Best Elementary Homeschool Language Arts Curriculum List

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Finding the right homeschool language arts curriculum can be very stressful as parents piece together all the elements of successfully teaching language.

I started homeschooling in in 2007…and quickly realized that every spring, I would need to invest most of my “research time” on language arts. With many kids in the house, piecing together the best way to teach phonics, writing, spelling, grammar and more was a huge challenge….and honestly not one that I ever felt like I did really well.

My own degree is in English, so I felt confident teaching this subject to my kids, but curating the curriculum and then finding the time to actually use it all was something I was always trying to balance.

After nearly 20 years of homeschooling, I’ve landed on this….I don’t try to cover all the elements of language arts “well” every year. Depending on the age of my kids, what our co-op is offering, what gaps I see and my own capacity, I will usually cover just a couple of aspects of language arts well every year and the others get touched on here and there through different assignments and activities.

For example, when I have a kiddo that is just learning to read, I don’t drill down on poetry and grammar. We just learn to read and of course read books outloud. In years where I want to emphasize writing, that might become the core of our language arts and we round out with some literature and grammar activities…but not a full curriculum.

And if I’m looking for a simple language arts focus, I want an all in one….open and go option that covers a lot of topics but doesn’t require a lot of prep from me and is simple for my kids to use.

Over the past almost 20 years, I’ve used a lot of curriculum and here are some of my favorites for elementary when trying to cover different aspects of language arts.

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Master Books | Simple To Use Elementary All In One Language Arts

Language Arts is one of the subjects we can afford to skip in our homeschool…ever. But let’s be honest, sometimes picking a seperate literature, writing, grammar, spelling and handwriting course can be completely overwhelming. As a mom with many kids, having up to 5 books per kid to just cover one subject is too much sometimes. Just the idea of trying to keep track of all that makes some of us want to cry! LOL!

If you are in a season where you are streamlining and trying to get your time back…..or where your kiddo needs something less stressful, definitely check out this all in one solution to language arts. They offer it for everything from Kindergarten to high school. While

Things I Love

• Lessons are short – usually 1 page per day (with optional extra practice in the Practice Makes Polished Book)
• Lessons are gentle – concepts are covered at a slower pace and regular review ensures students remember what they learn
• Covers spelling, writing exercises, handwriting, grammar and narration
• Less stress at home and the language arts is getting done.

All About Reading | Comprehensive Phonics and Reading Program

If you have a child that needs to learn to read, you know that reading is THE ONLY language arts that you really care about. I mean, once they learn to read, they can do anything else so much easier. Some of mine have learned to read easily and some have really struggled. I didn’t always use All About Reading and All About Spelling, but when once I learned the program, I used parts of it with nearly every kid.

When I was teaching my second son to read, we used All About Spelling…I don’t think the reading program existed yet. But lesson after lesson as I was teaching him the building blocks of phonics, I was having all these realizations that I (with an English degree) did not know a LOT of the spelling rules we have in English.
I learned a lot that year!!

I feel like this program trained ME as a parent on how to teach writing. The teacher’s manual is very scripted and gives specific instructions on teaching each lesson. It has a bit of a learning curve when you first start….but once you do, each lesson is basically a repeatition of the previous lesson.

I love that there is plenty of built in review and that it targets all the learning styles with activites that are visual, auditory and hands on!

Outschool | Live Classes For Reading, Writing, Literature and More!

If you have a child that really thrives with live instruction…but you don’t want to leave the house for another thing, Outschool is a great place to find teachers and classes for an endless number of subjects. If you want your child to read more, join a book club. If you are frustrated with their writing, find a great teacher that starts with the basics or find one that teaches something specific like poetry or book reports. There is something for everyone here.

I love that Outschool has a wide variety of teachers who have different styles and approaches. If your child finds a teacher they enjoy more, then that might be the perfect fit! I also like that you can use live teachers a’ la carte and only select classes for concepts that your child is really struggling with. You can use live classes for a short period and pivot back into your favorite curriculum.

Best Reasons To Use Outschool:

• Outschool is best if you need a live teacher
• Have a student that enjoys learning online
• Have a budget that allows for the higher fees of live classes
• Or your like to incorporate live teachers sometimes when you need extra help covering a harder concept.

IEW | Building Great Writers From Elementary to High School

My oldest son was in 3rd grade when I was introduced to the Institute for Excellence in Writing. I fell in love and have never looked back…although we do tend to wait to hit writing until 4th or 5th grade now. For later elementary, my favorite products that they offer are the themed writing courses.

Most writing courses start by giving a child a blank piece of paper. I love that this course reverse engineers writing by giving them a short piece of writing and then teaches them how to improve it. There is no “white page syndrome.”

Over the course of the school year, students will learn the importance of writing in a way that pulls the reader in. They do this by learning and practicing strong verbs and different “dress-ups” that make their writing more interesting.

For high school they offer a much wider variety of courses…the Speech and Research paper writing are my favorites. But for elementary, this curriculum is my favorite when its time for kids to learn to actually write paragraphs and prepare papers. Each assignment has an easy to use rubric which makes it easy to grade.

Our co-op has used this for years and my son’s private school does as well…this is a gold standard curriculum.

Great for teaching writing in a foundational way.

• Teaches editing before writing
• Systematically builds
• Has a scripted teachers manual as well as a student book.
• Builds great writers year over year and is excellent preparation for high school.

Progeny Press | Literature Study Guides For All Ages

Most homeschool parents WANT to give their kids an education rich in literature, but guiding them to pull out the main points of the story can be a real challenge….especially if you are homeschooling several children.

Progency Press literature guides provide the tools parents and teachers need to guide the conversation. Along with discussion questions, there are plenty of student worksheets for short answers.

They have a very thorough library of literature guides for all grades making it our first stop for teachers in our homeschool group who are teaching literature in classes. These guides are simple and easy to use and you can pick and choose exactly the books you want to cover.

What Makes It Stand Out:

• Can be used for classroom or independent work
• Classic method of teaching literature
• Huge selection

Critical Thinking Company | Language Arts Through Problem Solving

Let’s face it, some kids aren’t interested in language arts. My second son who is studying Chemical Engineering didn’t enjoy it as much as science and math. But what Critical Thinking does is offer language arts resources that teach in the context of letting kids problem solve. So instead of doing traditional workshees, they are hunting for clues to find what is missing or what is wrong.

They are learning how to think and analyze. Their courses are not like traditional language arts, but if you have a kid that really enjoys problem solving, this is a great company to look at for their non-traditional approach.

Reasons You Might Want To Use Critical Thinking Company:

• Problem solving approach
• Workbook focused with different styles to choose from
• Short lessons
• Designed to teach critical thinking

When I first started homeschooling, I felt like we needed to “do it all” every year. In the homeschool world, most elements of language arts come packaged as separate curriculum designed to cover a whole school year. So, like most homeschool moms, I learned how to “piece together” our language arts.

Each year, I would base my choices on any required curriculum (from the co-op or microschool), and then add in any missing pieces. I felt guilty at the end of the year if we only did a few lessons from some of the books. Eventually I realized another approach was ok. I love using an “all in one” approach for elementary and then rounding out with writing for older elementary kids. Our co-op covers writing so I tend to use Master Books as our spine and cover other things in upper elementary and middle school through our co-op.

If I want to pick a skill to focus on for the year, I look at where they are weak. A kid struggling with reading…should focus on reading. A kid that can’t connect a sentence should learn basic grammar and writing as a primary focus. Scale the rest of the elements so they are not being overworked.

Embracing the idea that it is ok to do a less stressful language arts approach was freeing for me. Knowing that kids learn year over year and not all at once is a huge burden lifted.

Remember, whatever language arts you choose, it doesn’t have to be perfect to be good…and over the course of all your kids schooling, they will be able to learn language arts concepts in many different ways which will help them become well rounded.

More Reading:

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