How to Homeschool the Early Elementary Years (1st – 3rd grade): Curriculum Ideas & Lessons Learned

(Last Updated on December 14, 2024)

Kids in first, second, or third grade are at such a fun age! They’re still young enough to be intrigued by a lot of things. But they’re older and much more capable than they were just a few short years ago. 

We can use this innate curiosity and increased capability to our advantage as home educators. 

For example, they can still enjoy “little kid” activities like playing in the sandbox. But, because they’re a little more mature now, it’s more likely you can use it as an academic teachable moment instead of just reminding them not to throw the sand.

Also, many students are beginning to read fluently by this age which opens up a world of opportunity. They can start “reading to learn” instead of “learning to read”. Parents might even get a 20 minute break while their second grader reads library books to himself! (a mom can dream, right?)

In this post I’ll be sharing the resources I used to homeschool my three kids throughout their early elementary years. But keep in mind these are just one family’s ideas! Every homeschooler you ask will have a different list. Some things that work well for one family will be a total bust for another and vice versa. Over time it gets easier to predict which curricula will work best for you and your kids.

After the curricula ideas, I’ll share the lessons I’ve learned over my years homeschooling my young elementary kiddos and teaching K-3rd grade classes at several homeschooling co-ops. Click here to jump straight to those tips or keep reading for specific curriculum ideas for the 1st through 3rd grade (6 to 9 year old) age group.

You can also check out my recommendations for younger kids here:

• How to Homeschool Preschool – Part 1
• How to Homeschool Preschool – Part 2
• How to Homeschool Preschool – Part 3
• How to Homeschool Kindergarten

(There may be affiliate links in this post – click here to learn more. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)

1st, 2nd & 3rd Grade Homeschool Resources

Early Elementary Bible & Character

• Personal Bible study – Simply reading the Bible (together and individually) has been the most important “curriculum” of all!
• AWANA Sparks & T&T – In addition to church, the AWANA program has provided a solid, systematic Biblical overview for all of my kids.
• Old Story New and Long Story Short (by Marty Machowski) – These family devotionals work well for mixed ages and held my kids’ interest more than other Bible studies. 
• The Ology (by Marty Machowski) – This is an amazing introductory Christian theology book for families to read and discuss together. 
• Hero Tales (by Dave & Neta Jackson) – We’ve used Volumes 1 and 2 for years (and I recently learned there are at least two more volumes!) to introduce our kids to heroes of the Christian faith. 
• RightNow Media Bible studies – There is a lot of good content on RightNow Media – and you may already have free access through your church, co-op, umbrella school, or other group! 
• “God, I Need to Talk to You…” series – My youngest has loved these short, tiny booklets on various topics. They’ve really helped her communicate her big feelings when she was finding it hard to express her emotions. 
• Devotional Dippers – These cute devotions have been a fun break from our usual routines. There’s now a Christmas version, too!
• Parenting with Scripture (by Kara Durbin) – This book isn’t a curriculum. But it has a been a great reference for me to brush up on Biblical responses to various parenting topics so I can be better prepared when teachable moments occur.

Early Elementary Reading & Phonics

• Silent reading & family read-alouds – I’ve required about 15-30 minutes per day of silent reading for my 1st to 3rd graders – but we encourage them to do as much reading as they want. We’ve tried to keep our house stocked with quality books and audiobooks, and we’ve continued to read-aloud together (even after all my kids could read independently).
• Word Mastery – As my kids began to read, I had them all work through this old-school phonics primer to make sure we had all our phonetic bases covered. (At the time I’m writing this, there is still a link to the PDF version of this for free on Don Potter’s website). It is not at all glamorous – zero bells and whistles – but I found it extremely effective and efficient.
• Starfall.com – All three of my kids thoroughly enjoyed the educational games on this website (and my youngest, currently in 3rd grade, still asks regularly for her Starfall time). The program includes many early readers (with read-aloud options and highlighted text as words are read) and a large assortment of reading/phonics games. 

Note: If you’re looking for more specific curriculum suggestions for teaching reading, check out the reading & phonics section of How to Homeschool Kindergarten.

Early Elementary Handwriting

• The Three R’s by Ruth Beechick – This little book for parents and educators shows how straightforward and inexpensive it can be to teach handwriting (and reading and math, too). It’s one of my all-time favorites to recommend to overwhelmed homeschooling parents. 
• Copywork – Having my kids copy AWANA verses, poetry, and selections from their history and science work has been one of the easiest ways to practice handwriting.
• Custom handwriting worksheets – Websites like this one make it easy to create custom cursive or printing handwriting worksheets to include whatever text you want your kids to practice.
• Carson Dellosa Complete Book of Handwriting Workbook for Kids – This comprehensive book includes both manuscript and cursive for several years of study! It could probably be the only handwriting book some kids ever need.
• Manuscript Writing K-2 by SchoolZone – It looks like this workbook might not be available anymore, but there are a lot of options out there for inexpensive manuscript and cursive handwriting books – I’ve even seen good ones at the dollar store.
• Pentime Level 4 – I wish I had found this series earlier! My youngest and I both love the themed content and simple layout. We used the 4th grade book in 3rd grade since the lines get progressively smaller in each level and she prefers to write on smaller lines.
• Scissor Skills – Workbooks and other paper cutting activities have helped my kids improve their fine-motor skills which indirectly helps with handwriting. I supplemented our regular handwriting work with these pages to mix things up. 

Note: For ideas on how to create your own, customized handwriting program for your kids, including free handwriting printables, check out: Achieving Handwriting Success with a Skill-Based Approach. And if you’ve got any lefties, I’ve got you covered: 10 Best Ways to Help Your Left-Handed Kids Succeed.

Early Elementary Spelling

• Natural Speller – This was the first book we ever used for spelling. I found I needed a little more direction, but I think many parents would love this for its straightforward approach. 
• All About Spelling Levels 1-3 – All three of my kids and I have loved this series. You can find my full review here: All About Spelling Curriculum Review.
• Spelling practice activities – I found 75 Fun Ways to Practice and Learn Spelling Words over a decade ago and it’s still my favorite go-to list of ideas for fun ways to practice spelling words!

Early Elementary Writing

• Written narrations – Writing out narrations from science and history helped solidify learning (through repetition) and cover two subjects at once. Three cheers for multitasking! 
• Writing prompts – The internet is positively overflowing with writing prompts. I used websites like 123homeschool4me.com and others to find themed writing prompts for holidays or just as a break from our usual writing assignments.
• Quick-n-Fun Writing Activities Just for Young Learners – These creative writing pages were an easy way to introduce a variety of writing types. My kids all loved these activities.
• Comprehensive Composition – This book actually covers K-12 writing! For the early elementary years specifically, it includes journaling, letters, and short creative writing exercises.
• Learning Language Arts through Literature (LLATL) The Yellow Book – My very systematic, logic-minded oldest son wasn’t too fond of LLATL when we used it years ago – it seemed “random” to him. But I think many kids would really enjoy this unique, gentle, all-inclusive language arts curriculum. 
• SchoolhouseTeachers.com Little Language Arts course – My kids have really enjoyed this class. If you have a Schoolhouse Teachers membership, you can access this and hundreds of other courses, too!
• SchoolhouseTeachers.com creative writing courses – I created a year-long Creative Writing course for my kids by combining the following Schoolhouse Teachers classes: Exploring Creative Writing, Sparking the Noggin’, Crafting Fiction, and Discovering Poetic Elements. 

Early Elementary Math

• Math-U-See (MUS) Beta, Gamma, Delta – MUS is the main math program I’ve used for my young kids over the years. Mr. Demme (the MUS founder and video lesson teacher) is a household name around here.
• Kahn Academy elementary math courses – When we’ve needed a break or supplement, Kahn has been a great option. 
• CTC Math – Check out Our Experience with CTC Math Homeschool Curriculum: A Mini Review for the pros and cons of CTC Math and some bonus tips for getting started with it. 
• Life of Fred (Apples, Butterflies, Cats & Dogs) – My kids and I love, love, love this quirky math series! I’m keeping our set for my future grandkids.
• Supplemental computer games – We’ve used starfall.com and coolmathgames.com most often for a break from our usual curricula. 
• Other supplemental resources – I’ve found workbooks (like Mathematical Reasoning Level C, for example), hands-on math classes at our local co-op, and math apps (Fluent and Ninja Math are my youngest’s current favorites) all help round out our math studies. 
• Board games – A lot of games directly or indirectly give kids experience with mathematical concepts. In 13 Awesome Math Games (for Kids Who Hate Math) I share some of our all-time favorites.

Early Elementary Science

• Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding (BFSU) Volumes 1 and 2 – This series truly lives up to its title. My kids have an excellent foundation in science after using BFSU – I talk all about why we love this program in this post: Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding (BFSU) Review.
• AIG God’s Design for the Physical World (Machines & Motion and Inventions & Technology) – This series was a great change of pace for us and helped us focus on a few topics more in depth. 
• AIG God’s Design for Life (Human Body, World of Plants and World of Animals) – If you use the AIG series, I’d recommend choosing the topics based on your kids’ interests rather than going in a certain order. 
• Apologia’s Exploring Creation with Astronomy – We’ve used this and other Apologia ‘Young Explorer Series’ books at home and at co-ops. They have a lot of good information and my kids have enjoyed the Junior Notebooks that go with the textbooks. 
• Science In the Beginning by Jay Wile – This series provides an excellent foundation in science topics. I love that it’s organized based on the Days of Creation – so unique! And the experiments have been very easy to do at home with basic supplies. 
• Earlybird Start-up Science books 1-4 – In general, I wouldn’t recommend using only workbooks for elementary science since science at this age is best learned through hands-on exploration. But Start-up Science was a fun way to generate discussion about a broad range of topics.
• Supercharged Science (online class) – My oldest boys really enjoyed the online robotics class they took through Supercharged Science. Though that was years ago, it looks like this site is still going strong and has even more course options than before!

Early Elementary History

• Tapestry of Grace Primer (ToG) – Tapestry was a great program to cover history, literature, and more – but keep in mind it has more content than any family could ever accomplish! Treat it like a buffet and pick and choose so you don’t get overwhelmed!
• Story of the World (SotW) Vol. 1-4 with Activity Books and audiobooks – This is the program we used for the bulk of our homeschooling. Check out How to Plan The Story of the World History Curriculum and Ways We Customize The Story of the World Curriculum in our Homeschool for more details on SotW!  
• Notgrass History America the Beautiful – I really appreciate the beauty and personal touches in this book. It is technically a textbook but doesn’t read like one. It worked well for all ages in our household and I love the We the People book of primary sources that goes with the set!
• Mystery of History – My kids have used various volumes of this series at home and at co-op. It presents history through a Christian worldview lens and has a lot of enjoyable options for activities, timeline topics, and map work.

Early Elementary Health, Safety & Life Skills

• Abeka Book Health, Safety & Manners 3 – I got this for pennies at a used curriculum sale and it’s been the only real “curriculum” I’ve used with my kids for covering health and safety topics. I used this book as a launching point for our own unit studies and discussions.
• How the Body Works videos – All three of my kids have enjoyed watching and re-watching these memorable, quirky kids’ health videos. 
• DIY informal unit studies – I’ve mainly used YouTube, library books, and everyday conversations to cover topics like Disaster Preparedness, Safety, Healthy Choices, Careers, Life Skills, and Manners with my kids.
• TypingClub.com – When it comes to typing programs there are many options, but I like this one for its simplicity and effectiveness (and price point… it’s hard to beat free)! 

Early Elementary Logic

• Logic workbooks – We’ve used several logic books during elementary school (Lollipop Logic Vol. 1-3, Logic Countdown, Analogies for Beginners, and Primarily Logic) and I’m so glad we did! Years later I can tell this logic training has really helped my kids become critical thinkers and score well on SAT-type tests. 
• Math Analogies – We’ve enjoyed this one. It has a math focus rather than the usual logic analogy or language analogy books (hence the name… Math Analogies). It’s also helped us indirectly review math concepts. 
• An Intermediate Logic Workbook for Gritty Kids – My daughter is currently using this book and we love the variety of unique puzzles in it! I will say there’s quite wide range of difficulty in this book – some are just right for her but others her older brothers and I can’t even figure out! 
• Coding websites – It seems that STEM is king these days, so there are a lot of options for kids’ coding sites. We used the free sites code.org and scratch.mit.edu most often. 
• Puzzles galore – We’ve always stocked our house with mazes, puzzle books, Hidden Pictures, and crossword puzzles. My elementary kids have also enjoyed “Grandpa Math” –  little logic and math puzzles my dad sent to my kids. Three cheers for intergenerational learning! Thanks Dad! 

Early Elementary Extracurricular Activities

• Co-op Classes – Ever since we started homeschooling, we’ve been a part of a co-op. At this age, my kids took fun, extracurricular classes and did most of their core school subjects at home. At co-op they’ve taken things like art, gym, nature exploration, world explorers (geography), Spanish, LEGO Robotics, STEM, and board game classes.
• Homeschool Gym & Swim – Over the years we’ve participated in Homeschool Gym & Swim classes and other sports programs like soccer, gymnastics, archery, and rock climbing. Remember, exercise isn’t synonymous with “gym class”! There are endless ways to help your elementary kids start healthy habits that will last a lifetime!
• Music Lessons – We’ve encouraged our 1st – 3rd grade kids to learn piano and play around with other musical instruments (harmonica, recorders, tambourines, etc). For piano, we’ve liked the Bastien Piano series and, more recently, the Faber Piano Adventure books as well. 
• Extracurricular Classes – Our communities provide a lot of opportunities if we just look for them! We’ve enjoyed art, music, athletic, and STEM classes through our park district, library, and local organizations. 
• Reading Programs – Encouraging reading is one of the best things parents can do for their kids! Check out 5 Reading Incentive Programs and How They Can Work for Your Family for more about this.
• American Heritage Girls (AHG) – This group has been an amazing experience for my daughter! I highly recommend AHG and a similar organization for boys, Trail Life. 

1st, 2nd & 3rd Grade Homeschool Lessons Learned

Now that my kids are older, it’s easier to see that the veteran moms I talked to years ago were right! These early elementary years will fly by so enjoy it while it lasts! Now that I’m knee-deep in driver’s ed, ACT tests, and college applications, here are the lessons learned I’d share with my younger self if I could!

As you build into the lives of your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders, remember…

• Encourage a love of learning! Once my kids were in elementary school, I felt like it was time to “get serious” – after all, this wasn’t just kindergarten anymore! I sometimes mistakenly thought of school as worksheets, textbooks, and lectures. Sooo not true! Kids at this age love learning! It’s up to us to encourage their natural inclination to learn, imagine, and explore. Let them learn in whatever ways work for them! Guide, teach, and explore with them – try to work with their natural interests wherever possible!
• It’s ok to change plans! One of the greatest benefits of homeschooling is the ability to observe firsthand what’s working and not working. Take your kids’ feedback seriously and do what works best for you and them – even if that means switching gears mid-year. Check out When Homeschool Plans Need to Change for some examples of what this looks like.
• Keep it simple! Health, safety, science, and many other subjects are very easily taught organically through daily living – so don’t overcomplicate it! Talk about life as you live it with them! Don’t underestimate simple activities like strewing, notebooking, family read-alouds, and playing board games to encourage creativity and critical thinking. 
• Set a good example! Have you ever heard the saying “more is caught than taught”? It’s so true! Let your kids see mom and dad reading good books, searching for answers to questions, learning new things, and making healthy choices. The more healthy habits they see you do, the more likely they’ll pickup those good habits, too!
• All learning “counts”! A trip to the park, a discussion about what sand is while digging in the sandbox, looking up trees in a field guide, sorting and labeling a stuffed animal collection — all of this “counts for school”! And, dare I say, any of those would be more fun and memorable than a worksheet! For more examples of how kids are learning all the time, read Kids Are Always Learning (Even on the Weekend) and the other posts in my Kids Are Always Learning series!

I hope something here has been helpful to you wherever you are on your homeschooling journey! 

Are you looking for more information and encouragement as you start or continue homeschooling? My book, Think About Homeschooling: What It Is, What It Isn’t, & Why It Works, will help you evaluate the pros and cons of home education, discover the true benefits, and gain the knowledge and courage you need to step out of the cultural current and homeschool successfully! Find out more and get your copy here! 

Happy Homeschooling!

---

Subscribe today to receive new posts via email!