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Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Second Grade Curriculum Choices

One of the perks well, depending on how you look at it I guess of homeschooling is the abundance of curriculum choices available.  There are so many choices that it sometimes gets overwhelming.  One of the first things I share with people contemplating homeschool is to determine which route you want to go in your curriculum choice…secular or Christian.  Once you make that decision, then you have to decide which approach you want to take…Charlotte Mason, classical (heck, those two may be the same thing…I get it all confused), traditional textbook, unit studies, eclectic, unschooling, etc.  You also have to take your child’s learning style (auditory, visual, kinesthetic) into account as well.  Now, once you have all that figured out, you get to browse all the websites and make your purchases.  Sounds easy, right?  LOL!  Never! 
We knew from the beginning that we wanted to go with a Christian curriculum.  Being a former public school teacher, it was easier for me to go with the traditional textbook style of schooling as well.  It’s what I was used to, and it helped with my anal retentive side (I like to have things all planned out and organized knowing exactly where I’m going to be at the end of the year).  So, I perused all the curriculum providers that fit this “type”, and we settled on Bob Jones University Press (BJUP). 
BJUP is a very strong curriculum, and it has exceeded our expectations.  However, I’ve realized that just because I love a curriculum, that doesn’t mean that it’s the right fit for Caleb.  So, after a lot of research and thought, we’ve made some curriculum changes for 2nd grade.  Here’s what we’ll be using for the 2010-2011 school year:
BJUP English 2
BJUP Handwriting 2
BJUP Spelling 2
Christian Liberty Press (CLP) Studying God’s Word Book B
CLP Studying God’s Word Book C
Math U See (MUS) Alpha – this is new for us.  I really felt like Caleb didn’t have a good grasp on the basic math skills.  So, hopefully this will help make it all a little bit more concrete for him.
MUS Beta – this will be ordered once we complete Alpha because Alpha shouldn’t take us all year
Abeka Enjoying God’s World – this will be our first year using any Abeka materials. 
Abeka Health, Safety, and Manners 2
Abeka Our America

Wordly Wise 3000 Book 2
Art is Fundamental:  Teaching the Elements and Principles of Art in Elementary School
How to Teach Art to Children, Grades 1-6 – I’m actually looking forward to teaching art using these two books.  They complement one another so well, and I think Caleb will really have fun learning all about art and making lots of art projects(heck, I will, too).
I’m using a vast array of books that we already own, or will borrow from the library, for reading.  He will be introduced to many different types of genres, and I’ll also use reading excerpts from Teacher File Box to check comprehension and understanding.  He will also use Book Adventure to take quizzes and earn prizes for the books he reads. 
I know that looks like a lot, and it is.  However, it really won’t take us too long each day to get it all done.  Most of the subjects will take 10-15 minutes max, so it really isn’t too extensive.
What curriculum are YOU using for the 2010-2011 school year?  Did you make any changes from the previous year(s)?

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