2nd Grade Curriculum Picks 2025-2026

I'm excited to have a second grader this year! Most of our curriculum is from The Good and the Beautiful. We have used them for three years now and absolutely love it! We love that it is open-and-go style so it requires no prep from me. We literally sit down, open to the lesson we are on, and it tells me what to read/say to her and how to teach it. You can read more about why we love TGTB here.

The Good and the Beautiful offers their K-8 language arts and math courses for FREE as digital PDFs! I use this printer and this binding machine and we print all of our course books at home.

Language Arts- I love that their language arts courses not only include reading, phonics, writing, literature, grammar, and spelling but geography and art as well. The course books are colorful and interactive.

The level 2 set comes with booster cards that help the student master phonics concepts. It also comes with two chapter books. These are for the parent and child to read together. The student's portions go along with the booster cards.

My oldest is reading well above her grade level and I attribute that to the effectiveness of TGTB's program!

We will be trying out Fix It Grammar this year. I have heard great things about it and think my daughter will really enjoy it for a little extra practice! Each page has a sentence or two that the student fixes (punctuation, grammar, capitalization) then rewrites it. They learn definitions for words as well. There are also short grammar lessons and it comes with a teacher's guide. We will do it 2-3 times a week. I think it will help not only with grammar but spelling and handwriting.

Math- We have loved the math courses from The Good and the Beautiful as well. The course books are full of colorful, short lessons that incorporate games to learn the math concepts being taught.

The math box is full of unique manipulatives that are used throughout the course. TGTB Math uses the spiral method, meaning they continue reviewing concepts previously taught so the child doesn't forget them. I have loved this method as we've used it with her since kindergarten- it has helped her master and retain the concepts.

Handwriting- My oldest will be using level 1 handwriting from TGTB. When she was younger, she did not love writing so I didn't push it. Her handwriting has improved a lot since using these methods. However, I am having her do level 1 this year as a review.

She also has a primary journal where she answers a journal prompt 2-3 times a week and then draws a picture to go with it.

For the first time this year, we will be using Draw Write Now. My oldest is a very talented artist and enjoys drawing so I think this will be fun for her to be able to incorporate it alongside her writing.

Science- We do science family style and we will be using the Little Hearts and Hands studies from TGTB. They are short, very easy lessons with a fun storybook and educational videos. We are currently doing space from their Sparks and Stars guide.

My oldest currently has a huge interest in STEM activities so we will be incorporating this book into our year. We will also be learning about famous scientists and inventors with the Kid Scientists book.

We have already started this Dash Into Happy emotion course from Dash Into Learning. It uses fairytale stories with activities to teach kids about emotions and how to handle them. It includes games, coloring pages, recipes, and discussion questions. They have loved it so far!

For our history plans, check out my post here.

We do many interest-led unit studies in our homeschool every year as well. My kids pick a topic they are interested in and I piece a study together. I always include recipes, art projects, hands-on activities, and field trips.

If you are looking for some to do in your homeschool, check out my shop!

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