1st Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind Lev. 1 & 2, softcover

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 Kathy (Southeast Wisconsin), January 15, 2010

After hearing the positive parental reviews of this book on the internet I decided to take a look. I figured it would be a good follow up to Dr. Ruth Beechick's book "Language and Thinking for Young Children." "First Language Lessons" is authored by Jessie Wise, former public/private school teacher, administrator and homeschooling mother. She is the mother of homeschooling graduate/author, Susan Wise Bauer. The curriculum is based on Mary Hyde's series "English for the Thoughtful Child." "First Language Lessons" is divided into two sections, first and second grade. However this book can be used with children in Grades 1-5 when the parent deems the child is ready for grammar lessons. On the first grade level you child will be covering the topics of "nouns, common nouns, proper nouns, pronouns, action verbs, poem memorization, picture narration, copywork, telephone numbers, days of the week, initials, days and months, seasons, oral composition, addresses, titles of respect, capitalization and punctuation, dats, statements, questions, commands, and exclamations. On the second grade level your child will be covering the topics of "nouns, poem memorization, action verbs, linking verbs, types of sentences, commas, helping verbs, capitalization, picture narration, contractions, dictation, adjectives, predicate adjectives, helping verbs, interjections, conjunctions, letter writing, addressing an envelope, direct quotations, indirect quotations, quotation marks, adverbs, writing postcards, articles, prepositions, synonyms, antonyms, written composition: ordering ideas, forming paragraphs, copying the final work." The author includes a chapter on "How to use this book" and a glossary of terms. The only negative comment I will make is the poems hav been altered which is why the book only received four stars.

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 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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