Bekki Sayler is a homeschooling mother and teacher who is passionate about helping other families by sharing what she has learned over the years through her own experiences. She has recently started offering “The Art of Communication Online Course” to students aged 10 and up to teach them how to communicate effectively. It can be used by homeschooling families, or by anyone in that age range hoping to brush up on their communication skills.

The course is completed online, so you will need an internet connection to access the website and view the pre-recorded video lessons and text. There is also a printable handbook to accompany the course, which will need to be printed out from the linked Google document. The course costs $29 and includes everything that you need to complete it.

When beginning the “The Art of Communication Online Course,” students are given all of the information they need about how the lessons work and what will be expected of them in the very first section, which is a welcome video. Ms. Seyler introduces herself and tells them what they will gain through completing the online class. Each session is meant to last about 10-20 minutes total, including watching the video, reading the text, and completing any associated written lessons from the printed handbook. The class pace is up to you and your student, but it could be completed in as few as two weeks, or you could space it out even more like we did.

There is a Welcome and Introduction section, followed by six modules covering topics such as setting goals, fear and excitement, and tips to having better conversation. There is also a whole section devoted to producing excellent writing, as well as a few blooper videos just for fun. All in all, your student will become better at verbal communication just by following the videos and written exercises to go with them in just a few minutes a day.

My middle school students have been completing this course. They love that the lessons are short and simple. My daughter has enjoyed learning new techniques for conversing with her peers. She feels that the exercises in the course have helped her to better navigate awkward silences or meeting new people. Her confidence has grown. My son has mentioned that he now takes a moment to observe the other people he is going to be talking with before even opening his own mouth. He has a better idea of what to say and how to say it since starting “The Art of Communication.”

The included handbook has been a good tool to get my children to stop and review the details from the video. There are helpful visual aids, plenty of fill in the blank questions, and several places for them to write down their own examples of concepts they have been taught. Students are also given access to a private Facebook group for further discussion, but my children are not allowed on social media yet, so we did no use this feature. The class worked fine without it, but I can definitely see how it would even further enhance the learning by giving them a chance to chat with others in the course about their assignments and videos.

I am very happy with this course. My students are being more thoughtful in their conversations with each other, friends, and adults. I highly recommend it for children or adults, who are shy and have a hard time in everyday social situations. I also know that even confident people will benefit from the short, but informative lessons and exercises to learn new ways to enhance conversations. As a bonus, students will learn how to tweak their writing to better engage their audience to get their message across.

-Product review by Jennifer Land, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, September 2018