Last time I wrote about Language Arts, I reminded you that you are already doing the first, and most important step in teaching Language Arts to your children - reading great living books! What should your next step be? It really depends on where your children are in their education. Just as the first step in teaching your child to talk is to talk to your child, reading to her is the first step in teaching her to read. If your child does not yet know how to read - this should be the next step on the journey in becoming a lover of language and the art of using the language in an excellent way. There are many excellent reading programs out there, or you could just go to the source to see how Charlotte Mason taught her students to read. The link above is to the pages of Volume 1 in which Miss Mason lays out the when, why, and how of teaching children to read. Teaching your child to read is really a whole other series of posts, so that's all I'm going to say here.
At the same time your child is learning to read, he will want to begin to write the letters, and eventually the words he knows. Again, there are many good writing programs out there, and you can find one that works well for you. We like the Italic series by Getty & Dubay. Find one that you like, can afford, and works well for your child.
While your child is learning to read and write, you will continue to read excellent writing to her. Keep that beautiful, masterful use of the language always before your child, in order to keep the mind lively and growing. Once your child hits the age of six or so, begin asking for narrations. I really could do a whole series on narration - and maybe I will someday - but let's talk briefly about it here.
Narration - or the 'Art of Knowing' is another natural instinct many children have, and those who don't can be trained easily enough - if you keep at it consistently. For those who naturally like to tell stories, this will be a breeze! Others may need a bit more coaxing and cheering for first efforts. The most basic description of narration really says it all - it is the telling back of a story (or portion of a story) in the child's own words. You read a small portion of a new story - ONCE - then ask your child to tell the story back to you in his own words. Something AMAZING happens when your child does this!
Have you noticed that you learn something MUCH better when you need to teach it to someone else? You are processing the information in another way altogether from just receiving it. This is what happens when your child narrates a story. His brain actually gains a whole new grasp of the material in the story, and he will often remember a story years later, even if he only heard it one time - IF he narrated that story.