2nd Grade Homeschool Curriculum
Here are my TOP 2nd Grade Home School Curriculum choices for homeschooling. Homeschooling a 2nd-grade student is all about deepening the reading skills and continuing to build a greater math foundation, but always adding in some fun and extra activities!
Whether you have made the decision to homeschool or are still considering the final decision to actually homeschool or home educate your children, one of the most major decisions is which curriculum will be used. The choices can be a bit overwhelming and I have highlighted what I have used over the years. Here are my selections for Grade 1.
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Homeschooling is challenging but wonderful and very rewarding. My children are benefiting from me and me from them!
Your role as a home education parent to a Grade 2 child is that you are a Parent at Elbow (PEW) teacher. What this means is that you will be sitting next to your child helping them understand concepts and complete work to the best of their ability. Parents should be at the elbow working right alongside their child through every subject., every single day! If you want success, this is where you will need to be.
2nd Grade Homeschool Curriculum
Math
If you are unsure of the level of Math to place your child, Saxon Math has placement tests you can download and give to your own child to test their levels.
Saxon Math 2: Placement Test (PDF) and Scope and Sequence (PDF)
Saxon Math 3: Placement Test (PDF) and Scope and Sequence (PDF)
Saxon Math 4: Placement Test (PDF) I never used Saxon Math 4. Saxon Math 4 is an intermediate level, so it is in between Saxon Math 4 and Saxon Math 5/4. I always went directly to Saxon Math 5/4 with my kiddos. If you are unsure, I would recommend to move up and then really sit with your kiddo to ensure they are understanding the concepts. I worked with my each of my kids daily on their Math lessons. Inever left them to complete the exercises alone until around Saxon Algebra 1/2 . And even at that level, I was readily availabe for questions and help as needed.
Does it work? Yes
Will I continue to use it? Yes.
We are heavy on Math in this house! {As you can see} This is the first summer we have not tutored during the summer or completed daily work to remain fresh. I'm hoping we can dive right in and pick up where we left off. I will continue to use Saxon Math as I really like this curriculum, the children are familiar with it and it works!
My 2nd grader will begin Saxon Math 3. My oldest daughter used the Rod & Staff Grade 2 curriculum. She had quite a difficult time with math and my youngest daughter flies through math. So, you have to find a great fit for your child. Sometimes, you may buy something that might not work, and that is okay!
Grammar
Shurley Grammar Level 2 OR Growing With Grammar 2
Does it work? Yes
Will I continue to use it? YES
This will be my third year using Shurley Grammar. My daughter just started with Shurley Grammar. I have to say it is one of the best Grammar curricula out there, for us. I'm excited to move my 2nd grader over to Shurley Grammar. My 4th grader actually really loves these books.
Spelling
Soaring with Spelling OR Spelling Workout
Does it work?
Will I continue to use it?
I actually have not selected any curriculum for Spelling yet this school year. I've been really satisfied with Soaring with Spelling in the past so will likely just continue for lack of finding a curriculum that works best for us. I have used Spelling Workout (Level B for grade 2) in the past and it wasn’t a great fit for my kiddos. But, that doesn’t mean it won’t work out for your kids.
Handwriting/Penmanship
Cursive Writing books
My daughters have wonderful fine motor skills, but their handwriting is not the best. The girls are both lefties and I think they struggle more with where to place their paper in relation to their writing utensils. My 2nd grader will begin Classically Cursive for cursive writing.
Literature/Composition
Second Grade Literature (Grade 2)
Grade 2: Mr Popper's Penguins, The Courage of Sarah Noble, Little House in the Big Woods, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, The Tale of Tom Kitten, The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse, The Tale of Benjamin Bunny
My little one ended up falling in love with all things Peter Rabbit and we purchased her the entire book set. Here is a smaller one, but we have adored owning the entire Beatrix Potter books.
Social Studies/History/Geography
The Story of the World & Mystery of History Volume II - The Early Church and the Middle Ages & The Ultimate Geography and Timeline Guide & A Trip Around the World & Another Trip Around the World &
Does it work? Yes
Will I continue to use it? Yes
LOVE, love, love this curriculum. The reading book is wonderful and easy to understand (I read the stories to my kids). The activity book was equally as awesome. I was able to complete almost all the activities they would assign per chapter. We have made some amazing projects! IN addition, we are creating a lapbook for SOTW utilizing downloads from the web.
In addition to The Story of the World material, my son uses Mystery of History Volume II - The Early Church and the Middle Ages , Bible Atlas, and Leagues and Legends for Omnibus. I work with him each week with Mystery of History and happen to really like this curriculum as well.
For Geography, we study one country per week using A Trip Around the World, Geography from A to Z, Children Just Like Me, Global Art, Usborne Encyclopedia, and many many books for a local library. This is working for us and the kids really like Geography. We usually conclude a week's study with a visit to a restaurant that serves the food of the country we were studying {luckily we live in a BIG city!}
I just want to add that I did purchase The Ultimate Geography and Timeline Guide and I have not been able to use it yet. The curriculum is a bit advanced for my small children. Perhaps in a couple of years, I will be able to use it, but for now, it is going to sit on my bookshelf. I would say this is for jr high to high school kids for sure.
English/Vocabulary/Language
Rod & Staff (Grade 2) & Daily Paragraph Review (Grade 2)
Does it work? yes
Will I continue to use it? yes
I actually really like the Rod & Staff curriculum. It is a lot of repetition and my little one sometimes gets really bored with it. However, the curriculum works.
We are also using Daily Paragraph Review this year as opposed to Daily Language Review, which I have used every year thus far. I enjoy this, these kids enjoy this. It is simply a daily page of review lessons that is easily completed. Evan Moor pages are quick, easy, and a great reminder for kids.
Science
Exploring Creation Through Astronomy Apologia with the Notebooking Journals & Patterns of Nature (from Rod & Staff) Life (Level1) & Earth & Space (for my daughters)
Does it work? YES to all - except the kits
Will I continue to us? yes to all - not the kits
My daughter will be using the Patterns of Nature this year from Rod & Staff. Patterns of Nature consists of 30 lessons bound in an illustrated workbook. Science, at this level, mainly involves identification. Such subjects as seasons, seeds, wildflowers, weeds, trees, mammals, insects, songbirds, and the celestial bodies are introduced on the child's level. The book is a great supplement to our other curriculum, but sadly, she doesn't like it.
My girls love the Earth & Space and the Life Science curriculum. My son has decided he no longer wants to be excluded from this curriculum and he now participates in this part of our day(s).
My son loves Science and has Astronomy though the academy and we have Chemistry at home. I use both of the books listed above together or separate, it just depends on what we are studying that week. He is also completing a study on the Elements and creating a lapbook. We are using The Periodic Table book and various books I get from a local library.
We are a heavy Science family. My children all love and adore Science and experiments so I continue to feed their curiosity. Whatever they want to learn, basically is included. I also ordered a dozen science kits from The Young Scientists Club at the end of the summer. Sadly, we are not impressed with these kits at all. {I'm also a bit ticked about it because of the money I spent}. Most of the experiments in the kids are really {really} old and simply do not work. I think they must have been sitting on their shelves for a very long time. I just went to their website now and it looks like they revamped their website and their kits? Perhaps too many complaints, so I can not speak to the quality now. But what I ordered, does not work. My kids are bummed too.
Biblical Studies/Religion/Memory
God's Great Covenant, OT Book 1 OR BJUPress Bible Truths Grade 2
Does It Work? GGC - yes
Will I continue to use? yes
My 2nd grader will use the GGC book this year and she is excited to begin. I love GGC books! The God’s Great Covenant is a series of 4 textbooks that can be used for four years. Begin with the Old Testament book 1, then move on to the Old Testament Book 2 and then the New Testament book 1 and then the New Testament book 2. Really you can go in any order, but the New Testament is a bit harder for the lower grade levels. Keep in mind that beginning this book in Grade 2 might be a bit early! Your 2nd grader may not be able to complete the assignments in the workbook. However, the stories are wonderful! You could use this curriculum two years in a row if you like and start over again in Grade 3.
You could use BJU Press Bible Truths and I would suggest to only use the Student Worktext. You do not need to administer tests at this level. Reading the stories together and answering the very simple questions in this textbook are fine!
Foreign Language
Prima Latina or Getting Started with Latin
Does it work? yes for either - we have used both
Will I continue to use? Yes
Latin is always a struggle and I know we will have many hours of studying this year! But, we shall persevere!
Art & Music
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists and private music lessons
Does it work? Yes
Will I continue to use? Yes
I purchased Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists, Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet, Davinci, Matisse, Michelangelo, O'Keefe, Pollock, Rembrandt, and Seurat. We read the books, along with books from the local library. We have a lapbook that we are completing and a page and many activities are dedicated to each artist. We conclude the unit study of each artist with an art project. The children really love Art this year. We incorporate Geography with Art this year!
Field Trips/Extra Activities
We have many, many field trips since we live in a great city with numerous museums. Field Trip day will always be the favorite I think. Homeschooling is challenging but wonderful and very rewarding. My children are benefiting from me and me from them!
We have many, many field trips since we live in a great city with numerous museums. Field Trip day will always be the favorite.
Here’s a post on our workboxes and how we use them in our homeschool classroom! I also have some printable workbox tags.
I really hope this helps in planning your homeschool curriculum for 2nd grade homeschooled students! Make sure to check out my other homeschool grade curriculum picks.
Writing
Journals, Field Trip Reports
Does it work? Yes
Will I continue to use? Yes
Our approach is quite simple, I give journals and a topic each day and my daughters are to write a complete sentence to the prompt and draw a picture. They actually like this so much. My daughter has begun a personal daily journal that she continues to write in. Additionally, whenever we have an outing, the assigned task on the way home is to write about your day.
Here’s a post on our workboxes and how we use them in our homeschool classroom! I also have some printable workbox tags.
I really hope this helps in planning your homeschool curriculum for 2nd grade homeschooled students! Make sure to check out my other homeschool grade curriculum picks.
Here are my 1st Grade Homeschool Recommendations.
HOW TO MAKE A HOMEWORK SCHEDULE
I am attaching the spreadsheet and also the pdf of the homework schedule I use. I get assignments from my children’s teachers each week and I compile those assignments into a weekly spreadsheet that I then print ours for the,m. The assignments are listed by day fo the week so each day, they simply cross off the assignment once they are done and move on to the next subject. This spreadsheet is easy to navigate and easy to fill in with the assignments you receive from your child’s teacher.
PLEASE VISIT MY CURRICULUM STORE TO DOWNLOAD THE FREE HOMEWORK SCHEDULE.
