I’m also a real fan of the simple way Charlotte Mason (a Christian educator from the 19th century) approached language arts. Here it is in its essence:

Copywork

The copying of well-written prose or poetry in order to reinforce excellent spelling, grammar, and penmanship.

Narration

A “telling back” of what has been read (or read from). This is typically oral or written, but can be drawn as well.

Dictation

A measured portion (usually brief) of good literature is first studied and then dictated to the child as he writes it down.

One of the sweetest aspects of her ideas is that they can be applied to almost any piece of literature. That includes everything from Dr. Seuss to the McGuffey readers, to Shakespeare, to the Bible and beyond!

This method is genius because it does away with all of those tedious reading comprehension questions and spelling lists. Even vocabulary and grammar are learned naturally if Mason’s simple ideas are practiced consistently.

While this is truly liberating, the logistics of putting it into practice are not. Especially for those of us who are teaching three or more children at a time.

With this in mind, I set out to create a tool which could help moms like me.

“The Lesson Book” is not a workbook. Workbooks ask specific questions and require specific answers.

The pages I have created here are not about specifics, just about providing a framework so that you, the teacher, have less work to do.

YOU decide what needs to be copied and dictated, and your child decides what is important enough to be recorded.

Also, this recording can be done in more than one way. Besides the written word, the first three volumes have plenty of spaces for drawings and doodlings (or anything else you want to add, such as a clipping of a picture or a bunch of stickers).

In this way it becomes less of a “schoolbook” and more of a memory-keeper for actual learning.

Besides convenience, I wanted these books to be AFFORDABLE!

I am a mom of many and I know just how far each dollar must stretch. That’s why we priced The Lesson Book at price that will still leave you money left over to buy things like laundry detergent and toilet paper 🙂

Below you will find more specifics on the different levels, including page examples, so you can match the perfect book to the perfect child (they’re perfect in your eyes, right?). 

You can find each one on Amazon by clicking either on the photos or the titles next to them.