Horizons

Third Grade: Week Eight Wrap-Up

Something that’s very important to constantly pay attention to and evaluate when homeschooling is whether or not your curriculum is still working for you. It can be easy to pick something and think you’re stuck with it long-term, but this isn’t the case. I am not by any means encouraging curriculum-hopping, because I think consistency is important, and if you hop around too much, you may manage to miss important lessons and skills. But you shouldn’t be a slave to your curriculum, either–it’s supposed to work for you, not the other way around.

I’ve had to switch a few things up in the three-plus years I’ve been homeschooling. The first switch came at the end of our first year–Kindergarten–when I realized that our Language Arts program was moving too slowly for Turkey and Bunny, and they needed a more advanced program. I learned a similar lesson with a spelling curriculum we were using last year. I also changed our core curriculum after last year, because we needed something more hands-on than Sonlight offered us.

Now that we’re almost a quarter of the way through third grade, I’ve realized that I need to make a change again. We’ve been using, and liking, Horizons math. I’ve realized lately, though, that the level we’re using isn’t providing enough of a challenge for Turkey and Bunny. Yes, new concepts are being introduced, but they’re mastering them almost immediately. And while Turkey likes math so much that he doesn’t mind doing the same thing over and over, Bunny is bored to tears. She will take forever to complete a lesson, not because she hasn’t learned the material, but because she is so bored with doing the same things.

So, I sat down and evaluated the scope and sequence of Horizons fourth grade math. Frankly, I don’t know why I’ve been so reluctant to do it before. Homeschooling allows a wonderful flexibility in choosing appropriate, challenging materials that children need. Yes, there are things that we haven’t learned yet that they’ll need to know. But, there’s also plenty of opportunity for review at the fourth grade level. So, I made the decision to teach a few more key concepts from the third grade book, and then move ahead to the fourth grade books. At the worst, we discover it’s too advanced, and move back to third grade, and keep the other materials for next year. But, I’m hopeful that this will provide the additional challenge they need–the last thing I want is to give them the impression that school is boring, when one of the big benefits of homeschooling is supposed to be fostering a love of learning!

Third Grade: Week Seven Wrap-Up

I can’t believe how much math has changed since I was in school!

When I was in third grade, math, at least as I remember it, primarily focused on memorizing multiplication tables and learning about fractions. Well, Turkey and Bunny did that last year. Sure, it’s something we’re still reviewing, but the concepts are old-hat by now. Something else they learned last year, which was surprising to me at the time, was an introduction to simple equations:

n +6 = 14

or

n -2 = 12

I know this is very basic “solve for n” situation, but I’m fairly certain that I was approaching junior-high age when I learned these things. Maybe around fifth grade? I guess my memory could just be foggy, but either way, I was shocked when they learned this last year. I have heard that the math curriculum we’re using, (Horizons), tends to run a grade level ahead, but having no other experience with math curriculum, I don’t know if this is true, or just something Horizons users tell themselves to feel superior. Regardless, it’s certainly ahead of where I was at this grade level!

This year, I continue to be shocked by the things they’re expected to learn in math. For example, we’ve begun order of operations. Yes, the most simple format possible, but the concept is still being introduced:

(4 + 3) + 2 = (2 + 6) + 1

I told you it was simple, but to me, it’s a huge step for third grade, learning that you need to do the part of the problem in parentheses first. Yes, since it’s all addition, it doesn’t really matter at this point, because they’re going to come up with the right answer no matter how they do it. But it’s a concept that they’re learning, that they’ll apply to more complex problems later.

We’ve delved into more complex equations this week, as well:

n + 6 = 4 x 3

Not only is the equation more complex, but they’re continuing to learn about order of operations on top of it–do multiplication before addition.

They’ve actually taken quite well to all of these concepts, which is a big relief for me as their teacher. I’m still kind of mystified that they’re learning this stuff already, though, (but I don’t discount the fact that I simply may be out of touch with what is standard math curriculum these days!), and slightly concerned what this means for us in a few years!