The first and second graders are starting the year with learning the basics of each subject. They are learning counting and addition in math, practicing how to properly form all their letters in handwriting, and memorizing the most important dates in a condensed history timeline. The students are practicing making Latin flashcards, standing properly and singing well in choir, and finding the right chapter and verse when we read the Bible. Although we are working on different things in each subject, the students have been honing one factor in particular that applies for all of them: language. As creatures made in the image of God, we are language-beings, and participating in language is just as essential for our lives as breathing oxygen. Even those who debate the centrality of language in our lives can’t do so without using arguments made out of words. Language is the backbone of each subject, and the students in my class are working to use God’s gift of language well.
When we begin the day with chapel, the students are participating in the highest and best use of language—hearing God speak to them through His Word, praying to their Father, and singing praise to God with the company of saints and angels. In the classroom, we ingrain noble passages of language in our minds with memory work practice. In daily Scripture readings the students hear and read God’s Word, which fills and changes their own thoughts and speech to become more like how God speaks. Even when we begin math class next, we are still using our language faculties to consider how numbers work and to read instructions for math problems. During reading class the students work diligently to practice becoming better readers and to unlock the treasures of language held in written form. In history, the students’ minds are engaged by the vivid images of past events that well-crafted language can convey. While studying Latin vocabulary, their little minds are stretched to conceive of language in a broader sense. In science, they learn how to better understand the world around them by being taught more specific vocabulary for naming the things they observe.
Even when the class is focused less on word-based material and more on beautiful images in art class, language is still required to discuss the artist’s work, point out specific techniques, and instruct the students as they create their own pieces. Language is essential to each subject, and the students will continue to learn how to use language with more precision and orderliness as we continue our studies more. Apart from using language in academics, the students are also learning how to use language properly with each other, saying “I’m sorry” and “I forgive you” many times throughout each week. As the year continues, I am looking forward to delighting more in God’s gift of language with the students as they build their vocabulary, learn how to think logically, listen well to instructions, and especially as they learn to love reading God’s Word.
In Christ,
Miss Engwall
