Primary Language Lessons (Lost Classics Book Company) Paperback – January 1, 1901

I switched over from First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind to this for my second-grader. It is intended for use starting in the second half of second grade, so for us the timing was right. Mindful of others' comments that the paperback version is not the best, and with plans to use it for several children, I bought the hardback version. It is fairly small, and so well-sized for a child to manipulate but unfortunately easy to misplace in a household with several children.The reviews make it seem that most people are using this in a supplementary fashion. For us, it is the primary textbook. I find that it works very well for this purpose. As an old book, some bits of the grammar are now archaic, and some of the lessons seem more suited to a more rural environment than the one I and my family inhabit. There's a lesson, for instance, that assumes knowledge of several different types of birds and unfortunately my South Texas-raised child has no idea when it snows. So we do skip a few lessons, though as I noted in my review of the intermediate version of this book, more energetic parents will use those bits as jumping-off points for lessons on the subjects therein.For anyone familiar with the book I mentioned at the beginning of this review, this text will flow logically and be quite familiar. There is memorization (though not near as much call and response as in First Language Lessons), there is picture study, there is dictation. I find most of these things to be quite enjoyable. We do frequently substitute other poems for these, as I'm not fond of poetry that presumes to teach morality, but the regular appearance of poems serves as a prompt for me to teach another one, so I still find it useful. The lessons themselves are, for the most part, fairly quick and easily accessible for a child who reads on grade level. The English used, though, is quite formal by modern standards. I also appreciate the readings contained within, and so far so has my daughter.

My rating isn't necessarily because I love it (which i DO), but my son loves this book, which makes me love it more. The lessons are short, but it really does remind me of something you would be given in a school 75 years ago. There's dictation, memorization, reading poetry, answering questions orally, writing down answers, picture lessons, copy work, oral reproduction and more. for being old (copyright 1996), it really feels comprehensive because it is so mentally diverse. it comes at the english language from explaining what they see, writing it down, telling it orally, memorizing and telling a paragraph back to the reader. It exercises the brain with all of these different ways to tackle the lessons. With just these techniques, you could apply this to almost any book to help your child learn in a more comprehensive way.the subject matter is also sweet. the author typically uses animals, weather, pictures in the book, and sweet things that are references to a more innocent life. these are the most common subjects which children this age should be learning about anyway.If you travel, move around a lot, or go to doctor's offices, this is a great size book to fit in your purse or backpack and sneak in a quick lesson. it feels very conversational, can be really short and some could even be done right before bed (not the writing ones). you could probably sneak in lessons while eating out. Really quick and really enjoyable.Most importantly, when i have my son pick his next subject for the day, this book, commonly referred to as "kitties", is almost always picked first. On top of that, we have found out that my son has a gift for memorizing and actually enjoys doing those lessons. who knew?I would recommend this book for anyone homeschooling, and even a summer book to work on english skills with your young ones. It really is an enjoyable book both teacher and student.

We homeschool.When my 7 y/o saw this book, she immediately grabbed it and started looking through it. She was so excited to start using it! I also ordered, at the same time, a new journal for her to use for these lessons.She did the first lesson today - a picture study of Landseer's "Piper and Nutcrackers" painting (which is a painting of 2 squirrels eating nuts and a bird sitting nearby, you can see it if you look at the sample pages of the book). She wasn't sure what squirrels do to prepare for winter (which is one of the questions asked). So, we pulled up some YouTube videos and the 5 y/o sat in and we all learned all about it. She completed the lesson and really enjoyed it. She was so proud of it, she took it and showed it to her grandparents, father, and uncle after she finished. She put her book and journal away and said "Mommy, I LOVE this new book! THANK YOU SO MUCH!" She also told me she couldn't wait to do the next lesson tomorrow.I highly recommend Primary Language Lessons. The lessons are short enough to not be overwhelming for antsy kids, and challenging enough even for my very smart kiddo. Some of the wording is a bit archaic ( for example "For what reason would,,,?" "To where would you...?" etc) but I actually like that about this book. I think it requires more thinking for the student and teacher, which I think is always a good thing. I expect to need to supplement a few things here and there (like we did today with the squirrels), but in all honesty, I think that's not a bad thing. It helps teach kids how to do their own research, and they get to learn something new - unrelated to Language Arts.This book is a perfect fit for us.