Customer Reviews

First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Most people would agree that when you have great expectations for a child, he or she is more likely to succeed.

"First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind" by Jessie Wise, Sarah Park (Illustrator)undoubtedly has great expectations for families who use it. It expects children of a first and second grade level who have completed the book to understand adverbs, adjectives, interjections, direct and indirect quotations, paragraph formation and four basic types of sentences among other things. My first reaction on reading the Table of Contents was a little reticence. How frequently do you hear of first and second graders who have proficiency not only in the practice, but also the terminology, of grammar? I can, however, unequivocally state that this scripted language curriculum accomplishes its stated goals and does so painlessly.

My son, who has been known to balk when it comes to school time in the morning, eagerly goes through his language lessons. He has gained confidence in our language and he is capable of giving you not only the definition, but also examples of many points of grammar. So what? Many kids can do that? I understand those may be some of your reactions. But how many kids age 6 can do it with enthusiasm??? After roughly 1 semester using this curriculum, my young son composed a poem today. A good one- using recognizable rhyme and meter- at that. THAT, to me, is the great success of this book. It not only delivers on the educational angle, it delivers on generating enthusiasm for the language.

Not a homeschooler? This book is still for you and your kids. Many parents are displeased at some level with the education their children receive in school. The scripted lessons take only a few minutes per day and will exponentially enhance your kids' education. I'm certain that their increased language proficiency will improve their comprehension of other subjects. Give it a try! At best, your children will flower intellectually. At worst, you will have spent some extra time reading to your kids and interacting with them. Either way, you and your children come out ahead of the game.

Bully for Jessie Wise for writing a fabulous language curriculum and bully for me for purchasing the book. I hope you do the same. Your kids' knowledge will be better off for it!

I am very happy with this book! My six year old now BEGS to "do grammar" because this book is perfectly designed for 1st and 2nd grade homeschool kiddos and their parents.

I love the scope and sequence of this book! It covers all the basics of elementary grammar. Nouns, all types of verbs, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, articles, conjunctions and interjections are all taught in a very quiet, gentle manner. Students learn how to construct a complete sentence, how to write a simple letter to a relative, how to narrate (re-tell) a simple story, memorize short poems, and much more.

In the style of Saxon textbooks, Jessie Wise has completely "scripted" the parent's conversation / teaching time with the child. This script can be used word-for-word, used as a springboard, or completely ignored. Using the book as a scope-and-sequence guide alone makes it worth its price. Having 200 quick and easy lessons to present to your child makes it invaluable!

Although the 200 lessons are designed to be used over a 2-year period, I think that most average students would move more quickly through the material. There is much repetition and review built in (on purpose... this is for a grammar-stage student). If your child has thoroughly mastered action verbs, simply move past that topic when it comes up. Just make sure to review the concept from time to time, so your child isn't stymied when they are confronted with a formal grammar textbook for the first time.

I very much appreciate these short, easy grammar lessons! Thank you, Jessie Wise, for fulfilling this homeschooler's need.

This book is absolutely wonderful! My daughter and I love it to pieces. The lessons are brief and feel natural. The concepts are gently introduced and reviewed often throughout the text. There are also optional enrichment activity ideas for many of the lessons.

This scripted book is truly a gem...including lessons requiring narration (for example, I read a fable and then I prompt my daughter with questions so that she can tell the story back to me), sweet poems for memorization, Picture studies/narrations, grammar rules and definitions, Copywork, and much, much more! The lessons often take no more than 15-20 minutes to complete, yet despite the short amount of time required for these, I've found that my daughter's retention of concepts is high.
If you're looking for a gentle approach to early grammar, this is it!

My 5-year-old daughter took to _First Language Lessons_, a grammar book for 1st-2nd grade, right away and with great enthusiasm. The format is one that has worked for us in other subjects (similar to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons and Saxon Math), and she enjoyed learning about nouns. By the fourth or fifth lesson, she could easily recite the definition of a noun. So when I opened the book for lesson 11, I figured we'd be about due for something new. I said as I opened the book, "Let's see what we'll learn today."

Nouns.

"MORE nouns?" my daughter opined.

"More nouns," I said, disbelieving. "Let me look and see when we'll start working on something new."

So I flipped ahead . . . to lesson 50, where pronouns are introduced.

There are FORTY-NINE consecutive lessons on NOUNS?

The author of this book seems to have mastered the idea of =review=, but failed miserably at the idea of regularly introducing something new to keep the student's interest, while still reviewing prior material (as is done in Teach Your Child to Read and Saxon Math). FORTY-NINE consecutive lessons on nouns? My daughter will HATE grammar well before we make it that far, if I don't give her something new to work on!

As an author myself, I know how critical it is that a book not only cover the requisite material, but =organize= it effectively, and that is where First Language Lessons fails. The material is covered, and it is presented in an appropriate manner -- one that could be very effective -- but it is not organized in a way that will maintain the child's interest while reinforcing learned concepts. This is a shame. I would love to see a new edition of this book, reorganized in a more effective way.

Wow! Incredible balance of easy to teach from (no preparation), "meaty", quick paced, and gentle. Includes lots of repetition of only a few concepts so that the child really learns something. This is how I would write a first language book for my own kids if I had the time. It is good for my gifted kids, my learning disabled kids, and my ESL/internationally adopted kids.

--by a homeschooling mom of six kids

This book is wonderful! My 7 year old son completed the first grade portion and is now half way through the second grade portion. Grammar is now his FAVORITE SUBJECT!!!! I used English for the Thoughtful Child for my older son and truly believe Wise's book is head and shoulders above it. If you want a thorough grammar curriculum that also gives you fun, quality time with your child THIS IS THE PROGRAM FOR YOU!!! Yes, you will have to repeat, "A preposition is a word that shows the relationship of a noun or pronoun to another word in the sentence" at least three times with your child during the short lesson. I submit that when your child can repeat that back to you independently (within just 2 or 3 lessons) you will see the value in this book!!! Simply by overhearing his younger brother move through these lessons my older son has filled in the gaps left behind with English for the Thoughtful Child and is now handling ABeka Grammar with ease!!!!

I'm using this scripted book with my 6 year old, my 3 year old always chooses to participate as well. We love the flow of the conversation it encourages. I've learned so much about using little periods of time(waiting in the car etc.) to have worthwhile discussions with my young children. We no longer go through the stop fighting, will you please stop mimicing your brother routine while they're bored. I see a huge improvement in their ability to communicate with one another. Which is a side effect of the easy discussions we participate in. I'm so thankful we found this WONDERFUL resource. Of course there's the grammer and all the educational stuff, but that's almost secondary in importance for me. They're learning to learn and enjoying it!!

This book is a wonderful way to begin homeschooling in a relaxed and easy way. This is easy on the teaching parent, and very easy on the young student, and takes no more than 5 minutes per day. An added benefit is that the learning percolates up: as the work is oral and repetitive, any older students in the family will absorb anything that they have missed along the way.

I have a love/hate relationship with this title. Pros: inexpensive, solid introduction to grammar, usage, mechanics, and copywork in short, easy-to-teach lessons. Cons: excessive repetition, dumbed-down & altered versions of poems & stories, many of the concepts too easy for target audience of 1st & 2nd graders. I had originally planned to condense this into 1 year but we're 10 weeks into the school year & almost halfway through the book. So at the rate we're going, we'll be finished with it mid-winter. I think it's been worthwhile but am a bit disappointed because it wasn't as good as it had the potential to be.

This book is the answer to prayers! It is straight forward, engaging, and best of all - affordable! This is two years of excellent grammar instruction, plus good review for older students who have yet to receive a firm foundation in grammar. No gimmicks to keep track of, just snuggle time on the couch with your little one. A must have in your homeschool library!