Free Second Grade Homeschool Curriculum

Free Second Grade Homeschool Curriculum

This year I am teaching second grade! It’s crazy to be here already when I swear my oldest was just born like two minutes ago? Where does the time go!?!?

Update: I now have a sixth grader, not a second grader and this post has been updated to weed out anything that no longer exists in the wide world of the internet. Since posting I have had two more second graders come and go. Time truly does fly. Enjoy it! 

When I first got started homeschooling I never realized how quickly your budget can be blown, or if not careful, spiral out of control. In my first year of homeschooling I didn’t even set a budget. That quickly led to things getting out of hand. I bought many items that were never even used- workbooks, manipulatives, posters, and so on. I was a mess. It’s so easy to get to that point though!

That’s why I love good high-quality freebies. Notice I say high-quality? Not all free curriculum is created equally. It’s important to have a curriculum that is still able to teach and add value rather than just become a “filler” in your day.

Here are some of my favorite free curriculum that you can use to create a complete free second-grade schedule.

Science

If you’re interested in nature study here is a great resource. I love the idea of a green hour!
Along the same nature-study theme is a free Charlotte Mason-inspired 32-week nature-study curriculum. You can check
it out here:
For a more complete homeschool science curriculum, there is Mystery Science. They offer several free spots for their curriculum. They also offer an upgraded version of the curriculum that is very reasonably priced.
CK12 is another Science option although through the Elementary curriculum isn’t as well put together as the Middle School and High School version it’s still a solid place to start if you are piecing together your own curriculum.

Math

Although Khan Academy offers more than just math education, it is a great place to find a comprehensive math curriculum.
ABCYA is a site that we have used many times to supplement our homeschool. This site has some great games that reinforce the math we are learning.
MathIsFun.com is an easy math curriculum to use. Each part of the math curriculum is broken down into skills. There are several lessons per section so you can practice as needed. I also love that it has short instructional videos.
From the Math Learning Center, this book is from a series and it does not come with a teacher’s manual but I still feel it is a great option for second grade regardless.
Here is another math book that relies heavily upon manipulatives. I feel like this is probably the strongest candidate for a kinesthetic learner to succeed with! It would also do well with Charlotte Mason homeschoolers as well. This is  Gattegno math textbook 2.

Reading

Free Books

If your child is just learning to read I suggest using Libravox. This is a huge collection of audiobooks and I love to play these while in the car. There are some great living books in Libravox like “The Burgess Bird Book For Children
You can not forget your local library! If you return your books on time this is also a great place to get free books. Now, of course, I mention returning on time- because I am currently in debt to my local library $20. Don’t forget to ask your library if they have overdrive for audiobooks and digital books!
(Google Your  Local) Library

Learning To Read

I LOVE “Teach Your Monster to Read”. It’s a great game your child can play on for free on a computer.  It was created by the Usborne company. It covers letter sounds to full sentences, so it is a high-quality game. It will allow your child to progress through the letter sounds to words and sentences.

American History:

Again I turn to Libravox for free history audiobooks. Some of which are a little outdated for the language but still paint a fairly compelling story of our history.
Libravox
Not Free but very cheap… one of my favorite resources for buying cheap homeschool curriculum is Better World Books. I have scored Apologia, Story of The World, Usbourne World History Timeline. You can find more out about Better World books on my youtube channel but I strongly suggest you check out the bargain bin!

Language Arts:

Here is another freebie that is part of a larger curriculum and lacks a teachers manual but I think is so worth the extra work you may need to put into planning to use it- but honestly it is not much prep work at all.  There are both spelling and grammar books here.

Geography

There is a great Geography Reader available written by Charlotte Mason. If you are looking for a secular book this is not for you but if you’re open to Christian curriculum this is a great gentle start to Geography! This is great for 1st or 2nd grade.
I loved this state notebook for learning all about the United States this year with my children. If you are looking for a secular curriculum I would use this as a guide to studying the states instead.
Now if you want no prep work at all (beyond printing) I highly suggest a non-free curriculum- Across The USA bought this in the Build Your Bundle sale in 2017 and we used it for our 17/18 school year and it was FANTASTIC. My kids could color while I read about each state. The coloring really helped both my visual and my kinesthetic learners!
BACK TO FREE…

Full Curriculum

The Good and The Beautiful offers free comprehensive curriculum for grades 1-5. The other grades are HIGHLY affordable though. This curriculum is a Christian worldview but it is non-denominational which I really liked.
Wildwood Curriculum is another really great Charlotte Mason style curriculum that is completely free. This one also happens to be a secular curriculum if you are looking for a secular curriculum for your child. I have used and really like this curriculum.
There’s also
https://allinonehomeschool.com/ (Not Charlotte Mason but a complete curriculum)
and
I’ve not used either of the above curricula but I’ve heard great things about both and with anything I’ve also heard a few complaints, but you can not please everyone.
I hope you enjoy the list and leave a comment below if you recommend anything or if you have experience with any of these! I’d love to hear from you!

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19 Comments

  1. Thank you for your help with finding some ideas with curriculum for my second grader. Sometimes I struggle with what kind of work to get ready for them.

  2. Thank you so much this is my first year homeschooling and I was getting so overwhelmed as the school literally gives zero help trying to start out. So this just gave me so much to go on and get a great start.

  3. Only the PDX verstion LA is free from The Good and the Beautiful. All of the curriculum is excellent and worth paying for.

  4. My son wants to hurry up and learn as fast as he can. I’m going to homeschool him but his school sounds like it’s going to go really slow, forcing him to waste time with practice problems and homework and he will drag his feet in response, just like during quarantine last year.

    I have a 150 IQ, I think he learns even faster than me. I was always at least a year ahead of my class because when I was exposed to a concept I invented the next concept. My son is the same way.

    I need access to full curriculum for 2nd grade. Should I just buy the school book? Will the sites you provided cover it. Kid wants to skip grades like crazy and learn as fast as his brain will let him. While I was amazing at school, idk what concepts he needs to learn in what order. What’s 2nd grade math? What’s 3rd?

    He wants to graduate very early and start an ecommerce or logistics company. He’s almost 8, honestly he could almost run my company now. I feel obligated to provide my little Johnny 5 with input.

    Please help!

  5. Thank you so much for these resources. I cannot wait to use them to help reduce my stress in teaching my second grader.

  6. Oh I’d love to try this for my grandchild, please get back asap as she will be starting school next week.
    Thank you,

  7. This outlines everything you have as far as high-quality second-grade options online. You just have to click the links I provide and chose which free option you like! Good Luck!

  8. You want to click the links and look at the individual curriculums, there are many free options provided. They will all be different but you can choose the one that you like. Some may sell books, others might be downloadable. It will all depend on the curriculum you chose. There are options for both complete curriculums here as well as individual subjects so if you are looking to do a different grade for say science, you can always go up a grade on individual subjects. That’s the beauty of homeschooling!

  9. Is this accredited by the schools? I’m doing this until the kids are back in school. Do you have to show the school proof?

  10. Hello is this acceptable for the school? Do you have to show proof? I want to do this until my daughter is back in school!

  11. Thank you so much for taking the time to compile this list. While I am not currently homeschooling, I do tutor, and am constantly searching for more and better curriculum for my advanced students.

  12. It all depends on your school district and what the laws are in your state. These are simply different options that you have to use to do homeschooling. As far as what you mean by “accredited by the schools” I imagine what you mean is directly affiliated with the public schools and in this case, no these are all meant for homeschooling not distance public schooling. I hope that explanation helps.

  13. You would have to follow the links provided. There are several free curriculums offered here in full. You would need to chose which one you plan to use and then follow the download instructions on that website. This is simply a list of free second-grade curriculum for those who are looking for it, organized into one list. In this list, I have several complete curriculums listed, as well as free curriculum for particular subjects that would be a complete year worth of work.