So, this post has been a long time coming. But here we are in February and I think we have the majority of our subjects all figured out. Since we moved to Washington and I began homeschooling Independently for the first time I had a lot of choices to make. I was not completely happy with all the curriculum we were using at our Charter school in California, and there were some curriculum that I had used through them that I really liked, but soon found out to use it at home would be very expensive. So the search began, and let me tell you, there are a lot of choices out there. I also have a tendency to get a little obsessed and love to research. So I researched and read review after review, and I looked at other homeschool blogs to get an idea of what different programs were like. I settled on some core subjects and gave them a try. After a few months I found that we loved our reading and spelling program, but hated our Math. So back to the internet I went and I decided to try a program I had been wanting to try, but seemed so different then any math I had ever used. Turns out we love it. I have found out that my daughter does better with mastery based programs where you work on something until you get it and then move on. The spiral math was horrible for her. Each time we would "spiral" back to something for review it was like she had forgotten everything she had learned about it.
So here is what we are using for Second Grade
Language Arts
For reading we are using All About Reading level 2. It is a mastery based program and each new concept builds upon the previous one. It is also a multi sensory program that uses sight, sound and touch to help retain the information, and it applies what they learned right away. So in one lesson you might learn the third job of silent E and then the next lesson will have you reading a story that uses words from the lesson. Or there are fun activities at the end of the lesson that helps solidify the lesson that was taught. We went with level 2 because I knew she was reading slightly below grade level and that she probably didn't know most of the lessons taught in All About Reading. She is flying through it pretty quickly and we will be ordering level 3 in a few weeks. At this point she is now reading at a beginning third grade level and flying through Magic Treehouse books! The program goes through level 4 and then assumes your child has learned to read. The best this thing about this is that there is no fighting with her to do the work. She is pretty happy to complete the lessons and put the sticker on her sheet that tracks how many lessons she has done.
We are also using the All About Spelling program from the same company. We just finished level 1 and are staring level 2. I believe the spelling goes through 6 levels. I see a big improvement in her spelling already and it is making it where she is wanting to write now that she can spell. Visit the All About Learning website to learn more about both of these programs.
Here is what we are using for the letter tile magnets that come with All About Reading and All About Spelling. We got an oil pan from an automotive store and it is the perfect size for all the tiles. We use this for both reading and spelling daily and it is nice because we can move it from the kitchen table to the floor or even a bedroom.
I am also having her practice her handwriting with a leftover Handwriting without tears book that we had from the Charter School. Once that's complete I will probably just get a handwriting book from Lakeshore so she can practice writing neater. We also have a daily language review book from Evan-Moor that we are using for grammar. This year I am mostly focusing on learning to read and spell. Next year once we are done with our reading program we will focus on reading to learn, so reading good children's literature and discussing it, and we will start a formal writing program.
Math
This was a tough one, but I think we got it figured out. I ordered Math-U-See after first trying a different program that clearly was not working. I went with something similar to what we were using in our Charter School and looking back I know I shouldn't have done that, but it was comfortable and spiraled and I thought that was what she needed. After a month of watching her struggle and hate math I decided to try something new. I had been looking at Math-U-See for awhile but wasn't sure about it. It looked so different then anything I had seen before. Turns out it was exactly what she needed. It is a Mastery based program that focuses on concept at a time and you don't move on until it has been mastered. We went with the alpha level because I knew she couldn't do her addition facts from memory. The alpha level focuses on single digit addition and subtraction. There is plenty of review so they don't forget what they have learned, but the focus on mastering before moving on has really helped her with math. She still has some lingering feelings of dread when math time comes up but once we get started I have noticed that she enjoys it. I just keep reassuring her that she can do it and that it is normal for people to need to practice math. I usually let them play with the blocks for a few minutes before a lesson. They are so cool they are just begging to be played with . Now that we are on lesson 11 the interest in playing with them has slowed down but every once in awhile she will want to still.
Social Studies and History
This has pretty much been interest led for now. We had a large focus on learning about different holidays and different traditions during December. We spent a couple weeks before that learning about the Nez Perce since we recently moved to the Pacific North West. We read the American Girl books about Kaya who was a Nez Perce girl living in 1764. Currently we are learning about the Lunar New Year and we are preparing for a family dinner coming up on Saturday. We have focused on how the Chinese celebrate this holiday and are using our Raddish cooking kit to make a Chinese dinner. We have also used this as an opportunity to talk about the silk road and read some books about people that travelled in caravans to trade.
I do have the first volume of Story of the World which I plan to start soon but we have been enjoying what we've been doing so I am just continuing to learn more about what interests them. We have all kinds of events, festivals, museums etc. that are new to us here that there have been no shortage in learning opportunities.
Science
This has also been interest led as of now. Mostly because I'm not sure what I want to use. We have been learning about baby animals and how they grow and change this month. We have made several trips to the zoo and the library for supplemental reading about this subject. I also have some science kits left over from our charter school that they didn't want back so we will probably use those. I am going to research some science curriculum and hopefully have more formal science starting next year. I feel like she is still young enough to just learn about what interests her right now. I want her to be excited by science. So its been lots of books, trips to museums, nature walks, hikes and journaling. We also do a lot of Lego, Minecraft, and Technology based stuff. That's what she is really into right now.
Art
We do a lot of art. I use Pinterest and Facebook for a lot of my inspiration. A lot of the projects have been holiday and season themed. We also get a lot of crafts in my sons Mother Goose Time preschool curriculum that she enjoys doing with him. We have the Home Art Studio videos that we used last year and she has asked to do again so we will be starting that again in the next couple of weeks. The nice thing about the videos is that they teach her art skills as well as how to use different materials. We entered one of her paintings last year from the video into the fair and she won a first place ribbon. The lessons are a lot of fun and lets her get a lot of experience using different forms of art. Last year we did acrylic, pastels, water color, pencils, collage, and clay.
We use music as part of our social studies units. Today we listened to Chinese music while painting Chinese numbers. I am hoping to add piano in because she has shown interest in learning to play but I don't want her to be overwhelmed. I might get a keyboard and teach her some basics myself. I don't remember a lot, but I know I could teach her beginning piano.
Physical Education
For this we utilize the YMCA near us. She takes a homeschool PE class and it includes 1 hour of games and 1 hour of swim lessons. She is also currently taking a rock climbing class. We also have joined a group that goes on nature hikes once a week.
So far this is what it working for us but I am always reassessing what we are doing and making sure that everyone is still enjoying learning and not stressed. This has been an amazing journey so far and I am actually really enjoying the freedom of homeschooling independently. My kids are thriving and doing very well. We definitely have hard days but since we "school" everyday it doesn't matter if we need to take a rest day, and lets face it learning to relax and center yourself is also a great lesson to learn.
*These products were researched, purchased, and used by me. The opinions and recommendations are my real thoughts on theses products that are working for us.
So here is what we are using for Second Grade
Language Arts
For reading we are using All About Reading level 2. It is a mastery based program and each new concept builds upon the previous one. It is also a multi sensory program that uses sight, sound and touch to help retain the information, and it applies what they learned right away. So in one lesson you might learn the third job of silent E and then the next lesson will have you reading a story that uses words from the lesson. Or there are fun activities at the end of the lesson that helps solidify the lesson that was taught. We went with level 2 because I knew she was reading slightly below grade level and that she probably didn't know most of the lessons taught in All About Reading. She is flying through it pretty quickly and we will be ordering level 3 in a few weeks. At this point she is now reading at a beginning third grade level and flying through Magic Treehouse books! The program goes through level 4 and then assumes your child has learned to read. The best this thing about this is that there is no fighting with her to do the work. She is pretty happy to complete the lessons and put the sticker on her sheet that tracks how many lessons she has done.
We are also using the All About Spelling program from the same company. We just finished level 1 and are staring level 2. I believe the spelling goes through 6 levels. I see a big improvement in her spelling already and it is making it where she is wanting to write now that she can spell. Visit the All About Learning website to learn more about both of these programs.
Here is what we are using for the letter tile magnets that come with All About Reading and All About Spelling. We got an oil pan from an automotive store and it is the perfect size for all the tiles. We use this for both reading and spelling daily and it is nice because we can move it from the kitchen table to the floor or even a bedroom.
I am also having her practice her handwriting with a leftover Handwriting without tears book that we had from the Charter School. Once that's complete I will probably just get a handwriting book from Lakeshore so she can practice writing neater. We also have a daily language review book from Evan-Moor that we are using for grammar. This year I am mostly focusing on learning to read and spell. Next year once we are done with our reading program we will focus on reading to learn, so reading good children's literature and discussing it, and we will start a formal writing program.
Math
This was a tough one, but I think we got it figured out. I ordered Math-U-See after first trying a different program that clearly was not working. I went with something similar to what we were using in our Charter School and looking back I know I shouldn't have done that, but it was comfortable and spiraled and I thought that was what she needed. After a month of watching her struggle and hate math I decided to try something new. I had been looking at Math-U-See for awhile but wasn't sure about it. It looked so different then anything I had seen before. Turns out it was exactly what she needed. It is a Mastery based program that focuses on concept at a time and you don't move on until it has been mastered. We went with the alpha level because I knew she couldn't do her addition facts from memory. The alpha level focuses on single digit addition and subtraction. There is plenty of review so they don't forget what they have learned, but the focus on mastering before moving on has really helped her with math. She still has some lingering feelings of dread when math time comes up but once we get started I have noticed that she enjoys it. I just keep reassuring her that she can do it and that it is normal for people to need to practice math. I usually let them play with the blocks for a few minutes before a lesson. They are so cool they are just begging to be played with . Now that we are on lesson 11 the interest in playing with them has slowed down but every once in awhile she will want to still.
Social Studies and History
This has pretty much been interest led for now. We had a large focus on learning about different holidays and different traditions during December. We spent a couple weeks before that learning about the Nez Perce since we recently moved to the Pacific North West. We read the American Girl books about Kaya who was a Nez Perce girl living in 1764. Currently we are learning about the Lunar New Year and we are preparing for a family dinner coming up on Saturday. We have focused on how the Chinese celebrate this holiday and are using our Raddish cooking kit to make a Chinese dinner. We have also used this as an opportunity to talk about the silk road and read some books about people that travelled in caravans to trade.
I do have the first volume of Story of the World which I plan to start soon but we have been enjoying what we've been doing so I am just continuing to learn more about what interests them. We have all kinds of events, festivals, museums etc. that are new to us here that there have been no shortage in learning opportunities.
Science
This has also been interest led as of now. Mostly because I'm not sure what I want to use. We have been learning about baby animals and how they grow and change this month. We have made several trips to the zoo and the library for supplemental reading about this subject. I also have some science kits left over from our charter school that they didn't want back so we will probably use those. I am going to research some science curriculum and hopefully have more formal science starting next year. I feel like she is still young enough to just learn about what interests her right now. I want her to be excited by science. So its been lots of books, trips to museums, nature walks, hikes and journaling. We also do a lot of Lego, Minecraft, and Technology based stuff. That's what she is really into right now.
Art
We do a lot of art. I use Pinterest and Facebook for a lot of my inspiration. A lot of the projects have been holiday and season themed. We also get a lot of crafts in my sons Mother Goose Time preschool curriculum that she enjoys doing with him. We have the Home Art Studio videos that we used last year and she has asked to do again so we will be starting that again in the next couple of weeks. The nice thing about the videos is that they teach her art skills as well as how to use different materials. We entered one of her paintings last year from the video into the fair and she won a first place ribbon. The lessons are a lot of fun and lets her get a lot of experience using different forms of art. Last year we did acrylic, pastels, water color, pencils, collage, and clay.
We use music as part of our social studies units. Today we listened to Chinese music while painting Chinese numbers. I am hoping to add piano in because she has shown interest in learning to play but I don't want her to be overwhelmed. I might get a keyboard and teach her some basics myself. I don't remember a lot, but I know I could teach her beginning piano.
Physical Education
For this we utilize the YMCA near us. She takes a homeschool PE class and it includes 1 hour of games and 1 hour of swim lessons. She is also currently taking a rock climbing class. We also have joined a group that goes on nature hikes once a week.
So far this is what it working for us but I am always reassessing what we are doing and making sure that everyone is still enjoying learning and not stressed. This has been an amazing journey so far and I am actually really enjoying the freedom of homeschooling independently. My kids are thriving and doing very well. We definitely have hard days but since we "school" everyday it doesn't matter if we need to take a rest day, and lets face it learning to relax and center yourself is also a great lesson to learn.
*These products were researched, purchased, and used by me. The opinions and recommendations are my real thoughts on theses products that are working for us.
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