Language Arts Resources For Elementary School

I think I could homeschool a hundred years and still not come up with a perfect list of language arts resources. But that won't stop me from telling you what I am currently using with my grade schoolers, for what that's worth! Here are my recommendations, separated into the ten components that I listed before.

Listening:  I've already proclaimed my dedication for reading out loud to kids. Here's the magic formula: pick a good book, and read it out loud to your kids. Wash, rinse, and repeat. I use the Sonlight and Veritas Press websites as my guide, but any ol' "book about good books" will do. 

Reading:  When I read out loud to my kids, I prefer to read a step or two above their current reading level. But when I pick out books for them to read on their own, I aim right at their reading level or even a little bit lower. I'm a big believer in a child experiencing great pleasure while reading, and using the early years to let them feel "happy" with each book they encounter. Once my kids have learned to read well on their own, they've always bumped themselves up to the next level of book without my interference. As for resources, I use the same things I listed above.

Handwriting:  I have used Handwriting Without Tears for both learning to print and learning to write cursive--both with happy results. And just so you're not mislead, there have still been tears. That, I'm finding, is just the nature of handwriting. In the off years where my kids just need practice, I've used A Reason for Handwriting, with my eye on the Evan-Moor books too.

Spelling:  I've used only Sequential Spelling, which I start in first grade. What this curriculum gives you is a huge list of related words on each page. I can tell you this works well with kids who are naturally good spellers--I've yet to try it with my spelling-challenged child. One online resource I hear good things about is Spelling City, which works alongside any spelling curriculum.

Memory work:  I started having my kids memorize verses when they were young. As the years have gone by, though, I've added other things to our memory work: facts from history and science, grammar rules, multiples in math, Latin roots, and anything else that is pertinent to what we're learning in school. I know many who attend Classical Conversations groups for this very purpose.

Copywork:  Each year, I pick out verses, poems, and quotes that I want the kids to memorize, and each week I have them copy an age-appropriate amount of this text. It's a cheap way to double-up on subjects. The Writing With Ease books also contain weekly copywork assignments. 

Dictation:  Like copywork, you can pick some text from one subject, read it out loud, and have your child write what you say. Unfortunately, I never thought to do this until the kids were older, so I use Writing With Ease to remind me to include this each week. 

Narration:  This is where the Writing With Ease books shine. Each lesson includes an except of a quality story, followed by about ten comprehension questions. The kids are taught to answer in complete sentences, and once those questions are done, the kids are asked to summarize the story in about three sentences. It's really, really good practice for skills they'll use their whole lives. 

Grammar:  A wise old owl once told me to start grammar in third grade. Honestly, there's enough going on in the earlier years with learning just the basics of reading and writing. Oh sure, I probably doled out little grammar bits here and there, but nothing substantial. I use the Daily Grams and Easy Grammar workbooks, which I've found to be quick and easy for my kids to do on their own. They're also effective--there is that. For learning parts of speech, I pull out our Mad Libs books. How else would we learn that "fart" can be both a noun and a verb?

Creative thought:  I've not done much in this area. I know. Help. One year I googled "sentence starters for kids" and used a few of those. Here and there I've used Writing Strands with positive results. That's all I've got.

I'd love to hear what's worked for you! My list is by no means fabulous or complete.

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