Language Arts Curriculums I've Used
When I first started homeschooling, finding a curriculum to use took quite a lot of research, especially for the subject of Language Arts. Having to pull together a curriculum for literature, spelling, grammar, and handwriting was daunting at times and took some trial and error. In today’s post, I share the curriculums I’ve used for all these components. As with the math post, I share how long I used it, for what grade levels, what I loved about it, and if we ended up switching from it and why. This post is split into three categories: Language Arts, Phonics/Spelling/Vocabulary, and Handwriting.
Disclaimer: if you know anything about me, I DO NOT BASH other curriculums. However, I will be transparent and let you know what didn't work for MY children. Before we go any further, please remember that this has been our experience with these curriculums. Every child will learn differently and benefit differently from curriculums.
LANGUAGE ARTS
Searching for a curriculum that had all the components of Language Arts in one was somewhat difficult. I had certain things I was looking for and so therefore I did a lot of piecing together before I came across a curriculum that had everything I needed. As a bonus, it aligned with many of my standards academically and morally. In this section, I included the two main curriculums I’ve used for Language Arts which included literature and grammar.
THE GOOD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
Searching for a curriculum that had all the components of Language Arts in one was somewhat difficult. I had certain things I was looking for and so therefore I did a lot of piecing together before I came across a curriculum that had everything I needed. As a bonus, it aligned with many of my standards academically and morally. In this section, I included the two main curriculums I’ve used for Language Arts which included literature and grammar.
What I enjoyed about the curriculum:
It is an all-inclusive curriculum, meaning it has reading, writing, grammar, spelling, memory work, vocabulary, and extra things like geography and art. It is definitely more than enough in terms of a language arts curriculum. The lessons are not redundant but there is enough review throughout of concepts already taught. The curriculum is challenging yet full and rich. The price point is also very reasonable. And not only does this curriculum impact your child’s academic growth, but it has a deep influence on your child with an appreciation for God’s creation and has high moral lessons. God is truly woven into the entire curriculum.
How long I used it:
2018-present
What grade levels I used:
1st grade through high school
Relevant Videos:
Click HERE for a playlist for all The Good and Beautiful videos I’ve made. You can find the Language Arts specific videos by using the browser find function (ctl+F) and typing “Language Arts”.
SONLIGHT
What I enjoy about the curriculum:
Sonlight is a Christian literature-based curriculum with God woven throughout the curriculum. Since It is a literature-based curriculum with multiple readers and I never worried about the readers selected as part of the program because I knew they were carefully selected. I loved that the lesson plans were all laid out for me and I knew exactly what to do each day. It also includes lesson plans for Bible, History, and Geography. Each grade level has student worksheets that go with the readers selected. I also love that it spans multiple school years so I can use the same Core level with two of my children close in age. Although I don’t use this curriculum anymore, it truly instilled a love of reading in my children and me.
How long I used it:
2016-2018
What grade levels I used:
1st grade through 5th grade
Why we switched:
It’s expensive, especially for families with multiple students. We were looking for something with all language arts components in one and we found that in a different curriculum so we no longer needed to use Sonlight. It was also very dry when it came to the LA sections. Just questions and answers on black and white worksheets. It wasn’t engaging. It wasn’t beautiful. It left us wanting and needing more.
Relevant Videos:
Click HERE for a playlist for all the Sonlight I’ve made. Below, I’ve also shared the video explaining why I like The Good and Beautiful better.
BJU DISTANCE LEARNING
During my oldest daughter’s eighth-grade year, we used the Level 8 book study from The Good and the Beautiful, but I also wanted to use a language arts curriculum to keep working on grammar and writing. We ended up ordering Literature Writing and Grammar 8 from BJU.
What I enjoyed about the curriculum:
I really liked that the curriculum was hands-off for the parents and was very much student-led through online instruction. I also loved the auto-grading that it provided for specific assignments. I did have to grade an essay here and there, but a rubric was provided to assist in that.
How long I used it:
half the school year
What grade levels I used:
8th Grade
Why we switched:
My daughter did not like it and wasn’t learning from it. We truly were using it as an add-on for The Good and Beautiful Book Study so I did not feel it was worth continuing if my daughter wasn’t gaining anything from it.
Relevant Videos:
PHONICS, SPELLING, AND VOCABULARY
For this section, I will only discuss curriculums that are separate from the language arts programs mentioned in the first section. The Good and Beautiful has spelling and vocabulary built into its language arts curriculum so I do not have it included here. In the early years when teaching my children to read, I used Bob Books paired with Explode the Code and All About Spelling. Wordly Wise was a suggested curriculum while using Sonlight that I carried into my homeschool until this most recent year.
EXPLODE THE CODE
What I enjoyed about the curriculum:
I like how these workbooks provide structured phonics practice and review. My children could easily complete these workbooks as independent work or for when we were at the gym when I worked as a personal fitness trainer.
How long I used it:
2016 - 2021
What grade levels I used:
Pre-K - 4th grade
Relevant Videos:
Below I’ve shared a few curriculum choices videos that include Explode the Code. I haven’t done a video specifically on the workbook.
ALL ABOUT SPELLING
What I enjoyed about the curriculum:
This curriculum did a wonderful job of teaching my children phonetics and was one of the main things that I used to help teach my children to read.
How long I used it:
2016-2018
What grade levels I used:
Kindergarten - 1st Grade
Relevant Videos:
Each video below has a timestamp listed below for where I speak about All About Spelling. If there is no timestamp listed, then the entire video focus on the curriculum.
minute 8:55
SPELLING YOU SEE
What I enjoyed about the curriculum:
I loved that this curriculum included copy work and dictation. It helped my children with their auditory learning.
How long I used it:
2017-2018
What grade levels I used:
2nd grade through 5th grade
Why we switched:
When we switched to The Good and Beautiful Language Arts we didn’t need to use this anymore.
Relevant Videos:
Below I’ve shared a few curriculum choices videos that include Explode the Code. I haven’t done a video specifically on the workbook.
WORDLY WISE
What I enjoyed about the curriculum:
I liked how this gave my children extra vocabulary practice. I also like having things that my children can do on their own.
How long I used it:
2017-2023
What grade levels I used:
1st grade through 10th grade
Why we switched:
I just decided to stop using this workbook because the stories are secular and becoming quite liberal in the older grades AND my kids were voicing annoyance and dissatisfaction with the reading of them.
Relevant Videos:
HANDWRITING
Below are all the handwriting curriculums I’ve used, the Good and Beautiful being the most recent and current curriculum we use.
THE GOOD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
What I enjoyed about the curriculum:
I absolutely love this curriculum because of its approach to teaching handwriting, in addition to its inclusion of scripture, quotes, and artwork.
How long I used it:
2018-present
What grade levels I used:
1st grade through 8th grade
Relevant Videos:
HANDWRITING WITHOUT TEARS
What I enjoyed about the curriculum:
This handwriting was wonderful for my kids when they were still learning their letter formation. It also did a great job of teaching cursive step by step.
How long I used it:
2017-2018
What grade levels I used:
Kindergarten through 1st grade
Relevant Videos:
A REASON FOR HANDWRITING
What I enjoyed about the curriculum:
I used this gentle handwriting for my kindergartner before switching them over to a more structured handwriting workbook. I love how it included scripture.
How long I used it:
2016-2017
What grade levels I used:
Kindergarten
Why we switched:
I wanted to try this curriculum with my son who was in kindergarten at the time. There wasn't anything wrong with it, I just liked handwriting without tears better.
Relevant Videos:
These are all the curriculums I've used for Language Arts up to this point. I hope this post was helpful to you, and be sure to check out the videos included if you want more information about each curriculum.
