Encouraging Language Development In Young Children (Language Development Part 3)

This post is Part 3 in a series about early language development. Click here to read Part 1, and here to read Part 2.

Language is a gift from God that enables us to communicate with others, and as a result, to develop relationships with the people who come into our lives. I think we would all agree that language is important, so what can we do at home to actively promote the development of our children's language during early childhood? Fortunately, the answer is a lot! And the really good news is that doing so isn’t rocket science. In all likelihood, you are already doing a lot of this with your child:

• Intentionally talking to your child throughout your everyday life and activities.
• Encouraging your child to communicate with you, listening attentively when she does communicate, and then repeating back and expanding upon her language.
• Reading aloud is an absolute must.

See, you already do some of this, right? Let’s dive right in to some specific suggestions for children between the ages of birth and four years. Keep in mind at every age and stage that your child understands more language than she is able to produce. So, even long before your child is talking, lots of language development is happening and there is plenty that you can do to encourage that progression. These activities will benefit any child, whether or not that child has demonstrated a language delay. Please note that these suggestions are not intended to replace speech and language therapy. If you child is receiving therapy, her clinician will suggest more specific activities to do at home that are designed to support current goals and objectives.

Birth–3 Months

•  Do what mothers already do naturally: Bond with your baby. Hold her . . . in fact, hold her a lot.
• Sing to her.
• Bring your face close to hers and talk to her sweetly.
• Smile at her, and imitate the sweet little noises she makes.
• Click your tongue and watch as she notices it.
• Exaggerate your facial expressions as you talk and sing to her.
• Hold a rattle and gently shake it, watching your baby move her eyes as she hears the sound.
• Listen to music and sing as you rock your baby.
• Enjoy the preciousness of infancy. It is fleeting.

3-6 Months

• Allow your baby to look at a variety of interesting objects, including colorful toys with lots of visual detail.
• Hold your baby’s hand and help her to explore different textures, like a blanket, hard and soft toys, and your face. There are plenty of textured baby toys available on the market, or use items from around the house.
• Laugh with her when she laughs.
• Talk to her in an animated, expressive way. Use a variety of facial expressions when you talk to her. Keep your face close to hers (about 12 inches away), making eye contact with her; vary your pitch from high to low, and your loudness from a whisper to a normal speaking voice.  Babies quickly become good imitators of the expressions they see and the sounds that they hear.
• Sing to her a lot. 
• Read or recite nursery rhymes, and read simple board books to her.

 6-12 Months

• Actively respond to your baby’s coos, gurgles, and babbles.
• Read colorful, simple books to her every day. Read slowly and expressively. 
• Show your child pictures of animals in books and name each one as she looks at it. Then, ask her to show you each animal as you name it.  Hold your child’s hand and help her to point to the animals, if needed. Imitate animal noises as you look at the books together.
• Throughout each day, talk to your child about what you are doing and what she is doing, keeping your language concrete and simple. Make eye contact with her when talking face to face.
• Play simple games with your baby, such as Peek-a-Boo, Pat-a-Cake, and So Big.
• Play music and sing to your child.
• Get on the floor and play with your child. Talk to her as she plays, describing her toys, actions, and explorations with an expressive voice.
• Around 9 months of age, your child will begin to understand that she can communicate with a specific purpose in mind; this is called communicative intent (for example, she can make a request for something that she wants). From this time on, you can begin to adjust her environment to make intentional communication more likely. For example, give her a toy that you know she will need to help to operate (like a wind-up toy).  Place desired items just a little bit out of her reach. Give her a puzzle with a missing piece. Encourage her to communicate with gestures, sounds, or words (early words probably won’t be understandable, and that’s okay). Before my children could talk, I taught them to use the American Sign Language (ASL) sign for “help” when they wanted to request my help with something.

12-15 Months

• Continue to talk to your child a lot, and try to encourage her to talk to you, too.
• Read, read, read to her every day. When you read simple picture books together, use them to communicate with your child and in turn, to stimulate her to communicate with you. For example, ask her to point to the pictures in books as you name them (“show me the . . . “), then encourage her to try naming some of the pictures.
• As you talk to your child throughout each day, name the items that your child sees (i.e., milk, table, a pet’s name, etc.) out loud, and encourage her to say the words back to you. Describe her play activities and toys out loud as she is playing.
• Let her make noise with safe, household items, such as a pie tin and wooden spoon, and “make music” with these items while you sing simple songs or chant nursery rhymes.
• Teach the concepts of in and out by showing her how to put items into containers, and dump them back out again. Next, ask her to do it, helping her (if needed) to put something in, then to dump it back out.

18 Months

• Continue to read to your child every day.
• Talk to her throughout your daily activities, describing what you and your child are doing, feeling, and hearing. Look at her and make eye contact with her when you are talking together.
• Expand her vocabulary by encouraging her to repeat words after you say them; always try to teach new words based on the items you encounter and the experiences that you have together each day.
• Repeat your child’s spoken words and phrases back to her, then expand on them. For example, when she says “milk”, say to her, “I want some milk, please,” and encourage her to repeat it. When she says “book”, say to her “I want a book,” and encourage her to imitate you.
• Praise her communicative efforts often! Make communication fun and pleasant without any pressure.

Two Years Old

• Continue to read to her every day, choosing simple books with colorful pictures, nursery rhymes, and books with repetitive language. Eric Carle and Audrey Wood are two examples of authors who use repetitive language.
• Model good speech and language when you talk to your child.
• When your child says something, expand on it by asking questions that will stimulate additional thought and language. Always think about expanding her language.
• Regularly and intentionally carry on conversations with your child. Make eye contact with her. Try to listen attentively as your child talks to you, and show her that you are listening by answering, nodding, and smiling. Not only is this good for her language development, but it will also create a habit of good communication between you and your child that will benefit your relationship for life.
• Help her learn to follow simple instructions and commands with one step, such as “pick up the ball” or “put your cup on the table”.
• Listen to music and sing with your child, and try to encourage her to sing along with you. This is the perfect time to sing action songs, like The Wheels On the Bus.
• Introduce new vocabulary words to her, repeating those words often to help her learn and remember them.

3-4 Years Old

• Continue to talk with your child often, making eye contact, actively listening, and expanding her language by asking questions. Teach her the relationships between words, objects, and ideas by talking to her about the new experiences and objects that she encounters. Talk to here a little bit beyond her understanding. Converse with her as you would with any other person.
• Keep reading to your child daily, beginning to choose longer stories, which will model good language for her and also help to increase her attention span.
• Read nursery rhymes and books with repetitive language, which will stimulate phonological awareness (a pre-reading skill), as well as other areas of language. Try to get your child to join in with you as you read the rhymes and repetitions. Ask her to tell you stories as you look at picture books together.
• Encourage your child to talk to you about what she sees when you go for a walk or a ride together.
• Tell your child stories (both real and pretend) and then encourage her to tell you a story about herself or someone else. If you want to go a step further with this, write her story down as she tells you, then let her illustrate it. Most likely, she will want to "read" her story again and again.
• Sing with your child and listen to music together. 
• Practice giving her some two step commands to follow (i.e., “give me your brush and pick up the shoe”).
• Help her begin to classify common, familiar objects into categories, such as things I wear. You can do this with pictures cut from magazines or with real objects from around the house.

There are some common themes that you probably noticed within nearly every age group in this list of suggestions. Talk to your child. Name objects. Read to your child. Sing to your child. Expand her language. Make eye contact. The repetition may have seemed redundant, but these concepts are so important at every stage of development that they are worth repeating. Let's talk a little bit more about a couple of them.

Reading aloud. My personal belief is that there is nothing more important that you can do for your child’s language development than to read aloud to her often. The good news is that most homeschool familes that I know already read a lot, so I’m almost certain that this is already a part of your daily routine. Keep it up and expand on it! Reading is so useful for stimulating speech and language that I would eventually like to write a blog post about specific ways to use books to help a variety of speech and language issues. Stay tuned!

Music and singing. At every age and stage, I suggested singing to your child. Why? One reason is simply because children love music, and it engages their attention in a way that little else can. Also, music benefits many areas of development, including language. It helps to improve memory, even for little babies as they learn to anticipate the variations in pitch and inflection that they will hear in a familiar song. Music helps to enhance auditory processing, and it is a tool that is often used to help a child learn just about anything. That’s why there are so many CDs marketed to help children learn everything from math facts to Bible verses. Additionally, the rhyming language in children’s songs helps to build phonological awareness, which is a critical language skill for reading. Some music styles, including classical music, promote active listening, which is important for language development. Singing helps to develop imitation, which is yet another significant language skill. On a personal note, when my middle child was a baby, music helped her to learn imitation in a memorable way. I used to sing to her about everything—whatever we happened to be doing at the moment—to the tune of Freres Jacques. Imagine my surprise when, at 8 months of age, she started humming Freres Jacques on her own, usually while I was rocking her. She then began babbling to the tune of Freres Jacques. As she grew a little older, she made up words to sing to that same tune. True story. It was super cute and it provided another avenue for her to learn imitation prior to her first spoken—or sung—words.

On a final note, I want to briefly discuss the use of sign language in young children. Children are often able to learn to use signs before they are able to talk, and it can be very gratifying for them to learn to sign some commonly used words early on. My children regularly used a handful of signs when they were babies, including more, eat, drink, in, out, and help. People often fear that introducing sign language in the early years will prevent a child from talking, although the reality is that studies have shown the opposite to be true. The ability to communicate by using sign language provides natural rewards that will often stimulate a desire to communicate even more. This can lead to earlier talking. The most efficient way for typically-developing, non-hearing impaired children to communicate is by talking, and they will always use this most efficient method as soon as they develop the ability to do so. So, please do not be afraid to use sign language with your baby. Spoken words will soon replace the signs, but it can be fun and rewarding for young children to learn some signs early on. Do use spoken words along with the signs when talking to your baby so she will learn to link the two together. Click here for some tips on getting started with baby sign language.

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/39734516@N00/5697684827">Mother's Day</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">(license)</a>

Home, Sweet Home

I love poetry. 

As a homeschool mom who leans heavily toward the Charlotte Mason philosophy of edcucation, I have been intentional about including poetry in the lives of my children. Yesterday, my daughter and I read Home, Sweet Home by John Howard Payne. Although it is a familiar poem, I still enjoy it every time I read it. Home, Sweet Home feels especially encouraging to me as a homeschool mom because it confirms, in a beautiful way, how natural it is to celebrate the sweetness of home. It really is possible to experience fulfillment and contentment at home, even if the rest of the world would have us to believe otherwise. Please read and be encouraged: There is a reason that we feel drawn to do what we do, and the peace of mind that we experience from doing it is not worth anything else that the world might offer. There is no place like home.

Home, Sweet Home 

'Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,

Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home!

A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there,

Which, seek through the world, is ne'er met with elsewhere.

Home, home, sweet, sweet home!

There's no place like home! There's no place like home!

An exile from home, splendor dazzles in vain;

Oh, give me my lonely thatched cottage again!

The birds singing gayly, that came at my call-- 

Oh, give me them--and the peace of mind, dearer than all!

Home, home, sweet, sweet, home!

There's no place like home! There's no place like home!

~John Howard Payne


photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/93448689@N02/9687494422">Rose Cottage at Slad</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">(license)</a>

A Charlotte Mason Music Class

Last year I started a small, Charlotte Mason-inspired homeschool co-op. I played the role of music teacher within the group and we sought to included the aspects of music appreciation that were endorsed by Charlotte Mason in her writings. These included composer study, hymn study, and folk music. Following is a synopsis of the music classes that were held in our Charlotte Mason co-op.

Composer study was allotted for the first portion of each class. One composer was studied per semester, and our composers last year were Bach and Mozart. We began each class session with a narration time, where the children were asked to tell me something that they remembered from previous weeks about the composer. After that, new information was presented, which involved reading aloud from one of Opal Wheeler’s composer biographies. These books are very engaging and informative -- perfect to use for composer study. I also conducted some additional research about the composers so that I could present interesting facts about their lives that may not have been included in the Opal Wheeler books. In addition, I used the corresponding Opal Wheeler CDs and played the short selections that corresponded with each chapter in the book.

I then played one or more musical selections by our featured composer that lasted a maximum of ten minutes. During this time of listening, the children were given something to do with their hands. For the younger class, (K- 3rd) this usually involved a coloring page. The Opal Wheeler CD-ROMs contain coloring pages that correspond with the chapters in her books. Also, I found some free coloring pages of musical instruments and musical symbols online. The older group (4th - 8th) were given notebooking pages to draw and write on. Sometimes the children simply used plain paper to draw or write on while listening to the music. After the listening time was over, we talked about the music a bit. I asked the children to tell me the instruments that they heard in each piece, whether the tempo was fast or slow, what the music made them think of, and how it made them feel. This created an opportunity to use group discussion to strengthen the connection with the music.

We studied hymns in our Charlotte Mason music class, mostly focusing on hymns with lyrics that were written by Fanny Crosby. Prior to the beginning of the school year, I read a biography about Fanny Crosby in preparation for the class. I presented a fact or two about Fanny’s life and held up her picture each week. We learned a different hymn by Fanny Crosby every month. For the younger class, I came up with hand motions for the some of the hymns to help keep their attention. Also, I used a jazzed-up version of “To God Be the Glory” a couple of times that the younger group really enjoyed.

For the folk song portion of the class, we learned American patriotic songs and American folk music because many homeschooled children may not have had as much exposure to these as their public school counterparts. It seemed like a good opportunity to present them. During the first semester, we sang traditional songs, such as “America the Beautiful” and “America”. During the second semester, we sang the more ‘fun’ variety of American songs, including “When Johnny Comes Marching Home”, “Turkey In the Straw”, and “The Erie Canal”.

For the final portion of class, I took a few minutes to introduce or review a musical concept. These topics were diverse and included the families of instruments in the orchestra; music notes, signs, and symbols; note values and rhythm; melody, harmony, and learning to sing in a round; posture and breathing while singing; and some basic musical terms.

I love the richness that a Charlotte Mason education brings to the homeschool experience. I appreciate her view of art and music as integral parts of education. I must admit, though, that I have found it difficult at times to include them in my home school regularly. They tend to get buried underneath the subjects that we traditionally view as core. That is why the Charlotte Mason co-op was so valuable for my children and for me. Although this may sound terrible, the co-op literally forced me to include composer study and picture study consistently in my children’s education. Every time I hear one of my children make a reference to Mozart or to Bach, I know that the classes were worthwhile. When we are singing a hymn in church and one of my kids excitedly says, “That’s a Fanny Crosby song,”  I can’t help but smile. Something that was very gratifying for me about teaching the music class was the way that many of the families continued the learning at home. Almost every week, a child would come to class almost bursting to tell me something they had learned about Bach or Mozart from a book they read at home or a documentary their family watched together. This made the class especially meaningful for me. 

I truly hope that you will  find a way to gently incorporate the arts into your children‘s education, whether that occurs in a group situation or among your family at home. I can tell you that it is so worth it. Our children need not only to be instructed; they also need to feel inspired.

Favorite Homeschool Freebies Part 1

Those of us who homeschool our children are typically living on one income, which is never an easy feat in our modern world. Homeschool curriculum can cost a pretty penny too, making quality free resources highly valuable to us. Below is a list of some of my favorite free resources that are currently available to homeschoolers.

1.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/
free online typing program from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Targeted for ages 7 - 11, your kids will learn to type while playing games that feature entertaining animation.

2. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/websites/4_11/site/languages.shtml
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) website also offers free online foreign language courses for children up to age 11. Online instruction features lots of games, cool animation, and FUN! Choose from Spanish, French, or Mandarin

3. http://www.c-spanclassroom.org/
C-Span offers free online resources and links for social studies teachers (homeschool teachers included). In addition, if you register with this website, you will receive notification of periodic special offers. For example, I received a free, full-color timeline poster of American presidents from C-Span. This high-quality poster was mailed directly to me at no cost just for registering on the website. Although the poster offer has expired, more special deals are sure to follow. Register now so you will know about them when they become available.

4. http://www.yourstoryhour.org/article.php?id=17
Clubhouse, a free online magazine for children available from Your Story Hour, can either be read online or printed from their website. This magazine is full of stories, jokes, and puzzles for kids.

5. http://www.yourstoryhour.org/article.php?id=16
“Adventures in the Holy Bible” is a free series of Bible lessons for children available from Your Story Hour. Currently, you must sign up online or via telephone to receive the lessons, which arrive a few at a time in the mail (lessons might be available online in the future). The quizzes at the end of each Bible lesson must be completed and mailed back to Your Story Hour in order to receive the next group of lessons. This series also includes a set of 13 free CDs containing audio dramas about the life of Jesus that are mailed out along with the Bible lessons. The materials and CDs are yours to keep.

6. http://www.donnayoung.org/
Donna Young’s website offers free homeschool planners and numerous printable resources based on many academic subjects and topics. Her handwriting pages are especially popular among homeschoolers!

7. http://home.pct.edu/~evavra/KISS.htm
KISS Grammar is an online grammar program that is very comprehensive. All materials are free and printable for your use. This program is a bit complicated to use at first, but becomes easier to understand and is quite feasible after a thorough reading of all of the information and instructions on the website.

8. http://children.cccm.com/site/curriculum.htm
A series of 325 children’s Bible lessons from the old and new testaments are available for free from Calvary Chapel. These online lessons are printable or you may send for a free CD-ROM containing all of the lessons. Each lesson contains Bible verses, a coloring page, puzzles, games, and comprehension questions.

9. http://www.aboverubies.org/
Above Rubies magazine has been a ministry of Nancy Campbell and her family for over 33 years. Subscriptions to this magazine are free and she also offers a newsletter and many additional resources on her website. I personally receive this magazine and find the articles to be encouraging and uplifting. I was even pleasantly surprised to receive a personal, hand-written note from Nancy along with my first issue. Please be aware that this magazine unabashedly promotes a large family size. I do not have a large family, however, and still find lots of encouragement and information in the pages of Above Rubies.

10. http://www.homeschoolshare.com/
Homeschool Share offers LOTS of free lapbooking templates and unit studies! When I used Five In a Row curriculum with my kids a few years ago, this site was invaluable to me. Free lapbooks and notebooking pages are available to go with almost every FIAR story!

11. http://www.abcteach.com/
An educational site offering 5000+ free printable theme units, word puzzles, writing forms, book report forms, grammar lessons, math lessons and more.

12. http://gardenofpraise.com/
Garden of Praise offers free online art appreciation lessons, Bible lessons, biographies, downloadable songs to assist with the memorization of facts, and much more!

13. http://www.handsofachild.com/
In the Hands of a Child is the premiere company for lapbooks, in my opinion. Their website always has a link for a free lapbook and they also offer a $5.00 e-book that changes weekly.

14. http://www.amblesideonline.org/index.shtml
Ambleside Online is one of my favorite homeschool websites. This Charlotte Mason-inspired website features a free curriculum guide that is very comprehensive and utilizes living books. Their other free resources, information, and links are too numerous to mention! One of my favorite resources on this site is the free, downloadable art prints. Ambleside Online has inspired and enabled me to teach art appreciation in my home.

15. http://bringinguplearners.com/mosaic-myths-maps-and-marvels/
Mosaic History is an absolutely free history curriculum and guide. This site includes many other free educational resources as well.

16. http://www.enature.com/birding/audio.asp
This is ideal for nature study! E-Nature features audios of the songs and calls of more than 550 North American birds. Listen online or download.

17. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/bbimages/PDFs/ColoringBook.pdf
Another great resource for studying birds! I know that most people recommend drawing (rather than coloring) birds for nature study, but this free Feeder Birds Printable Coloring Book has been perfect for one of my children who LOVES to color.

18. http://thehomeschoolmagazine.com/Digital-Supplement/Homeschool101.html
Homeschool 101 is a lengthy, comprehensive, AMAZING digital supplement available from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Who needs to buy a book about the basics of home education when this is available for free?

19. http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com/unitstudies.html#free
Free unit studies based on history, science, and other various topics.

20. http://www.aesopfables.com/
Aesop’s Fables online for free! 655+ fables are on this site. Some include the text only, while others have an audio option.

21. http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/text/text-idx?c=nietz;page=browse;id=navbarbrowselink;cginame=text-idx;cc=nietz;key=title;value=m
19th century McGuffey readers are available digitally for free!

22. http://filefolderfun.com/
If you like to supplement your curriculum with independent activities such as file folder games, this is a great site for you! You’ll find numerous printable templates here for making your own file folder games.

23. http://www.bookitprogram.com/enrollment/homeschool.asp
Yes, homeschoolers are eligible for Pizza Hut’s famous Book-It program! Every month, the teacher (i.e., mom) sets reading goals for each child. When those monthly goals are accomplished, the child is given a coupon for a free personal pan pizza. Book-It offers suggestions for goals based on grade level, but those objectives are ultimately determined by you. Example goals would include the child reading a certain number of pages each week or for a certain amount of time every night. My personal disclaimer: As a follower of Charlotte Mason’s educational philosophy, I am not a huge fan of this type of reward system. I feel that children (and adults) ought to read simply for the joy of it. However, rewards do have their place and I am glad that well-known programs such as Book-It are available to homeschoolers. We signed up for Book-It for the first time this year, and although we didn’t do it every month, the kids liked going out for pizza when we did!

I would like to include two additional resources in this list even though they are not true freebies.


24. The “teacher toolbox” feature of The Old Schoolhouse website is free for paid magazine subscribers only. The Old Schoolhouse is the best homeschool magazine available, in my opinion, and the online “teacher toolbox” feature includes a monthly menu/meal plan with recipes, e-books, unit studies, crafts, printables, and more! The regular price for a one-year subscription to The Old Schoolhouse magazine is $29.95, but they frequently offer special deals. Check online at http://thehomeschoolmagazine.com/.

25. This is a discount rather than a freebie, but I am including it on the list because it is highly valuable for homeschoolers. Homeschool teachers are eligible for the Educator Discount Program at Barnes and Noble. If you have not taken advantage of this “perk”, ask to enroll the next time you are in the store. You will receive a card that entitles you to 20% off the regular price of all purchases for classroom use. It’s a fabulous deal, especially if you use a lot of literature in your homeschool.


Enjoy these freebies and feel free to post YOUR personal favorites that are not included on the list. We all love finding great resources to help make our homeschooling experience a little bit more affordable!

Book Review: A Child's History of the World by Virgil Hillyer

Ever since my homeschooling career began , I have seen A Child’s History of the World  (ACHOW) listed in catalogs and I have read numerous reviews of the book online. As a Charlotte Mason enthusiast, I was intrigued because so many proponents of living books recommend this “textbook” as part of a Charlotte Mason program. I recently decided to check it out for myself. I must admit that I was a bit skeptical because I knew that Hillyer’s text was regarded as a secular book. I feel strongly that ALL of the facts of history should be taught. The influence of Christianity, for example, should not be ignored, excluded, or continually presented with a negative bias. On the flip side, Christian texts should never gloss over past atrocities committed by so-called Christian individuals or groups (this happens too). The good, the bad, and the ugly should all be included in a history curriculum. We need to understand ALL of history in order to learn from it and prevent the mistakes of the past from being repeated. Revising history to suit the perspective of the textbook author is just plain wrong. As a Christian, I also have concerns with secular history books because of the interpretation of events that occurred prior to recorded history contained in such books. Obviously, there is very little evidence to explain definitively the people and events of that time and “pre-history” is open to interpretation. Such interpretations are usually made in accordance with one’s worldview.  My hesitation about these history texts, even if they are not overtly revisionist books, is that the authors’ interpretations of “pre-history” and prehistoric man do not line up with scripture. Because I believe in the absolute authority and inerrancy of the Holy Bible, it is important for the teaching of “pre-history” in my home to be interpreted through the lens of scripture. These concerns characterized my initial uncertainty regarding ACHOW.

Let’s begin with the facts. ACHOW is a survey of world history published by Calvert School for fourth grade students. Other companies, such as Sonlight, sell the book as part of a curriculum package for students as young as first or second grade. ACHOW was originally published in 1924 by Virgil Hillyer, Calvert School’s first headmaster. Reprinted in 1951 with some updates and revisions, the book consists of 603 pages contained in 91 chapters. Although Hillyer stated in his Introduction that he grew up in the Christian faith, the first four chapters present a secular interpretation of prehistoric man with evolutionary content.  Chapter 5 is entitled “Real History Begins” and from this point on, the chapters move chronologically through history, highlighting key people and events from all major societies and cultures. As would be expected, the book begins with ancient civilizations, including Egypt, Babylon, Mesopotamia, Israel, Greece, and the Roman empire, including the mythology and beliefs of those cultures. ACHOW discusses the beginnings of both Christianity and Islam in great detail. This book also discusses the history of ancient Africa, Phonecia and Arabia. We are then transitioned into the Middle Ages and presented with plentiful information about castles, knights, pirates, lords and ladies, and servants of the feudal system. The rise of Islam and the Crusades are also highlighted. Some details about West Africa and Asia during this time period are covered, although Europe receives much greater emphasis. Modern history through the twentieth century encompasses a broad range of topics, including Columbus, explorers and conquerors, Native Americans, the Elizabethan age, the Tudors and Stuarts of England, the Protestant Reformation, slavery and the Civil War, the Industrial Revolution, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the rise of the Soviet Union, and the Cold War. China, South America and the Caribbean Islands are given considerable coverage too. Because this book is meant as a basic survey for children, some topics are given a general overview and the intention is not to "cover everything". Rather, the focus is on the captivating stories of history. Notably, illustrations are limited to a few black and white line drawings.

Now to offer my humble opinion about this book. Truthfully, ACHOW is the most engaging history text I have ever read. It clearly qualifies as a living book! From the moment I began reading, I found it nearly impossible to put down. I devoured it more readily than I would a novel (and that’s saying something) and completed all 601 pages within a matter of a few days. It is no exaggeration to say that I learned more world history in those three days than I did during my twelve years of public school. Hillyer’s delightful style of storytelling brings the past to life and presents history in a way that is fascinating for children and adults alike. Because history is so often presented in a rather tedious manner, we are inclined to forget how engaging and interesting it really is. We tend to get lost in a sea of names and dates while learning little about the personalities, conflicts, and triumphs of the human spirit that have shaped our world. Not so with this book. Your children (and you) will be drawn into the lives of real people from the past, gaining insight and understanding that goes far beyond anything trivial or rote. Regarding my concerns about the secular nature of the book, it was honestly a non-issue. Excepting the interpretation of prehistoric man in the first few chapters, ACHOW covers history factually, without noticeable slant or bias.  ACHOW would be an interesting and age-appropriate book to use with any child in the elementary grades or even junior high. Perhaps this text could even provide a high school student with a light refresher during short breaks from the regular curriculum. I believe that my own experience and testimony provide living proof that college-educated adults can learn a lot from this book!

Although ACHOW is an excellent book, I would like to mention a few minor concerns. For Christians who are concerned about the book’s presentation of prehistoric man, I would recommend skipping chapters one through four and beginning with chapter five. The Bible, along with other books written from a Christian perspective, can be substituted. Also, a wise parent will skim each chapter ahead of time to make note of anything found to be objectionable. For example, some parents have complained about political correctness and minor inaccuracies in the updated version. I did not notice a lot of this, but we each have our own standards and should be aware that some parents are apprehensive about ACHOW for this reason. I only noticed one inaccuracy, which was when Hillyer referenced the biblical account of David and Michal and stated that they “fell in love”. Anyone who has read this story from the Bible knows that Michal was offered to David as a prize for defeating the Philistines. There is more to the story, but “falling in love“ had little to do with it. I noticed this single inaccuracy, but other aspects of this book are undeniably superior to anything else I have read, making it worthwhile in spite of it.

ACHOW could be used multiple ways in a homeschool setting and it would be impossible to adequately expound on all of them in this post. This book would be ideal as a multi-age, family read-aloud or it could be read independently by a child of appropriate age and reading level. It could easily stand alone for a history survey course or it could be used as a spine along with age-appropriate literature, including biographies, historical fiction, and Usborne-style picture books. Lapbooking or notebooking could be worked in nicely or the study of history could even be expanded into several multi-subject unit studies based on each time period. Charlotte Mason’s narration technique would work well with this book, but Calvert School sells a workbook with comprehension exercises and other activities if you prefer a more structured approach. Regardless of whether nothing, a little, or a lot is added to ACHOW, it has great potential as an ideal fit for many families. Although marketed as a one-year course through Calvert School, it could easily be expanded into a two-year course (or possibly even longer) by adding in literature, map work, a time line, and hands-on activities or research projects. In addition, ACHOW should have broad appeal to both Christian and secular homeschoolers.

 I believe that world history can and should be taught in the elementary grades and that ACHOW is a wonderful resource to help us accomplish this. In Hillyer‘s introduction, he stated that most American children inadvertently believe that time began in 1492. They have very little knowledge of the world prior to the discovery of America. This is truly a shame and should inspire us to teach world history regardless of whether or not it is included in our more traditional curricula. As a Christian parent, I have thought about the following questions regarding the teaching of history as it relates to our faith. How can our children comprehend the Bible without understanding the histories and cultures of the nations that existed during Bible times? How can they nurture a desire to fulfill the great commission without knowing about other nations, including the people, events, and beliefs that shaped them? How can they possibly understand current events without the ability to view them through the lens of the past? We must remember that history really is His Story and that Christian parents have a responsibility to share that story with our children. A Child’s History of the World  is a great resource to help us do just that. May God use the teaching of history to plant seeds in the lives our children that inspire them to share His story, His love, and His Son with others around the world.

To purchase A Child's History of the World, click here:

http://www.exodusbooks.com/details.aspx?id=6307&referral=xmj3rp76

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