Secular CM: Language Arts

General Language Arts Resources:

• First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind by Jessie Wise

Phonics Resources:

• Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, by Siegfried Engelmann, Phyllis Haddox, and Elaine Bruner (highly recommended and used by many CM’rs.

Reading Resources:

• Deconstructing Penguins: Parents, Kids, and the Bond of Reading by Lawrence Goldstone and Nancy Goldstone
• Using Beloved Classics to Deepen Reading Comprehension (Scholastic Teaching Strategies) by Monica Edinger

Spelling Resources:

(Please note that many CM’rs do not recommend starting a spelling curriculum until after the child is at a 4th or 5th grade reading level…And many don’t opt to use a program at all, but instead trust that spelling will come with reading and copywork.)

• AVKO Educational Research Foundation–offers, among other things, a sequential spelling program which is recommended by some CM’rs.
• Natural Speller, by Kathryn L. Stout

And here’s a great idea I found in the archives of the Secular CM egroup that I had to share:

Using dictation to help reinforce spelling… Find a 3 or 4 sentence block (poem, quote from reading, etc…) The child (for example) copies it in print on Monday and in cursive on Wednesday, studying the words throughout the week. On Friday, she writes it from dictation. The parent then writes out any words she missed properly (on a different page) so she can study them some more and rewrite the dictation once every day until she gets all the words or it has been five days. Then move on to the next.

Grammar Resources:

• Growing with Grammar
• “Eats, Shoots, and Leaves” for kids by Lynne Truss
• Ruth Heller books (World of Language series)
• Schoolhouse Rock DVDs (grammar rock)
• Simply Grammar: An Illustrated Primer by Karen Andreola–Charlotte Mason style program
• Emma Serl grammar books (Primary Language Lessons & Intermediate Language Lessons)–Charlotte Mason style program
• A Mink, a Fink, a Skating Rink: What Is a Noun? (Words Are Categorical) by Brian P. Cleary and Jenya Prosmitsky…there are more books to this series, do a search for “words are categorical” on amazon.
• Miss Myrtle Frag, the Grammar Nag by Lawanda Bailey and Brian Strassburg

Writing Resources:

• Write With the Best–homeschool writing curriculum, using great works of literature
• Bravewriter

Handwriting/Copywork Resources:

• Handwriting Without Tears
• StartWrite Handwriting Software

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