Why We Love Learning Language Arts Through Literature

This is our first year to use Learning Language Arts Through Literature, and I am so glad I took the chance on this curriculum! There are many negative reviews out there, and they almost kept me from trying it out. I wanted to put this good review out there for anyone who, like me, has been searching for reviews on LLATL without finding many good ones. This is my honest review, as I bought the curriculum myself for my children to use. No one is paying me to say this, no one asked me to review this, I just felt compelled because we are truly enjoying it and my children are thriving on it.

I have Mikaela, 8th grade, in the green book; Eli, 6th grade, in the tan book, and Mercie, 3rd grade, in the yellow book.

Learning Language Arts Through Literature is a language arts program that includes grammar instruction, spelling, punctuation, writing, and literature analysis all in one book. Here are the things we love about LLATL:

• The lessons are short, but full of information, practice, and review. Mercie, my 3rd grader, can finish a lesson in less than 10 minutes a day. Eli takes about 15 minutes and Mikaela about 20 minutes each day. Obviously, some days are longer than others due to a writing assignment or something like that, but this is the average time it takes to complete a lesson {for my kids}. As we embrace many of Charlotte Mason's ideas about education {though not all of them}, this is definitely one of the things I agree with - short lessons are more effective.
• The lessons include good literature. Each week, there is a copy-work {or dictation} passage for your child to write. These always come from a classic book or a well-known poem. I let all of my kids use this as copy-work {and handwriting practice}, even my 6th and 8th graders.
• I don't have several different books for each aspect of language arts. This is important, as I have five children homeschooling. Each book contains my children's spelling, grammar, literature analysis, handwriting, and writing instruction. I don't have to worry that they will forget their spelling or their grammar lesson, as it's all in one book, one lesson, each day.
• My older kids can do this independently. I do have to help, occasionally, and give spelling tests weekly, but the book is written to the student. They can read the lesson, understand the concepts, and work their problems out on their own.
• I sit with Mercie while she completes each lesson, but as I stated before, it takes around ten minutes. I read from the Teacher's Guide, help her with her work, and then she's done. Quick and painless.
• The lessons are the perfect balance in the younger years. Mercie, my 3rd grader, has the perfect balance of handwriting, spelling {6 words weekly}, and grammar instruction. Sprinkled throughout the book are lessons on looking up words in a dictionary, looking up listings in a phonebook, addressing envelopes, and putting words in alphabetical order.
• There are enrichment portions of the lessons that get my kids thinking critically. Several times a week, there is an enrichment portion that has my kids categorizing things, problem solving, or working puzzles. I love this! It's something I would want them to do anyway, and since it's part of their lesson, I don't have to plan something.
• There is plenty of diagramming practice in the older years. Diagramming is an important skill for dissecting parts of speech in sentences. I am glad this is included, and my daughter, Mikaela, has diagramming practice each week.
• My kids have a great book list of literature to read throughout the year. There are 3-5 books your child will read throughout the program, and they are all classics! For example, in the 7th grade book, Mikaela will read "Adam and His Kin", "Much Ado About Nothing", and "Star of Light". Eli, who is working in the 6th grade book, will read "The Bronze Bow", "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch", "The Horse and His Boy", and "Big Red". And, Mercie, in the 3rd grade book, will read "The White Stallion", "Madeline", "Meet George Washington", and "The Courage of Sarah Noble". It's great to have these books already scheduled to read, although I do have them read more than this.

I really can't think of anything that I don't like about LLATL. At first, I was afraid it wasn't enough for my children. As time goes on, I can see how much they're learning! I am now very impressed with the short lessons, gentle grammar instruction, and living literature passages my children do each day. The price is pretty great, too. I ordered mine from Rainbow Resources, and they included all of the books that my kids would need for the year. I paid around $50 for the Teacher's Book, Student Workbook, and the books needed. That's not a bad price, considering you're getting a spelling program, literature program, writing program, grammar program, handwriting program, and poetry program all in one!

 If you're on the fence about buying LLATL, I suggest jumping right into it. It's a great program, especially if you know going in that there will be short lessons without a lot of busy work and that concepts kind of jump around a bit in the younger years {which is not a problem for us}. I am so glad that I went ahead and ordered this program. I plan to keep on using it with all of my children.