My family likes to remind me about how, as a homeschooled child, I used to sit on the porch and wait for my textbooks to be delivered. I would get so excited about opening each box, unpacking all the materials, and flipping through the books to see what I was going to learn about during the homeschool year.
This year, I got that same thrill when I unpacked my daughter’s third-grade BJU Press curriculum. You can watch the YouTube video of my husband and me unpacking our boxes, but I wanted to hit a few of the highlights.
It’s a lot of stuff.
We ordered three textbook subject kits (Math 3, Spelling 3, and Reading 3), one stand-alone workbook (Handwriting 3), three Distance Learning subject kits (English 3, Bible 3, and a combination Science/Heritage Studies 3 kit), and a stand-alone Teacher’s Edition (Heritage Studies 3). By the time everything is delivered, we will end up with eight boxes (six are shown in this video). We actually stacked the boxes up against the wall, and the tower was taller than my rising third grader. It’s a lot of stuff, but since this is our second year using BJU Press materials, I didn’t find it as overwhelming as I did last year. I know that everything has its purpose. Now I just need to get it all organized.
I can hardly wait to begin.
Our homeschool year won’t start until the beginning of August, but I’ve found myself unable to resist looking through my boxes of curriculum. I have even begun reading some of the teacher’s editions.
I think I am most excited about the fourth edition of Science 3, which is a brand-new Distance Learning course taught by Mrs. Overly. My daughter had Mrs. Overly for Science 2 and English 2 (2nd edition) last year and absolutely loved her, so I know the video lesson content is going to be awesome. But the textbook content is what really impressed me. The textbook authors have done a phenomenal job developing critical thinking and biblical worldview skills. For example, on page 114 of the Student Activity Manual, students are asked to “describe the forces that affect how you move a wheelbarrow. Then explain how you can use what you know about these forces to help you work better.” The manual is full of questions like this that will really make my daughter think.
I could probably write an entire post about how much I love my BJU Press third-grade curriculum, and I’m sure that I will be highlighting some of my favorite features in future posts. If you want to learn more about our Distance Learning courses, you can watch sample video lessons for each subject on YouTube. You can also check out last year’s unboxing video if you want to know what we used for second grade.
I’m curious—have you unboxed your homeschool curriculum yet? What are you most excited about? I’d love to hear about it!
