Second Grade Curriculum

READING- We read, read, read from the library. You can choose books on people from the time period you are in or books that were written in that time period, those are called "live" books. You can read on your science subject, your history, or just fun reading. Plan to spend around 30 minutes a day of reading. If you can encourage an hour, even better!

MATH - We are using Abeka Math this year, but we have also used Math 2: Home Study Kit (Homeschool Math Grade 2)
 from Saxon. We are sure to do math everyday.

GRAMMAR- I am using the second part (It's a first and second grade all in one.) of the book First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind (Vol. Levels 1 & 2) (First Language Lessons).  Again, I am really happy with this grammar as far as its preparation for 3rd grade where it gets more intense. I also like how simple it is and how quickly they can have their lesson effectively learned.

SPELLING- By fifth grade, you want to be in level F, so at some point you need to complete 2 books. I find this easiest to do in first and second grade. Spelling Workout, Level B (Student Edition), Spelling Workout: Level C. There are 36 lessons, so you have one a week. If they can do more than that, than let them!

HISTORY- The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, Volume 2: The Middle Ages: From the Fall of Rome to the Rise of the Renaissance, Revised Edition
and the work book, The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, Activity Book 2: The Middle Ages: From the Fall of Rome to the Rise of the Renaissance, Revised Edition (v. 2). We do history 2 times a week. One day we read and narrate or dictate depending on the level of the child and the other day is spent doing more reading on the subject and activities out of the workbook. Read biographies and related books to this time period to your child as often during the week as you can and ask them to narrate back to you what they learned.

SCIENCE- We study Earth and Sky here, so we have several books we use. Please note that these books can be adapted down to a younger level, but can still be used successfully with an older child. The Usborne Internet-Linked First Encyclopedia of Our World More Mudpies to Magnets: Science for Young Children, The Glow-in-the-Dark Night Sky Book, and a book for older children, but one I use intermittantly for extra information is The Usborne Complete Book of Astronomy and Space (Complete Books Series). We do Science 2 times a week as well. We are reading or experimenting and recording one day and then the next day we are sketching, adding to a time line and dictation. Dictation is where you read something to them and they copy it down. Do this about 3 times a  week. You can incorportate this into history class, science class, their memory work or something from Grammar to accomplish this.

WRITING- We are writing every day. We write for history, science, grammar, memory and more. If they are ready for cursive, by all means let them learn. We are using Ready-Set-Learn: Cursive Writing Practice Grd 2-3 (Ready Set Learn).Have them write letters to friends and family as often as you like.

MUSIC- My second grader this year will start piano lessons. We always try to get books on composers in our time period through out the year to assist with music and they get theory through their instrument lessons.

BIBLE- I have used formal Bible curriculum before, but wasn't impressed. Of course, I haven't tried to many. Here is what I like to do. I have several children's bible books around the house and some character building curriculum that I combine. I also have a computer program. So, I just use what I have. They always have some sort of bible story or lesson from the bible. We share prayer requests and then spend some time in prayer before we begin each school day. Sometimes, I teach out of a book I am reading if they contain some simple lessons that can be adapted to children. This is a great time for children to learn how to pray, how to study the word of God and how to memorize it. We spend 10 minutes a day on memory. Many times, it is
learning scripture. The Bible Story Hour is our favorite for this age. Character Classics : "Little Larry" Attentiveness (Books and CD) (Character Classics) is a great character building course that has a CD with the lesson put to classical music. It's great to introduce your kids to classical music at the same time as teaching them biblical values. I can't hear Mozart without singing the lyrics to a character classic and neither can my kids.