I'm at the point in my homeschooling journey where I can thoughtfully share several homeschooling regrets. Here's the first one. I regret I didn't focus more on language development with lessons in memorization, poetry, verses and classics. While we did do these lessons, we didn't do them often enough and with consistency. Along with these lessons, I regret not spending more time with the mechanics of writing including spelling and penmanship.

We do I feel this way now? And what brought this on?

My temperament has some amazing qualities, and it also has some challenges. What's curious about the challenging parts of my temperament (primarily avoiding conflict), is that that quality is actually a positive one in the right situation. And that quality did serve our homeschool well...until it didn't.

I believed that many learning challenges would work themselves out with time and patience. And while this is true much of the time, when it's not true, early intervention may have been necessary (or just timely intervention).

When one of my children was young, I noticed some letters were always written backwards or incorrectly. I thought a little time was needed to naturally correct those mistakes. Maybe for most children time was all that was needed, but in this specific instance, habit formation, gentle guidance and correcting would have been the solution. Instead, poor habits were formed and mistakes lingered.

Now that I begun my Waldorf teacher training, I am learning so much which could have informed choices I made when my children were younger. Doesn't it always seem like we know exactly how to do something after the experience is complete, and we wonder, "what good is this to me now? My children are grown?!" Such is life.

When I mentioned that regret is not an Islamic concept, I should have clarified that "What if" or "if only" is actually the concept that is not Islamic. We may certainly have regrets, but I hope that these experiences and lessons I have learned help me inform future decisions and help others on their homeschooling journey.

And also, I may add that these 'shortcomings' are mine and not my children's.

Why is language development so important?

Language is acquired through imitation, not taught intellectually. While we have major stages of development every 7 years with birth to 7 years as the Willing phase, followed by the feeling and thinking phase, each cycle is also divided into three phases with birth to 7 years marked by smaller phases of willing, feeling and thinking. This is seen in children where walking precedes talking and talking precedes thinking and each is highlighted by a 2 1/3 year phase making up the first 7 year cycle.

Language shapes the feeling life of the child, as language is not just informational, but formative as well. A child with rich oral language develops a rich inner life.

Language builds the foundation for abstract thought. While abstraction, analogies, critical thinking and intellectualization of material is reserved for post puberty and the third 7 year cycle (14-21 years), the foundations are laid early on.

One may argue accurately that letters and numbers are abstract. This is true. So, to achieve this first lesson in written language, language rich oral stories are told that evoke strong imagery to the children before drawing a picture in which the letter is embedded. Through this lesson, children are guided to see the letter emerge natural like a M appearing in the mountain tops or C appearing in the opening of a cave.

Language development is directly tied to brain development. Children exposed to rich language environments are likely to develop stronger cognitive abilities. While language development may be directly responsible for reading, writing and comprehension abilities, it is also the foundation for reasoning abilities and intellectual endeavors. [Kuhl, P. K. (2004). "Early Language Acquisition." Nature Reviews Neuroscience.]

Language is not just about communication, it is the basis for thinking.

Language transforms a child's sensory experience into meaning, experience into memory, perceptions into concepts and feelings into thought. These functions develop over the child's development from birth to 21 years of age.

How is language development achieved? It is achieved through storytelling (and reading aloud), poetry, singing, memorization of verses, poetry and text, recitation, singing, listening to language above the child's capabilities and oral narration.

These practices strengthen the foundations upon which later intellectual development arises through the practices of writing, reading, comprehension, thinking, reasoning and abstract thought.

And one honorable mention: Language development helps with self expression in the adolescent years.

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