So this year, we are doing things a little different. We are still trying to find what works and she’s old enough to work a little harder. Also, she is a proficient reader which allows her to do a lot more because she can work independently. And if you aren’t familiar with our family, she is very visual and a bit auditory, as well. All that being said, here are our curriculum choices for Lil Bit (6.5) in second grade.
All Year Subjects
Bible / Religion
For bible/religious education, we are using 3 resources:
I really like the Faith & Life series for Catholic catechesis. She adores Bible Study for All Ages and so she will do F&L three days a week & BS4AA twice, just like last year. In addition, we get a monthly SaintMail package that she really likes (link goes to my review).
Language Arts
She is an incredibly proficient reader, practically overnight, so we are jumping straight to Logic of English Essentials. It will cover grammar, spelling, dictation and such.
We may add a few literature studies or some poetry recitation, but we’ll see how that shakes out.
Math
We are in catch up mode due to picking the wrong Saxon curriculum (oops). She will be finishing first grade & hopefully second grade math, too, using CTC Math. Click here to see my CTC Math Review.
We are also going to play math games from a Math Games Kit we bought at the homeschool convention. We have been loving it so far! We also have a software program for math fact drills that we are reviewing this month (Ubersoft Math). I found a Learning Wrap-Up Addition Set at a yard sale, too. We will continue to work on them from all angles until they are mastered.
Geography
Exploring the Continents
We are using this Catholic geography program from CHC. It’s very simple, gentle & hands on.
Daily Geography 1 & 2
Why these too? We bought them & she LOVES geography. She will cruise through 2 weeks a week.
Character
Building Good Character
Building Good Character was an add-on to the CHC grade 1 package, but because I am lousy at being consistent, I am hoping this will help us all.
Art
Artistic Pursuits Book 1
She loves art and I hope to get her working through the Artistic Pursuits Book 1 once a week in addition to some other resources I have floating around.
Current Events
Scholastic News 2 + Science Spin
She loves these newspapers and so we will continue to do them. They are fun & short extras and we got to them all last year. That in itself is a feat!
Spring & Fall Terms
Science
Behold & See 2 & Daily Science 2
We have decided to pause on Apologia until she is older. She just isn’t interested in it and it’s so detailed that she just spaces out. Instead we will do Behold & See 2 and Daily Science 2. Both are very gentle and easy. Since she’s very interested in people, I’ve purchased DK’s Great Scientists, at her request. We also have several months of Magic School Bus lab kits to do.
Winter Term
History
Veritas Press – Ancient Greece & Rome
You can see my review of the Veritas Press Self-Paced history Ancient Greece & Rome here. She is IN LOVE. We will actually work through this all year but during winter, we will step it up.
Composer Study
We bought the Music Appreciation study from Zeezok last year and went gangbusters for a month — until the weather got nice. We will bring it out & cover a few composers and do the rest next year.
Do you have second grade curriculum for your visual learner that you love? I’d love to hear about your favorites!
This post is linked to The Homeschool Curriculum Choices Homeschool Share @ Chestnut Grove Academy, Ben and Me, and
Jennifer Altman
28 July 2014 at 7:38 AM (10 years ago)Thanks for linking up, we loved Veritas press too, and plan to do other timeframes, glad to hear you liked it as well
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sarahelisabeth
22 July 2014 at 4:15 PM (10 years ago)I’ve recently written about the curriculum that I have chosen for my year three (same as second grade) daughter who is also a primarily visual learner. We are using the same art and history. I hadn’t heard about the Zeezok Music Appreciation before-it looks interesting. We use the old Naxos CDs for music appreciation which is useful as an introduction but we need to follow up with something more meaty!
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jen Reply:
July 23rd, 2014 at 9:01 AM
She really loved the Zeezok course! It has a lapbook on a CD and the workbook pages are colorful and even have some cut & paste activities in them. It’s great for all styles of learning, I think. Thanks for stopping by!
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