Language Arts

I really have a love for the English language as an art so I am very selective when it comes to my children's language arts curriculum. I have looked into many programs and even tried a few. Most English lessons out there are based on repetition which quite honestly is boring even for a person who LOVES English. English can not be learned by rote. 

Last year we tried Rod and Staff English. It was thorough. You can't finish that book without knowing the structure of the English language inside in out. You can't finish that book without falling asleep or wanting to beat your head against a wall. You can't finish that book without HATING English. Actually you just can't finish that book. 

The problem with teaching English by rote is that it is necessary to understand the reasoning behind language structure because quite honestly the rules don't always apply. There are just too many rules anyway. I don't even know all the rules. How can I expect children to? The best way to learn a language is through immersion. We know that is true with the spoken language. It is true with the written language as well. 

I am a Charlotte Mason homeschooler. Charlotte's philosophy on homeschooling came from years of experience educating children in a classroom and at home. She came up with a system for teaching language arts to children without using rote instruction. 

• Literature- Exposure to great literary works rather than text books and "twaddle." Even preschool age children should be exposed to nursery rhymes, fairy tales, and fables not just beginning reader type of books. Many of the reasoning behind the structure of the English language can be gleaned from reading well-written pieces of literature. 
• Narration- The retelling of a story in the child's own words instead of filling out worksheets with fill-in-the-blank questions. Children can start giving oral narrations in preschool. Once they are able to write fairly well, they can start writing their narrations down. 
• Copywork- Copying well-written literature for handwriting practice also teaches grammar, spelling, structure and character. 
• Dictation- Writing down a phrase, sentence, paragraph, and eventually a full paper as it is read using proper spelling and grammar. 

This time last year I had already thrown out our Rod and Staff English book and pulled out my copy of Simply Grammar instead. It was so refreshing. It was so easy that I wondered if it could really be teaching them everything they needed to know. The only problem with Simply Grammar is that it is too short. It needs to be supplemented to even make it a full year much less through several years of education. Many Charlotte Mason homeschoolers use copywork alone as their daily grammar. Copywork is wonderful but I feel they need more instruction on writing; outlining, editing, creating a research paper, etc., if I want them to be successful in college. 

Then I found Queen Homeschool Supply's Language Lessons. These lessons are like an expanded form of Simply Grammar. They incorporate all of the key elements of Charlotte Mason language instruction and also teach the things that children need to know to be successful in college. Each book builds on itself. In fact they are not listed by grade level but rather by skill level. This way you know where to begin for each child. There are 180 lessons in each book, a full year's worth. We do one lesson per day. They are short and sweet. My kids LOVE them. I love them too. 

We are coming to the end of our school year. Soon the tax return will be coming in and I will be ready to order next year's curriculum. It is time to evaluate what has worked and what has not worked for us this year. Without a doubt we will be keeping our Language Lessons. In fact I think they are already in my cart waiting to be purchased. 

Robin Hood

• Skittles finished copying his poem in Language. Twizzler narrated a picture of owls. 
• Skittles is learning more about money and decimal points. Twizzler is learning about time. He had a hard time today and got an 82. We are going to have to review some of the things he struggled with tomorrow. 
• Twizzler's spelling words this week all have 'ai' in the middle like 'rain'. Skittles words all have a soft 'g' sound like in the word 'giant'.
• In history we read some more about Africa and both boys wrote a narration about the ancient peoples of the Sahara Desert and how it became a dessert. Twizzler looked up animals that live in the Sahara and chose to draw a picture of a sidewinder snake.  
• We read some more about Noah's ark in science. Then the boys drew pictures of the ark. 
• Skittles read half of chapter of Robin Hood. Just in case you have never read it before, here is an excerpt,

 

Then Robin took his good yew bow in his hand, and placing the tip at his instep, he strung it right deftly; then he nocked a broad clothyard arrow and, raising the bow, drew the gray goose feather to his ear; the next moment the bowstring rang and the arrow sped down the glade as a sparrowhawk skims in a northern wind. High leaped the noblest hart of all the herd, only to fall dead, reddening the green path with his heart's blood.

I was worried that it would be too difficult for him to understand this 16th century English. But I was pleasantly surprised when he narrated back to me today what he had read. He truly understood what he was reading. I told him to take his time while reading this book and to come ask me if he has any questions about the words. 

• Hershey helped me hang the Christmas lights. A job that involved removing some spiders and their webs. ((shudder)) 
• We all went for a walk to take out the trash. Hershey rode his tricycle. Then we played on the playground for awhile. It was very relaxing. 

Day at the Dentist

This morning we all went to the dentist for a cleaning. I am so proud that all 3 of my boys were so good for the dentist. We brought some school work with us to get through while we waited but we really did not spend too much time waiting. All 3 boys teeth looked perfect and healthy, no cavities. 

• In Language Lessons, Skittles copied the second stanza of a poem. Twizzler copied the months; April, May, June, and July. 
• In Math Twizzler learned about the seasons. It said, "In most states in America the weather changes with the seasons." LOL. Not this state. Skittles learned how to work more difficult multiplication problems. 
• Both boys got their writing done at the dentist office. The painting in Skittles book is so beautiful, I wish I could cut it out and frame it. 
• In history we read about Joseph preparing for the famine by storing grain. Then they added to their journal. 
• In spelling, Twizzler is learning how to spell words with 'th' in them. 
• In science the boys took turns reading about how Oakie became a tree. Then we looked up the varieties of deer in North America. We added Key deer to our list since they were not on the first site we found but we know they live in North America since they are native to Florida. 
• Reading was another subject that was easy to get done in the waiting room. Skittles is about half way through The Phantom Menace. He read chapter 7 and then narrated to me that they had to land on Tattooine.  Twizzler started another Star Wars book about pirates. It says it is a level 1 reader but the words are not easy words to read. For example; Spaceships, pirates, treasure, etc. So there are fewer words on the page but they are not CVC words. It is giving us lots of opportunities to break up big words and sound them out in parts. 
• Finally we worked on the next pages of their Awana books. Skittles read that we can trust God's word because we know that God tells the truth. 

Book Report CM Style

I have been having fun making worksheets. I decided to make some worksheets for my 8yo to use for his literature. Up until now, I have not asked him to do anything more than an oral narration for his literature. I think he is ready to show a little bit of what he is reading. I even included a page for him to draw a picture from the poem he read each week.