One conversation with Andrew Pudewa is like attending a full convention of A-List speakers. You walk away from the conversation, refreshed, inspired, and challenged. We are deeply honored to have him as our very first guest on From Cradle to Calling podcast. In this episode, he is talking very practically about how to nurture competent communicators.

This past May, when we attended the Florida Parent Educators Association (FPEA) Convention in Orlando, we sat in one of Andrew’s lectures, and for the rest of the weekend we rehearsed the words “reliably correct, sophisticated language.” It was something Andrew had said in his talk, something we had not considered before. If we want our children to be able to write well, they need to hear reliably correct, sophisticated language. It isn’t how much they read that will make the difference because people often skip things when they read, and sometimes they read incorrectly, but when people HEAR a good book being read aloud, they are hearing an example of reliably correct, sophisticated language, and over time, that will affect how they write.

WOW! That was a game changer for us. We were already sold on the idea of reading aloud to our kids. It’s something we’ve both done since our adult children were little, but we left that talk with a new resolve to read more. In fact, we know we will be spending so much time in the car this year, driving kids all over the county, that we each signed up for an Audible subscription so we could all hear more reliably correct, sophisticated language as we listen to audio books in the car.

For those who are not familiar with Andrew Pudewa, first we have to say, “WHAT? He’s like the biggest celebrity in the homeschool community!” But then again, we also feel deeply honored to get to be the ones to introduce you to this great mind. He is the director of the Institute for Excellence in Writing and a father of seven. Traveling and speaking around the world, he addresses issues related to teaching, writing, thinking, spelling, and music with clarity, insight, practical experience, and humor. His seminars for parents, students, and teachers have helped transform many a reluctant writer and have equipped educators with powerful tools to dramatically improve students’ skills.

We can help every child improve their vocabulary by creating the right environment. Mostly, as you know, I’m a big fan of reading a lot to children. That is actually the number one predictor of good writing skills in adults.

Although Andrew is a graduate of the Talent Education Institute in Japan and holds a Certificate of Child Brain Development from the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, his best endorsement is from a young Alaskan boy who called him “the funny man with the wonderful words.” He and his wonderful, heroic wife, Robin, have homeschooled their seven children and are now proud grandparents of eleven, making their home in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

In this episode, Andrew references Andrew Kern of the Circe Institute. We included the link here in the show notes in case you’d like more info on him and the Circe Institute.

As you tune in, you’ll get to hear our super cool theme music. All of the music on the C2C Podcast was written, performed and produced by Jenni’s daughter Sky. Be sure to visit her on Instagram.

Please write to us and let us know what you thought of the show. AND...head over to whatever platform you used to listen to this Podcast, and give us a rating (a great one, we hope). That is SUPER important!!

Then connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. AND...come interact us with in the Facebook Group “Homeschooling From Cradle to Calling.”