by Mary Leppert
When I first opened the box, even though I haven’t been homeschooling in many years, I got very, very excited! I removed everything from the box to get to the 3-ring Third Grade complete binder, that has everything any mom or dad would need to know to homeschool their third grader!
When you first open the Teacher’s Manual, you find a nice opening letter from the author. There is a very useful checklist of everything that you will cover during the school year. These checklists are something I would refer to regularly. Each is broken down by concepts learned and activities that are covered throughout the year.
For example, “Demonstrate balance poses” in the Physical Development and Fitness Section. “Create a mosaic” in the Art Section. In the Measuring and Estimation Section, the parent can check off if the child learned how to write the date using digits.
I find this is a great organizational tool. Keeping track of what you have done in homeschooling is one of the challenges and this program has that covered!
The curriculum offers a Daily Opening Routine, if you want to open the day with a prayer or the Pledge of Allegiance. Then it breaks everything down for you by subject. This is especially valuable if you are a homeschool mom who has never been a teacher or who has never homeschooled before. It gives you a guideline of how to flow through the day and week. I love how the author talks about how each child and each day is unique. That is one of the things that can be perplexing about homeschooling: If you think you need to make each day be the same — like school — you’ll get frustrated very quickly. This curriculum has a built-in plan while somehow maintaining flexibility and I love that! For those families who don’t want to be so structured, Homeschool Complete will still work for them. You can still use it in an unstructured way, while still keeping track of grade-level skills. This is actually due to the total documentation and direction that is all within one very large, but friendly binder!
The author, Debra Arbuthnot who is a veteran classroom teacher of many years, has removed the guesswork from teaching a complete semester or year, allowing the teaching parent/guardian to forge right into instruction without stress. The curriculum is designed with four days of academic activities and one day left open for extracurricular activities – fields trips, music lessons, art lessons, etc.
Debra wants to help students develop critical thinking skills by using her program. To aid this endeavor, the format provides questions the teacher is to ask the student in each subject/topic section.
Virtually all of the material and accessories necessary are included in the Homeschool Complete bundles. Check out their website below, to see all of the very useful and necessary items that are included. There is a clock, a journal for the student, even a bingo game and math manipulatives, and much more!
Lesson Plans, Overview and Material
The Teacher’s Manual Table of Contents is very impressive and comprehensive. It begins with an explanation of each section to be covered regularly.
Third Grade Complete Semester One consists of 9 Study Units, from Ants to Pioneers, with the subject topic being the focal point of the Unit. Each unit begins with a short list of books that should be included in the unit study, to shed more light on the topic. Most often, these books are available from your local library.
The Lesson Plan for each Unit provides a detailed outline of Skills, Materials, Daily Opening Routine, Language Arts, Social Studies, Math, Science, Physical Development, Fitness, Art, Music, Character Development, and Cursive Writing practice. All subject areas are covered consistently in all units. The themes are just different.
Homeschool Complete is designed to teach to all learning styles, with the author’s small, suggested adaptation for the parent teacher, where necessary.
The program is colorful and easy to understand for the teaching parent, making it a tremendous resource for homeschooling families everywhere. The Daily Flow makes sense and the material is well-thought-out and attractive. It is noteworthy that Cursive Handwriting is included in the daily work. Please visit the website, www.homeschoolcomplete.com for full information.
