How to Effectively Teach the Art of Language

Jenny/ January 8, 2021/ Family Life, Homeschool Reviews

I don’t know about you but I don’t exactly have the fondest memories of my Language Arts classes. Oh, don’t get me wrong I absolutely LOVED reading but all the nonsense they tried to stuff in me just didn’t stick. To this day I still have problems with remembering the parts of speech and sentences. It doesn’t affect my writing however or my actual speaking ability. Why? I guess its because I learned the actual cadence for the art of language instead of simply completing worksheets for language arts. But I was one of the fortunate ones because I loved quality literature and unfortunately many people don’t. I wanted something different for my children though and when I stumbled upon IEW I fell smack dab in love with them and realized I could teach my children to love the Art of Language!

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What’s so different about IEW?

First off, IEW is NOT English worksheets where your child practices parts of speech over and over until they absolutely HATE English! Instead it takes a practical, hands on approach. I’m currently using IEW with my 10, 7 and 4 year old kids. One thing I notice that unites it all is the humor, chilled out attitude and real life application. Just a side note, Andrew Pudewa is absolutely hilarious and the MOST amazing teacher. I honestly cannot say enough good things about him and his teaching style. I personally recommend all his stuff to my friends and I personally use loads of it!

IEW is a multisensory program that utilizes video, audio, hands on writing and lots of good aloud reading. For example Jake is using SSS-A right now plus Fix-It Grammar and a Poetry unit. Gabe and Lilly are doing the Primary Arts of Language which has a reading and writing unit and also includes spelling!

What does Poetry have to do with the art of language?

Oh, my goodness, when I downloaded a preview of their Poetry unit I wasn’t expecting the response I would get. When I had included poetry previously none of my kids were overly excited (hehe) but this time they LOVED it! Of course it probably didn’t hurt that the first poem was about a worm. What boy wouldn’t love that??

I didn’t know it before but poetry teaches SO. MANY. THINGS! Not only that, it grows your child’s (and your) brain when they memorize it. My 7 year old son struggles to memorize things but the poems are really helping him! They’re also helping him to sequence things, rhyme and remember details from stories. These are all areas he has had such a difficult time with.

So, where are the worksheets?

Hmmm. I guess they forgot those in my packet! Yep, NO worksheets! Why? Because they’re NOT effective for helping children actually become good writers and communicators 🙂 I know, I know, that flies in the face of common practice but its true and I’m seeing it bear out its truth in my children. Instead they’ll have writing, oral and hands on activities to solidify what they’re learning. Score!!

A lifestyle of learning:

Yes, that is EXACTLY what I’m striving for with my kids. I want them to LOVE learning and if they do then they can teach themselves or learn anything they want to in life! I’m proof of this, because I’m still learning. Side note….that’s another reason I love this program SO much, because it comes with a ton of audio files for the parent and I gotta be honest, I learned more in 1 session than my entire high school years!

What’s important about the Art of Language?

In conclusion, maybe you’re wondering exactly why should you want your kids to love Language Arts? Well, honestly, they probably will NEVER be enthralled about verbs, nouns and adverbs, BUT if they can become excellent communicators and writers then their future will thank you! Why? Because, unfortunately its severely lacking in our world and we need more of it. Its like making a down-payment on a good future for them and helping ensure they are successful. What parent wouldn’t want to do that?

So, what are you doing to help your kids learn to love the Art of Language?