This link crossed my FB feed recently, and I was highly amused. Well, really, I was horrified—I only hid it with amusement. I am somewhat of a grammar geek (word nerd?), which makes it all the more troubling. Er…amusing. Here—I’ll let you read it… Teaching ‘Taco Bell’s Canon’

After I laughed (choked), I was thankful because it reminded me how diligent I need to be about the nuts and bolts part of homeschooling. We all homeschool for a variety of reasons, and building character is key. But one of the other reasons is, of course, the schooling. And I’m not going to sugar-coat it: It’s hard. Sometimes making formal grammar and vocabulary lessons happen regularly is more difficult than we care to admit. But doing formal schoolwork  is only a small piece of teaching language arts. I have been known to employ other methods—including challenging my kids to point out spelling and grammar errors in signs as we drive around town. (One of my favorites is the now-common—and improper—use of an apostrophe when forming a plural.) I have had them rewrite poorly written Facebook statuses with proper grammar and punctuation. The world is rife with real-life teachable grammar and vocabulary moments. We just have to be diligent in pointing them out.

As this article points out, reading is also a vital part of learning proper word usage. I love when my kids have their noses stuck in a book! But I also love the help that I get from using BIP’s Illuminations curriculum. Along with a plethora of other mom-help, it contains a wide variety of literature—not just historical fiction, but nonfiction and books of the Bible as literature too. I don’t know about you, but my children don’t always make the BEST reading choices, and Illuminations helps to fill in the gaps and broaden their exposure to all types of books and reading levels. I love the study guides that accompany each book, helping ensure that we get the most out of what they’re reading by asking good questions and making spiritual connections.

Visit this page to download samples of Illuminations.
After you drool over the samples 😉 I will leave you with this thought: However we choose to teach our children, we must remember God’s promise, for He is faithful.

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9)