Timberdoodle 3rd Grade Curriculum: Unboxing

As I’ve mentioned before on this blog, our family has been ordering from Timberdoodle for years. We love all the products they carry.

When we first began our homeschool journey, they offered lots of enrichment games and activities, but it wasn’t until much later Timberdoodle began selling a complete curriculum for each grade level.

By that time, we’d already pieced together a program of our own. But when Timberdoodle contacted me this year to ask if I’d be interested in reviewing their 3rd grade level elite curriculum kit, I said, “You bet!”

My youngest daughter, Abby, will be entering 3rd grade this fall. So this level is a perfect fit. Doing something fresh and new sounded fun. And the timing was right. As two of her sisters graduated in May, I was down to having just four students to homeschool — or so I thought.

A Slight Change in Plans

Shortly after I agreed to teach using Timberdoodle’s program next year, I more than doubled my class size. I’m now teaching my five oldest grandchildren two or three days a week, as well, to give my daughter-in-law a much-needed break to rest and recuperate after a recent move and the birth of her 7th!

She and my son also have a third grader. Plus, the rest of their kids are close enough in age that they’re going to love working through many of the science, history, and literature lessons together!

So this review opportunity really is a God-send. The grandkids were here when we cracked open the huge box of books and supplies Timberdoodle shipped us.

The books were extremely well packed and padded, so everything arrived in pristine condition. We had to pause from the unboxing long enough to photograph the costumes the kids made from the packing material. It’s as if all that brown paper leapt out of the box straight onto their bodies!

Parcels of Possibility and Potential

Digging into the contents, we felt like it was Christmas in July. It took us half an hour just to unbox and unwrap everything inside.

The children ooohed and aaahed over each new discovery.

I’ve never seen kids more excited about starting back to school!

The 3rd grade curriculum includes a few familiar and well-loved products we’ve used for years. Other components are brand-new to us. I’m looking forward to trying those out as much as the kids are.

I’d feel completely overwhelmed by the sheer volume of material to cover if it weren’t for the printed handbook and online lesson schedule Timberdoodle includes with every kit. These resources break everything down into small chunks and tell you exactly how much material you’ll need to cover in each subject to get through it all in a year.

You can read all about everything included in this kit in great detail at Timberdoodle, but here’s a brief listing, including comments on resources I’ve used before. You’ll also find links alongside products I’ve already reviewed; I plan to come back to this post to link others as I review them in the future:

Timberdoodle 3rd Grade Curriculum Kit Contents

Math

• Math-U-See Gamma – I’ve used Saxon math almost exclusively for grades 4-12 at home, but taught Algebra 2 in a co-op last year using Math-U-See and was very impressed, so I’m going to give it a try with my 3rd graders at home this year. I’m hoping its methodical pace of introducing only one new concept a week will be good for my grandkids, who’ll only be schooling at my house part-time.
• Mobi Max – This is such a fun game! It’s like playing Bananagrams, but with number tiles instead of letters.
• Wrap-Ups Multiplication – We used these when our oldest kids were little, but they got lost in a move some where along the way. I’m delighted to have a new set, and love the design they’re using these days, as it’s less to keep up with but still provides the same great practice!
• Extreme Dot-to-Dot Pets – I’ve been using these extreme dot-to-dot books as stocking stuffers for years. They’re intense!

Science

• Science in the Scientific Revolution Set
• Dr. Bonyfide Presents Bones – Book 1

Language Arts

• Daily 6-Trait Writing Grade
• Mosdos Press Literature, 3rd Grade Opal
• Spelling You See, Level D
• A Reason for Handwriting, Transition – We’ve used a combination of penmanship courses over the years, but this one has always been one of our favorites.
• Beginning Word RootsI’ve used Word Roots with my high schoolers before, but this will be my first exposure to their beginner’s books.
• First Language Lessons, Level 3 Bundle
• The Swiss Family Robinson – My children loved hearing me read the classic tale aloud to them, so I’m interested to see how they take to this graphic novel version.(UPDATE: Timberdoodle no longer carries this book, so I swapped the link for an Amazon affiliate link to the same product.)

History

• The Story of the World, Volume 3 – Again, this has been a staple in our homeschool for years. I’m happy to have an extra copy, though, so my kids can follow along as I read aloud.
• The Story of the World, Volume 3 Activity Book – These hands-on learning activities really help history to come alive!
• The Story of the World, Volume 3 Audio Book – I haven’t ever tried the audio version of this book, but am looking forward to incorporating it into our school lessons this year.
• Famous Figures of the American Revolution – My kids loved making these famous figures of history a couple of years ago, and I know my grands are going to enjoy this project, too.
• True Stories of the Revolutionary War

Geography

• Skill Sharpeners Geography
• Children’s World Globe Puzzle – We reviewed this 3-D Puzzle Globe a few years back, but the kids are looking forward to working it again, this time with their nephews.

Thinking Skills

• Critical and Creative 3 – We’ve enjoyed some of the higher levels in the Critical & Creative Thinking series and are looking forward to working through level 3 with the younger kids this year.
• Circuit Maze
• Typing Instructor for Kids Platinum
• Zoob Builder STEM Challenge
• Scratch Coding Cards

Art

• Doodle Adventures: Search for the Slimy Space Slugs
• Paint-by-Number Museum Set – My older kids loved painting these Museum Masterpieces (and won awards for their work at the East Texas State Fair). Now the younger set can hardly wait to get started on this new set.
• Zentangle for Kids
• Complete-a-Sketch CD
• Mixed by Me Thinking Putty Kit – I gave all our kids Thinking Putty in their Christmas Stockings one year, but this will be our first try at mixing our own. (This time around, I’ll warn them in advance not to stick the putty in their pocket unless it’s tucked safely in it’s carrying tin!)

Teaching/Testing Aids

• 3rd Grade Handbook – This explains how to use each resource included with the kit and provides a suggested schedule for getting through the material in a timely fashion.
• Spectrum Test Practice

Whew! We finally reached the bottom of the box, so that’s about it.

Stay tuned, as I’ll be posting a few progress reports over the course of school year to share how we’re doing working our way through Timberdoodle’s 3rd Grade Curriculum Kit. With all these fresh, new resources — and five extra little ones to teach — this promises to be a very interesting and educationally stimulating year!

And just to demonstrate the kind of appeal Timberdoodle’s resources have, here’s what happened when the grandkids left and our college students came home for the day:

They couldn’t resist trying out the Zoob Builder STEM set while their dad read aloud to us that evening. Don’t you just love games and toys and books that all ages can enjoy together?

With Timberdoodle, that’s exactly what you get… by the boxful.