This is my third year of teaching Abeka’s English curriculum and I’ll admit I’m biased. My mother used Abeka’s Handbook for Reading to teach me how to read and then used the rest of Abeka’s English curriculum with me all the way through 12th grade. I’m very familiar with the material and the layout, so keeping with a program that works is a no-brainer for me. We used their grammar, spelling and cursive writing books again this year and here are some pros and cons of each.
Grammar
Just like in kindergarten and first grade, one lesson in the second grade Abeka grammar book is one page, front and back. Considering the fact that we’re doubling up on concepts like parts of speech in French class, this is plenty of work for English grammar. Just as in their Arithmetic books (which I review HERE), Abeka uses a spiral approach to teach grammatical concepts. There is a lot of repetition and circling back to previous concepts. I also like that if you can stay on schedule in terms of staying in the same lesson for grammar and spelling, they work well together. For example, abbreviations are added to spelling lists shortly after the concept of abbreviating is introduced in the grammar book.
In addition to all of the repetition, I love that the layout is very kid-friendly. English grammar is one of the few things my daughter can do independently. Most days, she can get her book, read about the concept being introduced or reviewed, read the directions and do the exercises. Then, when I have a chance, I correct her work. Most textbooks aren’t that easy for young second graders to navigate independently.
There are only two things I don’t care for and that’s all of the colouring and the dictation. As a former classroom teacher, I get why there are so many colouring activities. It’s a great way to keep the quick students busy while the slower students are finishing up. But using this at home, it can be frustrating when my daughter wants to spend time drawing and colouring pictures when it’s not really teaching her anything. I spend a lot of time saying “You can come back and colour that when school is done” and of course, she never does.
The only other thing I don’t care for is that there is a dictation section at the bottom of pretty much every page. I don’t buy the teacher manual (because I can easily check her work without it), so these sections are essentially wasted space on every page. Unless I were to just choose random words based on the lesson, which I did for the first few days of school, but not anymore. We do dictation for spelling practice all of the time, so this seems really unnecessary. It would have been nice if they had used the space for more actual grammar exercises. But these are minor quibbles.
Spelling
Abeka’s spelling books are so fun and colourful that my daughter really enjoys starting new lists. The spelling lists seemed to start off really easy this year, but then midway through second semester she started having difficulty. So we just started spending some extra time going over the words together, breaking them up into syllables and highlighting similar sounds among the words in the list and she was back to acing her spelling tests. So overall I’m still very happy with the Abeka spelling books. That being said, we don’t use the poetry selections in the back. They aren’t bad, just not my favourite. When we decide to put the effort into memorising poetry, I prefer to choose among my favourites that my daughter enjoys as well. One of the many perks of homeschooling!
Cursive Writing
The cursive writing book for second grade is still a winner for me, mainly because Abeka hasn’t watered down the cursive alphabet. I’m not a fan of the new American cursive that is basically printed letters that are slanted and connected. (I’m thinking of you, capital Q). However, I don’t like that they dropped all of the guidelines on the paper by second semester. My daughter still needs practice with a midline to keep her tall and short letters differentiated. I’m not sure if she’s just slower at mastering cursive. But that wouldn’t surprise me because she’s still only 6. So I’m trying to take it easy on the amount of writing work I assign her tiny hands.
I have also skipped most of the creative writing pages in this book and have focused solely on copy work. I just don’t think creative writing is as important at this age and grade level. I’d rather she spend time copying a Bible verse or line of poetry than a silly story. We have plenty of time to focus on quality creative writing when she’s a bit older and the skill of writing is mastered.
What’s Missing?
I decided to skip Abeka’s literature program simply because my daughter is reading above her grade level and I’d rather her read well-written books by real authors, instead of books written by teachers and are overly moralising (which is how most of Abeka’s material is). Another benefit of getting most of her reading material from the library has been cost savings. However, it has taken a lot more time and effort on my part than I anticipated. Especially since it has proven difficult to find reading material that is appropriate for her age but also at a reading level that balances challenge without being too difficult. So those are some considerations if you’re thinking of doing something similar. I will definitely be planning literature differently for third grade.
And speaking of third grade, yes, I will be using Abeka for English grammar, spelling and cursive writing next year. It’s designed so well that my daughter can get out her English books and do her work almost completely independent of me. And the overall aesthetic is fun and age appropriate without looking cheap. So these are a win for us.
What curriculum do you use for English? And how are you doing literature? Do you like to follow a curriculum or choose the reading yourself?
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