Jul 10, 2026

Language Arts - Back to Homeschool Week 1

This is a repost of our email series from 2025, with minor changes and additions to reflect the most up-to-date content. It is our hope that by including it here on our website it can be a helpful resource to you and your family.

We aren’t quite into August yet, and already books are flying off the shelves as the homeschooling community gears up for another year. It can all seem a little overwhelming, so we have something special to give you a leg up as you head back to the homeschooling trenches. Over the next several weeks we will be doing a mini “deep dive” of the core subjects and programs that we carry at CHER. We invite you to check out the variety of ideas, programs, and curricula highlighted below as you get back into the thick of it (if you ever left). We will have these ideas here for you right up until school starts in September, but we know that some of these will not still be in stock for last-minute ordering. Placing your order soon is the best way to get your books in time for school, and we encourage you to place that order much sooner than later. But don't despair! We are receiving new shipments daily, and will get you your books as soon as we can. Take this as an invitation to have a nice long moment to yourself (in the interest of planning your child's education, of course), make a cup of something warm and cozy (or cool and refreshing), and enjoy some time devoted to new ideas and plans for the year ahead.

Language Arts is one of the first fundamental skills every child will learn. Learning first to speak, then to read, and then to communicate effectively are skills that carry on past the school years and into everyday life. Choosing a curriculum that will forever impact your child can seem daunting, and yet there are so many great programs that make the choices simple, designed to take the stress off of you with planned lessons, readers, ideas for games, and consistent workbooks that can accompany your kiddos for several years.

All About Learning uses All About Reading and All About Spelling to create a mostly complete early Language Arts program based on the Orton-Gillingham approach. The scripted, open-and-go approach takes all of the stress out of lesson planning, so you can just focus on taking time with your child. Some grammar-based aspects may not be covered, but everything is included that needs to be for the first few formative years.

All About Learning is mastery based, not grade based. Start with All About Reading Level 1, and once you have completed that you can move on to All About Reading Level 2 and All About Spelling Level 1 (so you can start spelling after learning how to read). As your child masters concepts and completes the easy-to-follow, laid-out lessons, you can move up through levels 4 and 7, respectively. In the later years you may want to supplement with Grammar or Handwriting, or you may find that you have everything you need with just the All About Learning program.

Logic of English is another complete Language Arts program, also using the Orton-Gillingham approach. It systematically breaks down the components of language to make it easy for your child to understand. Start with Foundations A or B, where you will find that each level has 3 different difficulties included in the same Teacher Guide. Teaching multiple children with the same program has never been easier, as these 3 levels help you tailor your instruction to meet the needs of your family.

Once you have completed Foundations D you can move on to Essentials lessons 1-30 to finish up the Elementary years. Don’t feel intimidated by all the different pieces! Yes, you can use all the pieces, and they all have their place within the program. We have bundles on our website that make the ordering process easier. But for those wanting a simpler approach you can start at the very beginning with just the Foundations A Teacher Manual and one of the 2 workbook options. (Although if you do get a couple add-ons, might I suggest the Game Tiles for spelling practice, and 2 sets of Game Cards to add a bit of fun to your phonetic play). Decide that you want a little more? You can always get the extra pieces later.

Starting in grade 3 or 4 you can check out the Structure and Style program from Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW). Andrew Pudewa brings a refreshing approach to what your household may think a mundane activity. If you have one (or more) hyperactive young lads in your home, the Structure and Style program (S&S) is definitely worth looking into.

Do daily video lessons and set-out coursework seem a little too formal for your flavour of homeschooling? IEW applies the same methodology to their thematic-based writing lessons. These (loosely grade based) courses give you the opportunity to choose topics that appeal to your kids - making writing interesting for them. Even better, Teaching Writing with Structure and Style is a course for parents (included in the Premier S&S packages or available separately through CHER) that will teach you to apply the IEW methods to any work of literature, so you can tailor your writing program to each child. Supplement with IEW’s Fix it! Grammar series (select levels included within the Basic Plus and Premier S&S packages) and you are well on your way to a complete Language Arts education that will give your children confidence - in themselves and in their writing ability - that extends to all areas of their education.

Total Language Plus is a novel-study based approach to teaching language arts, utilizing 'living books' to spark students' imagination and nourish a strong love of literature. Charlotte Mason inspired, TLP strives to create a pleasant learning experience by choosing each book with care, ensuring your child can understand the lessons - and enjoy them.

TLP Discovery Guides contain comprehension/grammar worksheets and hands-on activities inspired by the text. By providing a planning grid, Total Language Plus simplifies preparation and creates time for both you and your child to jump right into the lesson

TLP Writing Guides focus on how the novel is written. These guides analyze different writing styles and skills, ensuring your child can have a rich, well-rounded writing experience. Writing assignments are specifically chosen for their relevance and learning opportunities.

Pick and choose individual guides, or check out the variety of full grade-level bundles. Don't see your grade on the website yet? Send us an email! We are still finishing adding all of these wonderful resources back to the website after a seven-year hiatus, and would love to help you get these on an order.

NEW for this fall, CHER is pleased to announce we will carrying Royal Fireworks Press' Michael Clay Thompson Language Arts Curriculum. This comprehensive multi-level program starts when your child is "adept enough at reading to be able to learn from it, and the curriculum continues all the way up to a level of rigor that many students never encounter even at the university level. But what makes the MCT curriculum truly special is the enthusiasm and joy that Michael brings to it, and the students love it." - Royal Fireworks Press.

They have a multitute of other books and offerings, and we are simply unable to list them all on our website. If anything they publish catches your eye, send us an email! We will order your requests in for you. CHER is happy to be a Canadian distributor for Royal Fireworks Press, and can save you the shipping and import fees so that you can get all your curriculum at once from a Canadian supplier in Canadian funds.

We will be placing our first order in the coming weeks, and will have the products up on our website as soon as possible. In the interim, feel free to place any orders for their products by emailing us directly at CHER@CanadianHomeEducation.com.

For another literature-based perspective we are pleased to carry Learning Language Arts Through Literature, a complete Language Arts program available as both paper teacher/student books as well as through eBook downloads. All grade levels will benefit from the practice of reading complete works of literature and applying their skills to them.

LLATL covers basic reading and writing as well as research, journaling, diction, word study, vocabulary, editing, and much much more. Check the item description to see synopses and sample pages. Buy the complete bundle (including the Teacher, Student, and novels), and keep these classic stories to reread, highlight, mark up, and reference again and again. Or just get the Teacher/Student books (in paper or digital format) and save your wallet by planning trips to the library!

Last (and certainly not least) for today we have Language Lessons for a Living Education from Master Books. Applying a Christian perspective to Language Arts just became much easier. This Charlotte-Mason flavoured approach comes with a schedule already included in the hole-punched workbook, making adding it to your daily rhythm easy.

The course grows with your child, starting you off with more basic, story-driven concepts and moving on to more focused studies of parts of speech, picture observation, memorization, and more. Several required books (101 Favorite Stories from the Bible, The 10 Minute Bible Journey, Pilgrim’s Progress: The Journey Journal, Life of Washington, and The Remarkable Record of Job) are used as an integrated reading component for specific levels of the program. Check all the level descriptions to find the placement test and see inside each workbook.

Have none of these felt quite right for your family? Are you liking some parts, but not others? Language Arts is not a one-box-has-all subject (unless you are interested in Alpha Omega LifePac Kits). You can check out the Language Arts category on the CHER website to find even more options, and use the subcategories to build your own complete Language Arts curriculum. You ultimately know what is best for your child and your family. We can only point you in the right direction. Happy Homeschooling!

-Allyson