Loyola Press offers a variety of curriculum options for homeschool families. I’m reviewing their Voyages in English curriculum as well as one of their books, Shhh…God Is in the Silence.
(BTW- you don’t need to be Catholic to appreciate/use these resources.)
Loyola Press Product Review – Voyages in English
This research-based dual-emphasis grammar and writing program offers a multitude of scaffolded lessons and an easy four-step teaching approach – Teach, Practice, Apply and Assess, which ensures a mastery of skills.
The grammar lessons focus on grammar so students gain the tools they need to learn the structure of language, and the writing instruction is relevant to students’ lives (to the literature they read and to everyday communication). Integration opportunities are built into the program, which allows homeschool parents the opportunity to demonstrate the relationship between grammar and writing. The program allows flexible planning so parents can adapt based on their student’s needs. Also, the program offers exceptional homeschool teacher support.
In short, Voyages in English empowers students to become critical thinkers – and effective readers, writers, speakers, and listeners. Wow, that’s saying a lot!
For a program overview, click here.
And click here to see samples.
What do I like about the Voyages in English curriculum?
In General
- It’s research based.
- And very thorough. Check out the table of contents for the Student Edition textbook, Grade 5. Everything is covered!
- The engaging, multimodal lessons are appropriately challenging, and they’re scaffolded to support children at different ability levels.
- This is also good for kids with different learning styles.
- As mentioned, integration opportunities are built into the program, allowing teachers to show the relationship between grammar and writing. I’m really a fan of this dual emphasis. It provides opportunities for communication mastery that a reading program alone doesn’t offer.
- Thorough explanations and clear examples are provided throughout.
- And there are an abundance of practice opportunities, which ensures skill mastery.
- I appreciate the real life examples.
- I also appreciate the Tech Tips – practical ways to use technology to enhance the learning experience.
Specifically Grammar
- Grammar lessons contain two full pages of review, followed by a Grammar Challenge.
- Sentence diagramming! I think I missed diagramming in my public school experience.
- The Grammar and Mechanics Handbook offers a quick reference of grammar and usage facts.
Specifically Writing
- The program provides focused practice in various writing genres.
- The Writer’s Corner offers skill application for each writing concept.
- Traits of effective writing are integrated in natural, relevant ways.
The Kindergarten Materials
- I love the kindergarten books as they are 14″ x 18″ – the oversized structure is designed so teachers can “hold and show”. This invites young learners to interactively experience language arts concepts.
- And the books are so cute!
- The K Writing Cards box is also cool. The box includes 90 bright and colorful cards with writing prompts that spark a student’s imagination. The cards are divided into 6 different genres and are broken down into 3 levels of writing proficiency. This allows students to begin at their current level and grow in their abilities. Plus, the box and cards are of high quality – they’ll last for years.
Other Grades
- The fifth grade resources include a hardcover Student Edition; an interactive, digital Edition; a spiral-bound Teaching Edition; Practice Books; Assessment Books; and online customizable assessment tools. As with the younger resources, these are of very high quality with wipe-able covers. I actually weighed the 5th grade materials – 9.5 lbs – and hundreds of pages of educational resources!
- The Teacher books offer flexible planning – so they can pivot – based on their student’s needs.
- The Teacher books offer lots of homeschool support, including lesson objectives, materials lists, helpful teaching tips, reproducible masters, and a ton of creative, interactive activities, checklists, writing rubrics, assessment opportunities and more.
- Grammar helps include an at-a-glance skills list for each grammar section, a review of diagramming basics, Grammar Expert questions and answers, teaching options such as Reteach, Meeting Individual Needs, And Diagram It! and more. Writing Connections helps teachers transition easily/naturally between grammar and writing sessions.
- Writing helps include Grammar Connections to provide relevant ways to incorporate grammar into the Writer’s Workshop, genre summaries, Literature Lists that offer ideas for additional genre exploration, and more.
I’m so impressed with the Voyages in English curriculum! I think you will be too.
And they have many curriculum options to choose from.
BTW, you can check out Loyola Press catalogs here.
Loyola Press Product Review – Shhh…God Is in the Silence
Through the “gentle repetition of simple yet profound truths”, Shhh…God Is in the Silence “helps children realize that silence is a form of prayer—the part of the prayer conversation when we quiet our minds to listen to God in our hearts”.
And guess what? English and Bilingual (Spanish/English) versions are available. You can check out pages of the English book below.
What do I like about Shhh…God Is in the Silence?
- The message! I especially like – You are precious. There is no one else like you.
- The book teaches kids to not be afraid of the silence – quiet time is important for all of us.
- The additional included activities.
- The book is of nice quality – with a wipe-able cover and thick pages.
- And the graphics are cute and peaceful
- This is a really nice bedtime book
Did you like this product review? We really enjoyed writing it for you. You can check out our other reviews at https://www.howtohomeschool.net/curriculum-reviews
- Loyola Press Product Review
