My youngest is almost a 2nd grader! This will be my third time with this curriculum. I don’t think there are too many changes. Do keep in mind, in case you think I have an awfully large number of subjects here, that many of these will be rotated so that not every subject will be taught all in one day (heaven forbid!).
1. Math: Singapore Math—Primary Mathematics 2A and 2B (U.S. Edition). I’ve used Singapore Math for K-3 with all of my kids, and they have done very well with it.
2. Reading: Reading to Learn series—Happy Hearts and Helping Hands (2 readers). I’ve used this series for grades 1-3 with each child, and we really have enjoyed it. These readers are advanced, but my youngest read through the first grade reader so quickly that she’s been reading other books the last half of the school year. She’s already reading chapter books in fact! I still plan to use these readers for 2nd grade, but if she gets through them quickly, then I’ll come up with a list of chapter books for her to read.
3. Spelling: All About Spelling—Levels 2 and 3. This is our favorite spelling program. She’s already finished part of Level 2 in 1st grade, so she will probably get to Level 3 during 2nd grade.
4. Handwriting: Pictures in Cursive Primer—I used this with my daughter’s older sister, and we enjoyed it. The painting reproductions are very nice.
5. Language: Language Lessons for the Elementary Child, Volume 1—This is where I’m changing things up from what I did with the older two. With them, I didn’t use this book until they were in 3rd grade; however, I think my youngest will be able handle it easily. We’ll try it, anyway. She literally whizzed through all of her 1st grade work each day, so I think she’s ready.
6. Writing: Journal--There are writing exercises in the language book; however, since she already loves to write, I will probably have her keep a journal.
7. Poetry: Poems for Memorization—She is very good at memorizing, so we’ll try working on some of these poems. I intended to use it with my older two, but somehow we never got to it that often.
8. Science: Our Father’s World—We used the second grade book along with her Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory program (Heart of Dakota), so I’m using the first grade book this year. We’ll probably supplement it with experiments and nature study.
9. History: The Story of the World, Volume 1: Ancient Times—All of my kids have used this program, and we really like it. Because the book has only a few Bible stories, I do add a lot to the program. We use the accompanying activity book and supplement with plenty of books. To top it all off, we will take her to the British Museum in London, something I’ve done with my older two when they studied ancient history.
10. Geography: With my older two kids, we did three years of geography units on different countries, plus one year on states. Now, my older two are finished with our geography units, and my youngest gets to start them for the first time! I love geography, so this is a favorite to teach. My units are on my blog (right side bar), but they may vary a little depending on what resources we have available. My youngest will begin with the following countries: Iraq, Egypt, Ghana, Israel, Greece, Italy, China, India, and Turkey.
11. Bible: Grapevine Studies—Stick-Figuring Through the Bible: New Testament Overview, Beginner Level and Seeds Family Worship (Bible verse memorization). Our family has enjoyed these!
12. Story Time: I’ll be reading aloud to her from nine books as follows:
Biography: Squanto: Friend of the Pilgrims (Clyde Robert Bulla)
Adventure: (Still working on this one)
Historical Fiction: Little House on the Prairie (Laura Ingalls Wilder)
Fantasy: Rabbit Hill (Robert Lawson)
Mystery: Ghost Town Treasure (Clyde Robert Bulla)
Nonfiction: If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon (E. Levine)
Humor: A Bear Called Paddington (Michael Bond)
Realistic Fiction: Misty of Chincoteague (Marguerite Henry)
Folktales: Dick Whittington and His Cat (retold by Eva Moore)
13. Seatwork: Spectrum Test Practice, Grade 2—Just for skill practice.
14. Thinking Skills: MindWare Brainteaser books—Analogies, Venn Perplexors, and Logic Links. Also we will use a variety of thinking skill games.
15. Music: Singing Made Easy, piano, other.
16. P.E.: Family Time Fitness
17. Art: Joseph the Canada Goose and Draw-Write-Now books
Click on links to view my 2015-16 curriculum for 6th and 9th grades.
This post is linked to iHomeschool Network's 7th Annual "Not" Back to School Blog Hop.
P.S. As I hadn’t published a blog post in several months, I experienced technical difficulties when I tried to publish this post via my Windows Live Writer. If you experience this issue, this post was most helpful: LEHSYS Side Notes
