It's A Wonderful Life - Grammatical Thoughts

It's A Wonderful Life

"Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life." Proverbs 4:13

Grammatical Thoughts

7:39 PM, April 29, 2009 .. 0 comments .. Link

One of the places I like to hang out on the web is at a homeschool forum called "The Well Trained Mind". I was reading through a few of the posts and one in particularly on grammar. The poster was using a certain grammar curriculum and after several months felt that her 8 or 9 yo ds was not retaining much from this particular curriculum. This was revealed to her through his writing assignments. She wanted to know if anyone else had this experience. Several people said they had the same problem and one person said it was working well for them. A comment was also made by someone that this is; perhaps, why grammar is taught repeatedly through the school years. A thought of mine that had been simmering just below the surface finally burst through. Ding, ding, the bell sounded off in my mind and my thoughts started flowing rapidly. I hope I can put them down here cleary for you.

As a child, I strongly disliked grammar. I loved math, science and history, but really struggled with grammar. Every year it seemed like we repeated the same thing. Of course their were some new things introduced, but it always covered the basics. One of the things I had a difficult time wrapping my around was direct objects. I just didn't get it..... until eleventh grade. Then it clicked.

Another area in which I struggled was creative writing. I hated it. I was not the kind to make up stories in my head or see a bee and be able to write a story about it. That is just not how my brain worked, never mind trying to remember the grammar rules and apply them.

My point is that a young child in the earlyto middle years of elementary school is probably not going to get most of it. They might understand some of it the way it is used in the book and are able to parrot it back you, but when the time comes to apply it in their writing those rules are not going to be foremost in their mind. What is going on in their mind is "what am I trying to say here and how do I put that on paper?" It is not "Do my sentences begin with a capital letter and end with a punctuation mark?" It is the repeated drilling and growing throughout the years that finally causes the nail to reach it's mark.

So how do I know if a grammar curriculum is right for us? The curriculum used in that tiny Christian school which I attended many yeasr ago was not full of bells and whistles, but it repeatedly represented the subject in a clear, methodical, concise manner and after years of hammering, the nail finally went through. As a homeschool mother, once I purchase I certain curriculum, I usually stick with it for the whole year. Occasionally I might change mid-stride if I feel that it is not for us and will not be beneficial to see it through. Grammar is one of those subject in which I seemed to be unable to stick with. I couldn't find the right curriculum. This was not because a particular book was bad, but because it did not meet my needs as a teacher. One was to scripted, I knew by the end of using it with 5 children (4 in a row) that I would end up in Bedlam. Another jumped around to much and didn't have clear instruction. Others I have skipped (despite their raving reviews) because they were to teacher intenstive or required an overwhelming amount of writing and review. Because of this, my daughter has not had the solid foundation in grammar that I might have wished; however, in fifth grade she has does know the basics and we are slowly proceeding. I am confident that by the time she graduates she will know her parts of speech, how to properly use punctuation and remember that the word "I" is always capitalized! The curriculum I am using now works for me because it meets my needs as a teacher. It is methodical in it's teaching, liberal in it's review and I as a teacher have learned to tweak it in the areas that are not suitable for us.
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"Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life." Proverbs 4:13

Grammatical Thoughts

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