Virtual Curriculum Fair 2016: Playing with Words–Language Arts and Foreign Language

I have 4 kids, but only 2 are ‘school age’.  My oldest 2 are ages 6 and 9 (or 1st and 4th grade).  I wanted to take this opportunity to share what we use for Language Arts and Foreign Language studies in our homeschool.

LANGUAGE ARTS

4th Grade

It was quite the struggle to find a program that worked well for my oldest son, who HATES to write.  We were very lucky to review a few products that really clicked with him, and we are still using them!

Institute for Excellence in Writing, is my number one recommended curriculum for resistant writers! 

You can read our review of their Writing, Grammar and Spelling programs, all of which we love and continue to use!

Institute for Excellence in Writing - Fix It!  Grammar
IEW - Deluxe Combo Level A
IEW - Phonetic Zoo Level A

I can’t say that these programs have gotten him to LOVE writing (I wish I could), but they have certainly made it a lot less painful (for both of us!).  The spelling program still frustrates him sometimes (he hates to get them wrong), but he is retaining the words, which is GREAT, because previous spelling programs were not sticking.  The Grammar he never complains about, he really enjoys the story that he is writing as he goes along each day (and I often catch him reading ahead!). 

1st Grade

For my first grader, we actually do not spend a lot of time on Language Arts.  He uses ABC Mouse and that touches base on it. 

Some other fun programs that both my kids enjoy for Language Arts are

Grammaropolis and IXL.com

LITERATURE

Literature generally goes along with our science or history studies.  I also allow a lot of free choice reading.  Currently my oldest is participating in The Battle of the Books program, so he has been reading a lot of books for that.  Z is still learning to read.  He uses Reading Eggs and Reading Kingdom (a program we reviewed).  He also really enjoys these Star Wars Phonics Set.

OTHER PROGRAMS WE’VE USED

We have reviewed A LOT of Language Arts programs, it’s impossible to use them all, and though something might not have been the perfect fit for us, these are still high quality programs.  You can find them under REVIEWS

Foreign Language

4th Grade

My oldest son takes Mandarin Chinese using Rosetta Stone.

We have reviewed a few other Chinese programs, but Rosetta seems to work best for us thus far.  There are not a lot of choices when it comes to Mandarin Chinese language learning.

I started making worksheets to go along with the programs, but got so far behind!  You can see what I have made and get them free:

Lesson 1

Lesson 2

We have not started language learning for my 1st grader yet.  We started Rosetta with C when he was 3rd grade, and I think we will do the same with Z.

LOOKING AHEAD

Our plans for next year

I plan to continue with IEW for 5th grade for C.  We will use Ancient History Based Writing Lessons to go with our history studies, but continue with Phonetic Zoo and Fix It Grammar.  We will also continue with Rosetta Stone.

For 2nd grade, I’m considering The Primary Arts of Language from IEW for both Writing and Reading, but I didn’t push writing a lot with C until 3rd grade, so I’m thinking I’ll take the same approach with Z, but follow his lead, of course.  We may also start All About Spelling with him (which is also part of the Reading program from IEW). 

I’ll also have a Kindergartener next year.  He will be using ABC Mouse as well (he does now for PreK) and IF I get IEW Primary Arts of Language, I may try it out on him too (I think he will like the farm theme, he LOVES animals).  I take a very lax approach to Kindergarten though, so I don’t have a lot of BIG plans.  (This is a HUGE difference from when my oldest started Kindergarten!).  We take much more of an unschooling approach in the younger years.

Linking up at the Virtual Curriculum Fair 2016

This year the Virtual Curriculum Fair is hosted by Laura @ Day by Day in Our World, Chareen @ Every Bed of Roses and Kristen @ Sunrise to Sunset.

Language Arts: Words Make the World Go Round by  Laura @ Day by Day in Our World
The Language Arts in Our Homeschool and Everything Relating to it   by Joelle @ Homeschooling for His Glory
Teaching Elementary Latin by Yvie @ Gypsy Road
How to Learn ASL & Spanish in 20 Minutes a Day by Rochelle @ RochelleBarlow Classical Word Study by Lisa @ GoldenGrasses
Language Arts Means and Methods by Laura @ Four Little Penguins
Sprechen Sie.... by Jennifer King @ A Peace of Mind
The Art of Eloquence  by Jennifer King @ A Peace of Mind
Love Languages by Jennifer King @ A Peace of Mind
3 Reasons You Don't Have To Be Afraid To Grade That Essay - And It's Free @ LJSkool
High School Language Arts by Kym @ Homeschool Coffee Break
Words, Words, and More Words by Chareen @ Every Bed of Roses
Finishing Strong - Starting Gently by Kristen @ Sunrise to Sunset

Review–Tell Me More Chinese (& Giveaway)

I am always on the look out for Chinese Language Programs for my kids and I stumbled upon this company.  I asked around about Tell Me More and heard good things…so I decided to try for myself.
The Tell Me More programs are geared towards older children (about age 11) through adults.  The programs deal with grammar/verb conjugation and writing, which could prove above the learning level of younger kids.
The disc based program must be operated on a Windows OS, it comes with the program discs, an instruction manual and a microphone headset. 
The headset may need an adapter for newer computers (my newer laptop only has one plug in for the microphone/headphones and you need one with two plugs, but adapters are available for a decent price).  You NEED the headset/microphone to use this program.  I tried it without it, but because it has speech recognition, it would pick up every little back ground noise.  So the headset is a MUST.
After I got the headset situation working (I just used my older laptop).  I still had some difficulty with the voice recognition….so I decided to look around the software a bit more and discovered you can adjust the sensitivity of the software which helped out GREATLY!  At first it only recognized a few words I repeated which was VERY FRUSTRATING.  After adjusting it, I was on a roll!
My husband (who is a linguist by profession) was impressed that the software used sound graphics (not sure what the technical term is) that showed you your voice tones when you speak in comparison to how they should be (what they are when the computer speaks).  This is very important, in Chinese especially because it is a language of tones, having the wrong tone can change the meaning of the word.
When it comes to a program like this, you must remember, you get out of it what you put into it!  I have not been very disciplined about using it on a normal basis, obviously if I want to really learn the language I need to be more disciplined. 
As far as language learning programs go, I really like how this program has the voice recognition.  Your typical DVD’s or CD programs are nice, but you don’t ever really know if you are pronouncing back correctly what you have heard.  That is a major selling point for me.
This program is also reasonably priced, with other similar programs going for over $400, this one is a bargain at a fraction of the cost!
I previously studied Arabic, and really feel that I could have benefited from a program such as this while learning the language. 
I recommend this program to anyone that is willing to put in the time and effort it takes to learn a language!
Tell Me More has graciously offered another program to one lucky reader!  Winner gets to pick the language of their choice (from the many languages TELL ME MORE has to offer).

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