Language Arts I
In the days of knights and castles, minstrels wandered Europe and told tales of great heroes, of knights who showed the virtues of courage and bravery and selflessness, of King Arthur and Charlemagne. Over the course of the two semesters we’ll read tales from Iceland and England, France and Germany that bring the eleventh century to life. Students will learn the art of writing through a series of staged assignments based on these tales of valor. As they develop their writing skills, students practice the art of English grammar by studying the Parts of Speech and the Sentence, using many examples from the books we read together.
This course serves as a gentle introduction to the arts of reading, writing, and grammar for elementary school students.
In addition to written work and grammar exercises, a short exam each semester assesses a student’s progress. Dependent upon the needs and homeschooling style of each family, Language Arts 1 can be taken as a graded or not-graded class. With either option the teacher provides corrections and comments on both grammar and writing assignments.
The first hour of class is devoted to instruction in grammar with particular attention to parts of speech. Nouns, adjectives, adverbs, verbs, conjunctions, prepositions, pronouns and antecedents, reflexive and emphatic pronouns – these are all explained with a wide variety of examples and exercises.
The second hour involves the literature-based discussion mentioned above and sequential writing assignments designed to build each student’s ability to formulate and express his or her ideas in writing. Students participate actively in both segments by reading aloud, answering questions in real time, posing their own questions, performing exercises, and engaging in literary discussions.
Although it is recommended to take both parts together, students may also enroll in only the grammar portion or only the literature and writing portion of the class.
There are three sections available for this course. Each teacher has a slightly different emphasis in the grammar, writing, and literature discussion portions of the class. Scroll through the Sections below to read more about each teacher's emphasis.
Prerequisites for this class:
Students in this course should be comfortable reading the books listed below. Beyond that, no previous knowledge of grammar or writing is required.
Fall '21 - Spring '22 Registration is Open!
Registration for Language Arts I, Section A: Mr. Winslow
Maximum Class Size: 15
Early Registration Discount (before June 1): 10% off!
Register for COMPLETE COURSE: Grammar Portion AND Literature and Writing Portion
Class Meets:
Mondays, 7:30 - 9:00 AM Pacific
Click Here to see the 2021-22 Class Schedule
Registration for Language Arts I, Section B: Mrs. Barnett
Maximum Class Size: 15
Early Registration Discount (before June 1): 10% off!
Register for COMPLETE COURSE: Grammar Portion AND Literature and Writing Portion
Register for GRAMMAR PORTION ONLY
Meets Thursdays, 8:00 - 9:00 AM Pacific
Click Here to see the 2021-22 Class ScheduleRegister for LITERATURE AND WRITING PORTION ONLY
Meets Thursdays, 9:00 - 10:00 AM Pacific
Click Here to see the 2021-22 Class Schedule
Registration for Language Arts I, Section C: Dr. Baumert
Maximum Class Size: 15
Early Registration Discount (before June 1): 10% off!
"Dr. Baumert and this program have been a Godsend for my daughters and our family. Everyone I have dealt with has been so kind and helpful. My daughters are learning so much in your class. Thank you, Dr. Baumert, for being a teacher who encourages and motivates them to do their best!"
- Roxanna B., North Carolina
Register for COMPLETE COURSE: Grammar Portion AND Literature and Writing Portion
Register for GRAMMAR PORTION ONLY
Fridays, 8:15 - 9:10 AM Pacific
Click Here to see the 2021-22 Class ScheduleRegister for LITERATURE AND WRITING PORTION ONLY
Meets Fridays, 9:20 -10:15 AM Pacific
Click Here to see the 2021-22 Class Schedule
Susan Baumert, Ph.D.
Susan White Baumert completed her B.A. at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she double majored in Religious Studies and in News-Editorial Journalism. She went on to earn her M.A. and Ph.D. from the Catholic University of America.
Susan and her husband homeschool their three sons, who have inspired her work in classical education, in the Montessori method, as well as her work in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, all of which she has used while homeschooling and volunteering in her community over the past eight years. She is a certified Montessori instructor and has a love for teaching at all levels.
Susan lives in Falls Church, VA, where she enjoys reading, teaching her boys, painting, going on bike rides as a family, and playing with their two toy poodles, Bella and Galaxy.
Seraphim Winslow, B.A.
Seraphim Winslow was dean of students and principal of a classical K-12 academy in San Francisco for over a decade. In addition to homeschooling his son, he has been teaching English, the classical Trivium (Grammar, Logic and Composition), Modern Languages, the Humanities, and Western and World Civilizations and Cultures to students of all ages for more than 30 years. He particularly enjoys working with students in the 4th through 8th grades.
Seraphim graduated with a B.A. with highest honors from the University of California, Berkeley. He also holds Associate of Arts degrees in Philosophy, the Humanities, and General Studies. He is currently pursuing a Master of Arts Degree in Philosophy at San Francisco State University.
Seraphim enjoys the thrill of getting lost in cavernous university libraries and old European bookstores. He also enjoys riding his recumbent tricycle through the pine-laden Sierra foothills, where he lives with his iconographer wife, Lena; his 17-year-old son, Theodore; and their cat, Skipper.
Elena Winslow
Elena Winslow, Seraphim's wife, teaching assistant, curriculum developer, and educational content coordinator, studied in the Department of Fine Arts at the Novosibirsk Pedagogical Institute in Novosibirsk, Russia. She is a native Russian speaker and enjoys gardening, iconography, painting, music, traditional Slavic folkways, and reciting and learning poetry by heart.
Molly Barnett, M.A.
Molly Barnett earned her B.A. with honors in English from The Ohio State University in 2011. Upon graduation, she began teaching middle school English Literature at Grace Christian School in Columbus, Ohio. From there, she accepted a position teaching fourth grade at Immanuel Lutheran School, a Classical School, in Alexandria, Virginia where she taught for the next 6 years. During the summers of 2015-2018, Molly was a graduate student of St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland and earned her M.A. in the liberal arts in August 2018. Later that month, she and her husband, who teaches Latin, Theology, and History in the Upper School at ILS, were joyfully married. They and their son and daughter currently reside in Alexandria where they enjoy little adventures outdoors, spending time with dear friends, and savoring all of life's blessings.
“We are all very anxious to be understood, and it is very hard not to be. But there is one thing much more necessary.”
“What is that, Grandmother?”
“To understand other people.”
— George MacDonald, The Princess and the Goblin
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