A Closer Look at 2nd Grade Charlotte Mason Curriculum
Do you have a 2nd grader you’d like to homeschool using a Charlotte Mason-inspired curriculum? Well, Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory is a Charlotte Mason-inspired, complete, literature-based, Christ-centered curriculum written specifically for 6 to 8 year-olds. It works well for 2nd grade and includes all your student needs for a complete year of Charlotte Mason-style curriculum! Let’s take a look at this inspirational 2nd grade Charlotte Mason curriculum!
A Charlotte Mason Approach to 2nd Grade Early American History
Told in story form, Heart of Dakota’s Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory introduces 2nd grade students to the pioneers, pilgrims, puritans, patriots, and presidents who worked tirelessly and fearlessly to gain the freedom America still enjoys today. With a unique blend of living books, engaging activities, and a biblical perspective, Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory tells American history from 1565-1865 through the stories of those who lived it. As students ‘travel’ chronologically through American history, they chronicle their journey by keeping a timeline. Very Charlotte Mason-inspired!
Full of ‘can’t put them down’ books, Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory’s early American history weaves an exciting coherent and memorable timeline. Parents enjoy reading aloud Charlotte Mason-inspired living books that provide the ‘spine’ for history. See how God’s gifts of faith, courage, and determination transformed pioneers into patriots in American Pioneers and Patriots. This living book is full of exciting stories about the growth of the United States, charmingly told from the perspective of young Americans.
Follow the Pilgrims from England to Holland to the New World as you read Stories of the Pilgrims. Learn how God raised up a tiny band of faithful Christians to triumph over persecution, hunger, and numerous hardships to ultimately establish Christianity in the New World. Hear appealing stories from the 1700’s in Boys and Girls of Colonial Days. As students learn about children who lived during colonial times, they will begin to understand and value the struggle for liberty and the blessing of freedom.
A Charlotte Mason Visual History Set of Living Books
This lovely Visual History Set matches the history themes in Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory. These living books provide a gorgeous visualization of the people, places, and events students learn about! By bringing history vividly to life, this set works alongside the other history spine books to give children a more complete, fuller view of history that will be remembered as a cherished learning time together for parents and children alike.
Four days each week, cuddle up and read these picturesque living books to your children and see American history come to life! Sail to America on the Mayflower, bargain with tulips in Holland, settle in Jamestown with Captain Newport, plant apple trees across the nation with Johnny Appleseed, become a spy during the revolutionary war, build inventions with Benjamin Franklin, and live out on the prairie with Laura Ingalls Wilder – all just a sampling of what awaits you and your children!
The Visual History Bookmark Set coordinates with the Visual History Set of books. Beautifully designed, these 29 full-color bookmarks serve not only as page-markers but also as important teaching tools! Each bookmark features discussion questions specific to each day of reading. Additionally, fun follow-up “Picture Clue” activities mimic Charlotte Mason’s picture study by drawing students’ attention to the details of each book’s beautiful illustrations. Bookmarks contain creative design themes that match each book. Furthermore, durable construction ensures they can be used over and over again.
A Charlotte Mason Approach to Geography
Just as Charlotte Mason matched geography lessons to the historical time period, Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory’s geography matches American history as well. Parents lead weekly hands-on activities that explore geography concepts stemming from the history stories.
In these innovative geography activities, students become familiar with geographical terms, read maps, follow directions, and draw simple maps. They learn about the continents and oceans, the curvature of the earth and its effect on the horizon line, cardinal directions, the Equator, and more!
Additionally, students discover the routes of famous explorers, locate historic battle sites, trace famous trails like the Wilderness Road, and follow the Transcontinental Railroad. They explore why cities are built near water; learn about rivers, harbors, and canals; and discuss divisions of countries into colonies, states, provinces or regions. Finally, students learn about islands, deserts, forests, fields, rivers, mountains, lakes, channels, and bays. So, together, 2nd grade students and parents discover how geography impacted early American history!
A Charlotte Mason Approach to Science
Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory features a unique, Charlotte Mason approach to science. This creative, hands-on approach integrates a Bible-based science text with topics from the history stories. As students delve into life science, physical science, and earth science, they complete fun activities and discover how what they learn matches up with the Bible.
Narrative science readings from God’s Wonderful Works coordinate with weekly history themes. Students draw connections between science and history as topics overlap between the two subjects. As students read about the Pilgrims loading supplies onto the Mayflower, they use a ramp to move soup cans. When they read about settlers splitting wood for campfires, they learn about wedges. As students read about George Washington surveying land, they survey their own backyard, and so on.
Students become familiar with science-related vocabulary and make biblical connections. They also conduct quick, hands-on activities related to the science readings. Integrating science and history in this way provides a very Charlotte Mason-like approach to science for 2nd grade!
Oral Narrations Linked to Storytime Read-Alouds
Oral narrations provide important Charlotte Mason assessments! Just as Charlotte Mason recommended, only narrative, living books provide the basis for narrating. In response to their Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory’s Storytime readings, students rotate through the following reading activities:
- Day 1: introduce and study nine different types of genres of literature
- Day 2: model oral narration to foster comprehension
- Day 3: identify and analyze a different story element for each genre
- Day 4: relate personally to one Godly character trait, compare Biblical and book characters, and select one area to improve
- Day 5: practice oral narration by retelling the story in a variety of ways
Parents choose one of three Storytime living books’ sets: Classic, Boy Interest, or Girl Interest. Though only one set is needed, many parents choose several sets just because the books are that good! This 2nd grade Charlotte Mason curriculum helps students learn to successfully orally narrate right from the start!
Charlotte Mason Poetry and Copywork
Daily written language practice is provided four days in each week through copywork in Copy the Classics. This beautifully-designed, full-color Copy the Classics Notebook provides a valuable tool that makes copywork a breeze! Designed to accompany the “Poetry” plans in Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory, this notebook divides copywork into bite-sized pieces.
By copying from a correctly written model, students gain practice in handwriting, spelling, grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and vocabulary. Copywork also prepares students to eventually write their own compositions. Copy the Classics helps students develop writing skills through a built-in copywork progression. As copywork passages grow longer, provided lines gradually decrease in size to encourage students to write smaller. Shaded guide words are provided to aid students in this transition.
Copy the Classics contains 34 weekly units, each with 4 days of copywork to complete. Each unit introduces a different classic poem, and highlighted text shows which lines children need to copy. Poems were chosen for their enduring qualities and their ability to withstand the test of time. Many famous poets are represented. The poems also reinforce the history themes found in Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory.
Three Options for Reading Instruction
Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory offers a choice of three options for reading, based on the ability and reading level of your child. You can choose one of our hand-picked phonics programs to introduce your child to reading, or use either Emerging Reader’s Set 1 or Set 2 to systematically build your child’s emerging reading skills. Each option includes narrative readings that encourage a passion for reading from the very start!
Hand-Picked Phonics Programs with Narrative Readings:
Real Phonics is a no-prep beginning phonics program designed around full-color, vibrantly illustrated stories! Children (who know their alphabet) read stories that slowly increase in complexity as new letter sounds are added. The Reading Lesson includes 20 simple lessons that are approximately 20 pages each. The Miss Rhonda’s Readers Superset package of books coordinates with these phonics programs to provide delightful books young children can successfully read. Reading Made Easy includes original stories and poems. Award-winning Valerie Bendy introduces sight words at an earlier level than in other reading programs, so the child can read more narrative passages.
Emerging Reader’s Set 1:
The Emerging Reader’s Set 1 provides a carefully chosen collection of interesting, well-loved books that gradually increase in difficulty throughout the year. In addition to these books, this set includes a daily reading schedule with engaging questions and narration prompts, and a helpful “Progress Chart” with stickers for students to keep track of their journey. Choose this option if your child is an emerging reader.
Emerging Reader’s Set 2:
If your child is a newly independent reader, you would want to choose the Emerging Reader’s Set 2 for them. This carefully chosen collection of well-loved, beginning chapter books gradually increases in difficulty throughout the year. In addition to these books, this set includes a daily reading schedule with engaging questions and narration prompts, and a helpful “Progress Chart” with stickers for students to keep track of their journey.
Completing Your Charlotte Mason-Inspired 2nd Grade Curriculum
In addition to all of the Charlotte Mason-inspired skills already mentioned, Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory includes all other necessary subjects for 2nd second graders today! Math, spelling, grammar, science experiments, music, art projects, vocabulary, etc. round out your 2nd grade student’s curriculum. Rest assured, as you enjoy all the Charlotte Mason-inspired components, your student will also be learning all that is necessary for 2nd grade requirements today!
For more details about Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory, click on these links…
Resources (click each basket and ‘view details’)
If you still have questions about this 2nd Grade Charlotte Mason-inspired curriculum, reach out to Heart of Dakota! We love to help!
In Christ,
Julie
P.S. Do you have an advanced 1st grader? Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory can work well for your little one too! Simply customize it accordingly!
