Charlotte Mason Second Grade Curriculum Picks
We’re Not Swapping Anything
It’s a breath of fresh air to go into a new school year knowing that you can feel confident in your curriculum picks. Last year was our first formal year of academics in a Charlotte Mason homeschool. I was so happy with our curriculum choices for first grade that I’m not swapping anything for our second grade year.
The biggest lesson I learned last year in homeschooling was to see your curriculum all the way through the year before deciding if it “wasn’t working”. Halfway through the year, I debated swapping our math curriculum because my student seemed to struggle. It wasn’t the curriculum. Learning a new skill, especially in math, is just hard. Instead, with consistency and discipline, we stayed the course. By the third term, the math concepts came easily, and my student aced her final exam.
Don’t swap your curriculum until you’ve seen it all the way through to the end. Pause and review when a particular skill is challenging for your child. Let them master the material before moving forward so that your student learn new skills more readily. You do not need to go at a break-neck, public school pace for academic skills like math and reading. Steady and consistent progress is the goal.
Ambleside Online
The Charlotte Mason curriculum that we have chosen to be the backbone of our homeschool is Ambleside Online. They are a free 1-12 Charlotte Mason curriculum plan. We did the Year One full schedule in its entirety last year (you can watch my YouTube review here) and it was a great fit for our family. We will be doing the same thing for Year Two.
This curriculum includes a free 36-week reading plan for Bible, History, Natural History (Science), Literature and Poetry with suggestions for free reads. We also follow AO’s rotations for Artist Study, Composer Study, Nature Study, Folk Songs, Hymns, Geography and Recitation, doing everything that Ambleside Online recommends.
There are some subjects that Ambleside Online does not prescribe a specific book or curriculum for. Rather, it is left to the mother-teacher to decide what to do for those subjects. These include Math, Foreign Language and Drawing. I also add in a grammar curriculum and a spelling list because it is required by my state’s homeschooling laws.
Second Grade Curriculum Plan
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Ambleside Online Year Two Schedule and Book List
History
Our Island Storyby H.E. Marshall
This Country of Ours by H.E. Marshall
A Child's History of the Worldby Virgil Hillyer
The Little Duke by Charlotte Yonge
Trial and Triumph by Richard Hannula
Joan of Arc by Diane Stanley
Natural History (Science)
Tree in the Trailby H.C. Holling
Seabirdby H.C. Holling
The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton Burgess
Literature
Tales From Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb
Parables from Nature by Margaret Gatty
Understood Betsyby Dorothy Fisher
The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
Poetry
Ambleside Online Volume 2 Poetry Collection
Geography
Elementary Geography by Charlotte Mason
Home Geography by C.C. Long
Math
Simply Charlotte Mason Elementary Arithmetic Series Book 2by Richele Baburina
Foreign Language
Speaking Spanish with Miss Mason and Francois Vol. 1
Drawing
Drawing Textbook by Bruce McIntyre
Handwriting
A Reason for Handwriting Level A
Grammar
Spelling
We’re using this free spelling list online for second grade.
Consistency & Discipline
Dear Reader,
Consistency and discipline are your best friends when homeschooling. Treat this like your career, because it is. School hours are for academics. The home management can wait until the priority of homeschooling is done for the day. Plan ahead, set your daily and weekly schedule so that you know what to expect each day. You’ve got this! Have a blessed homeschooling year.
Humbly,
Haley
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Free Charlotte Mason Homeschool Planner for Ambleside Online
