Jodie Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Hi, I am looking for secular curriculum for a 2nd grade boy who does not like to sit much and is very fidgety. He will be eight next month and is just starting to read "OK". I know nothing about Latin. Looking for something fun, short lessons and painless. Also looking for a good grammar program. I was going to buy LLATL but read a review that said it had bible verses and questions in it. I would like to teach the bible to my son and not have other books do it, since obviously not everyone believes the same. I liked the idea of everything all in one. But I don't need that. Actually I already have Spelling power and HWT to work with. I was just going to add those into LLATL. So Iam looking for Grammar, read, writing and phonics. I have Saxon math and we loved it last year. Last year I tried the WTM way of teaching science and history but I have a 19 mth old and my son really struggled with reading so it was torture to get it done and I found myself skipping it a lot. Is there a program that is simular but in a neat package so I have less hands on time with these subjects? I want to be invovled some, but not have to be there with him all the time. Not to exspensive. Am I asking for a miracle? :001_smile: I'm sure I forgot something here. Thanks, Jodie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 I don't know fun, but Calvert is a really good boxed curriculum. It's also secular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jodie Posted July 31, 2008 Author Share Posted July 31, 2008 I have searched through a lot of the forums for the past few days and my brain is all mixed up with books and reviews. That's how I found LLATL. I don't want a boxed curriculum because I think I need to pick and choose for my son who is ADHD. I heard that Calvert is very rigorous and I don't feel it would be a good fit for my son. But thanks for the suggestion. Anyone else:confused:? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in CA Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Well, yes. I think you are asking too much for 1st and 2nd grade. We did Science and History the WTM way and it was never a problem. However, I did almost all the reading as read-alouds back then. We did mostly oral narrations in 1st and moved to more writing in 2nd. We did loads of the projects for history from the SOTW Activity Guide. There are many great ones for the restless crowd. My boys loved all the clay projects!!! Science we mostly read, went to the zoo, science museums. We did do lots of experiments. Yes, we did very little writing for Science in 1st and 2nd grade. We rarely skipped the subject, though. Science and History provided the fun part of school for us. Imho, the kids need you to work with them at that age. Susie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myrtle Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Math- Singapore Science - Singapore Latin - Minimus Grammar - Easy Grammar & Daily Grams History - Story of the World Phonics - Explode the Code Spelling - Sequential Spelling There's a big fat Latin book that you can dowload, for a fee, online and it looked really good. I can't remember the name of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
at the beach Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Hi,I am looking for secular curriculum for a 2nd grade boy who does not like to sit much and is very fidgety. He will be eight next month and is just starting to read "OK". I know nothing about Latin. Looking for something fun, short lessons and painless. Also looking for a good grammar program. I was going to buy LLATL but read a review that said it had bible verses and questions in it. I would like to teach the bible to my son and not have other books do it, since obviously not everyone believes the same. I liked the idea of everything all in one. But I don't need that. Actually I already have Spelling power and HWT to work with. I was just going to add those into LLATL. So Iam looking for Grammar, read, writing and phonics. I have Saxon math and we loved it last year. Last year I tried the WTM way of teaching science and history but I have a 19 mth old and my son really struggled with reading so it was torture to get it done and I found myself skipping it a lot. Is there a program that is simular but in a neat package so I have less hands on time with these subjects? I want to be invovled some, but not have to be there with him all the time. Not to exspensive. Am I asking for a miracle? :001_smile: I'm sure I forgot something here. Thanks, Jodie Hmm, your ds is still quite young, so I think you can afford to relax about some of this stuff. In your shoes, for English, you might want to take a look at Galore Park materials. I think the Latin is for kids older than yours, but perhaps the Junior History, Science and English might be good choices. They are secular, and I have heard great things about GP materials. Of course, depending on where he is level-wise, it could be too much writing for him. You would just have to look at the samples. Honestly, I think if your boy does HWT, math, and gets phonics instruction, you are covered at this stage. I think if you and he do reading together, whatever it is, you don't need to worry about him missing things. For grammar, I would just introduce parts of speech and general punctuation ideas. With the rest of his time, I'd add in lots of outdoor play. I would also introduce him to some composer and artist study and add in some art type instruction. For example, you could use amblesideonline.org composer and music study. Three artists and composers are covered per term, and it really is as simple as looking at the prints and listening to the music. As for Latin, if he's just now getting to reading okay, I'd keep up with the reading instruction and hold off on Latin. Best, Anita Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CherylG Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 I have a big age-span like you do and it is never boring. =) You do feel like a ping-pong ball; bouncing around making sure the one is not getting whatever and the other one is not sitting there frustrated. We did a lot of science experiments when we had the little ones. Yes, your house does look like an explosion...from all the water, plants, bugs, etc. But I have graduated the two oldest from HS and one is an astrophysicist and the other is a nurse. My oldest had a Kindergarten reading level when I took him out of public school as a 4th grader...struggling with reading is OK, just keep positive and gently plod ahead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkateLeft Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Hmm, your ds is still quite young, so I think you can afford to relax about some of this stuff. :iagree: I really don't think you need much for language arts in 2nd grade. My second grader will be doing phonics (Hooked on Phonics and Explode the Code workbooks), Latin (Song School Latin), math (Singapore Math) and copywork. I would focus on getting him reading well before you start adding things like grammar, composition and spelling. For history, I agree with the other posters. Story of the World is secular and fun. At a minimum, you could read it to him and have him narrate it back to you. I copy down my son's narrations and have him illustrate them. Easy peasy. I also don't think you need to get too involved in a curriculum for 2nd grade science either. :) You could just read books on topics of interest, and focus on nature study. My older kids work very independently, but I think it's too much to expect a 2nd grader to do so unless they're very good readers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Song School latin is very basic, easy and fun. My kids are 9, 6.5 and 3 and enjoy the CD with the chants and songs on it. The workbook pages are very basic and don't take long at all. For LA, we're using Growing with Grammar which is completely secular along with Peace hill press's new writing program Writing with Ease We don't use a program for reading, my kids just read a book to me or to each other for 20-30 minutes a day and I read for 30 minutes outside of lessons (before bed) and we talk about the story we're reading. For Math we use Saxon, We've tried many others but this is what they like. For Science we're trying NOEO this year. We will be using Biology 1, even though it's written by a Christian family it is not a Christian curriculum. It looks fun. For History we used SOTW for the first 2 years and this year we're trying History Odyssey, it uses SOTW for it's spine but schedules it out for me, and uses narration and maps with a few projects. My kids got a bit tired of the SOTW activity pages but they were fun for Ancients and Middle ages. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jodie Posted July 31, 2008 Author Share Posted July 31, 2008 Well, yes. I think you are asking too much for 1st and 2nd grade. We did Science and History the WTM way and it was never a problem. However, I did almost all the reading as read-alouds back then. We did mostly oral narrations in 1st and moved to more writing in 2nd. We did loads of the projects for history from the SOTW Activity Guide. There are many great ones for the restless crowd. My boys loved all the clay projects!!!Science we mostly read, went to the zoo, science museums. We did do lots of experiments. Yes, we did very little writing for Science in 1st and 2nd grade. We rarely skipped the subject, though. Science and History provided the fun part of school for us. Imho, the kids need you to work with them at that age. Susie Yes, I realized at the end of last year that I was expecting to much from him and myself. I thought he was behind because his public school kindergarten teacher made me believe it. Everyday she asked me the same things, "was I going over his sight words, was I reading with him every night, was I this, was I that" she also asked after the first day of school if I had considered putting him on meds. They expected him to be reading at the end of the school year and memorize about 100 sight words. I was doing everything plus, but he just was not getting any of it. Of course she did not believe me and that's when we decided to part ways with the public school system. My husband has read to him every night without fail since he was 1 year old. I sat with him and taught him 1 on 1 every school day for the past two years(we repeated 1st) from 8 or 8:30 till we finished school for the day, which is usually 1 or 2 o'clock. So I worked with him ALOT which is hard considering I have a very active, needy and in to everything (normal I know) 19 month old daughter. But after reading different forums and lots here, I realized his brain was just not developed to that point yet. It is finally getting there now and I can see things are "clicking" with him. Where as before I really thought I was doing something wrong or there was something else wrong with him. We spent so much time on the simplest things like a page of phonics pathways that we just did not have the time for or energy for the other stuff. Plus we are on a very tight budget so trips and projects are limited. He is really good at math and is very creative. He's really hands on and invents the craziest things. He is very intelligent in certain things but in other areas I thought he was very slow. But like I said I realize he just was not ready yet. So anyway, we are getting there.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jodie Posted July 31, 2008 Author Share Posted July 31, 2008 Wow, as soon as I posted this I had a typical 19 month old crisis to deal with and didn't get a chance to see all the other post before my last one. Thank you to everyone for responding! This gives me a lot to think about.:001_unsure: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Math - Math-U-See (will take less time than Saxon) History - SOTW Science - Living Learning Books Latin - Minimus (we did this is 4th grade) BTW, whenever I hear "memorize about 100 sight words", I think "no wonder it takes the children so long to learn how to read". JMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamnkats Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 Hi,I am looking for secular curriculum for a 2nd grade boy who does not like to sit much and is very fidgety. He will be eight next month and is just starting to read "OK". I know nothing about Latin. Looking for something fun, short lessons and painless. Also looking for a good grammar program. I was going to buy LLATL but read a review that said it had bible verses and questions in it. I would like to teach the bible to my son and not have other books do it, since obviously not everyone believes the same. I liked the idea of everything all in one. But I don't need that. Actually I already have Spelling power and HWT to work with. I was just going to add those into LLATL. So Iam looking for Grammar, read, writing and phonics. I have Saxon math and we loved it last year. Last year I tried the WTM way of teaching science and history but I have a 19 mth old and my son really struggled with reading so it was torture to get it done and I found myself skipping it a lot. Is there a program that is simular but in a neat package so I have less hands on time with these subjects? I want to be invovled some, but not have to be there with him all the time. Not to exspensive. Am I asking for a miracle? :001_smile: I'm sure I forgot something here. Thanks, Jodie If this unschooling atheist can use Sonlight, you can too. :) I use Sonlight for the base of all our purchases, and wouldn't do grammar this young. But at 8, he really NEEDS one on one time. If you don't feel you can devote time to "teaching", why not simply read good literature to him, encourage him to play in the mud and with Legos? Sounds like a well-rounded year to me. You can always push the academics when your youngest will tolerate it and your 8yo will be better able to dedicate attention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptwoman Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 Math - Math-U-See (will take less time than Saxon)History - SOTW Science - Living Learning Books Latin - Minimus (we did this is 4th grade) BTW, whenever I hear "memorize about 100 sight words", I think "no wonder it takes the children so long to learn how to read". JMHO. :iagree: Although I'm about to scurry off and look at Living Learning books for myself, because somehow I have missed these and have a great gaping hole in my schedule where science should be :ack2: We started Minimus in 2nd, but have done most of it in 3rd. Other suggestions: Growing with Grammar and First Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind are both secular grammar programs. We used FLL1/2 in our 2nd grade year and got through it fine in a year with some pruning. History Odyssey is a secular history program that uses SOTW as one of it's cores. Personally I find SOTW by itself just fine, but it's just something else to look at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree House Academy Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 Just wanted to throw this out so you don't have the wrong idea of Calvert. We do Calvert with my oldest who is ADHD and it works perfectly. We buy the "box" but we don't stay in it...if that makes sense. LOL I am not limited to what Calvert says I must do. I didn't sign him up with ATS, so we are accountable to only ourselves. My ADHD son is very bright and has to be challenged, which Calvert does for him. BUT, I have sense enough to know when something is just too much for him. For instance, writing. He HATES to write. He doesn't spell all that well and it hinders him in what he will write because he feels he must always spell it correctly. Well, I pick up the pen or put him on the computer and let him have at it. I am not trying to teach him spelling doesn't matter - we address that with two different spelling programs, but I am teaching him that creativity flows without regard to spelling. Heck, I am a writer...that is what my EDITOR is for. ;) Only kidding. My point is, if you were to consider something like this, don't think of it as a box that you can't think outside of. We love that it is planned out and ready - and with a little tweaking and working, it works beautifully for us. :) I have searched through a lot of the forums for the past few days and my brain is all mixed up with books and reviews. That's how I found LLATL. I don't want a boxed curriculum because I think I need to pick and choose for my son who is ADHD. I heard that Calvert is very rigorous and I don't feel it would be a good fit for my son. But thanks for the suggestion. Anyone else:confused:? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarcyM Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 Myrtle's icon made me laugh outloud. My 8 yo is doing: Singapore math ETC phonics PLL language SOTW 3 (boys usually love the map work!) Spelling Wisdom Space and Earth science reading and in a couple weeks/months we'll fold in either IEW or WT1 and possible Minimus. I originally bought Lively Latin - but it's advanced for him. We'll do it next year (and I wonder if this is the big think book Myrtle was talking about?). I still need to update my blog, but you can see some of the book choices down there. \/ :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jodie Posted August 1, 2008 Author Share Posted August 1, 2008 Everyone one this forum is great! :grouphug: I did not expect so many helpful suggestions. Thank you again to everyone and I will check out the others suggestions on here now. Hopefully I will make up my mind soon! :D Myrtle's icon made me laugh outloud. I still need to update my blog, but you can see some of the book choices down there. \/ :) Darcy I love your blog! You are a great designer. Your kids are beautiful! I read your story "Why I missed my own son baptism" and all I can say is Wow! he is an amazing little boy. Hard to believe that sweet face is a boybarian?!?! By the way, can I steal your boybarian word for my own son, fits him great. If you have the time pop over to my blog and check it out. http://jodiesmind.blogspot.com/ This is my first blog and I just this past week put together all the design stuff on it (whatever you call it). It is humble and doesn't have any thought provoking stuff on it but I will keep working on it. I am having a great time learning. Did you go to school for graphic design? I would love to do what you are doing. It is something I would really enjoy. I am also working on one for our home school. It is in the awkward stage so it is not public yet. Hopefully I will figure out what curriculum I'm going to use so I can post something on there.;) Thanks again to everyone, Jodie PS. How do you get a URL link to show whatever name you want?:confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jodie Posted August 1, 2008 Author Share Posted August 1, 2008 Ok I have made my decision on Grammar: I am going to do it. I will use Growing with Grammar since it looks very simple. I know for me personally, I learned so much about grammar in my early years that really stuck with me and helped me when I got into the higher grades. Hopefully it will be the same for my son. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jodie Posted August 1, 2008 Author Share Posted August 1, 2008 OK I have another question...maybe I should start another post with this one but I'll try here first.:glare: I went over Phonics Pathways with my son in 1st but honestly I don't think he remembers one rule. He was not ready for it I guess. Should I go over it with him again or should I try something like explode the code? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 PS. How do you get a URL link to show whatever name you want?:confused: First, you highlight the WORD (or words) you want to link the URL to. Then, you click the picture of the world with the chain link next to it. A box will popup and you type in the URL, and click on OKAY. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jodie Posted August 1, 2008 Author Share Posted August 1, 2008 OHHHHH! Got it now. That makes sense. Thanks!:thumbup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Laurie Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 Hmm, your ds is still quite young, so I think you can afford to relax about some of this stuff. I agree. My ds is 7 also, 8 in a few months, and is in second grade. We have gradually worked up to things. I try to keep it as simple as possible, and follow more of a CM model. We're delaying formal grammar. We do Serl's Primary Language Lessons, which are short LA lessons that we do mostly orally. Our focus is narration and copywork, moving on to simple dictation. I can't recall any religious references in PLL so far, but there probably are some. Writing With Ease is another program to look at for copywork and narration and it's secular. Ds does a spelling workbook from Rod & Staff which he enjoys, we break one lesson into four parts so each day's work is short and not too much writing. A secular alternative would be Spelling Workout. He reads me a reader from SL 2 int readers each day, we do a chapter at a time, or somedays when he's very antsy, just a few pages. I think there is just one Christian book in there if I recall correctly. He does Math U See, but we keep the lesson short and if he is tired of writing, he dictates the answers to me. We do MFW Adventures for history and science, which are very pleasant, short lessons. We do a read aloud everyday and I let him draw or play with something quietly if he's wiggly, or I read it during lunch or a snack. We do some hands-on projects, a lot are built into the Adventures program. We have art a couple times a week, but right now, we just do free art and get out fun materials and experiment. We like to get ideas from Maryann Kohl's books. That's it. I'm waiting on a foreign language and formal grammar until he has more time to mature. We're having a very good year so far (started in June), and he is really looking forward to school this year, last year not so much. Sometimes they just need time and a gradual start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Laurie Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 OK I have another question...maybe I should start another post with this one but I'll try here first.:glare:I went over Phonics Pathways with my son in 1st but honestly I don't think he remembers one rule. He was not ready for it I guess. Should I go over it with him again or should I try something like explode the code? My son really enjoyed ETC when we used it, I would write the answers for him when he dictated them to me if his hand got tired. He liked the silly pictures and sentences. It's really a personal decision, only you know what would work better for your son and yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJH Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 Have you looked at Movingbeyondthepage.com ? It's secular and very hands on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jodie Posted August 2, 2008 Author Share Posted August 2, 2008 Ok I think this is my last question. How many pages is each book of ETC? My son is almost 8 but he is probably more like an average 6 or 7 yo where writing and reading are concerned, so how many books do you think he would need for this year if we did a little a day? Like 15 minutes worth. Would he need all of them or 2? I have know idea.:001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jodie Posted August 2, 2008 Author Share Posted August 2, 2008 Math: Saxon Grammar: Growing With Grammar Spelling: Spelling Power Handwriting Print: Starting off with free online resources Handwriting Cursive: Handwriting Without Tears Cursive Writing: Writing With Ease 1 Phonics: Have not made up my mind yet Science: Living Learning Books History: Story of the World: Volume 2 Reading: The library, many books we have and some I have ordered These are the books I will use this year and I have already ordered them so I can't change my mind now!:001_smile: Thanks to everyone who gave me so much info and good points to think on! Jodie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmac Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 I was gonna throw in my 2 cents, but I see you've mde up your mind. :) Best of luck to you and your ds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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