CQLA and WBLA Customer Comments
From a home schooling mom in Ohio:
I just wanted to tell you what a blessing it was to meet you and what a blessing, I believe, your curriculum will be to my children. Language Arts has always intimidated me. In my 2 years of home schooling, I have spent over $1,000.00 on different LA materials. I have tried and bought Sonlight LA, Shurley Grammar, IEW, Daily Grams, Easy Grammar, 5 Minutes a Day, Phoenetic Zoo, Spelling Power and more. This past year we were studying the different aspects of LA from 5 different sources and never wrote one composition. I don't know if it is because English is my second language but I hate to write anything and by the time we finished the other aspects of LA, I didn't have the time, energy or confidence to tackle writing. I love how you put it all in one curriculum, including composition, with a schedule. This curriculum is for the mom who wants their hand held every step of the way. You are an answer to prayer. I don't want my children to experience the kind of fear I have when it comes to writing...its a terrible burden.
I have the kind of personality or teaching style where I need everything laid out for me, and the more scripted, the better. That's why I love Sonlight Core so much; they tell you exactly what to read, ask and do....with the answers. Math-U-See is the same way, you and your child watch a 3-5 minute video presentation with each new concept and the teaching is done, your student just goes and practices it. I could never be one of these home schooling moms that come up with their own plan or unit study. It overwhelms me and I second guess myself too much. As good as Sonlight is in their core, their LA is too un-directed. They would say..."This month write a descriptive essay.".....I need more instruction than that!
And I love the concept of IEW, but it overwhelmed me.....too much information and not enough direction. I love how you took IEW and made our checklist for us, and the how you told us what the banned words are, and how you gave us the -ly words to choose from..........I feel a hint of confidence bubbling in me. For the first time, I feel like I’m going to be able teach my children LA and composition...and teach it well. Like I asked you at conference, where have you been all my life????!!!!!!
From a homeschooling mom about WBLA (CQLA's sister program designed for the Advanced Training Institute):
I am absolutely sold on WBLA. We have been using WBLA for 3 years now and I have seen more improvement in my children's language skills with this one curriculum than all the other things we have tried.
I have a son with major learning challenges and I did not even include him in our pilot program [of WBLA] initially. The Lord spoke to my heart and let me know He had plans for my son that included WBLA! My son improved so much the first year that I was able to discontinue his private tutoring with the blessing of his tutor! She was amazed at the progress he made. He started in Level A and progressed to Level B the second year. He even wrote the compositions with us that first year. They weren't elaborate, but they were good and better than anything he had done before. Now he dictates poetry, essays, etc. with my help in getting it on paper. He is able to go to a Basic Seminar and get much of the material on paper himself. All this from a young man who had a hard time spelling 2-3 grade spelling words at age 13.
From a homeschooling mom in Georgia about WBLA (CQLA's sister program designed for the Advanced Training Institute):
Last year I had a void in the grammar side of my home schooling. I tried a workbook for one child, an oral grammar curriculum with another and nothing for the others. Their spelling is poor. We wrote sporadically which ended up being about 4 times that year! I hoped to "live" language but was too busy living life with meals, diapers, etc. Needless to say, WBLA has met a much needed void! I do not enjoy writing but try not to pass that prejudice to my children. We just finished the second week of WBLA 9. We started in month 9 of your curriculum. I have 2 children in level A and 2 in level B. The ease of walking step by step through some foundational grammar skills, editing skills, and the writing process makes learning enjoyable and approachable. I guess the word is user friendly. We have already written 2 essays each in the first 2 weeks of school! Thank you so much for writing this concise, thorough language program. It is rich with knowledge with few surplus, cumbersome books. With a large family I don't need a teacher manual and separate answer key for each child in each subject. I love it as a teacher and after a 30 minute language time daily my children ask, "Is that all?"
From a home schooling mom who just found out about our curricula:
You would be surprised at what I would pay for this program. I doubt it could cost anything near what I spend on trying to find something that will fit into our family. Especially since we are at five different levels, and all the different subjects that it includes. I struggled for years ......but my boys weren't learning what they should because basically I had no idea what they needed to know. I finally gave up and went to separate curriculums for grammar, writing, spelling, vocabulary spending lots of money and time and still not feeling like it was functioning smoothly. We have a small family compared to some, 5 boys, and I can assure you this would be something that was only in my dreams.
From a home schooling mom about WBLA (CQLA's sister program designed for the Advanced Training Institute):
Just a little note to encourage you for October. My 13 yr. old son went up to level C this booklet (9). I was a little leary of whether he could keep up or not. He not only is keeping up, he does not want to re-write passages now - he wants to write all original ones!! How's that for taking a child from absolutely no writing experience to writing an original essay by choice! All because of WBLA. Also, my son (15 yrs. old) who has such a hard time reading and memorizing, moved up to level B (along with my 11 yr. old) and they give each other dictation and spelling words! I am astounded at the progress they have made in ONE YEAR by doing WBLA.
From another ATI mom about WBLA:
I just spoke with a mother who couldn't say enough good things about WBLA. :-) She had been home schooling for 16 years, and this is the first year she feels that they have adequately covered English and writing, and she has seen real improvement in her childrens' writing.
Another mom using WBLA:
Our family is using WBLA for grammar ... and I continue to be amazed at the impact the assignments have on my sons as they have concepts .........reinforced, in such a gentle, hardly noticed way. This has been on my mind for some time, and I've wanted to share it with someone.
Connie, long time homeschooling mom:
“I have recently found out about CQLA from another homeschooling friend. This is my tenth year homeschooling, and I have tried all different Language Arts programs....but we have missed alot of writing. We put all the other books aside, and everyone loved it!!! We're hooked!! I love the way you have the vocabulary words, one meaning with lots of words, rather than many words with many definitions to memorize. I also love the character focus...it is a blessing to have us all on the same train of thought. I didn't think my 7 year old would like it because it took longer than the boring workbooks she was using, but when I asked her why she liked it better, she said, ‘Because it makes me think more, plus it's all different fun stuff!’ I realized that she didn't really have to think to complete the workbooks she's been doing, and that's why they were such a chore for her to finish.
Jane, homeschooling mother from Indiana:
“Now, your curriculum using various elements from your favorite picks over the years really is meeting a huge need for us. And I love the user friendly format; this is a huge help to me since I don't do well with curriculum which is heavy on teacher preparation. The 'Editor Duty' is great---much better than the overly long grammar workbooks from the past! In summary, I just wanted to give you this encouragement and thank you so much for writing the Character Quality Language Arts program. It's been such a blessing and an answer to my prayers for language arts in our home.”
Marci, homeschooling mom from Oklahoma:
“It has combined all the different things we are currently using (Excellence in Writing, Easy Grammar, and Intermediate Language Lessons) into one easy to use Bible-based, character curriculum! Phenomenal job!!!”
Besty, homeschooling mother, third year CQLA user:
The best thing I see about CQLA is that all of the disciplines of language are drawn in and used together. It is after all 'Language ARTS' (art of using language) and not just one component of it such as only grammar or only writing or only spelling. At the same time, you get such wonderful Biblical references and lessons on BIBLICAL character. As we enter our third year using CQLA, I can't thank you enough for a truly inspiring, quality curriculum. My children have all scored well above average on their CAT testing and they are becoming proficient writers as well. May God bless your ministry beyond measure!”
Cari, homeschooling mom:
“My son is weaker in writing and sentence structure/application of grammar than any other subject (he has SO hated it for years now)... and until CQLA, there just hasn’t been decent curriculum out there for reluctant writers that wasn't a huge amount of preparation work for me. I was most pleased that he scored so well on the ACT after only a few months of working on CQLA---In October of 2005, he scored a 26 in English on the ACT, with that being his lowest scoring section. A couple of months later, he began CQLA, and after only four months of doing CQLA, he took the ACT again and scored a 31 in English (grammar, structure, rhetorical, etc)--a five point--20% increase! I was SO pleased...and I knew you would enjoy knowing your hard work in making CQLA available to homeschoolers was put to good use.”
Happy CQLA Mom:
“I just had to write you and let you know that we were at the tutor's house today and she said, "I cannot believe how he has progressed. It is a miracle!" Those were the exact words of my son's tutor that we have been going to for 3 years. I can tell you honestly that this curriculum has done more in 2 months than all the other programs put together!