Most Frequently Asked Questions:
Where should I place my child in the Language Lessons books
or Spelling Books?
A child should be placed according to SKILL level, not necessarily GRADE level. With that in mind, there are preview
samples of each of the books in this series on our web site that you can view and print out to see which would
be the best book for your child. As with all of our books, the “Language Lessons” books are not age or grade specific,
but rather skill specific. Read the recommendations under each book title, look at the online preview samples of
each book, and place your child according to his current skill level, progressing from there. Different children
of the same age will often be using different levels, depending upon their skill level. This is normal. It is better
to start a child at his skill level and let him progress than to start him in a certain level that you think he
“should” be in, and have him struggle from the onset.
What is the purpose of copywork?
The purpose of copywork is to train a child to pay attention to detail. Traditionally, the purpose of copywork
is not for handwriting, but rather to train a child to pay strict attention to the mechanics of the English language
- where things are capitalized, how they are punctuated, proper usage, etc.
Why aren’t your copywork books in cursive?
(See Above)
We do have a series that teaches cursive writing using the principles of copywork, our “Pictures in Cursive” series.
Does copywork help with spelling?
It does, in general, because a child is forced to pay strict attention to the details of how words are spelled.
For maximum benefit in using the principles of copywork to aid in spelling, see our “Learning to Spell Through
Copywork” series. Free preview samples of each book are included online.
Which copywork series should my child be in?
The “Copywork for Young Ones” series is for children who are reading fluently. This series has lines directly underneath
each lesson to be copied, so the younger child can easily copy the lessons directly beneath the original source.
As the child progresses to the point where he is able to focus and refocus back and forth from the material being
copied to a separate notebook, and is able to copy lengthier passages, he can move into the “Thematic Copywork
Lessons” series.
When should we switch from copywork to dictation?
Copywork trains a child in the proper usage and mechanics of the English language. Dictation tests their knowledge
of this proper usage, and is generally best begun once a child is to the point of regularly not making mistakes
in their daily copywork exercises.
Why are there no dotted lines in the copywork and Language
Lessons books?
Because homeschoolers use many different styles of handwriting, and because handwriting is not the focus of copywork,
we have chosen to use a generic, plain line to copy the work onto.
Can I teach all of my kids history/nature study together?
Certainly! We usually do where we can. Not only does this make the teaching much easier, it keeps everyone “on
the same page,” which gives your family a common bond. Though you will have different students in the same book/study
guide set, here is what we and many other families do:
1. Mom reads the chapter for the day aloud to all students at the same time.
2. The younger, non-readers, are done at this point.
3. The older students will do the activities listed for that day in the study writing assignments will be determined
by their age. For example, if you are doing the same study with children ages 5, 9, 13, and 17, the 5 year old,
unless he is ready to research and write, will simply listen to the reading. The 9 year old might write a one paragraph
report and do the other activities, the thirteen year old might write a full page report, and the seventeen year
old might do a report of several pages.
Can you tell me about the Charlotte Mason method?
The answer to this question is multi-faceted, and quite lengthy, and can best be answered by purchasing our booklet,
Meet Charlotte
Mason: An Introduction to Her Methods, by Sandi Queen.
What is a “Living Book?”
Simply put, a ‘Living Book” is any book that brings the subject matter “to life” for the reader. A well-written,
descriptive biography of George Washington, for example, is a living book if it gives a clear picture of what this
man was like, what his life was all about, and gives the reader mental pictures of what the time period of Washington’s
life. A textbook, which simply gives small snippets of information and facts to memorize is not.
For what age are the “God’s Plan for Growing Up” series written?
While these books were written for our own children for between the ages of eleven and thirteen, we realize that
all families are different. Though the books are very conservatively written and illustrated, we recommend that
the parent discern when their child is ready to discuss this information.
How many book/study guide sets from the “Learning History
Through Living Books” or “Nature Study Through Living Books” does it take to get through one ?
If using only one of these series as your sole source for teaching this subject, you will need about 4 book/guide
sets to take you through one school year.
Should I be doing the “Learning History Through Living Books”
and “Nature Study Through Living Books” series at the same time?
Generally not - though you may use both series in one year. Here are two ways that our customers generally choose
to use these series:
Scenario 1:
In this scenario, the school year is split into two halves. This is what our own family does. We choose to use two different methods of teaching history, and also two different methods of teaching nature study each year. The first half of our school year, we use two of our “Learning History Through Living Books” book/guide sets for history, and one of our “A Living Book About Nature” for nature study. The second half of the year, we switch gears completely, and use the “Living History Readers” or “The Boy and the Man” books” for read-alouds for history, while using the “Nature Study Through Living Books” books/guides for nature study.
In this way, our children have a nice balance. All year, they are reading great books, and also they are researching and writing in a notebook. But they don’t do both series of books and guides at the same time of year, as it would be too heavy on the researching, writing, vocabulary, map-making, climate charting, etc. that is included in the study guides for both of these series.
Scenario 2:
This scenario uses one of the book/guide series for either history or nature study, and uses a literature approach only for the other subject. Some customers know that they want to read through the entire “A Living Book About Nature” series in the child’s elementary years, for example, so they make that series the core of their science program for six years, and then move on to the “Nature Study Through Living Books” series once a child is through with the other series. Since in this scenario, the family is not doing researching and writing fornature study, they would use the “Learning History Through Living Books” books and guides for history the entire year, using approximately four sets of books and guides to take them through the entire school year.
How do I know which “Easy Pack” to place my child in?
Since language arts is the subject that is most skill-specific, we recommend placing a child into an Easy Pack
according to their level in language arts. Please look at the information and preview samples of each book in our
“Language Lessons” series to determine where to place your child in this series, which will determine which Easy
Pack is best for him. Since the Easy Packs do not include math, they are very flexible. You just need to add your
choice of math programs, as well as one of our Bible studies, many of which are gender-specific, and therefore
not included in the Easy Packs.
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