during his morning session)

1:20 pm two or three days a week, we'll do either Art or Science, which can take about 1-2 hours.

 

keep in mind, we do math, writing, spelling, and history every day (well, history is 4x a week) and alternate logic, grammar, reading comp, and vocab the other days, doing each 1-3 x a week. So we change up the schedule a bit every day.

[MyLittleWonders]

Okay, could some of you schedule-posters tell me how many days a year you do this?

 

We school year round, and tend to take a week off every other month (and some school-year holidays that dh has off from work). IIRC, it works out to over 180 school days a year.

[EKS]

180+ days.

[Karen in CO]

My Tuesday today was not typical because I had a migraine - so this is what my third grader did this Tuesday. This is light. We usually do some MCT, and I usually read something to them too from rotating subjects. They typically don't watch tv all afternoon but the weather was bad and I felt bad. Everything seemed to take longer today because every time I turned around, they were playing with our new baby chicks.

 

9 - breakfast

10 - Fraction & percent war with me

10:30 - a chapter from Saxon -

11 something - copywork 4 lines in beautiful cursive -

12 ish - recitation of memory work

12:30 she made lunch for us

1 -2 Rosetta Stone French

Then she read Gilgamesh the King to her sister.

We watched Liberty Kids until daddy came home then she helped with dinner.

She's going to read for an hour before she goes to sleep because I'm sending them to bed early.

[Mom-ninja.]

My ds starts his day by making coffee for me. It's wonderful skill he has learned. :D Now, if only I could get him to change stinky diapers....

 

 

Let's see I can't post times because with the little guy ruling the house we get things done when we can.

 

Piano

Math

WWE/FLL

Phonics/AAS

German

History or Science (if we're lucky)

Read aloud to me (at night)

[Caraway]

Some days I think it would be wise to ship mine off to PS for a while so that they could see how good they have it! Of course if they loved it I would have to leave them there for a LONG time so that they could appreciate what they have now. :lol:

 

I have no experience with 3rd graders. But I was thinking about you and yours today. Hope tomorrow is better!

[eternalknot]

We didn't do school today, but below is a typical Tuesday. My 3rd grader is an early riser, so he handles breakfast and some of his independent work before we officially begin our schoolday (around 9am) -

 

10 minutes for Copywork/Penmanship

15 minutes for Easy Grammar (2 pages)

15 minutes for personal devotions

10 minutes to read aloud to his sister, one chapter daily from Children's Bible

 

He does independent reading (self-selected) once he's done with that but before I'm ready to work with him. Usually around 20-30 minutes. Around 9am -

 

20-30 minutes on Math (2 pages of MUS plus 1 page from CWP)

20-30 minutes on Latin (we do two lessons per week, over four days)

20-30 minutes on History (read, discuss, mapwork)

20-30 minutes on Writing

 

We break for lunch between 11-1130. While I cook, he does more independent work -- handicrafts, scout badges, sports' practice, drawing, et cetera. Free time, I guess you'd call it.

 

After lunch I require 30 minutes of guided independent reading; books read at this time must come from the library pile and must be related to science or fine arts (music, art, drama, etc.) - it's the only science and art we do, actually. No outlining or anything. Often, a book will inspire him to do an experiment or art project on his own.

 

If they ask, I'll also let them watch an "educational" or "edutainment" type of tv program once all seatwork and reading are done for the day. They like Mythbusters, Bill Nye, and History Channel shows.

 

We school year-round, taking days off as we desire to (plus six weeks over winter holidays).

[King Alfred Academy]

Thanks so much for posting your schedules. It's very helpful. :001_smile:

 

If anyone else feels like posting, would you mind letting me know how many math problems and how much writing your 3rd graders do. This seems to be the biggest complaint.

 

:001_smile:

[King Alfred Academy]

Some days I think it would be wise to ship mine off to PS for a while so that they could see how good they have it! Of course if they loved it I would have to leave them there for a LONG time so that they could appreciate what they have now. :lol:

 

I have no experience with 3rd graders. But I was thinking about you and yours today. Hope tomorrow is better!

 

FWIW...I am planning a PS day next week. I am not sending them to school, but will try to do my best to imitate it here at home. No cuddling on the couch with pj's on as I read, raise hands to ask a question, 20 minute lunch, worksheets, worksheets, worksheets, waking up at 7 (I am not going to like that), homework for after our "school day", ect. It'll be a real eye opener.

 

Hope to see you at park day Friday! :001_smile:

[Paintedlady]

Here's a typical 3rd grade day for my ds.

 

9am Bible study with me and big sister

9:20 Independent reading

10:00 Math--we're using MUS Epsilon and LOF fractions on alternating weeks

10:45 Spelling or Grammar (alternating days)

11:15 IEW Poetry

 

11:30 Break/lunch

 

12:30 Veritas Press American History or Noeo Physics (alternating days)

1:15 IEW Writing

2pm Finished for the day

Edited April 7, 2010 by Paintedlady

[khall]

FWIW...I am planning a PS day next week. I am not sending them to school, but will try to do my best to imitate it here at home. No cuddling on the couch with pj's on as I read, raise hands to ask a question, 20 minute lunch, worksheets, worksheets, worksheets, waking up at 7 (I am not going to like that), homework for after our "school day", ect. It'll be a real eye opener.

 

Hope to see you at park day Friday! :001_smile:

 

 

Wow, this will be quite a day!

I enjoy seeing everybody's schedules. Sometimes I panic and think I'm not doing enough, but then I remember what the kids are doing at PS. I worked there for 2 years prior to homeschooling, and I thought you all might be interested in what our local school has their 3rd graders doing all day:

 

7:30-8:00 - bus drop off and outside recess (inclement weather, sit quietly in the cafeteria)

8-8:30 - breakfast served in the classrooms

8:30- 10:00 - LA block (this includes the teacher meeting with small reading groups for 15 minutes while the other students work quietly at their desks doing cursive, copying spelling words, drawing, reading silently, doodling, snoozing, fidgeting)

10-10:30 bathroom break and snack

10:30-11:30 - math

11:30-11:50 recess

11:50-12:15 lunch

12:15-12:30 bathroom break

12:30-12:45 read aloud

12:45-1:00 quickly go over any homework assignments

1-1:45 rotating schedule of history/science/geography/computer

1:45-2:30 rotating schedule - art/music/guidance/PE/library/Spanish

2:30 - escape!

 

now doesn't that make you feel better?

[rafgaf4]

Here is our typical day. We only have the following subjects four days a week. We spend the fifth day at the library and on field trips outside of the home.

 

We start between 8:00 - 9:00

 

Rod and Staff Math - 45 - 60 minutes

 

Latin - 45-60 minutes

 

Classical Studies (Greek Mythology) - 45-60 minutes

 

Christian Studies - 30-45 minutes

 

Floating Subjects - 45-60 minutes

Monday - American History

Tuesday - Geography

Wednesday & Thursday - Science

 

Floating Arts - 30 minutes

Monday - music appreciation

Tuesday & Thursday - Physical Education (wii fit or outdoor activities)

Wednesday - Art Appreciation / Art project

 

Friday - Library and Field Trip

[lionfamily1999]

For us, it really depends on the books for writing and math. I do try to keep writing to a low level as ds still has handwriting issues and complains extravagantly if he feels like he's had to write too much...

 

In Singapore, we do the lesson orally and then he does the workbooks page(s) that go with it. Somedays that is one easy page, others it could be three or four pages. Ds doesn't include the card/counting games with math :p

 

For writing, WWE has us narrating and dictating twice a week. There's more reading than writing involved, and for the whole week we only use one notebook page. Writing Strands is different and the amount of writing depends on the whatever they're covering. The first day ds had to write a two-word sentence.

 

In the other subjects...

Devotions... no writing

Grammar... some writing, sometimes dictation or narration, sometimes copywork, but it's never very much.

Reading... He has to make a page for his notebook when he finishes a book, that includes a four sentence (or longer) narration. For the longer narrations I'll write some down, have him copy some and then dictate a little to him. He doesn't write more than four or five sentences.

Spelling... It's Spelling Workout. There's some writing, but not much at all.

Latin... Latina Christiana, same thing as Spelling Workout.

Greek... I have to limit this, because ds will "use up" all his writing in this class if I let him (and then whine for the rest of the day, because he did SO much in Greek). He does copywork (that's a lot of writing) and the workbook pages will often have him writing words and sentences.

History... I write the narrations and eventually have him copy them or I'll dictate to him. No more than six sentences over the whole week.

Science... Not much at all, mostly fill in the blank workbook pages.

[Haiku]

The first thing that came to mind is that if your son gripes the most about writing, have him do it first thing in the morning so that he's fresh, and then it's out of the way and not hanging over him.

 

Tara

[King Alfred Academy]

Thanks for your explanation on the amount of writing and math...very helpful.

[King Alfred Academy]

Wow! That LA block is LONG! I'm going to show this schedule to my boys. Thanks for sharing!

[King Alfred Academy]

I'll try that! Thanks!

[Angel]

Here is our schedule from yesterday. Dd 9.5 in 3rd grade.

 

Bible - MFW didn't do yesterday but usually about 10 min or so.

 

Spelling - AAS Level 2 about 20-25 min.

 

English - currently just a workbook since she finished LLftVY. She does 2 pages of fill in the blank type writing. 15 min. This gets longer on the days that I read "Grammarland."

 

Handwriting - one page of HWT Cursive about 5 min. Sometimes this takes longer but I don't like her to do more than one page because then she gets sloppy.

 

History - MFW about 20 min. Most days this is between 25-35 min. She did timeline pieces and we read about Abraham Lincoln. She will do a notebook page tomorrow.

 

Book Basket - MFW about 5-10 min. Usually 20 min but she finished the book about Abe Lincoln quickly and since it was lunch time, I let her be done.

 

Math - Just started TT4. She loves it so far. No writing ;) She did one lesson and it took a very short time yesterday. 10 min. Usually math is 30 min. Before switching to TT, dd did one side of a page of Saxon math worksheet (around 20-25 problems) and one 25 problem time test. She hated writing these out. We'll see what kind of staying power TT has. She also did 10 min of Timez Attack on the computer. Again, no writing.

 

Science - MFW 5 min reading

 

Reading - one of the Kit books from the American Girl series. 30 min. She ended up reading more later in the day and finishing the book.

 

So total time of school, not very much, but we got the core areas covered! I like to be done by 12 or 12:30 and leave the afternoon free for her to play and explore. She's been playing a Nancy Drew computer game and that counts for logic :D I think what you are doing is fine. I don't go till 2 or 3 because that IS what the schools do. Why should my day take as long as theirs?!?! But that is only my opinion.

[King Alfred Academy]

I think what you are doing is fine. I don't go till 2 or 3 because that IS what the schools do. Why should my day take as long as theirs?!?! But that is only my opinion.

 

Oh...I am totally of the same opinion!

 

I'm tired of my dss complaining about the amount of work and time...we're done by lunch too! :001_smile: I want to get an idea of what others are doing.

 

Thank you for posting your schedule! Timez Attack is a big hit in our house...no writing! ;)

[Karen in CO]

Thanks so much for posting your schedules. It's very helpful. :001_smile:

 

If anyone else feels like posting, would you mind letting me know how many math problems and how much writing your 3rd graders do. This seems to be the biggest complaint.

 

:001_smile:

I use more than one math program so the number of problems varies wildly. Monday, we did 8 CWPs; Tuesday, we did a Saxon 5/4 lesson the lesson practice and mixed practice; Today, we are doing a Fred lesson so it will be 5-10 problems. Writing is typically about 4 lines of copywork or dictation plus whatever is in MCT. There is also a weekly friendly letter requirement which has to be at least two paragraphs, but we've never had trouble with the length.

Edited April 7, 2010 by Karen in CO

[KathyBC]

I love your schedule - it looks like an ideal amount of learning. I would say that both of my boys at age 8 would have found that to be a lot of writing. If you found a way to halve the amount of spelling words and written math problems they would probably appreciate it!