Student Checklist for 2nd Grade

My goal was to create a little planner for Camille to help her own her work and to set up her to transition to independent work by 4th grade as much as possible. My brain turned to mush as I tried to figure out a way to set up a checklist for her, was it to be detailed? an overview? only focus on independent work?

I enlisted other homeschoolers advice and many of them shared their children's planners generously. Unfortunately, it left me confused. I printed their samples, look at them, wrote a list of what I think I'd like to put on it and printed that. Then Marcia Somerville's words echoed in my head, "grammar years should be spent on character education". Then my brain started working again, firing those neurons. I opened my coveted teacher book and looked at our selections for character education this year. Edgar Guest's True Nobility caught my eye and I remember why I chose this poem to focus on this year.

True Nobility
by Edgar Guest

Who does his task from day to day
And meets whatever comes his way,
Believing God has willed it so.
Has found real greatness here below.

Who guards his post, no matter where,
Believing god must need him there,
Although but lowly toil it be,
Has risen to nobility.

For great and low there's but one test:
`Tis that each man shall do his best.
Who works with all the strength he can
Shall never die in debt to man.

I looked up what nobility meant in the dictionary and of the definitions for noble is "having or showing high moral character, courage, generosity or self-sacrifice", and another definition is "worthy of admiration". I want to instill these qualities in my children and so I decided that "Rise to Nobility" would be our theme for 2nd grade. I put these words up on our wall with die-cut letters and right away Camille asked, "Mom, what is nobility?" And Mom says silently, gotcha!

Here's Camille's 2nd grade daily nobility record, it is to be used in a multiude of ways- for praise, for setting character goals, for establishing routine and responsibility. Click on the picture to see the full screen version.