2nd Grade, 3rd Quarter Review

We've completed second grade, 3rd quarter.  You know what that means?  We're in the final stretch of our first year of homeschooling.  In less than 3 months, Millie will officially be a 3rd grader!  Wow.  We are going to homeschool next year for sure.  On Saturday someone asked her how she likes homeschooling, she responded "Homeschooling rocks!"  He he. 

Here's what we've been up to this quarter:

Reading - Millie has been spending more time reading out loud, and it's been helping  a lot.  I can tell if we've gone a few days without reading out loud, because she seems out of practice. 

Grammar - We're still loving English 2 from BJU Press.  Millie learned about using a thesaurus, writing instructions using a time-order chart, verbs in past and present tense, special verbs, homophones, poetry; writing a couplet, rhyming poem, and a shape poem.

Spelling - Eh.  This needs improvement.  Simply using a spelling list isn't cutting it.  This area will need improvement for next year, big time.

Literature - During 3rd quarter we read Mr. Popper's Penguins, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and we started (and are still working on) The Candymakers. 

Writing - I discovered (and borrowed) Read Write Now.  Millie and I both love it!  Her printing is improving, and so is her drawing!  I'm glad we got to try it before buying it as part of her curriculum next year.

Math - She's still plugging away at Saxon 2.  We still both love it. 

History - We spend this quarter learning about ancient Greece and Rome.  It was not quite as exciting as the dawn of time, or Ancient Egypt, but it was still pretty fun.  We made a knuckle bones game out of clay, read a lot of Greek myths, made up our own Olympics at home, watched a film about Pompeii (which freaked Millie out), and did quite a few activities from History Pockets, and read a lot of books.

Science - She learned about airplanes and boats, animals from Antarctica, started (but failed at) a Triops tank (we'll try this again tonight.  We still have some eggs left),. studied raptors, inside the earth, and weather.  I finally started doing nature study with her!  We are doing Farms School every Thursday, and spending more time outdoors, observing nature.  She took two classes at Kroening, one about squirrels and the other about outdoor survival.  When people ask her what her favorite subject is, she says "Science!"  Yay!

Fine arts - She's progressing nicely at piano, practicing (almost) daily and having a weekly lesson at the St. Paul Conservatory of Music.  We watched a ballet at the Landmark Center (there was a funny photographer there, and we ended up in the paper!), and she attended an art class where she learned about Giuseppe Arcimboldo  and made a portrait of a bird out of different beans and rice. 

Phy ed - She did a lot of ice skating, also tried kick sledding, swimming, hikes, and walks. 

Out And About - We did much better with getting out at least twice per week. With her homeschool group, we went to The Works museum, Wells Fargo Winter Skate, the Raptor Center, Eagles Nest, hosted a Valentines party, and went to the planetarium.  We also had several play dates and trips with friends to museums. 

I think that covers everything!  We've been very busy, and having a lot of fun!