Curriculum Reviews: 2nd grade

Let me preface this post by saying that my second born 2nd grader is amazing. She has the biggest heart, is a diligent and hard worker and comes up with new talents all the time that leave me speechless. Today she went to the Memorial service of my parents' neighbor. She wrote on the calendar "Momerel-Jean" and let me know she would be attending. She taught herself to use chopsticks, a skill I cannot master. She was still a toddler when I found her scrubbing the tub. She is not lazy, she is very intelligent, and her learning style is where she vastly differs from me. I have to slow up from time to time from my agenda and figure out what we need to do differently with her. This means her schedule looks vastly different from Ben's.

Here is what 2nd grade looked like for her:

History/Literature: We started off with Story of the World Vol 1 this year. I knew it would be too much for her last year. This year had difficult moments. She has a far harder time absorbing material auditorially than either of her siblings. Sometimes we re-read the lesson two and even three times. I made her read certain sections to me because I can see she comprehends information better when she sees it. She is visual. Like me. I was at my wit's end when I randomly asked her what her favorite subject was and she answered "History." So now I try to have more patience with her and give her time to absorb all the extra reading before I decide it is a lost cause. She latches on to the "story" aspect. She is not as dutiful as others about doing things she doesn't care about so I routinely get "I don't want to color that picture." I'm learning to work with that. We do read 75-80% of the literature and history suggestions and about 25% of the activities.

Grammar & Spelling: I used First Language Lessons Level 2 with great success. I appreciate that these lessons are quick, don't require much prep, and the basics are nailed down solidly. We also used Spelling Workout Level A & B with great success. She is a solid reader and recently read aloud at church reminding me of how much she has learned. I have her read to me aloud her spelling lesson page for reading practice. We often read stories and take different characters in the reading; Ben-males and her females, while I narrate. It is good practice all the way around.

Math: Like Ben, she loves Horizons Math. I think their early grades shine and she has learned some big concepts. She loves to negotiate how many problems she does and checks off each section when she is done. She has a strong sense of deliberateness and record-keeping. I'm excited to see where that goes.

Handwriting: She used Zaner-Bloser but she is a natural. She loves to write notes: letters, to-do lists, journals. She works at handwriting and this was easy to accomplish.

Art/Music: We started piano lessons, something she diligently tackles and loves. She loves listening to music, and is my child who walks around with headphones in her ears and has a radio on in her room. She was thrilled when we went to the symphony and her piano teacher gave us tickets to the see The Moxie Strings. She decided then she wanted to be a professional musician. She jumped in on Ben's music appreciation. She chose to do Little Annie's Art Book and she is very good at following instructions and working to achieve her artistic goals. I bought coloring books of the composers by Bellerophon. These were a disaster. The pictures are boring to color and the biographical information is written for adults. They look dull, they are dull, and they often cover unnecessary information (syphilis, etc...).

Logic: We are huge fans of Mind Benders and Kyrie patiently worked with Evie on Book 1 this year. She has Book 2 to finish and will do so at the end of the year.

Science: She is involved in biology experiments with her older brother and takes nature classes at the nearby reserve several times a month. She participates in her brother's Bible course, participating in the memory work and listening to the Bible reading and text.

Trying to teach us to use chopsticks. 

She wants to learn violin and had the chance to try it at an instrument petting zoo.

Kyrie has a natural ability to be well-rounded, something that is not a strength of either her mom or older sibling. She is most likely to get outside and ride her bike, loves every sport she tries, wants be involved with people, and pushes us to leave the house. Second grade was finding the balance between helping her to find ways to focus and complete her work and recognizing that her needs were good ones and need to be incorporated into our life.