Better Than Chocolate

Now that the postal strike here in Canada is over I'm finally getting mail, and in the mail yesterday was Catherine's writing program for Grade 8. It's Lingua Mater and it's had me drooling ever since I was introduced to it by a member of the Well Trained Mind forums.



It's actually a rewrite of a program written by Emma Serl much earlier in the (ETA: last) century. Some of her other books are available on Amazon or for free on Archive.org but Lingua Mater seemed to be the nicest package, most open-and-go and I also liked the Catholic content.

Yes, yes. I know I use secular materials but my kids know next to nothing about the Catholic church, and it is a part of my family history and culture. Besides, many of the teachings and values are really not very different from mine. The odd difference will simply be an opportunity to teach my daughter about Catholicism.

The book contains a good grammar review. Much of it will be very basic for my daughter who has zoomed through MCT's Grammar Voyage but it will stretch her a bit by the end and hopefully lead into Jensen's Grammar for grade 9. There is a heavy dose of classical imitation writing and a big focus on having the student critically examine and edit their own work rather then have the parent mark it.

Bascially, this is the program I've been looking for but haven't managed to find until now and when I opened the envelope yesterday I just wanted to sit down and hug the books. The only problem is that I was set on Writing Tales 1 for my son. Now I'm wondering if I might not want to start him with the first book in this series, Primary Language Lessons. I have a about two months to decide.