What to do with your third grader when school is cancelled

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Are you trying to effigy out how to homeschool your 3rd grader when y'all're stuck at abode due to school cancellations?

I'k hither to aid!

Do you suddenly find your third grader at home due to schoolhouse cancellations?

Currently my 5 oldest kids are home due to (indefinite) school closings.

I'm a former teacher myself, but I never planned to homeschool.

Nonetheless … here we are!

Here are some tips for teaching your third grader at abode.

*Heads up: Most of my resources for third graders are inside my affordable online membership site, simply I'll only include gratis resources in this mail service.

How to teach your third grader

If you have assigned work from the instructor …

If you already know what your child needs to do – and you but need toexercise it – hither are some tips:

• Keep your regular waking up/going to bed routine.
• After your kid has breakfast, move into "school time" equally soon as possible.
• Commencement with the work that requires the near patience from yous and your child. Get that out of the mode while y'all're both fresh.
• Recognize that homeschooling your third grader may take simply 3-4 hours a day (probably less), and that'southward perfectly fine. You are not declining your kid if your school day is fast. Remember that much of a third grade teacher'south day involves managing a large group (I speak from experience here).

If you don't have a lot of guidance from the school (or want to supplement) …

Reading

Review phonics skills every bit needed.

By this time, about children are fluent with multi-syllable words. However, here are some basic resources for 1-syllable words if your kid needs extra practice.

• Here's a giant post with over 50 gratuitous printables for teaching silent e words.
• Here are some freebies for words with vowel teams.

It'south important that your child tin can decode longer words with ease.

• Check out these strategies for reading longer words from This Reading Mama.
• This Reading Mama has these great activities for working on prefixes and suffixes.
• Teach your child well-nigh the six syllable types. This Reading Mama has a post for that, besides.

Practice sight words if necessary.

• Most third graders don't demand a lot of sight discussion practice, but if your kid struggles be certain to enquire his/her teacher for a list. And then use my free editable sight word games to blazon in the words you desire to practice. Remember to exercise just a few at a time, and always mix in words your child already knows.

Schedule time for your child to read on his/her own.

Make sure your kid sits and reads for at least twenty minutes a day.

Unfortunately, information technology may be difficult to get your hands on books right now since libraries are closed. But a great (usually for a toll, but currently Costless) resource for books to read online is Epic.

Focus on reading comprehension.

• After your child reads a book, ask about information technology. Use the wordswho, what, when, where, why,andhow.

• Does your kid struggle to remember what southward/he reads? Check out these tips.

• If you're looking at no school for more two weeks, teach your child reading comprehension strategies. This Reading Mama and I put together a serial about these, and it's mostly written for parents. You can practise information technology! You lot don't have to teach all of them; but pick a few to focus on. Learn more here.

Grammar

Grammar concepts are becoming a big focus now, and you don't want your child to forget what s/he has learned.

While most of my grammar printables are in the membership site, here are some freebies from mine and other sites.

• Print and refer to these parts of speech posters from This Reading Mama.
• Endeavour these parts of oral communication word sorts from This Reading Mama. I love that they focus on nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
• Don't forget to teach near pronouns  (my only printables for pronouns are inside the membership).
• 3rd graders should know when to use majuscule letters, but they oftentimes don't! This game teaches capitalization rules.

Writing

Creative writing is important, but I'll be honest … teaching writing isn't easy (fifty-fifty for experienced teachers). This is because writing isn't easy. Educational activity information technology isn't supposed to be either.

Don't give up, though!

If you're looking at an extended homeschool situation (more than than two weeks), I recommend writing with your child a few times a week; schedule twenty-xxx minutes each time.

• Make sure in that location'south an audience for the writing. Don't have your child write just because you say and then. Hither are some ideas for audition:
  • grandparents (share it on FaceTime or over the telephone)
  • another parent
  • a sibling
  • a friend or neighbor (email information technology)
  • someone in a nursing home (postal service information technology)

• Consider different genres of writing.
  • a personal narrative (writing about his/her ain life)
  • writing a nonfiction piece well-nigh something he/she knows about, like a detail animal
  • a how-to piece (how to make a sandwich, etc.)
  • a letter
  • a free-verse poem

• MODEL get-go. If you enquire your child to write a letter of the alphabet, have him/her sentry you practise that first. Yes, fifty-fifty third graders need this. It will likewise help you remember that writing isn't easy and volition give you empathy when your child is stuck (which will happen, I hope).

• Writing to a prompt is okay once in a while, but information technology's best to have your child come up upwardly with his or her own topics. This post will help.

• As your kid writes, sit down down and do your own writing. Information technology can assist your child stay on task and reminds him/her that you're in this together.

• Don't insist that the work is perfect. Later on your child completes a piece (or complains that this is likewise hard wants your help), compliment your child on one positive thing in the writing. (Yes, this may be hard, but you tin can do it!) Then pick only one thing to focus on improving.

•  Information technology's helpful to go along rail of spellings using a personal spelling dictionary. Download a gratis spelling dictionary hither.

• Share it! Read it to a parent or grandparent (use FaceTime or the phone if needed). Email it or snail mail it.

Math

I could spend a whole post sharing but tertiary class math topics, but I'm highlighting the biggest concepts below.

Review addition and subtraction with numbers upwardly to thousand.

Hither are some sites with worksheets.

• Math-Aids
• Math Goodies
• Super Teacher Worksheets requires a fee, but information technology does accept free printables mixed in.

Aid your child memorize multiplication and division facts.

• Complimentary printable games for multiplication and partitioning

As well practice multiplying 1-digit numbers by multiples of 10. Utilize the worksheet sites I linked higher up.

Teach problem solving.

I accept a growing drove of problem solving activities in the membership, but nothing on the free site. I recommend checking out Math Geek Mama and asking her which freebies on her site would be good for 3rd grade.

Work on fractions.

• Pedagogy the concept of fractions can be tough, but there are resources out there to help you. BrainPop usually charges a fee, merely is currently gratis during the schoolhouse closures. Asking costless admission, and so bank check out the fractions videos here.

• Teach kids how to encounter and name fractions on a number line with this freebie from Math Geek Mama.

• Teach equivalent fractions with Math Geek Mama's freebies.
  • BUMP! games
  • Matching games
  • Board game

Teach near measurement and information.

• Information technology's hard to find gratuitous resources for interpreting data (I have a large set of graph worksheets inside the membership, but not the complimentary site). Try searching on Pinterest.

• Focus on expanse and perimeter.
  • Effort these gratuitous task cards from The Curriculum Corner.
  • Here'due south a gear up of challenging surface area task cards from Meridian Nop Pedagogy on TPT.
  • You can't go wrong with Laura Candler'south resource. She has a gratuitous area and perimeter game on TPT.

Social Studies and Science

These concepts are important, but your child is non going to be forever behind in school if don't teach them for a few weeks (or fifty-fifty months) in third grade.

Picket a few YouTube videos and have conversations with your kid nearly the world. It'south okay if you don't spend much time on these.

I hope.

How should y'all fill the rest of the day?

Those are the academic skills I recommend working on, but you have a whole day alee of you. What else should you lot do?

• Read, read, read to your child. Practise this every bit often as possible – for equally long equally both you and your child are enjoying information technology. Yes, even kids who tin can read on their own should be read to. Hither are some volume ideas for family read alouds.

• • Need books to read but you tin can't go to the library?
    • Go a free one month trial of the app Skybrary (with LeVar Burton from Reading Rainbow) – we used this in the by and loved information technology.
    • Become a costless one month trial of Epic!, a great digital library for ages 12 and nether. Nosotros use information technology and love it.

• Get moving. If possible, transport your kid exterior.Every bit often as possible.

• Pull out things that will continue your child busy.

• • Exercise uncomplicated art projects. My favorite site for piece of cake, fun crafts to do at home is I Heart Crafty Things. Have fun browsing her site! I also recommend creating small cards/crafts that y'all tin mail to family and friends.

• • If y'all can, FaceTime grandparents and other relatives.

• • Cook together. Here are a bunch of fun ideas.

• • Practice simple science projects, similar these.

• • Encourage your child to play with building toys –Legos, Magna Tiles, etc.

• • Play lath games. Skillful games for third graders include Distressing, Quixx, Monopoly, Phase ten, Chinese Checkers, UNO, Mancala, Qwirkle, and Penny Drop.

• • Find some free cartoon tutorials on YouTube. We absolutely dearest Art for Kids Hub and utilise itall the fourth dimension. Check out the channel hither.

• • Requite them screen time. Yes, I said it. I recommend planning this for specific times in the twenty-four hours – as belatedly in the day every bit possible then yous relieve it for when you really need it. Here's a list of free pedagogy sites for kids.

I hope this helps as you programme for several weeks at dwelling. Delight feel gratis to accomplish out to me through my email: anna(at)themeasuredmom(dot)com.

My inbox is bursting these days, simply I practise my all-time to answer every message.

Hugs to you lot!

Anna

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