First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind, Levels 1 & 2

Parents can assure their child's success in language arts with this simple-to-use, scripted guide. First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind uses picture study and other classical techniques to develop the child's language study in those first two all-important years of school. Each lesson leads the parent, step-by-step, through the simple oral and written projects that build reading, writing, spelling, storytelling, and comprehension skills. Use this book to supplement school learning, or as the center of a home-school language arts course. 422 pages, indexed; softcover.

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Reviewed by Rebecca (College Station, TX), August 21, 2009

Excellent teaching resource. Short, easy to follow lessons. Well-rounded and engaging for the student. Flexible enough to mold to any schedule.

Reviewed by Kelly Mine (Woodbridge, VA), November 07, 2008

Perfect! This is exactly what we needed. There is just enough, but not too much handwriting, there is no "busy work" and the lessons build on each other. I was previously using a program that had a lot of disjointed busy-work. This curriculum introduces a solid foundation of grammar, incorporates systematic review, fun enrichment activities, memorization of poetry (a lost art, in my opinion), and just enough writing to reinforce it all. I can see that if we stick with this curriculum, my son will have an excellent working knowledge of the English language.

Reviewed by Lori Phillis (Shelbyville ,TN), October 14, 2008

I love this book! It is straight-forward and well organized. My son really enjoyed it.

Reviewed by Kathy (Southeast Wisconsin), May 03, 2008

When selecting a language arts curriculum for our child I ordered a copy of "First Language Lessons." After examining the curriculum I returned my copy for a refund. Jessie Wise has taken Emma Serl's books "Primary Language Lessons and Intermediate Language Lessons" given them a few twists to create her own book of language lessons. The book consists of mindless twaddle. Wise does not use true "narration" which is having a child repeat back to you in their own words what they have learned. Instead your child "parrots" back to you what they have learned. The lessons are monotonous and have been "dumbed down" from Serl's original text. The poems and stories have been altered to make them "politically correct." Serl's text is a breath of fresh air, engaging the child in language arts with classical literature and poetry. I was quite disappointed with this curriculum as I had expected a higher standard from Jessie Wise. The two language arts curriculums I recommend to parents are Learning Language Arts Through Literature and Emma Serl's "Primary and Intermediate Language Lessons." Both of these curriculums will serve a student well, giving them a firm foundation in language arts.

Reviewed by Lisa Jones (Gainesville, VA), October 02, 2007

I cannot sing enough praises about this book. It has exceeded my very high expectation and I would feel very comfortable recommending it to anyone who wants a easy to use, but comprehensive resource for teaching a young child mastery of early language skills.

Reviewed by Debi Hackworth (Bedford, VA), September 14, 2007

I love this grammar book, because it is simple and straight forward, I bought the CD just so my children could hear the poems and stories more. The best part is the lessons take no more than 10 minutes ! It isn't over kill.

Reviewed by Donna-Lynn Gadsden (Somerville, NJ), August 19, 2003

We bought this almost a year ago, when my son and daughter were 1st & 3rd grade level. We still use it to review parts of language. I enjoyed the way it laid out each day, what to work on, memorize, etc...but it was flexible enough to use in ways that worked for us. Some of the poems were great fun to memorize & made my children smile. It may be worth the purchase just to find out that if you are like us, you never knew there was anything more to "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." Love it and still use it!

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