2nd Grade Homeschool Plans, 2019-2020

This is my third year of planning a full Charlotte Mason style curriculum for our homeschool but it is only my second year planning for 7-year-old John. I still have a lot to learn about how to listen to what my children need and marry that with short, morning lessons on a wide variety of subjects according to a strict timetable designed to fit our family. I love to consult Ambleside Online, a Catholic Charlotte Mason curriculum, as well as Wildwood Curriculum for ideas, but I put it together in my own way.

I have tried to note in [ ] whether I'm using a free book or how much I paid for each of the resources we are using. I am committed to homeschooling with free or really cheap books as part of our journey to be debt-free while living on one income.



You can see past plans and recaps here.

This post contains affiliate links. Read my full disclosure to learn more.

Bible Lessons

This year I am reading narrative portions of the bible during our morning time during breakfast using the lists available on Ambleside Online and using a New Revised Standard Translation. In Home Education, Charlotte Mason stresses that reading the bible should be enjoyable and I feel that we are enjoying a more modern translation better than the King James Version.

Language Arts: Reading/Literature, Spelling, Copywork/Handwriting, Recitation, Modern Language

Reading/Literature (10-20 minutes lessons every day)

I feel like we have struck on a method that is really working for John right now and it is based on the reading immersion lesson from A Delectable Education podcast. Basically, we are reading through this book [$8.95, but got free with gift cards] and each day I look at the next sentence and help John learn any unfamiliar words using a whiteboard and movable letters. Once he has the words, he reads the sentence pretty fluently. With remaining time, he reads past sentences or past stories. He is really retaining what he is learning and gaining confidence. We'll continue to be flexible. He will also begin to read some books for his other subjects like Escape North: The Story of Harriet Tubman.

Spelling (3x10min/week)

All About Spelling Level 1 [bought and used by his older brother]

John is excited to start spelling and I know it will help him with his reading as well!

Copywork/Handwriting (4x10m/week)

Beginning Traditional Cursive, Grades 1-3, 3-4 lines of a worksheet daily
Printing a few lines in a primary notebook from Spelling Wisdom selections.

It is a small amount of writing daily, but it must be his best work.

Recitation (3x10min/week)

Each 6-week half term he will prepare to recite beautifully (often memorizing) 2 poems and 1 passage. I will choose a poem and a passage and he will choose the other poem.

The whole family will take part in reciting our prepared pieces at our low-key poetry teas during our break weeks. We will eat a snacky dinner, drink tea, and enjoy everyone's unique contributions.

Poetry (Listen to the same poem read aloud every day for a week at morning time)

We focus on a different poet each term and although I do not follow Ambleside Online's poetry schedule, I do choose the majority of our poems from their collection. This year we will focus on:

• Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
• John Keats
• Eugene Field

Modern Language: German (4x15min/week)

We are continuing our study of German through Talkbox.mom [generously funded by a grandfather]. This year we will also include learning German songs using YouTube and other resources found on Mason's Living Languages.

I had planned that John would participate in this lesson just as his brother is doing, but he has been giving me a lot of push back. I realized that it was not worth it to me to force a 7-year-old who is still working very hard to gain reading fluency to learn German. He *is* still participating, but I'm not *making* him. This is a very important distinction in John's book!

Social Studies: History and Geography

History (2x20min/week)

I spent a very long time trying to find a good history spine for both of my students this year. I knew that I did not want to use This Country of Ours or The Story of the World because I do not care for them. I looked at many other options in light of Mason's words about history and history books.

After much searching, I think the books I have chosen will serve John well this year.
He will learn about the American history of the 1800s using the following books:

• A Child's First Book of American History by Earl Schenck Miers [$26.95 new from Beautiful Feet Books]
• How We Crossed the West by Rosalyn Schanzer [$4.19 from Thriftbooks]
• Escape North: The Story of Harriet Tubman by Monica Kulling [Library]
• To California by Covered Wagon by George Rippey Stewart [$1 book sale find!]
• Abraham Lincoln by Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire [$13.95 new from Beautiful Feet Books]
• Jimmy at Gettysburg by Margaret Bigham Beitler [already own gifted book]
• The Story of Mark Twain (Signature Biography) by Joan Howard [vintage hand-me-down from my mom]

John will also work on a personal chronology chart. We'll probably save that until winter time when our lives are less busy.

Geography (2x20min/week, oral narration after each reading)

• Seabird, Holling C. Holling (Term 1) [alread used with his brother = $1 book sale find!]
• Tree in the Trail, Holling C. Holling (Term 2 & 3) [already used with his brother - bought used on Amazon for $6.13]
• Elementary Geography by Charlotte Mason [Free ebook under its original name on Google Play] We will continue to work through this title where we left off last year.

This is a subject that we all love and I think that it is going to be even better this year after I have learned more about how Charlotte Mason did geography with her students by listening to the ADE podcasts on the subject.

From last year, I have reduced the number of pages assigned for each lesson to leave more time for using maps without rushing. Each lesson begins in front of an appropriate atlas page where I ask my son questions about geography. He is sometimes able to use the names on the map to help him find the answer, or I read the answer to him.

I also bought an atlas to use with all of my children. I choose this one from 2010 which was recent enough and affordable enough for our purposes. [$25.20 used on Amazon]

Maths

Math (5x20min/week)

My firstborn son is a huge math lover so I have seen just how much children can learn when they enjoy it. To that end, I will always endeavor to let math be a natural and playful pursuit in our homeschool. Yes, it is frustrating and hard at times, but overcoming the struggle is a delight that I want my children to know. To that end, we will be doing no traditional drill worksheets, but daily work to build fluency with numbers. We will use the following materials:

• Life of Fred - We will pick up where we left off in volume 6 of the elementary series (Farming)
• Gattegno's Mathematics Textbook 1 using Cuisenaire rods, 
• Beast Academy, 3A [purchased for my older son for $32 and used with dry erase marker in slip sheets so we could reuse it without buying another workbook. YAY!]

We will also play with dice, coins, flashcards, logic games, and more. Anything to keep us moving toward fluency with basic operations. I don't worry about any "holes" in his math knowledge. We'll get to them eventually.

Science: Natural History, Special Studies, Nature Notebooking

Natural History (2x20min/week, narration after each reading)

I will read the following to John for him to narrate:

• Terms 1, 2, 3: Eyes No Eyes,  by Arabella Buckley (1 chapter/week)
• Term 1: African Critters by Robert Haas [bought for his brother last year for $3.99 on Thriftbooks] & North: The Amazing Story of Arctic Migration by Nick Dowson and Patrick Benson [already owned gifted book]
• Terms 2 and 3:  Squirrel's and Other Fur Bearers By John Burroughs [free online MANY places, I'm using Google's free illustrated edition]

Special Studies 

I chose the following topics for the year using the rotation found on Sabbath Mood Homeschool :

Term 1: Butterflies and Wildflowers
Term 2: Evergreens Trees and Birds in Winter
Term 3: Insects and Non-flowering plants

I will read seasonal nature books and books on our special studies at morning time and I will prepare object lessons as I find the wherewithal based on things I think we will be able to observe. I will prepare by reading the Handbook of Nature Study and watching YouTube videos on the topic.

Nature Notebook (daily entries, nature watercolor drawings, nature walk as an afternoon occupation)

My son is responsible for noticing something from nature and dictating a line or two to my husband or me to write into his nature notebook daily. We still miss a few days a month and that is perfectly fine for us. We do this all year round, 7 days a week.

This year, I am asking John to take a 15-minute walk in the neighborhood every afternoon we are home to give him some fodder for his daily entry.

He also has time to make a watercolor brush drawing in his notebook each week. In the past, I asked the boys to describe their drawing and I would jot down their responses and note down things they noticed and wondered about. They never enjoyed this part of the experience. I think they felt too on the spot and just didn't like the pressure of having to say what they knew about the topic they painted. I have backed off and am just requiring the picture, the date, and a brief caption like "Monarch caterpillar." They both seem much more willing to do the drawings without all the notes about them so we are going to keep it simple.

Morning Time

I will continue to read living science and natural history books as part of our morning time. These titles are not narrated.

Wild + Free Nature Group

We will continue to participate in a weekly year-round nature meetup at a rural property.  With our nature-loving friends, my kids get plenty of opportunity for free play as well as opportunities like a wildflower walk with a naturalist, a bird walk with volunteers from the Audubon society, night-time backlighting with a biology professor to see nocturnal insects, as well as camping with other families at a state park. It keeps me accountable for getting us out for half-days in nature every week no matter the weather and has become an important social outlet for my kids.

Art and Music: Watercolor, Drawing, Handicrafts, Singing, Artist Study, Composer Study, Music

Drawing (2x20min/week)

I'm making time for this in John's schedule, but I'm giving him lots of leeway in how he does it. I'm also going to focus on just praising his work instead of instructing. Usually, I aim to make one drawing session a watercolor painting of his choosing (to put into his nature journal or not) and one to definitely put in his nature journal.

Handicrafts (1x30min/week)

In order to keep John's days short, I have only put in 1 slot for handicrafts in his schedule. However, he will be expected to work on handicrafts like sloyd, sewing, crochet, cooking, and gift-making of various types outside lesson time, which will not be a problem for him because he loves to create. We will use resources like:

• Rubber Band Engineer: Build Slingshot Powered Rockets, Rubber Band Rifles, Unconventional Catapults, and More Guerrilla Gadgets from Household Hardware by Lance Akiyama [Christmas present!]
• Paper Sloyd: A Handbook for Primary Grades by Ednah Anne Rich [free online]
• Sloyd: Or, Educational Manual Training with Paper, Cardboard, Wood, and Iron By Everett Schwartz [free online]
• Sewing School: 21 Sewing Projects Kids Will Love to Make by Andria Lisle [already owned gifted book]
• Kids Knitting by Melanie Falick [already owned - $3.99 from Thriftbooks]

I will teach him new skills and help out with his projects as needed.

Singing (2x10min/week)

We will learn the following songs this year. We will also work through the solfa lessons from Children of the Open Air. 

The Battle of New Orleans
The Star-Spangled Banner
Follow the Drinking Gourd
Will the Circle Be Unbroken
Shenandoah
Ding Dong Merrily on High
When Johnny Comes Marching Home
Battle Hymn of the Republic
The Jam on Jerry's Rock
Goober Peas
Drill Ye Tarriers, Drill
The Bonnie Banks of Loch Loman

This year, I chose many songs that match our historical time period (1800s). I only choose songs that I think we can all enjoy and I don't worry if they are true "folk songs" or "Americana" or just fun songs to sing. I consult Ambleside Online but I do not follow their rotation per se.

Artist Study (1xweek at morning time)

This year we will study 6 works from a different artist each term:

Term 1: Monet [Picture Study Portfolios from Simply Charlotte Mason, $18.95+shipping]
Term 2: Van Gogh [Picture Study Portfolios from Simply Charlotte Mason, $18.95+shipping]
Term 3: Durer [Picture Study Portfolios from Simply Charlotte Mason, $18.95+shipping]

I love how easy these portfolios make studying the artists, but I think this may be the last year that we use them because I'm not very happy with the quality of the prints for this price. I did contact Simply Charlotte Mason about what I saw as miscolored prints (that looked completely different than digital online versions) and I felt my concerns were dismissed out of hand. If the prints are not going to be colored well then I might as well just have them printed locally for a fraction of the price!

In case you are wondering, I have been least satisfied with Rembrandt, Turner, Van Gogh, and Monet. The others have met or exceeded expectations.

Composer Study (1x10min/week)

This year we will study the following composers using YouTube performances of their work and Classics for Kids episodes:

• Term 1: Robert Schumann
• Term 2: Franz Liszt
• Term 3: Richard Wagner

This is another subject that I have simplified. We may learn more biographical information about the composer, but I am not making it a priority this year. I choose compositions to listen to from Ambleside Online's lists, but I do not follow their rotation.

Music (7x20min/week)

John will continue to use Hoffman Academy [Not an affiliate link! We just love Hoffman Academy.] He is currently about 2/3 done with Unit 3 and while his enjoyment of practicing waxes and wanes, he is making good progress and we all love to hear him play.

Physical Education

This year, John will participate in swimming lessons and AYSO Soccer and will enjoy an active lifestyle with hikes, bike rides, roller skating, and walks around town often, especially in spring, summer, and fall. We may also participate in a homeschool gym class and ice skating lessons depending on whether they fit into our schedule this year.

So that's the plan!

And we are several weeks into it at this point. John's reading lessons are going so well and I'm really feeling good about how I have simplified things. I've also made some changes to our schedule (daily and weekly) to enable a more restful attitude from me . . . even with a 1-year-old toddler trying to rip books and color markers all over himself and get in the toilet :-) We will go through another transition in a few weeks when my husband returns to a more strict work schedule! Thankfully we'll have a break week soon after.

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