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Isa in Michigan
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| Posted: April 14 2008 at 7:16am | IP Logged
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What is your approach with grammar? At what ages do you start it with your children, and how has it gone?
We cover English usage and some basic grammar definitions, but we don't do grammar on a regular basis from 1st-3rd. At those ages I work on getting my children to master the basic material they've learned in the areas of religion, reading, handwriting, and arithmetic.
I believe once they get to the analytical stage, they will learn grammar faster and more easily.
So how have you dealt with grammar in your own homeschooling experience?
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stefoodie
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| Posted: April 14 2008 at 11:12am | IP Logged
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I used to teach grammar as a separate subject, but now we learn grammar as we do Latin.
The junior though is now doing a separate grammar program (Format Writing and The Elements of Grammar, + bits and pieces from reading/writing books for high school & up). She started these a few years back but is just now getting serious about it. I find that she has an easier grasp of things now that she has a more solid Latin background AND more experience reading lots of different kinds of material.
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Willa
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| Posted: April 14 2008 at 1:45pm | IP Logged
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I do a short course in it every year or so. Then when the child is in middle school I do a more systematic approach which has a writing and Latin component.
I usually don't start grammar until the child is reading well -- 2nd or 3rd grade. And we don't spend more than a few minutes on it per day.
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Willa
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LLMom
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| Posted: April 14 2008 at 2:04pm | IP Logged
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Willa wrote:
| I do a short course in it every year or so. Then when the child is in middle school I do a more systematic approach which has a writing and Latin component. |
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Willa,
Could you explain how or what you use for each of these?
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Lisa
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Willa
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| Posted: April 18 2008 at 9:43am | IP Logged
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We have used different things through the years. Most recently I used the CHC workbooks with the younger set. A similar program is Ignatius Speaks and Writes, sold by Kolbe. For us it was enjoyable and simple; we usually did at least half the exercises orally because my young boys tend not to write fluently.
Often I spend some time with Simply Grammar with the child in about fifth grade but I have not noticed a whole lot of retention or understanding coming from this resource for my particular family.
This year my sixth and eighth grader used Daily Grammar. Oddly enough, it has been a good fit for us -- only takes a few minutes a day and the boys' understanding has increased greatly. The same thing happened when I used the lessons with my older set of kids when they were that age.
For combining grammar with Latin and writing.... there is not really any resource out there that I totally rely upon. I use a bit of KISS grammar because its focus is understanding syntax in order to write more effectively; and Classical Writing; and I pick topics from the Latin curriculum and from their writing "issues" to reinforce by Googling grammar topics. For example, when my son was having trouble with run-on sentences, I found some exercises online that dealt with that topic specifically.... that sort of thing.
I have also used Mary Daly's Whole Book of Diagrams for a grammar reinforcement. I love it but have not been able to figure out how to use it to its full potential.
Hoping that helps...
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Willa
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insegnante
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| Posted: April 18 2008 at 3:19pm | IP Logged
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I am definitely starting grammar ASAP with our six-year-old. Probably Easy Grammar. I could go around and around about the best approach, whether he should start grammar now or later, through Latin or through English, with us spending money on books for something I "know" so well or not (I mean, I'm not a great writer but I know parts of speech, punctuation, capitalization... couldn't I just write a guide and exercises for him?)
But with a new baby to be born in August, I decided just to make a decision to shop for apparently solid, easy-to-use, appealing materials. With this particular child I don't think introducing grammar of this sort at this age will be problematic, and I think he'll probably like it (at least somewhat) and learn something from it.
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Sarah M
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| Posted: April 18 2008 at 5:01pm | IP Logged
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We won't start formal grammar until 3rd or 4th grade, probably. I think just reading aloud until then gets children used to the rhythm and natural sound of good grammar. I'm not sure what I'll use when I get to that point at 3rd/4th grade, but I'm guessing that it will be more easily understood if they are older...
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Lauri B
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| Posted: April 18 2008 at 7:53pm | IP Logged
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I like formal grammar to be later, too. SImply Grammar around ages 10-12 and then Analytical Grammar with me. (Much more fun when you have someone to "compete" against for grammar genius!)
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JuliaT
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| Posted: April 18 2008 at 10:42pm | IP Logged
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With my oldest, I started grammar in Gr. 1. I have since seen the error of my ways. She didn't retain anything.
So with my other two we are going to do grammar informally with living books (Ruth Heller) until Gr. 3. It's too bad that the oldest has to always be the guinea pig with these sorts of things.
Julia
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ALmom
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| Posted: April 21 2008 at 5:14pm | IP Logged
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Ok, which child do you want to know about?  We've done it differently with every single child.
We did LLA through Lit with our oldest in early grades and basically burnt out on it, skipped grammar for years until 6th and then did one Seton grammar course and then diagramming with the Whole Book of Diagrams. She is great at grammar but she never needed a lot of repetition to retain things and has a great memory. I think grammar came more naturally to her.
Our 2nd, we postponed grammar - she couldn't read till she was 10 and once other stuff was in place we did one torturous year of grammar with Seton in 6th and 7th. it worked and was good for her. She needed the repetition and the systematic approach. However, we didn't care about the grade (sent stuff in just for our own benefit and took 2 years to do 1 year). She finally got it and is reasonably well versed. However, I think I will be trying the Kolbe English in high school (it is a composition course, but discusses the finer points of grammar in relation to writing). I think having something systematic through writing just builds from her love of writing and a review in high school would probably benefit her since she did have a struggle in grade school. She has also done 2 years of Latin, so parts of speech are pretty well in place  .
My son did a little of everything sometime in 4th or 5th - we tried CHC (it didn't stick), Voyages was hopeless and way too small print, Simple Grammar Plus didn't stick, Elementary diagramming helped some, but Winston is the only thing that has worked with him so obviously we're sticking with it. I'll have to add something else in when we have the parts of speech down well enough and we need to add in punctuation rules. He could use this for his writing, but right now we are just organizing thoughts and trying to get complete sentences. I'll probably review every year with him and move to Kolbe/Seton grammar course for one year when we are ready and Winston is done. He might have benefitted from more earlier in a simple and systematic way (ie Kolbe's program). However, it may simply be other things that just make learning difficult no matter what it is.
I'm not leaving gaps with the younger ones and really, really love Ignatius Speaks and Writes. My children start "school" late so I began the 1st book with my 8 -9 yo when he began first grade. We moved at whatever was his pace. (My 11 yo used CHC books as Kolbe's weren't available then). We switch to CHC when Kolbe goes to Voyages. Basically it is light because we don't worry about finishing, we simply stop and apply any lessons that aren't already automatic. I think I like Ignatius Speaks and Writes so well because a lot of that is already built into the workbook. We just spread it out if we need to. These workbooks are my reminder of what to present in what order and it helps me discern what areas need my hands on attention.
Janet
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4Real Forums : Language Arts Come Alive
Topic: Do you teach grammar early or later?
