Living Verse Language Arts in Poetry

A whole book, living language arts experience for ages 6-13

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What if you could teach language arts using only ONE book? What if it was simple, beautiful, gentle? What if your children thought it was fun?

Introducing Living Verse Language Arts in Poetry

Open book showing poem with watercolor illustration of trees on the left page and a green-bordered text box on the right.

What is Living Verse?

Living Verse is an integrated language arts and poetry study that combines the instructional lessons and student notebook into one simple and easy to use volume.

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““Poetry is, perhaps, the most searching and intimate of our teachers . . . The line that strikes us as we read, that recurs, that we murmur over at odd moments—this is the line that influences our living””
— CHARLOTTE MASON
An open book in a magazine titled "Living Vense: Leessee Arts in Puscany," with a poem about books and imagination on a page featuring an illustration of a panda climbing a tower of books
A young boy in a yellow shirt is coloring and writing in a book at a table, with colored pens in the foreground.
Close-up of three dark brown books stacked on a white surface, titled "Language Arts in Poetry" by Catanzarite.
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Two copies of a brown book titled 'Living Verse: Language Arts in Poetry, Volume 1' by Sheila Catanzarite, with an illustration of children reading under a large tree on the cover.

28-week, 4-day full curriculum that cultivates the understanding and usage of the following language elements and skills:

  • grammar

  • vocabulary

  • punctuation

  • figurative language

  • poetic structure

  • poetic artistry

  • critical thinking

  • critical reading

  • reading fluency

  • speaking fluency and articulation

  • creative expression (verbal, written, visual)

  • narration (verbal, written, visual)

  • dictation

  • handwriting

  • spelling

Read a Sample of Living Verse

  • "This beautiful, gentle curriculum gives children a firm grasp on language arts and an actual delight in and love for language arts—a true excitement for studying and understanding the art of writing."

    Homeschool educator

  • "I loved how she found herself imagining herself in this poem. How it encouraged her to think of her own actions and who she was/wanted to be."

    Homeschool educator

  • "Living Verse really and truly imparts a love for learning: a love for grammar, a love for syntax, a love for literary devices, and a love for vocabulary and language usage."

    Homeschool educator

  • "We like that each day is short; it holds our attention and doesn't make poetry boring. We loved the invitation to dwell on the metaphors in the poem. Much better than typical worksheets on the topic of similes vs metaphors!"

    Homeschool educator

A woman with curly black hair is sitting on a light-colored armchair, wearing a bright red three-quarter sleeve top, smiling, with a ring and a bracelet on her left hand.

About the Author

Shiela Catanzarite is an author, speaker, editor, and communication coach. She's a 20-year Charlotte Mason veteran homeschooler and has worked as Jeannie Fulbright’s editor and designer for 15 years helping develop Jeannie’s award-winning Apologia science curriculum and most recently her Charlotte Mason products published through Jeannie Fulbright Press.

Earning a bachelor’s degree in Special Education and a master’s degree in Christian Education from Dallas Theological Seminary, Shiela has been teaching language arts in some capacity for 40+ years. Her passion remains helping students understand the elements of language and how to use these elements artfully to communicate effectively. Shiela is currently a Language Communication Coach, working one-on-one with students who have language learning and communication challenges. She also writes curriculum for her private middle and high school English Language Communication classes that focus on writing and speaking.

Both of Shiela's and her husband Bruce’s daughters (pictured on right) attended private universities on scholarship and went on to pursue graduate studies in medicine and global business. She attributes their love for learning and academic achievement to homeschooling with Charlotte Mason’s philosophy and methodology.

“Therefore, the selection of their first lesson-books is a matter of grave importance, because it rests with these to give children the idea that knowledge is supremely attractive and that reading is delightful.”

— Charlotte Mason

Two young boys sitting on a white couch, reading books, with a large window with trees outside in the background.
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