Why do we speak English? #hsreviews #homeschool #education

A History of the Language We Speak and Why We Should be Glad we Do: King Alfred's English

I majored in English and Business Management in college, but was never able to work a language history class into my schedule. Now that I review books and curricula for my blog I get to take the "classes" I missed through wonderful books and from wonderful authors like Laurie J. White.

This isn't a book for my boys yet, but when they are a little older I will be presenting this material to them.
Mrs. White is a homeschool Mom and like so many homeschool Moms she says homeschooling is a learning experience for her as well. Researching topics the kids are going to study leads to more knowledge for the teacher as well as the kids; that is what lead to her writing this book.



I was humbled and blessed while reading this book on my e-reader. Her writing style is so friendly and welcoming. I feel like she is writing a conversation with students and parents rather than a textbook.

King Alfred’s English: A History of the Language We Speak and Why We Should Be Glad We Do explores the growth of the English language explaining how the language grew and simplified over time. 
Not only are you getting an English lesson but also a History lesson. If you need to count credits you could count this book and the wonderful supplemental materials from the publisher as a semester or English or split the credit between the History and English subjects. 

While I am still reading the book (I'm studying the whole book in between homeschooling and harvesting), I am engrossed in the book. I love learning and although I am only on chapter 11 I have gained so much understanding for this crazy little language of ours. I am loving how the books shows where various consonant blends originated from and mysteries related the spellings over the years.

 Mrs. White's website  The Shorterword.com has Teacher and Student material to go along with the book There is also a Facebook page with links to related articles as well as conversations about the book . I am looking forward to continuing my study with this book over the next month or so (as I find bits of time to study).  If you are interested in the why's of the English language or are looking for something a bit different for your high school student's English credit this is a must read. You can buy the print copy for under $20.00 depending on which site you purchase it from, or under $10 in e-book format making this an excellent value.


Check out what the rest of the crew thought of this amazing book by clicking on the button below
 

disclaimer: As a member of the Schoolhouse review crew I received a copy of this e-book for free in exchange for my review of the book.