What This 2nd Grader Does

I know I blog a lot about Daniel’s school time, but very little about Nicholas'.  Nicholas doesn't really do any crafts.  He is about 15-20% independent.  He does his independent work first thing while I work with Daniel.  Then, Daniel either goes off and plays, or listens in on Nicholas’ work.  

So, what has Nicholas been up to lately?

Classical Conversations:  He’s not sure whether or not he wants to try for Memory Master and that’s okay.  He has plenty of time to do that in the coming years.  He knows a lot though.  He just needs to get to the point where he wants to put in the extra work to know everything.  On Thursday we spent almost a half hour working on finding various geographic features around the United States.  I was surprised (but not really) to find out how little I know.  Geography is not my best subject, but I've learned a lot this year.

Math:  Nicholas is in the middle of a third grade math book.  Math is not difficult for him.  He really only makes mistakes when he doesn't pay attention and is too busy talking.  Currently, I’ve started timing him on how fast he can complete his multiplication tables.  This is not only a lesson in multiplication, but perseverance.  I know how good he will feel when he accomplishes his goal.  It will show him that hard work pays off.  He probably doesn't feel that way yet, but he will (hopefully).

Reading:  Nicholas will be done with this level of reading by the end of February.  There is one more level to go in the series, but we will save that for the next school year.  I’m going to use that time for other projects, and possibly some writing exercises.  His reading is very good and I’ve seen a lot of improvement in the last year or so.

Spelling:  Nicholas is a pretty good speller too.  The hardest part is when he is unsure about a word.  I am teaching him to sit for a minute and think of his spelling rules.  After he writes it, he is to read it exactly as it is written, not how he thinks it supposed to be.  I also ask him if he’s ever seen a word like that before.  He’s doing really well with the program though and I think it has helped his reading skills too.

Handwriting:  Nicholas has always hated handwriting, but one thing is keeping him going – cursive!  He wants to learn cursive this year and we will be starting it soon.  I know it is not taught as much in public schools, but I feel like it is an important skill.  We will be starting that next month as well.  But, for now, he still has to continue to print.

Grammar:  Nicholas actually likes this subject! For some reason, I never learned to diagram sentences.  Nicholas thinks this is fun.  So, I am also learning at the same time.  That is one thing I love about homeschooling.  My weak areas become stronger as I work with him.  I can’t wait until we get to the different forms of punctuation.  I really need a refresher on that area.

Science:  We have been studying about water creatures this year and it is so interesting.  We just read the chapters and Nicholas does the activities.  I don’t expect him to be an expert.  But, I do like to see his face light up when he learns something new.  Even Daniel will sit with us most days and look at the pictures as I read.

Nicholas also enjoys reading library books.  He usually gets them out during Daniel’s nap and reads them himself.  I usually read from a chapter book to both the boys a couple times a week.  

So, overall, 2nd grade is going very well.  I'm sure the last few months will fly by.  I don't really take any pictures of Nicholas doing his school work, but I took one just for this post.

I'm going to try and have more about Nicholas in future posts, but he's getting to the age where I need to read the post to him first for his approval.  And, this one passed the test!