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Complete Curriculum Recs?

greenwonder

By greenwonder,
in K-8 Curriculum Board

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almondbutterandjelly

almondbutterandjelly

Posted
Posted

Well, I like Abeka for that level.  This is the Child Kit:

http://www.abeka.com/ABekaOnline/BookDescription.aspx?sbn=123633

This is the Parent Kit:

http://www.abeka.com/ABekaOnline/BookDescription.aspx?sbn=312207

 

But Christian Liberty might be less overwhelming:

http://www.shopchristianliberty.com/grade-2-clp-curriculum-kit/

 

And Timberdoodle is generally the most fun:

https://timberdoodle.com/collections/curriculum-kits/products/complete-homeschool-curriculum-second-grade

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CAtoVA

CAtoVA

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See Also: Calvert     http://www.calverteducation.com/curriculum/2nd-grade

               

                Moving beyond the Page (done by age not by grade) http://www.movingbeyondthepage.com/purchase/?purchaseTab=6to8 or      http://www.movingbeyondthepage.com/purchase/?purchaseTab=7to9

               

                K12 (available with teacher or without) https://www.k12courses.com/grades/grade-2.html

 

 

 

I also wanted to add that whole year curricula often are available used on Ebay or homeschoolclassifieds.com. For example, search Calvert Homeschool or just Calvert, Moving Beyond the Page or K12 on Ebay, and someone may be selling all the books and lesson guides (or at least the lesson guides) for a certain year (or subject). You won't get any of the online components (subscriptions) purchasing used, but you will save a whole lot of $$$.

Edited by chiefcookandbottlewasher
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greenwonder

greenwonder

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Thank you all! Since I'm new to this and only doing for a year, I thought a whole curriculum might be a less overwhelming option. I do realize though that it doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room but I was hoping what it might do is give an easy to follow outline for the year. 

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OneStepAtATime

OneStepAtATime

Posted
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I guess before making a recommendation I would ask why you are homeschooling for this one year?

 

Trying it out before committing to longer?

Moving and didn't want to shift schools mid-year?

Child is gifted and bored at school?

Child is struggling and needs some targeted help?

Child is both gifted and struggling and you think a year at home can help even things out?

Something else?

 

And is your child/you into projects and lots of hands on stuff or do one or both of you prefer a do the next thing, keep it fairly simple, type of situation?  Or do you know?

 

Does your child read at grade level?  Are there topics in content subjects your child has an interest in that you would like them to have the opportunity to pursue?

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Cake and Pi

Cake and Pi

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I agree that it depends on why you're homeschooling this one year, where your child is at academically, and what your goals for the year may be.  

 

That said, we used BookShark grade 2 last year and enjoyed it very much.  My kids were a bit too asynchronous to make full use of the complete program, but I hope to be able to use BkSk as written for my youngest when he is eventually ready for academics.  I really like that it's written for 4-day weeks.  Build Your Library is on my radar for possible future options as well, but I've never used it.

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Lori D.

Lori D.

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Posted (edited)

Welcome! :)

 

Totally agree with OneStepAtATime -- to know what curriculum to get, you need to think through those questions to know what you *need* from a curriculum, and to then be able to judge whether a curriculum will be a good fit for your specific student and for your 1-year-of-homeschooling needs. :)

 

Without knowing anything beyond the fact that you plan to homeschool for just 1 year, my suggestion is to look into K-12, or use the "virtual charter" of the school system that you will be returning  to for 3rd grade. Or, if planning on using a private school, find out what materials they use, and start up with that for 2nd grade.

 

By using the same or similar curricula that the future school uses (and that your student possibly used in 1st grade), there is much less of a transition time into homeschooling, and also for when returning to school.

 

The other big bonus of using the future school's virtual charter is that it is free, and the school usually provides a bit of teacher support. That certainly reduces the strain on you, and also means you don't have to research/purchase curricula and then have to resell or find some way of passing on your homeschool materials at the end of a year.

 

We might be able to help you target what might be a good fit as you can share a bit more about:

- why you are homeschooling for 1 year

- what your goals are for that year

- what kind of learner your student is / what kinds of needs your student has

- what kind of teaching supports will YOU need

- what kind of time will you have to put into homeschooling

- do you prefer Christian or secular materials 

 

Again, welcome! :) Warmest regards, Lori D.

 

 

Edited by Lori D.
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Lori D.

Lori D.

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Posted (edited)

PS

Check out Easy Peasy (and here is grade 2). It is a free all-in-one curriculum laid out in simple instructions of what to do each day for the 180 days of a school year. It is a Christian resource, but it looks like the Bible study component is a separate link, just as each subject is a separate link, so it might be fairly easy to use this resource even if secular.

 

Easy Peasy is pretty bare bones, which makes it great if you are in a situation where you won't have time for more than the basics. Or, on the opposite end, if you want to do a lot of other educational supplements or activities outside of the home, Easy Peasy lets you get through the basics quickly to then have time for the other things.

 

Even if you decide it's not for you, it might be helpful to read through the first few weeks of lesson plans to give you an idea of what to expect as about homeschooling -- typical 2nd grade workload, the "flow" of schooling at home, what to "do", etc.. :)

 

Whatever you decide to go with, wishing you and your family the BEST of luck, and a wonderful homeschooling adventure year! :) Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited by Lori D.
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greenwonder

greenwonder

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Thank you all! I should have provided more information:

 

- why you are homeschooling for 1 year: Taking a year to spend quality time together, engage in more experiential spontaneous learning and we may relocate within the year. I wanted to really make sure he has a good foundation for learning. He is on grade level in every subject and above for reading but sometimes in our school he gets lost in the mix (so many students, one teacher).

- what your goals are for that year: See above

- what kind of learner your student is / what kinds of needs your student has: My child is independent and motivated. He loves to learn new facts about science/history.

- what kind of teaching supports will YOU need: I need a guide, I need structure. I can be spontaneous but I'm not creative. I like things to be laid out and straight forward so I can take it to the next level if he is interested.

- what kind of time will you have to put into homeschooling: I will be resigning from my job so will be full time into this!

- do you prefer Christian or secular materials: I am leaning towards secular but if there were great Christian materials I wouldn't be opposed.

 

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fralala

fralala

Posted
Posted

Hello! I am new to homeschooling and we are tentatively planning to homeschool our 2nd grader for this year only. I'm looking into purchasing a complete curriculum. Does anyone have any recommendations? Thank you in advance!

 

Famous last words... ;)

 

(after reading your previous post!)

 

I think there are a lot of good choices above. Have you read TWTM by any chance? For grade 2 complete curricula can sometimes feel, to me, like overkill.

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Syllieann

Syllieann

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Thank you all! I should have provided more information:

 

- why you are homeschooling for 1 year: Taking a year to spend quality time together, engage in more experiential spontaneous learning and we may relocate within the year. I wanted to really make sure he has a good foundation for learning. He is on grade level in every subject and above for reading but sometimes in our school he gets lost in the mix (so many students, one teacher).

- what your goals are for that year: See above

- what kind of learner your student is / what kinds of needs your student has: My child is independent and motivated. He loves to learn new facts about science/history.

- what kind of teaching supports will YOU need: I need a guide, I need structure. I can be spontaneous but I'm not creative. I like things to be laid out and straight forward so I can take it to the next level if he is interested.

- what kind of time will you have to put into homeschooling: I will be resigning from my job so will be full time into this!

- do you prefer Christian or secular materials: I am leaning towards secular but if there were great Christian materials I wouldn't be opposed.

Given this, I would say bookshark 2 (with the condensed world history version) or moving beyond the page. If you could bring yourself to mix and match, then bookshark for science and history and moving beyond the page (7-9) for language arts. Both publishers sell those subjects as standalone so you would still have your structured guide.

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greenwonder

greenwonder

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I took a look at easy peasy but that seems to only be language arts and math. For the recommendation for bookshark and moving beyond the page, what would you recmomend for math then? My main concern is having access to a curriculum "guide" - versus having just a textbook/worksheets with no real direction on how to teach the material. 

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Farrar

Farrar

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Posted (edited)

Thank you all! I should have provided more information:

 

- why you are homeschooling for 1 year: Taking a year to spend quality time together, engage in more experiential spontaneous learning and we may relocate within the year. I wanted to really make sure he has a good foundation for learning. He is on grade level in every subject and above for reading but sometimes in our school he gets lost in the mix (so many students, one teacher).

- what your goals are for that year: See above

- what kind of learner your student is / what kinds of needs your student has: My child is independent and motivated. He loves to learn new facts about science/history.

- what kind of teaching supports will YOU need: I need a guide, I need structure. I can be spontaneous but I'm not creative. I like things to be laid out and straight forward so I can take it to the next level if he is interested.

- what kind of time will you have to put into homeschooling: I will be resigning from my job so will be full time into this!

- do you prefer Christian or secular materials: I am leaning towards secular but if there were great Christian materials I wouldn't be opposed.

 

I know it's scary to take the leap, but these things scream to me that you should not use a complete curriculum. It's directly oppositional to your goals. And even though you are only going to school for a year, you have a kid who is on grade level or above and is independently motivated. If you end up "wasting" the whole year (which would be impossible, but let's just say), he'll still be in good shape to go back to school.

 

I hear that you need structure. But you could buy individual units, an individual math program, individual guides for doing things he might be interested to do. And you're going to be doing this full time, so you're not pressed for time too much.

 

Really, you have only one year to play and do school away from institutionalized, brick and mortar schooling. Seize the day with it. That's just my take.

Edited by Farrar
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Syllieann

Syllieann

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Posted

I took a look at easy peasy but that seems to only be language arts and math. For the recommendation for bookshark and moving beyond the page, what would you recmomend for math then? My main concern is having access to a curriculum "guide" - versus having just a textbook/worksheets with no real direction on how to teach the material.

If everything is going fine with math currently, then I would find out what the school uses and try to continue that if it is something readily available such as Saxon or math in focus. Otherwise, right start (recommended by moving beyond the page) might be the easiest for you to implement in terms of telling you exactly what and how to teach. I believe the 2nd edition is aligned to common core so it shouldn't present much problem moving between programs.

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kiwik

kiwik

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Given your aims might you not be better with maths and writing then getting a whole list of local activities and a bunch of books - novels/science/craft and some good supplies? If you keep up writing, reading and maths you will be fine to go back to school.

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Guest

Guest

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Posted (edited)

Voyages in English 2 (because yoiu say he is only doing one year, this will keep him on track with the skills he will be expected to have when he goes back.)

 

Bob Jones English (religious but same reasons above)

 

k12 as an independent (same reason for the suggestion as the other 2 above. Easy to implement. Mine liked it quite a bit)

Edited by Paradox5
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