How to Homeschool Second Grade

How to Homeschool Second Grade

Are you ready to begin homeschooling second grade? The first steps will be:

• Researching the regulations related to homeschooling in your state
• Choosing the best curriculum to fit your family’s needs.
• Determining the goals you want to accomplish for the year
• Determining the homeschool budget you have for all programs, materials, and extracurriculars
• Making sure you track your child’s progress on a regular basis
• Make learning fun

When it’s time to dig into the details of what to teach and when, it can be helpful to follow a grade-level scope and sequence. As an example, you can view Time4Learning’s second grade lesson plans.

What Schedule is Best for a Second Grader?

How many hours do you homeschool a second-grader? While there is no such thing as a “typical day” in home education, many homeschooling families report that they average 2-3 hours of dedicated homeschool time daily in second grade. That doesn’t mean your child is only learning during those hours, however. When you factor in educational programming, reading time, active playtime, and outside classes and activities, it’s likely that your second grader is getting a well-rounded education throughout each day.

Homeschooling Planner

Start planning out your homeschooling days with this free easy to use daily planner.

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What Subjects Are Taught in Second Grade?

While homeschool families have the flexibility to determine the scope of their studies, it can be helpful to know what traditional second grade programs include. Typical subjects taught in grade two are:

• Math
• Language Arts (reading, writing, and grammar)
• Science
• Social Studies
• Physical Education
• Art and/or Music

Does your state require standardized testing for second grade homeschoolers? You may also want to research what subjects are assessed so you can be sure to cover those in your instruction.

Second Grade Student Learning Objectives

In the early elementary grades, parents want to see their children not only excel academically, but to learn to think creatively and critically. The skills that your child is learning in second grade will be building blocks for his or her success in the months and years to come. Some of the subject-specific 2nd grade learning objectives to strive for include:

• Language Arts – Reading with greater fluency, purpose, and comprehension and writing for a range of audiences and purposes.
• Mathematics – Thinking and reasoning mathematically, using math to solve grade-appropriate problems, and becoming more fluent with math facts
• Science – Observing and recording scientific changes over time, using critical thinking skills to predict outcomes, and using instruments/tools to investigate the natural world
• Social Studies – Recognize how historical past events influence present realities, evaluate their role as an effective citizen, and communicate social studies concepts verbally and in writing

Reading Book List for 2nd Grade

Your second grader is becoming quite the independent reader now! While there are innumerable choices of books for this level, we think these are wonderful examples of second grade literature:

1. Potato Pants by Laurie Keller
2. Happy Birthday to You by Dr. Seuss
3. Mummy Cat by Marcus Ewart
4. Under the Quilt of Night by Deborah Hopkinson
5. Actual Size by Steve Jenkins

Time4Learning students have access to dozens of reading excerpts aligned with the topic of each chapter. The student will learn thematic content through discovery and achieve comprehension by reading literature with an emphasis on vocabulary.

Second Grade Homeschooling Tips & Ideas

Homeschooling has so much to do with things other than teaching, but here are a few tips for getting started with homeschooling your second grader.

• Set a schedule – Young children benefit greatly from having a consistent schedule on a daily basis. Determining a homeschool student’s coursework is up to the parent, however, your state’s department of education website can be an invaluable resource for what a typical course of study can include at their grade level.
• Create a dedicated space for learning – While convenient a dedicated “homeschool room” isn’t for everyone. You can dedicate a spot in your home to store the supplies or keep materials organized; all things related to learning can be done in any room and even outside!
• Set some goals – Some homeschool parents find it necessary to plan out every detail of their homeschool day or week with a journal or software program, while other parents jot down general goals to achieve on a calendar and let the flow of the day dictate how they get lessons accomplished. There is no right or wrong way, it all starts with understanding your homeschooling goals and the needs of your children.
• Take frequent breaks – Break up homeschool study periods into 15-minute chunks. Between chunks, the child can play outside, have fun with an educational computer game, read, play an instrument or relax for a few minutes. As your child gets older, expand the length of study time.
• Include field trips and hands-on activities – Going on field trips is always top of the list for students and can also serve as a much needed break from homeschooling for the parents. Scheduling regular outings can help prevent burnout while continuing to absorb knowledge and having fun. As well, incorporating hands-on activities such as science experiments and math manipulatives can add extra fun to your child’s learning.
• Define how to assess your child – Unless you are planning to put your child right back into school after a year of homeschooling, some parents find that grading assignments is far less important in homeschool than in traditional school. Parents often discover that they are able to accurately assess how well their child is learning without the use of a grading scale.
• Take advantage of homeschooler discounts – If your state offers a tax-free school supplies day, that is the perfect opportunity to stock up on items you think you may use to enhance your homeschool experience.
• Make use of technology – Technology can help improve student’s educational experience by reducing distractions, boosting independent learning, increasing confidence and more.

How Time4Learning Can Help You Homeschool Your 2nd Grader

For second graders, Time4Learning provides language arts, math, science and social studies. Within the program, subjects are organized into multimedia chapters with interactive lessons, printable worksheets and graded activities. And with an automated software system, second graders are guided through the online activities at their own pace based on their learning levels.

Time4Learning is such a popular option for second grade homeschooling because:

• Students get individual logins and work at their own pace which can lead to more effective learning
• Parents can set the grade levels independently for each subject so students learn at their own speed
• Parents get detailed printable lesson plans and homeschool teaching tools to review lesson contents
• Time-stamping feature on the activities aids attendance and record keeping
• Automated grading makes homeschool portfolios simple to create
• Entirely web based, no software to download, no CDs and nothing additional to purchase
• Affordable membership backed by a 14-day money-back guarantee. You can start, stop, or pause your membership at any time without penalty

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