Language arts is critically important to our children’s academic and life success. Fortunately, that doesn’t mean teaching these skills has to take hours, be difficult, or even worse, be boring.
In my search for curriculum to teach my children to read and analyze good literature, build a strong vocabulary, spell accurately, use grammar properly, develop legible handwriting, write creatively, write to inform, and speak well, I found myself alternately delighted and depressed. Some things worked brilliantly–others, not so much.
After 17 years of teaching language arts to my own six children and eleven of my friends’ children, I’ve learned there’s a better way.
Language Arts Teaching Can Be Fast
My initial attempt at potty training my oldest son took a very. long. time. Once he was ready, it took no time at all. I didn’t have to remind him or clean up accidents at night. He had it.
Teaching grammar, in particular, can be like potty training. You can teach the abstract concepts year after year before a child’s reasoning has developed, or you can wait until teaching grammar takes no time at all. You can take your high school student through a course like English Grammar 101 and be done with that aspect of language arts in no time. Meanwhile, you can skip the dry grammar workbooks that could squelch your child’s desire to ever learn it.
My fourth son was potty trained very fast because he happened to think potty training was fun. Formal teaching doesn’t have to — and probably shouldn’t — take a lot of time. This list of children’s reading behaviors by grade levels makes it clear that elementary students cannot sustain attention for long periods. Kindergarteners’ attention span is just 10-15 minutes!
The best way to use those minutes of limited attention in younger students is to read. Students who read (or are read to) frequently will develop better vocabularies, spelling skills, and writing skills than students who don’t — even without workbooks.
Language Arts Teaching Can Be Easy
I hear from many homeschooling moms who aren’t confident in their ability to teach language arts. Some of these moms choose a curriculum that looks difficult so they feel confident their child will learn more than they did. Harder must be better, right? Wrong!
Many reluctant readers avoid reading because the books they’re given are just too hard for them. The way to motivate them is to give them books they can be successful reading. As homeschooling moms, we want to choose curriculum that makes language arts concepts simple for us to understand, too.
Language arts teaching can be easy for parents by focusing on reading. Ask your child questions about what was read. Look up new words together. Spell words in the car. Write things incorrectly and see if your child can guess what’s wrong. And did I mention the importance of reading? 🙂
Make language arts easy for your child by giving as much assistance as is needed. Read the directions for him. Allow your child to dictate spelling words or entire stories. Put off work that is too difficult in favor of learning what makes her feel successful.
Language Arts Teaching Can Be Fun
The best way to make language arts teaching fast and easy is to make it fun. Kids learn faster when they’re having a good time and it’s much easier to teach a happy child than a crabby one. This also works in reverse. Short, easy lessons are a lot more fun for kids than long, overly difficult ones. I’ve shared how to make grammar fun, but vocabulary, spelling, and writing can be fun, too.
I did my master’s research on humor and learned that surprise is a key component of what makes us laugh. Read books with a surprising and funny twist. (Kids prefer funny fiction, so give it to them!) Surprise the kids by playing games instead of doing seatwork. Let them surprise you with their funny writing.
Let your child lead you in making language arts enjoyable. Incorporate your child’s personality and preferences into your teaching. Does your child love to play video games? Have him read game hacks online. Does your student love movies? Read the book first and have a movie party to celebrate finishing it. Do you have competitive kids? Turn every aspect of language arts into a challenge.
Grammar Galaxy is Fast, Easy & Fun Language Arts for Beginning Readers
I wanted a curriculum that was all of these things and hadn’t found it, so I created one.
Grammar Galaxy is Fast.
Whether you’re homeschooling multiple children or your child attends a traditional school, you don’t have a lot of extra time. That’s why Grammar Galaxy is designed to take just ten minutes of teacher/parent time a day. Your beginning reader can use the extra time to read and write for the fun of it!
Grammar Galaxy is Easy.
If reading and writing aren’t your strengths, you’ll love Grammar Galaxy. Concepts are presented in an easy-to-understand story format. And there’s no prep work! Just read with your child and do the short activities that reinforce the learning.
Grammar Galaxy is Fun.
The evil Gremlin tries to destroy Grammar Galaxy and the guardians have to save it by completing missions. Grammar Galaxy includes humor and mystery, but it doesn’t include dry exercises. Young writers are asked to do very little handwriting. Instead, they enjoy learning by doing.
You can click the “Learn More” button to download a sample and check out reviews or “Shop” to take advantage of introductory pricing that ends after April 17th.
I explain the story behind Grammar Galaxy and how to use it in the video.
Groans. That’s how grammar lessons taught in the traditional way are usually greeted. And we can’t blame our kids for dreading grammar. It can be dry and tedious.
Skipping it isn’t a good option, however. Grammar is important because it comprises a significant part of college entrance exams. It also determines how our kids will be viewed by peers and potential employers.
Fortunately, there’s another way. Grammar can be fun! When it is, it helps make grammar lessons stick. Here are six easy steps for engaging grammar teaching.
My favorite way is to search for grammar fails online. Of course, you’ll want to review your finds before sharing them with your kids.
Be on the lookout for other humorous grammar examples. I just read from an instruction manual that was obviously not written by a native English speaker. It read: “Dont’s use the power button.”
#2 Make it Relevant
A research study found that depressed patients, who normally didn’t find anything funny, enjoyed psychiatric humor. Our kids will not only laugh at jokes they can relate to, but will enjoy grammar lessons that are about them. Instead of working with textbook sentences, have your students make up their own. They’re likely to be funny and a lot more enjoyable to analyze or edit.
#3 Make it Active
Grammar lessons don’t have to be limited to pencil and paper. They can involve movement and should, especially if you’re teaching younger boys. Grammar can be more fun if kids can move around while giving their answers orally.
Give your students motions to use for punctuation, for example. Have them jump up and down when you read a sentence that should end in an exclamation point. Or send them on an adjective scavenger hunt.
#4 Make it Social
Grammar can be a lot more fun to learn with other students or family members. You can have your child play one of the many free grammar games I’ve listed with you or a sibling. Or you can let them entertain one other by making grammar humorous and relevant. My kids and their friends had fun with dry sentences by reading them with funny accents.
#5 Make it Short
Anything stops being fun when it goes on too long. Long lessons also make it less likely that your child will remember what’s being taught. Even though grammar is important, it isn’t as important as reading for pleasure.
#6 Make it Suspenseful
Even though I liked English when I was in school, I didn’t look forward to learning new concepts.
Suspense is what makes us eagerly await the next chapter of a book or the next episode of a favorite show. We can build the fun of anticipation into our grammar teaching by having students edit a continuing story line by line or by teaching grammar within the context of a continuing story.
Grammar Galaxy: The Easiest Way to Make Grammar Fun for Beginning Readers
Speaking of suspense, I’ve been working on a complete language arts curriculum for two years. I’ve been telling my readers and podcast listeners about it all this time and I can finally announce that the first two levels are done!
Grammar Galaxy teaches grammar in a humorous, relevant, active, social, short, and suspenseful way. It uses the same approach for teaching literature concepts, vocabulary, spelling, composition, and even public speaking to students who have just started to read. Grammar Galaxy is most appropriate for advanced first graders, second graders, and older beginning or reluctant readers through the sixth grade. It’s perfect for teaching siblings, as Gena Mayo of IChooseJoy.org shares in her thorough review.
When my friend, who has two dyslexic sons I have been teaching literature and writing to for years, saw the cover of Grammar Galaxy, she said,
“This just looks like fun!”
That was my goal. Teachers read a short, humorous story about the royal English family living in Grammar Galaxy to their students. The English family has an enemy called the Gremlin, who tries to destroy the English language. In one story, the Gremlin labels all the fiction books in the library system as nonfiction, bringing them to life. The king appoints his three children Guardians of Grammar Galaxy, but there is more work than they can do alone. They recruit other students in the galaxy to complete missions to make things right and let them know if they solved the crisis.
Students spend just 10-15 minutes three days a week completing fun, active missions in their Mission Manuals that require little handwriting. They spend the rest of their language arts time reading, being read to, or listening to audiobooks.
To learn more, click here or on the rocket below. See you in Grammar Galaxy!
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Here are some more games to make math fun, including board games, printable games, and DIY games.
Multiplication Practice Paperfolding by Kids Activities Blog – By simply folding some paper into cootie catchers, you can actually create an informative math game for students focusing on anything from addition to fractions.
Math Wall Stickers (Reusable!) – Play with math on the walls! This set of reuseable wall decals are a great way to turn math into an interactive experience. Play Simon Says with math on the wall! “Simon says show one half.” Love it!!
3D Lego Multiplication Graph via Frugal Fun for Boys – We love Lego, but did you know because of their shape they are great tools for multiplication? This graph will help kids visualize multiplication in three dimensions.
Numbers & Counting Quiet Cubes Game– This game designed for ages 4-7 uses dice rolls to help teach ABCs, counting and basic addition. The best part is the foam dice are designed to be super duper quiet for a truly peaceful learning experience!
Math Explosion Volcano Game – With this fascinating game, players are able to customize math facts with a math fact creator so that players of all ages can play for many years to come. Be the first player to explode the volcano by getting your math facts correct!
Connect Four Bingo Game – Everyone loves Bingo, and when you can take a game that’s already fun and turn it into something educational everyone wins. Children will be paying close attention so they can be the first to exclaim BINGO!
Aliens on Vacation multiplication game by Deceptively Educational – This printable board game requires a little setup, but it provides children with a chance to put their math skills to the test to get their alien home from vacation.
Factors and Multiples Games – Play Monster Mash! A game that helps students understand greatest common factors and lowest common multiples.
Crazy Daisy Multiplication via Deceptively Educational- Looking for something a little more cute? The Crazy Daisy Multiplication printable math game will help kids visualize solutions as they color in a crazy daisy.
Whack It! Place Value Math Game – It’s no secret that kids love any game where they can get a little bit physical and give things a good whack, so why not teach math at the same time? This game helps with place values, but can be adjusted for other lessons.
It was a shock for this guy who never takes a sick day. He never had any symptoms. He didn’t feel ill.
Soon all of our to-do lists were relegated to the garbage can. Instead of our usual work and social activities, our schedules were crammed with doctor visits, tests, and treatments. Our over-packed lives had to make room for more important things. I personally needed to weed out the frivolous to find time for what was necessary—being available for my husband.
Thankfully, after six-months of chemotherapy, I can say my husband is doing fine. The treatments worked and he is now in remission.
But that experience demonstrated that I needed to be more purposeful with my time. Before the crisis I would read Ephesians 5:15-16—
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.
—and interpret “making the best use of the time” as packing as much as possible into each hour. I filled my calendar like I was stuffing clothes for a three-week vacation into a carry-on bag. My to-do list was as long as a grocery list for hosting a party for one hundred of my closest friends.
But my husband’s health crisis forced me to see that I needed a shorter to-do list and a longer “not-to-do” list. God showed me that making the most of my time didn’t necessarily mean stuffing more into my day, but eliminating distracting activities to focus on what is truly important.
So I resigned from a leadership position, gracefully left a club, and said no to a weekly study group. I concentrated on the work I needed to do and to helping my husband recover.
Now that my husband is in remission, I am trying not to go back to my usual mode of operation. I am trying to live my life focusing on the essential instead of dividing my attention between a million distracting activities.
I encourage you to do the same. Life is short and we want to use it well. There are many good things that we can do with our time, but we want to choose the best.
To do this I suggest making a list of all the things you do. Write down everything on your schedule.
Then discern what is best by asking yourself two questions:
Do I need this activity? Discover what is essential and what can be crossed off the schedule. Consider: Is it something I have to do? (Yes, you need to feed the kids.) Is it something God is asking me to do? (Or have I taken a job that was meant for someone else?)
Why am I doing this? Discovering your motives may make it easier to find what is non-essential in your schedule. Reflect: Am I doing this to keep up with my friends? Is this pursuit simply an ego boost?
After you have examined each activity, compile a NOT-To-Do List—an inventory of the things that you now see are unnecessary or the endeavors God is asking you not to pursue right now. By eliminating the items on your NOT-To-Do List you will achieve a greater probability of successfully completing the items on your TO-do list.
Find focus. Find peace. Ask God to help you make the most of your time by deleting the trivial and keeping the essential.
Sharla Fritz is a Christian speaker and author of four books including Soul Spa: 40 Days of Spiritual Renewal. If you would like to find out more about living a life of focus instead of distraction, download a free lesson on “The One Thing You Need to Do for a More Focused Life” here.
You can’t stop thinking about it–that fear that keeps you up at night, keeps you vigilant, keeps you looking for safeguards. It could be a health scare, fear for your kids, or a phobia. Whatever your fear, you are preoccupied with the terrible consequences you foresee. How would your kids cope without you? What if something happens to your child? What if you’re in a packed public place and you can’t get out?
None of the reassurances you get from statistics, family, or even doctors provide any comfort. The fear doesn’t lose its grip on you. Want to watch this in video form instead? Scroll down!
As a trained Christian psychologist, I know how to treat anxiety. Pharmacotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and biblical counseling can be very effective in treating anxiety. Yet, there is evidence that anxiety is on the rise. I’ve noted a significant increase in the number of people I know who suffer with anxiety. Despite being very familiar with anxiety, I suffered with it myself.
The Truth That Can Set Us Free From Fear
If you suffer from chronic fear, I urge you to seek help from a Christian counselor experienced in treating anxiety disorders or a cognitive-behavioral therapist. In the meantime, consider this truth:
Before I explain, I’d like to direct you to 1 Samuel. David had been promised by God (with much confirmation) that he would be the next king of Israel.
So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of theLord came powerfully upon David. 1 Samuel 16:13
We, too, have the promises of God: eternity with Him; He will never leave or forsake us; nothing can take us out of His hand; all our needs will be met; we will be comforted in our trials; all things will work together for our good, and many more. Like David, we have had the promises of God confirmed many times. Can you recall a time of God’s provision, presence, or peace in fearful times in the past? I definitely can.
Yet, despite God’s confirmed promise to David, David feared that Saul would kill him. He wouldn’t be king after all. Now there aren’t many things more terrifying than being chased after by a murderous madman, so I sympathize with David. But the consequence of David’s fear was eminently more devastating than even his own death.
David fled to Ahimelek the priest and lied to him about why he was in Nob because he feared Saul. The end result of David’s fear was the murder of 85 priests and the entire town of Nob, including children and infants. What’s more devastating than losing your life? Being responsible for the murder of an entire town full of people. Can you imagine the guilt he must have felt?
You’d think that David would have learned his lesson and would have trusted God to protect him, but no. His next fear-induced decision was to go to live amongst the Philistines. There, he consoled himself, he would be safe from Saul. But the devastating consequence was that his wives and his men’s wives and possessions were taken. His men were so upset with David about this turn of events that they nearly stoned him to death. Would it have been more devastating to be responsible for losing your family, your men’s family, and to be killed by your own men than by Saul? I think so! If you don’t know how the story ends, read 1 Samuel.
Are the Consequences of Fear Really More Devastating Than What We’re Afraid Of?
“Okay, Melanie,” you may be thinking. “That was David in Bible times. What I’m afraid of is much worse than the consequences of my fear.”
Don’t be so sure. Allow me to use fears you may be able to relate to for the purposes of discussion.
Are you afraid for your own health?
I was. I had symptoms of multiple sclerosis, a disease my mother has. I was so terrified I wouldn’t see a doctor. I didn’t want to hear the diagnosis. I began a diet and supplement regimen I hoped would cure me. It left me twenty pounds underweight, had me experiencing nearly every physical symptom you can imagine, and had my family and friends fearful for my life and sanity. What my fear did to me was much worse than multiple sclerosis could ever do. When I finally decided to trust God (and that was a process that required much prayer and meditation on Scripture), my physical symptoms disappeared. The book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie is full of accounts of people whose terminal illnesses disappeared when the fear did.
Are you afraid of losing someone you love?
Surely the consequences of your fear aren’t worse than having your loved one die? Not so fast. People who are afraid of losing a loved one typically make their loved ones so miserable with their constant worrying and unnecessary rules that their loved one no longer wants to be with them. Isn’t it more devastating to have your child or your spouse leave you by choice than by God’s sovereignty? I have had the opportunity to know godly people who have experienced the loss of a child. Their testimony is that God has given them grace to endure the loss. You will literally have Jesus’ ability to cope if you need it.
Are you afraid of flying or crowds or failing?
If you have a fear like these, do you think the consequences of your fear are more benign? Wrong! Do you remember the parable of the talents? Servants were given bags of gold: one was given one, one was given two, and one was given five. Why did the servant who made no return on his money bury it? Because he was afraid. What was the consequence? He was called wicked and lazy and his money was taken from him. He was thrown into the darkness where there was weeping and gnashing of teeth.
I’m not suggesting our fears will send us to hell. Rather, this account suggests that the consequences of our fear includes separation from God. Ultimately, my own fear was like the wicked servant’s. I was afraid of God because I didn’t see Him as the good, loving God that He is. I didn’t believe His promises any more than David did when he was running from Saul.
The second devastating consequence of these kinds of fears is missed opportunities. We don’t know that the servant who buried his money saw the money the other servants earned or not. But won’t we realize our lost opportunities either at the end of our lives or when we give an accounting to God?
What would God have done in you and through you if you’d gotten on that flight? What if that crowded Christian concert you were too afraid to attend would have renewed your faith and confirmed that mission God has for you? What if you had written that book, gone into business, or started a ministry and you had changed people’s lives? Regret, my friend, is more devastating than anything you fear.
What will you do now?
Fear is appropriate when our proposed actions are foolish or disobedient, but fear isn’t appropriate when God has clearly called us to act, trusting in Him.
If you suffer with chronic anxiety, recognize that it is the most treatable mental illness. Make an appointment, and ask your loved ones to pray for you and to go with you for support. I’m praying for you!
I’m a Christian psychologist turned homeschooling mother of six. My life can be a little crazy, so I look for sanity-saving ideas to use and share. I hope you’ll read my About page to learn more.
