Our Second Grade Homeschool Curriculum: What We’re Using & Why
We’re going to be using Math with Confidence, which we used for first grade as well.
My son absolutely loves the games. There aren’t necessarily a ton of games, but when we find one that he really enjoys, we’ll go back and play it again for extra practice.
Math can be difficult for him sometimes, and he can quickly get bored with it, but as soon as I tell him there’s a game involved, he’s ready to participate! I also really like that I can actually see and know that he understands what we’re working on. The games make it easier for me to see his level of understanding, even if he fusses to get through the workbook.
The workbook is another thing we really like. It’s pretty straightforward. There isn’t a whole lot going on on each page, which I actually prefer because it doesn’t feel overwhelming.
So, Math with Confidence has worked really well for us.
Every single homeschool mom knows what it’s like to start looking at curriculum before the previous school year is even finished. We’re already on websites and YouTube, looking for what we can use for the upcoming school year.
With the sheer volume of options available, it can become so overwhelming—which is probably why we start so early!
After going through hundreds of websites, looking through different curriculum options, and watching a bunch of YouTube videos, I’ve finally made my choices and decided to share them, just in case anyone else needs a little help narrowing things down.
So, these are my second-grade curriculum choices for each subject.
Math
Language Arts Curriculum - FREE and paid versions
For language arts, we’re sticking with The Good and the Beautiful. We used it for Kindergarten and first grade, and I really like it because it’s so easy and grab-and-go. You don’t have to spend any time planning lessons, which I really appreciate.
One of the downsides, though, is that I feel like some of the topics aren’t covered very deeply. It introduces a topic and then comes back to it multiple times throughout the curriculum, which is part of how the program is designed, but I personally prefer doing a bit more when a topic is first introduced.
To supplement that, I pair lessons with relevant youtube videos and activities when I feel like we need to spend more time on a particular topic. That’s what we did for first grade, and I think it worked really well for us.
I’m really looking forward to using it again because I love the stories, the beautiful illustrations, and the values that are incorporated throughout the curriculum.
Science - FREE trial available for a year
For science, we’re going to be using Mystery Science. This is one of the online resources we’ll be using for our homeschool. A lot of it can be done independently, and he really enjoys it. This is one subject he looks forward to doing.
The lessons are fun, kid-friendly, and interactive, with video lessons that usually include experiments or activities. If there's an activity or experiment with a lesson, it's usually nothing complex and includes items you can find around the house, or something to print out.
Mystery Science also has a program called Mystery Writing, and we’ve added that to our language arts routine to give him some additional writing practice.
Social Studies
For social studies, we’re going to spend the first half of the school year learning more about history, specifically American history.
Then, during the second half of the year, we’ll shift our focus more toward geography.
For history, we’re going to be reading through books and resources from the Tuttle Twins.
For geography, I haven’t completely figured out our curriculum yet. We’ll probably use some resources from Teachers Pay Teachers along with some things that I put together myself.
Music curriculum - FREE
For music, we’re going to be using the free version of Hoffman Academy.
That’s another online resource we’ll be using to learn music and practice playing the keyboard.
This is something we weren’t super consistent with last year, but I’m hoping to make it more of a regular part of our homeschool routine this year.
Art
Art is something we do pretty much every day. We don’t have a formal art curriculum. He does a lot of it independently, and he loves drawing.
He’ll watch How to Draw videos on YouTube, work on coloring pages, and make his own comics.
So for art, we’re really just going with the flow. Whatever he’s interested in, we’ll explore it. If he wants to learn how to draw something, we’ll find a video or activity to help him learn how to do it.
Math and Language Arts Supplements
To supplement our math practice, I also picked up some Kumon workbooks.
I specifically wanted some additional practice with addition and subtraction because I don’t feel like we did quite enough of that last year. I want to give him more opportunities to practice so he can really develop mastery.
We also have an additional writing workbook for language arts.
Choosing curriculums can be so hard because you’re constantly wondering, Am I choosing the right thing?
But ultimately, I think it comes down to choosing what you think will work best for your child.
And if something doesn’t work? You can change it. If you realize something isn’t working the way you hoped it would, you can find a way to make it work, supplement it, or switch to something completely different.
Ultimately, this is how we’re going to start the school year, and we’ll see how it goes. I’m hoping everything goes well because, honestly, we put a lot of thought into these choices!
Wish me luck!
