Best Homeschool Curriculum for 2nd Grade

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There are many different ways you can go about homeschooling a second grader. At this grade level, some families prefer to pick and choose different curriculums for each subject in the student’s homeschool schedule. Other homeschoolers like to choose a complete curriculum for their second-grade child. A complete curriculum is a curriculum package that includes at least the four core subjects: language arts, math, social studies, and science. Some also include elective subjects. Families will often supplement a complete curriculum with one or two electives, such as an art program, training in a musical instrument, a physical education course (such as a team sport, karate, or dance), or a Bible study course. 

There are many advantages to choosing a complete curriculum. For one thing, it makes purchasing your materials really simple, as everything is usually included in one complete package, often at a discounted price. Second, scheduling your child’s time in each subject is generally much simpler, as complete curriculums usually include a teacher’s guide with suggested daily schedules. And third, complete curriculums usually do a great job of covering all the most important material your student needs to know at a given grade level. Each course is designed with an understanding of what students will be simultaneously learning in their other courses, making for a homeschool experience that is convenient, coordinated, and effective.

In this article, we’ll tell you about four of our favorite complete homeschool curriculums for second graders. If you have older or younger children, be sure to check out our complete curriculum recommendations for other age groups, as well!

Best Secular Program

Calvert 2nd Grade Curriculum

If you are looking for an excellent secular homeschool program, consider the 2nd Grade Curriculum by Calvert Homeschool. Calvert has been publishing top-notch homeschool curriculums for many years. Its courses make for an engaging, approachable, and user-friendly homeschool experience that works well for most types of learners.

Calvert’s 2nd grade curriculum includes language arts, history & geography, math, and science. Each of these courses uses ten colorful student workbooks and a teacher’s guide. Self-tests and unit tests are included. The language arts program focuses on basic reading, writing, and grammar skills. The history & geography course introduces U.S. history, including Native American history, the first British colonists, the creation of the American government, and Westward Expansion. The math course teaches shapes, addition, subtraction, rounding, numbers to 1,000, measurements, fractions, operation symbols, estimation, and time. The science program explores life science, earth and space, physical science, and the nature of science. 

For the most convenience, purchase the Calvert 2nd grade program as a complete package. You may also purchase the four courses – language arts, history & geography, math, and science – individually. 

Best Christian Program

Lifepac Grade 2 Curriculum

If you are looking for a solid second-grade complete curriculum that encompasses a Christian worldview, consider the Lifepac series by Alpha Omega Publications. Lifepac uses a format that is similar to Calvert’s: each course consists of ten colorful, consumable student books and a teacher’s guide. Students may work at their own pace, and the program is streamlined and easy to follow. 

Lifepac 5 subject set

The grade 2 program includes five subjects: language arts, history & geography, math, science, and Bible. The language arts course includes phonics, spelling, handwriting, parts of speech, grammar, sentence construction, and much more. The history & geography course covers Early American history, Native Americans, the creation and nature of the American government, the meaning of citizenship, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Westward Expansion, and maps. The math course includes numbers up to 100, addition, subtraction, evens/odds, place value, time, and money. The science course explores God-made and man-made objects, plants, animals, humans and the human body, colors, shapes and sizes, ecology, the environment, and more. The Bible course includes units such as “Who Am I?”, “How the Bible Came to Us”, and “The Story of Joseph”.  

For the most convenience, purchase all five courses as a set. You’ll also want to purchase the grade 2 science lab kit. Alternatively, you can purchase the courses individually or in a set that only includes the four core subjects but not the Bible course. 

Best Classical Christian Program

Memoria Press Second Grade Curriculum

If you are looking for a program that will offer your second grader a complete classical Christian homeschool experience, we recommend the Second Grade Curriculum package from Memoria Press. This curriculum package includes all the materials for a comprehensive classical home education at the second-grade level. The program includes English grammar, spelling, literature, math, nature, cursive, Latin, and enrichment activities. Supplementary read-aloud and science sets are also available. 

Memoria Press’s classical Christian curriculum is among the most rich and rigorous you’ll find on the market. The program stresses subject mastery, recitation, and exposure to classic ideas and stories from the Western tradition. The included Latin program gives kids a big advantage when it comes to both understanding the English language and learning other foreign languages later on, especially Romance languages. 

The included curriculum manual provides detailed, checklist-style lesson plans, making it easy to schedule your child’s time with this program. The content is high in quality, and the literature selections at the second-grade level are especially wonderful, including titles such as Little House in the Big Woods, The Courage of Sarah Noble, and Beatrix Potter’s stories Peter Rabbit series.

Best Interdisciplinary Program

Moving Beyond the Page Age 6-8 Curriculum

If your child is an independent, intellectually curious learner, consider the wonderful homeschool curriculum offered by Moving Beyond the Page. Although this program can be used by all types of learners, it was designed especially for gifted students. The program has a unique interdisciplinary format that helps children see connections across the different subjects they are learning. 

The Age 6-8 program is appropriate for most second graders and includes language arts, math, social studies, and science. This curriculum is hands-on and exploration-focused. It exposes children to plenty of quality literature and also helps them see how that literature connects to other subjects they are studying, such as science and history. 

For the most convenience, purchase the Moving Beyond the Page Age 6-8 Full Year Package, which includes all the curriculum, literature, and manipulatives you’ll need for a full year of study. An online version of the program is also available. 

Conclusion

If you are looking for a complete homeschool curriculum for your second grader, you have many excellent options from which to choose. If you are also homeschooling a younger or older child, check out our complete curriculum recommendations for other age groups, as well.