Our oldest child is entering 2nd grade this year and I want to share with you what her home-school curriculum will look like. We plan on doing schoolwork four days a week in addition to having a fun day once a week. This fun day is where we venture out for a field trip. Or have a holiday party depending on the time of year. I will also specify which subjects we do every day, twice a week, or only once a week to give you an idea of how our week might flow. Some additional things we do during the day/week that I did not list below are play outside and inside, have snacks, bake together, run errands, visit with friends and family, etc. Interested in what our Home- Schooled 2nd Grader is learning this year? Then keep reading!
Bible & Character Building
Every morning after we have breakfast together, we cuddle on the couch and begin our day with Family Devotions. This involves reading a chapter from the Bible, currently we are working through the Psalms. Followed by a few pages of a Heroes for Young Readers or a Help Me Be Good book. Together we quote our monthly memory verse, then go around and everyone will say something they are thankful for, followed by prayer.
The reason for this Bible and Character-Building time is because as professing Christians we want to instill our children with wisdom from the Lord first thing and teach them how He desires us to live. This doesn’t guarantee us perfect children throughout the day, most days we are all a work in progress.
We desire to live out the Shema which states in Deuteronomy 6: 4-9, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
Daily Chores
Yes, we are a family that requires everyone to pitch in for chores. Some chores may be paid so kids can earn money to spend. Others are unpaid so they learn that being part of a family means everyone has to pitch in to keep a clean and comfortable house. For our 2nd grader, Olivia, she must clean her room every morning and make all the beds. Make sure her cat is fed and brushed every day. Other chores depend on the season we are in. Perhaps watering plants during the Summer. Dusting or vacuuming if we have company coming over, or being a Mother’s Helper after we have a baby and Sam has gone back to work. This may look like her grabbing diapers or wipes as I need them. Getting her brothers a snack or helping pass out drinks.
Handwriting
Everyday Olivia is to work on one page of her handwriting workbook. She currently uses The Good and The Beautiful Handwriting Workbook Level 2. I don’t require her handwriting to be perfect, we are more focused on the daily practice.
Language Arts
We have been using The Good and The Beautiful curriculum the past few years and LOVE it! This year Olivia is working through the Level 2 Language Arts Course set. She works on a lesson every day. You begin the lesson with booster cards that help with phonics principles you may be learning, followed by the daily lesson, and finish by having the child read aloud to a parent. This is by far her favorite subject!
Math
We also use The Good and The Beautiful curriculum for this subject as well which is the Math 2 Course set. While Olivia does very well in Math, she is not too fond of having to complete a lesson every day. The lessons are very easy for the parent to teach. Each lesson begins with the practice of a concept the child may have not yet mastered. Followed by a new lesson taught through a story, game, or interactive play with the child and parent. Then finish with math problems for the child to work on independently. This review focuses on review of past lessons and the current lesson.
Read Aloud
We are always reading through a chapter book together as a family. After lunch and clean up we will read a chapter from the current book we are working on before our nap/quiet time. This year we will be working through the Growly Books by Philip and Erin Ulrich.
Loop Activities
The loop activities we are focusing on this year are History, Health, Finance, Arts OR Handicraft, and Nature Study. We rotate or loop these subjects on a daily basis, meaning we only work on one per day. This year we will be working though A Beka’s History/Geography Reader for Grade 2 which is called Our America. I found this book at a used bookstore thus the reason we are using it rather than purchasing something new from The Good and The Beautiful.
For Health we will read through A Beka Book Health, Safety, and Manners Reader 2. For finance we use the Financial Peace Junior Course and companion story books from Ramsey Solutions. Also, this is where the reason for paid and unpaid daily chores comes from.
Arts and Handicraft are either some fun craft the kids want to try or maybe a craft kit such as KiwiCo Crates that we already have on hand. Nature Study is learned from one of the numerous books we have on hand and try to work through over the course of the year or by simply taking walks and enjoying nature outside.
What are you working through with your Home- Schooled 2nd Grader. Please share with us, we would love to learn from you. Or check out our Home School Page for more great information!
Leave a Reply