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One of the most exciting parts of homeschooling my child this year is putting together her 2nd grade homeschool curriculum. One of the things I love about homeschooling is that I can pick programs that I know my child will love and meet her educational needs. This allows us to have a fun and productive year.
In this post, I’ll share what we are using and some facts about each curriculum so you can get a general idea if it will work for your child, too!
For a full list of your secular homeschool curriculum options, see our Homeschool Curriculum Guide.
If you are new to homeschooling, it can be challenging not only to find the curriculum to meet your child’s needs but to know your child’s needs in the first place. Don’t worry; it does get easier as you go along. But in the beginning, it can be helpful to see what someone else is doing.
In this post, I’d like to share the programs I am using in our 2nd grade homeschool curriculum. This curriculum is for my daughter, K. She is right on target for 2nd grade and loves doing hands-on work. She doesn’t get into doing worksheets, so one of my goals was to find programs that were more hands-on and less worksheet-oriented. Although she doesn’t like worksheets, she is very creative and enjoys making up and writing stories. She also likes music and art.
As you will see below, I was able to accommodate her learning needs and find programs that align with her interests. These programs should get you thinking about your own child’s needs and may even be a good fit for your child.
Moving Beyond the Page:
Our 2nd Grade Homeschool Curriculum for Language Arts, Science, & Social Studies
Moving Beyond the Page is a unique homeschool curriculum that focuses on teaching language arts, science, social studies, and math all through unifying concepts. These units tend to center around a book.
We choose this 2nd grade homeschool curriculum for K because she works best with hands-on learning, and MBtP is not your typical homeschool workbook curriculum. Instead, the program encourages creativity and critical thinking through hands-on activities and projects. What results is a well-rounded curriculum that is both enriching and engaging.
MBtP was created with the gifted child in mind, but kids of all ability levels can use it. The program’s website offers both a guide and a placement test to help you find the level that will best suit your child.
One of my favorite things about this program is that it is both hands-on and open-and-go, a combination you do not often see. MBtP supplies almost all of the materials you will need to complete the program, including teachers’ guides, books, manipulatives, consumables, and online materials. You will only need a few materials that you are likely to have around the house.
I also love that this program is flexible. You can work on a 9-month or a year-round schedule, and your child can work at his or her own pace.
Our Go-to Library App
We have been using Epic! for about five years. I basically recommend it to everyone whenever I get the chance. We’ve really leaned into it this year, though. With libraries closed or doing pick-up only after the last 6 months, we’ve had limited access to books.
My older son (5th grade, fluent reader) loves to read chapter books on his kid’s Kindle. However, the black and white images and funky formatting that happen with picture books weren’t cutting it for my 2nd grade emerging reader.
With Epic! we have access to a huge variety of books including National Geographic, full color & fully formatted picture books, books read-to-me books, and audiobooks. We’ve always loved this app, but this year it has especially come in handy.
Epic! is available on the following platforms (and once you have a subscription, you can sign in on any device). Sign up for free:
Android – iOS – Computer/browser
2nd Grade Reading & Phonics Curriculum:
All About Reading
While Moving Beyond the Page focuses on literature, it does not teach the basics or fundamentals of reading. We chose All About Reading for K because it is comprehensive and step-by-step. Mayyyyyybe partly because I’ve always wanted to use it…
The course is an excellent balance of open-and-go with texts, worksheets, and a scripted teacher’s manual with a hands-on component that uses manipulatives, cards, and an app to support learning.
The course has four different levels and includes a checklist or placement test to determine where your child should begin. More about why AAR was our top choice for learning to read.
Check out All About Learning’s All About Reading & All About Spelling Programs here.
Extra Writing Curriculum:
WriteShop Primary
K loves to write, so I wanted a program that would help her build on this skill. Writing can be such a dull subject to teach and learn, but what I like about WriteShop is that the focus is on fun. Your kid will approach writing in a unique, hands-on way.
WriteShop was written with homeschoolers in mind, so it is flexible and allows your child to work at his or her own pace. One thing I like about this course is that it can be done orally, so you can start working on writing concepts with kids who are not yet reading.
The course takes the pressure off both the parent and child. Writing and editing are introduced painlessly and incrementally through daily activities that you can easily implement.
2nd Grade Homeschool Math Curriculum:
Teaching Textbooks
Math is not my favorite subject to teach, so I needed to find a program that would give my daughter a lot of support as she learns new concepts. Teaching Textbooks is an online program that serves as a complete math curriculum – and is totally hands-off for me.
The program consists of fun video lessons that teach a new concept and includes printable review sheets that allow your child to practice the new concepts.
This program starts with a placement test to see where she should start and what topics she needs to review. We are on the first level, Math 3, which is right on target for 2nd grade.
Music Appreciation: SQUILT
I chose the SQUILT music appreciation curriculum for my daughter because she loves music. These courses are great for homeschool parents who value music education but need some guidelines on what to teach.
SQUILT is an open-and-go PDF-based music course that introduces your child to famous composers, works, and musical eras. The course also includes introductions to instruments and musical concepts like dynamics, rhythm, tempo, and mood.
The goal is to develop kids of all ages into wonderful listeners, and you can use one program with multiple kids, which we will be – with my 5th grader & new kindergartner as well!
SQUILT offers several different courses, such as musical eras, composers, and instruments. Each course includes notebooking sheets, background information, and links to watch and listen to the music as performed by youth or professional orchestras.
Art: Kitchen Table Classroom
Another subject I definitely wanted to include in our 2nd grade homeschool curriculum for K is art. The Kitchen Table Classroom is a blog run by an art teacher-turned-homeschool mom. Her site has a wealth of resources for teaching your child art.
We plan to use her online art course, The Artists and the Elements. It covers art history, famous artists, design, and more. She not only teaches the concepts but also guides kids through the development of these skills.
She also has several other courses you can check out, including one in design.
Find more options in our
Homeschool Curriculum Guide. Or for or a side-by-side comparison of ten top phonics programs see our Phonics Curriculum Guide post.
Ashley helps parents who want to homeschool find the resources they need to successfully teach their children. Ashley is a former teacher, current homeschooler, published author, and designer behind Circle Time with Miss Fox printables as well as the creator of this website, The Homeschool Resource Room.