2nd Grade

7 years – 8 years old

(This program is for children older than 7 years old and younger than 8 years in June.)

Through our Second Grade Core Curriculum students will explore legends and fables from around the world, including stories of Native Americans. Students will also continue working with writing and cursive style, reading and mathematics and its four processes. The fixed, predictable qualities of people portrayed in fables contrast with the high level of selflessness and courage are revealed in stories of heros and important historical figures.

Writing & Reading

Students begin handwriting in second grade as they are introduced to the lower letters in the alphabet. Cursive writing stimulates the hand and eye coordination, which strengthens the brain development of the child. The student learns the cursive style for handwriting by copying sentences into their main lesson books. This approach helps the child to see the whole word rather than focus on the individual letters. The students begin to read printed materials as a class and in smaller reading groups depending on their level of comprehension and need for support.

Mathematics

We expand upon the processes of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division from first grade. The children enjoy daily mental arithmetic, presented through a “number imagination,” which moves from pictorial images to the realm of pure number. We introduce square numbers, odd and even numbers, and place value to one million. The students work vigorously on multiplication with objects, rhythmic stepping, and clapping games to strengthen the knowledge of times tables (1-12).

Speech

The words of the sentences are used for spelling exercises to develop associations from hand to memory in repetition activity of writing. Dictations are also given to stimulate the auditory processing for spelling work. We introduce grammar through the parts of speech – the doing, naming, and describing words. Phonetics compliment the writing and reading with word families, consonant blends, and vowel sounds. This systematic approach creates a foundation for the student to create their own sentences.

Form Drawing

The running, straight and curved line forms become the foundations for cursive writing. The class works with exercises involving left/right symmetry.

Drawing

The class works with familiar themes such as houses, people and trees, but with an emphasis on drawing animals. The students begin to creatively add their own elements to their compositions.

Painting

The class continues to work mainly with primary colors, experiencing the living quality of each color and the colors’ relationships to one another. We also introduce a color study of the complementary colors to enrich each child’s art appreciation.

Summer Camp

Sign up for summer fun at Hummingbirds’ Collaborative School as we celebrate our sunny days with outdoor water play, hikes in nature, craft-making, and cooking together. We offer movement games and songs, daily storytelling and puppet shows, and picnic lunches in the shade of our leafy trees.