Language Arts materials

[dragonkristine]

Dear Donna,

Fogive me if this is covered elsewhere...

I am looking at purchasing Living Language; your Saints and Heroes is also recommended. Do they overlap? How would they work together? Should I get both for grade two?

Thanks in advance for your comments!

Kristine

[Donna]

Dear Kristine,

The two books are completely different and there is no overlap between them. The Saints & Heroes book is a collection of stories, lesson plans and ideas for creating a second grade main lesson - or using Saints & Heroes as a theme for second grade. Everything is there, including ideas for related activities. And though there is a discussion on why this main lesson appears in Waldorf second grade curriculum as well as ideas on extending this theme, it is only a slim book.

Living Language is, on the other hand over 300 pages of information about the subject of language arts and how you can work with your child in all areas of the curriculum. It is mainly about how to teach - along with many practical ideas including actual lesson plans. But I am always careful in my books not to overlap or repeat information - so for first grade, for instance, though there is certainly a lot about introducing the letters (including story ideas) it is not a day by day series of lessons as in the First Grade Syllabus.

So.... I do think both books are necessary - unless you feel comfortable and confident about creating the actual second grade ml's by yourself (and I do gibe ideas in the S&H book on further LA ml's).

Hope this helps!