My son is in 1st grade right now , but I have recently had a few other moms ask me when I was going to start doing grammar, or what I think I may use for history , or that wordly wise was a great curriculum for vocab, and another mom asked if I will be doing any foreign language like spanish . And a friend from church that also home schools her kiddos is doing vocabulary and latin/greek roots with her 1st grader right now. AACK ...... It is sometimes hard enough to fit in what we are already doing right now. How am I going to add more subjects next year??? Maybe things like grammar are quick 10 minute lessons? Right now our schedule kinda flows like this: Bible , math , phonics/reading , penmanship , spelling then take a 30 minute break. Come back and do Geography / Social studies from Galloping the Globe Lunch - 1 hour After lunch is our study of classical music with Godly Composers , any art projects that we feel led to do and afternoons are PE activities. He has a science co-op class on thursday mornings so I am relieved from doing any "planning" for science. I bounce back and forth between our preschooler as well...making sure she gets quality time as well. I feel like our schedule is already so full. I would love to do Latin/Greek roots with our kids at some point. Grammar and vocab are kinda essential and history too. Foreign language??? But I am just curious as to when all of you who have already done lower elementary began including these into your schedule ?? How long were the lessons typically for these subjects? History sounds like it can be time intensive or have lots of rabbit trails to veer off onto. I know he's only in 1st grade right now but what should I really consider for next year? Could it be that the other moms are doing to much at this young age? Thanks for your input and ideas!
See....this is why you shouldn't hang around other people or listen to what they have to say. JK (kinda)! :lol: Well, you could do something like The Sentence Family for a light intro to grammar. Some families don't do much for grammar at all at the younger grades. You are already doing social studies, so you don't really *have* to do history yet. And, yes...I think a lot of other moms are doing too much at a young age. Do what's best for your family, your situation, your sanity....and don't listen to what others are asking you. I know I haven't helped much and didn't answer nearly all of your questions, but I have a 9 year old that is refusing to go to bed so I better help her along.
Seriously... do whatever you want. As long as you're following state law, don't worry about what everyone else is doing. Some people do all that stuff because they're already planning to send their kid to Harvard whether the child wants to go or not, and some do it because their kids are honestly interested in things like World War II planes or Spanish words that their Spanish-speaking friends commonly use. I have a kid who eats language like it's candy. He loves it. We've been doing extremely heavy language arts (all fields) since he was 4, and he still can't get enough. I have another kid who's happy to do school every once in a while if he happens to feel like it that day. They're different! Like the saying goes, "if everyone else jumped off a cliff, would you follow them?"
Do what works best for you. Every family is different and has different goals. Decide what is important to you and go with that.
Ditto what everyone else said! No two homeschools will look alike. If you WANT to teach them a foreign language now, fine, but don't feel you MUST. I really am big on Latin/Greek roots, but there's no hurry for it. Sometimes they can be introduced as you go along. For example, if you're studying geology and start talking about volcanos, you can talk about the fire god Volcan and how the word comes from that, or the root word for IGNEOUS rocks, and what other words can you think of (such as ignite and ignition) that comes from the same source. (Sorry! Tangent, lol!!!) But really, do what you think is best and don't be pressured by what anyone else is doing. The only absolute in my mind is to READ, READ, and READ some more every day!
You do what works for you. When dd did 2nd grade this is what we used (many of my friends did less, some did more): History: Sonlight Core C LA: Sonlight LA C Science: Sonlight Science C and Apologia Astronomy (Dd loves science) Latin:Song School Latin (very easy and fun, not time consuming) Math: Horizons Handwriting: A Reason for Handwriting Bible: Sonlight and BJU Bible Truths Art: Artistic Pursuits (just a couple times a week if I could fit it in) Music: a variety of cds and videos from the library
My second grader we do language arts, which includes spelling, vocab, grammar/writing, and handwriting. However a lot of handwriting and grammar and writing all overlap and are done together. Spelling and vocab tend to overlap as well. We do math and science and social studies/history(I consider them teh same thing). We do lots of reading and I tie reading into literally every subject as well. We do a foreign language, but that is because dd wanted to learn sign language. I don't have a curriculum for it we just get online or check things out from the library. We practice the alphabet by having her spell spelling words in sign language or using some of our new signing vocab in reading or science. do what works for you and your family though. There is no wrong way to teach or right/wrong time to teach things as long as they can function in the real world, read, and do math needed. It will all be fine. A lot of our grammar comes in the form of reading though like as we read we examine the way it's written. I know in PS they just want them using capitals, punctuation, and by the end of second grade knowing what makes a sentance and a little about adjectives/adverbs. That can even be done with doing activities like mad libs or handwriting.
I use Scott Foresman free grammar online and it's super simple, takes him between 10 and 20 min depending on what type of page it is that day and what mood he's in. He's doing: Grammar All About Spelling - level 2 MUS beta calendar notebook writing/drawing journal interest led social studies/history/science and his reading is included in this area. I don't do a separate writing program with him though he is currently learning cursive because he asked to. I feel that he gets enough writing practice in his grammar and notebook and journal that extra practice would be both unproductive and a huge battle. Writing is his least favorite thing to do but he doesn't seem to mind it as much when I "sneak" it into his other subjects in small amounts. Foreign language - I'm not at all sure when/what I'm going to do for this but right now we don't do anything. Well I say the occassional phrase in french and they watch a bit of Dora and Diego with the 2yr old but other than that :lol:.
rutsgal, I see you live in CA. I also live in CA and operate as a private homeschool. IF you are private, by CA law, you have to teach the subjects that are required by the state for grades 1-6. Required subjects for grades 1-6 are English, mathematics, social sciences, science, fine arts, health, physical education. As long as you are teaching the required subjects, you can teach them HOWEVER you want. This is from HSLDA. These are the requirements for CA private homeschools. "Home School Statute: None. Alternative Statutes Allowing for Home Schools: Home Schools have 4 options: Option 1. Under § 48222, the individual home school could qualify as a private school by filing an annual private school affidavit: a. The instructors must be capable of teaching; b. The instruction must be in English; c. The instruction must be in the several branches of study required in public schools; d. Attendance must be kept in a register; and e. A private school affidavit must be filed with the Superintendent of Public Instruction between Oct. 1 and Oct. 15 of each school year. Cal. Educ. Code §§ 33190, 48222."
I agree with others that you should do what works for your family. Your school will not look just like another and that is good because no other school has your children as students. My youngest is in second grade this year. This is what he does: Bible: Our own study and the time varies from day to day MUS Beta: 15-30 minutes with extra fun and review thrown some days Language Arts: Easy Grammar 5-10 minutes, Sequential Spelling 10 minutes(taking our time and moving slowly), reading for at least 20 minutes though he often chooses to read an hour or more, writing is covered all through our day in various subjects at this point and isn't a separate part of our Language Arts History: Mystery of History Vol. 3 three days a week for 30-45 minutes a day depending on activity Geography: our own study one day a week 10-15 minutes Science: Apologia Zoology 2 three days a week for 30-45 minutes depending on activity or if there is a video that goes along with the lesson Art: our own study one day a week (or none, or more depending on their interest) for however long they are engaged Music: We listen to the radio. That counts, right? I would love to add something for this but haven't found the right fit for us yet. I would also love to let them learn to play an instrument but money isn't there for that at the moment.
My DGS is doing second grade with me right now. We do CLE reading, LA (which includes grammar, composition, handwriting, and spelling), and math, CLASS science, CLASS social studies (K level, right now, but we're planning to do 1 and 2 after that, whenever). We're also doing cursive handwriting (as an extra), and CLE Music. I was going to do more "little units" for science and social studies, but he prefers having "real" lessons with "real" books -- go figger!
I use Scott Foresman free grammar online and it's super simple, takes him between 10 and 20 min depending on what type of page it is that day and what mood he's in. Lindina, do you print out each page or does he just do the work in his head and tells you? :?:
This may be what she is talking about. I used the first grade with both of my boys before moving on to Easy Grammar. They both learned a lot and enjoyed it. http://www.sfreading.com/resources/ghb.html
Scott Foresman language arts Thanks, the moms in our homeschool group with younger kids will appreciate this link!
I agree with what everyone else says, don't listen to what others say or think, that can really cause you a lot of stress. Not every homeschool is the same, your is unique to your family so don't worry about it.
Since this thread has already been resurrected, and if the OP reads this again, I just wanted to remind you that you don't have to do everything every day. I sometimes wonder if new homeschoolers think this....because I thought that way when I started. The basics (like grammar, reading, spelling, math) should be daily...but other things can be just a couple times a week (like science, history), or even once a week (maybe art). As an example, I never schedule science and history on the same days. Maybe this reminder that you don't have to fit it all in every.single.day will help take a load off.
Grammar in 2nd grade? My children learned written grammar through reading and writing. They learned spoken grammar through listening and speaking. I highly recommend it, especially in lower grades.
I print out each page. I print on the front and back. And we still really like the program. Thanks for whoever went and found the link. I don't read here everyday.