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This section covers the other “half” of Language Arts, along with the Reading section. You will find a variety of resources from very structured homeschool textbooks, to curriculum for homeschool that use readers and hands-on activities, to more relaxed home schooling supplies – across grammar skills, manipulatives, penmanship, spelling, vocabulary, and writing.
For the preschool homeschool, the emphasis is on learning to write the letters and numerals, building vocabulary and hearing good grammar through read-aloud books, and recognizing words on a page as a way to tell a story. The elementary years are spent learning the basics – punctuation and capitalization, basic sentence structure, proper word usage, the rules for spelling, legible handwriting, and writing sentences and paragraphs.
The middle school curriculum reviews all these areas in more detail, offers more in-depth practice, and develops more advanced writing skills. Typically, the first year of a high school curriculum is designed to ensure mastery of grammar and writing skills before switching to the application of language skills through literature studies or communication courses (e.g. drama, journalism, debate, logic).
An upper level high school curriculum typically includes American lit, world lit, and/or British lit. The purpose is to provide a framework for understanding current events, identifying references made to classic literature, and recognizing the inter-relationship between historical events and developments in the arts and society. Naturally, Christian homeschooling looks at these areas from a biblical perspective, particularly how values and character are reflected in language, the arts, and communication. The best homeschooling assumes that students not only need academics (facts, figures, and knowledge), but also the resources to build understanding and develop wisdom.
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