Complete Second Grade Homeschool Curriculum Choices
Let’s talk about second-grade homeschool curriculum choices! I want to show you what I use, thinking especially of simplicity and frugality, as well as give you some tips for choosing a curriculum that works for your family.
It is so much fun to have a second grader. Your child/children are starting to be able to do more on their own, but still need a lot of direction.
I do a lot of subjects as a family, but the core subjects, such as language arts and math, are done personally and on grade level as each child is able. In this article, I will just be showing you the subjects my 2nd graders do by themselves (with my help as needed, of course).
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2nd Grade Homeschool Curriculum Picks
Math
For math, we use Rod & Staff, in part because we have the privilege here in Costa Rica of having a Spanish curriculum publisher that does very reasonably priced curriculum. (We use the Spanish version as math is math, but I think they are basically the same as the English version.)
Rod & Staff math is very straightforward, with two pages per lesson in first and second grade, divided into two workbooks per grade. From third grade on, it switches to textbook style.
The teacher’s book comes with all the answers as well as instructions on what and how to teach the lessons.
1st and 2nd grade math doesn’t have tests, but there is a booklet of math fact speed drills for every other lesson.
This math has hardly any hands-on activities, but I think it does a pretty good job at teaching problem-solving skills and getting the students to memorize all the basic math facts.
I prefer a math curriculum like that, but it might be a con for some others. I do know children need to be able to “see” math, so I try to provide a bit of hands-on experience on the side as well.
For older grades, I might use Christian Light Education or Saxon Math but for now, this works well. For younger grades, those are a bit too heavy on the teacher’s side of work.
Language Arts
I use CLE or Christian Light Education for language arts for first and second grade. It’s a very solid curriculum, and it teaches and reviews well.
It comes with a teacher guide with the answers as well as some script and all you need to know to teach the lessons. Then it also has ten workbooks per grade.
CLE Language Arts covers everything like grammar, spelling, handwriting, creative writing, and more.
The only con it has is that it takes a lot of time, so I might switch to something else from third grade on. Otherwise, I am really happy with the solid foundation it gives for using language in writing.
Music Theory
Another subject that is really important for me is music theory. I love the Theory Time workbooks that I get on Amazon. I use them according to grade level, though my second grader needs a bit of help with reading the information and understanding it sometimes.
It is one workbook per grade, at about two pages per week, so it isn’t that much, but it still does a good job of teaching how to read music.
We also use Hoffman Academy for our piano lesson plans. The videos are free on YouTube, but you can also get the premium plan, which gives a whole bunch of bonuses (and they are worth it if you can afford it.) Learn more here at Hoffman Academy (and use the code LEARN for 10% off), and check out all we do for music in our home.
Bible
For Bible, I really like Christian Light Education’s Bible. It is something we can get the Spanish version for here as well, at a much better price, and it’s helpful because free shipping to Costa Rica doesn’t seem to exist! But they are the same thing.
We want our children to have a solid Bible foundation. First and second grade are really simple with a story and one simple activity page, done about twice a week. From third grade on, they have a bit more work.
Reading
My oldest daughter is still finishing up first grade Reading from CLE. But after that I plan to just have her read books and together discuss what she learns. You can learn more about Reading in my First Grade Curriculum Choices article.
Family Subjects
All the other subjects (science, nature study, world history, geography, social studies, etc.) are done family style. For many homeschool moms with young children of different ages and different grades, doing family subjects is a good way to cut out time working with individual children, and they learn just as well or better together!
Of course, learning also happens in many other ways, like with field trips, trips to the local library to get picture books of what you are learning about, etc. We also do things like memorizing Bible verses and songs in our morning time.
Picking Your Curriculum
Homeschool families have different ways of doing things. What works for me might not work for you. I encourage you to do your research, download samples, watch flip-throughs, pray about the new school year, and then confidently make your purchase.
If what you used last year or in previous years isn’t working anymore, make a change, but avoid getting too much curriculum and not using it.
If you already have something but it doesn’t work perfectly, you can usually find creative ways to adjust it to your child’s needs.
The most important thing is to teach your child to love learning in the early years.
Questions and Comments
If you have any questions about any of these curricula, or any others (because I have seen a lot), feel free to ask them below, and I will try to answer them.
Also, if you have any favorite 2nd-grade curriculum or tips, mention them below, as it might help someone else find just what they need for their second-grade student.
Have lots of fun teaching second grade!
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