Language Arts for Little Ones

This post is the third part of the preschool series.

Part one is here.

Part two is here.

(First, a disclaimer:  Please remember that my current three-year-old is the seventh child. There have been many gift giving occasions for all our children in the last eighteen years. And remember, that before I was a mom, I was a teacher in an early childhod classroom, where many of the materials were my own.  So, we have years and years of materials.  Certainly, not all of this is necessary.)

A Language Arts "curriculum" for little ones is really the air they breathe.  From the first time you hold an infant, you talk to her.  And so language acquisition begins.  Houses where children are educated at home tend to be print-rich environments where reading takes a high priority.  That's as it should be.

If we sit down to really plan a "curriculum" for the under-5 crowd, quality picture books must be its foundation.  For Katie, those books will come from three sources initially and then hop merrily off on rabbit trails.  The booklists are those found in the early years of the Real Learning list, and the ones found in the manuals of Five in a Row, and the list of books used in Catholic Mosaic. From there, we can go anywhere.

A child learns to read most easily when she has a reason for reading.  So, we give her one.  We open those books all the time and we share with her the excellent stories and pictures inside.  Doing so, we inculcate a strong desire to want to "own" those stories for herself.  She wants access to the richness of language without having to depend on someone else to bring it alive for her.  And so, with most children, the quest to acquire reading skills begins.

To help her along the way, we provide much contact with the letters and print.  Real contact for a three- or four-year-old is tactile.  Let's touch the symbols that stand for sounds.  Sandpaper letters and a moveable alphabet are the gold standard in a Montessori classroom.  We can use those certainly to present classic Montessori lessons. But I don't try to imitate a perfect Montessori classroom. Our language arts shelf is not limited to authentic Montessori materials.

I include several different alphabet puzzles, both in wood and in Lauri foam.  There is also a chunky ABC picture block set and a magnetic ABC puzzle book. First and foremost, puzzles are fun.  They are engaging and appealing and can be used over and over again by the same child for several years. A puzzle with alphabet letters (and sometimes pictures representing sounds) serves several purposes.  It develops fine motor skills and fine tunes visual perception skills.  It allows a child to "get the feel" of the shape of a letter before attempting to make it abstract in the written form. Puzzles let children play with language from the very beginning and the best writers will tell you that composition is really playing with words.  Begin great composition at the very beginning:  nurture the sense of language play!

Also on the language arts shelf is a wooden sign language puzzle. The pieces depict the sign language alphabet. Lift the pegged puzzle pieces and the print alphabet letters and an object wich begins with those letters are pictured below. This is the puzzle that began our sign language adventure. And it's this puzzle that led us to Signing Time and the wonderful DVDs that are a daily part of our language study.  So much has been written about the benefits of sign language to hearing children.  I'm firmly convinced that it is a valuable tool--not only for pre-speaking but for pre-reading.  It's a tactile, kinesthetic way to represent abstract words.  What could be better? The DVDs are engaging, endearing and effective.  Lots of moms need that half hour television break--these are far better than most "educational" televsion shows.  The only drawback?  Instead of scurrying off to empty the dishwasher or fold laundry while the wee ones are engaged, you'll probably find yourself watching, too.  Some Sign Babies flashcards round out our multi-sensory approach to signing.

I really like Handwriting Without Tears' readiness program.  The wooden block letter pieces allow a child to construct a letter before ever attempting to write it.  Then, we can make letters out of dough.  When she's ready, she can practice writing letters on a magnetic screen like an Etch-a-Sketch and on a special slate. Finally, there are some workbooks:-)

The decision to use Handwriting without Tears was one I made under protest.  I loved the Italic handwriting that my oldest learned so easily.  But when Christian really struggled with that and every other traditional handwriting program, I saw that this program, while not beautiful, makes a great deal of sense for the child.  The letters are clear and legible and the entire program is laid out with the thought and care that an experienced occupational therapist can bring to the teaching of writing. For my children who can handle it, the switch to Catholic Heritage Curriculum handwriting books for copywork in the middle grades is nearly effortless.

Not all of language arts can or should be confined to shelves.  Singing songs, chanting Mother Goose, sharing CDs in the car, and drifting to sleep while Mommy nurses the baby and we all listen to bedtime stories are all a part of the picture.  Don't forget lots and lots of Rhymes, Songs, and Fingerplays!  We only get to be little once, but when we're really, really blessed we can revel in the joy of early childhood and see the bright hope of a happy today and a happy tomorrow through the eyes of our own precious child.

Next up:  Number Fun!

Did you know...

that a booklist of over five hundred carefully chosen books from the appendix of Real Learning is online and linked to amazon.com at this this site? Talk about a summer reading list, or two, or three or eight!

Fourth of July Basket

As we get ready to celebrate Independence Day, the Fourth of July basket is full! Scroll way down the lefthand sidebar for some wonderful American History reading and craft book selections.

Poetry Friday--Emily Dickinson

Our trip down the garden trail led us to the "yellow house across the road."  There lived Emily, a reclusive poet and a gardener.  One day, Emily sent a gift of bluebells along with a request to the woman across the street.  She requested that the lady, a gifted pianist, come play for her.  The lady complied and brought her little girl along.  Of course little girls don't always play by grown up rules and this one wandered off to find the recluse and offer her a gift of lily bulbs.  In turn, Emily offered her a hand-scratched scrap of paper:

Who has not found the Heaven--below--

Will fail to find of it above--

For Angels rent the House next ours,

Wherever we remove--

Lovingly,

Emily--

Of course, this book led us to our bookshelves, where we found Poetry For Young People: Emily Dickinson and further acquainted ourselves with the mysterious lady in the yellow house and her words. 

Catholic Mosaic

There is a growing box of books and assorted curricular materials in the large walk-in closet that is our home library.  In it, materials I have purchased but no longer use (or may have never used) are being gathered to sell or donate. For now, though, it stands as a staunch reminder not to buy, sight unseen, every good idea about which I read.  Often, one person's good idea becomes my bookend. Instead, when purchasing curriculum, it is better for me to sit here one day--or maybe for several weeks-- and think to myself, "I wish there were a book that did___"

For more years than I can count, I have thought, "I wish there were an organized way to integrate the Liturgical Year, great literature, notebooking, copywork, simple crafts, and Catechesis of the Good Shepherd."  Such a project was daunting. In order to pull it off, one would have to be immersed in living the Liturgical Year.  One would have to spend hours researching the wealth of beautiful religious picture books available out there "somewhere."  One would have to have a grasp on the concept of notebooking and a sense of how the faith is taught in a Montessori atrium. Then, one would have to make the time to put it all together in a useable format. Some of us dreamed of a such a resource. One of us did it.

Cay Gibson, together with Hillside Education, has done a masterful job of creating a lovely, living mosaic of literature-based catechesis--a Catholic Mosaic. 

When a child learns the faith within the context of the Liturgical Year, "religion" becomes a living, breathing part of the rhythm of life.  It is integrated into her being as fundamentally as a heartbeat.  In early December, she just knows it is Advent; that's the way it's always been.  She thinks, "Our color is purple because we are waiting, preparing."  She looks forward to celebrating the feasts that are nestled in among the fast.  St. Nicholas, Juan Diego, Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Lucy--all her favorite, familiar friends are met with joy. And when she is older, she will not merely turn the calendar to the last month of the year inside a dry, secular cubicle, she will instead continue to live the richness of the first season of the Church year. And if, for some sad reason, she does not, something will seem terribly out of sync, for that will not be the normal, habitual beating of her heart from the beginning when she was a child in the Domestic Church of her parents.

When the faith is taught within the context of living books a lyrical song is sung, a beautiful image embossed upon a child's soul.  Those carefully chosen books become family traditions.  "This is the book we read for St. Brigid's feast; this for John Paul the Great's birthday; this for Pentecost."  Children learn the stories of the saints and they develop real, living relationships with those holy men and women who cheer them from heaven and intercede on their behalf. The saints of those stories are faithful friends for small children who grow into spiritual giants and guides for well-formed adults. The books Cay has chosen are of the highest quality--living, breathing books that will infuse children and the adults who share them with the breath of the Holy Spirit.

When notebooking is introduced to the teaching of religion and academia meets theology in the context of the rhythm of the household, you have real learning. No one can tell where "school" stops and "church" begins, where "church" stops and family life begins.  Instead, there is a lifestyle of learning within the heart of the Domestic Church. It is education within the bosom of the family, just as the Creator intended.  Catholic Mosaic offers a plethora of ideas for organizing just such an education. It's all tied together and keyed to the calendar.  We can do this!  We can have an environment in our homes that is this rich and meaningful!

There will be no used copies of this resource available.  Mothers who forego home education to send their children to school will hold on to this book in order to read the stories at bedtime and do the crafts on rainy Saturdays.  Mothers whose children have grown and gone will pass the book to their daughters and daughters-in-law.  It is a resource destined to become dog-eared and jelly smeared.

At 4Real, we've embraced this resource with great zeal.  We are talking about it. We are adding more books and more ideas and we archiving the success stories.  Come join us.  We are piecing together a life in our homes that is reminiscent of a mosaic in a fine cathedral-- something truly rich and  beautiful for our Lord.