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teachingmom
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Virginia Bluebells
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| Posted: Oct 24 2006 at 7:09pm | IP Logged
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Well, actually, it's not THE Godfather, but 3yo dd's Godfather! Our dear friend, who is locally known as a "grammar guru" (who knew?!) made it on the front page of the Washington Post yesterday . . . and in an article on teaching grammar.
I don't remember learning much grammar during my school years. I am determined that my girls know enough to be competent writers, and hopefully excel on the new SAT to boot. 
Clauses and Commas Make a Comeback
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~Irene (Mom to 6 girls, ages 7-19)
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TracyQ
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| Posted: Oct 25 2006 at 11:35am | IP Logged
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Irene,
Excellent article! Do you know what your daughter's godfather suggests to teach grammar? And schools DON'T TEACH GRAMMAR ANYMORE????? Since when?
I'm guessing private Catholic elementary and high schools teach grammar, and public elementary schools surely still do, right????? Wow!
Tracy
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Blessings and Peace,
Tracy Q.
wife of Marty for 20 years, mom of 3 wonderful children (1 homeschool graduate, 1 12th grader, and a 9th grader),
 homeschooling in 15th year in Buffalo, NY
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teachingmom
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| Posted: Oct 25 2006 at 11:51pm | IP Logged
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Hi Tracy,
I'll have to ask him for specific recommendations. I know that the article included a photo of his desk and one of the books was Warriner's.
I had dinner tonight with his wife and kids, and his wife was telling me that he has received some interesting email messages from people who read the article. One publisher contacted him to see if he is interested in doing some freelance editing. He said that it is really difficult to find good people for the job because no one seems to know grammar well these days. Another message from a school principal said that he had a lot of difficulty finding good English teachers. He gives prospective teachers a test of basic English, and most candidates cannot pass the grammar part. So I guess there's truth to the fact that schools just aren't teaching it like they used to.
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~Irene (Mom to 6 girls, ages 7-19)
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Mama Moon
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| Posted: Nov 03 2006 at 2:20pm | IP Logged
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Oh, yes! I would love to know what he recommends! Thanks, Irene.
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Mama Moon
blessed with 2 precious ones
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teachingmom
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| Posted: Nov 03 2006 at 5:45pm | IP Logged
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OK, he was just here picking up his dd, and I remembered to ask him for more specifics on what he suggests. He said that Warriner's English Composition and Grammar is very good. But he now uses Elements of Writing, by Kinneavy and Warriner. I found a lot of used ones available at Abebooks. It looks like there are different courses of that series available. I'm not sure if the "Course" refers to grade level or publishing date/edition. Hope that helps!
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~Irene (Mom to 6 girls, ages 7-19)
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TracyQ
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| Posted: Nov 04 2006 at 7:52am | IP Logged
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Thanks, Irene. I have several Voyages and Warriners, so maybe I'll stick with those, but I've heard of the Elements of Writing.
I've been beginning the IEW too, which I really like. I'm hoping God will just lead me here. It's been s struggle, yet we're plugging along.
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Blessings and Peace,
Tracy Q.
wife of Marty for 20 years, mom of 3 wonderful children (1 homeschool graduate, 1 12th grader, and a 9th grader),
homeschooling in 15th year in Buffalo, NY
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Tina P.
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| Posted: Feb 14 2007 at 12:47pm | IP Logged
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Tracy:
I thought you highly recommended Winston Grammar. Why didn't you move on to Winston Advanced instead of Voyages? In fact, I'm vacillating between Winston and Easy Grammar for my kids right now. I'm leaning toward Winson because it seems more hands-on and I'm *thinking* that there will be more retention because it will be *fun*. However, I read in the Rainbow catalog that it does NOT teach punctuation or verb usage. Why wouldn't the program cover such basic stuff? ON the other hand, Easy Grammar seems to be implemented easily enough. It also seems logical and quick. But this is coming from an English major, not from kids who are thinking, "OK, what tricks does Mom have up her sleeve, now?"
I had fleetingly considered Shurley, but it seems too ... Sing Spell Read and Wirte to me, iykwim.
And IEW is for writing, not for dissecting writing word by word and line by line, right? Oh I am so confused! I just want to make a decision and get it right so that we can carry on with school!
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Tina, wife to one and mom to 9 + 3 in heaven
Mary's Muse
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4Real Forums : Language Arts Come Alive
Topic: The Godfather on Grammar
