Do You Fancy Yourself a Grammarian, Mama?

Grammar! Does that word bring up good feelings? Probably only to the few and the brave and the nerdy. I love words, but I sometimes dislike the rigor of proper grammar.

I have found in my own homeschool that it’s all in the way I teach grammar, as well as the timing of teaching grammar, that makes it most successful. Overall, grammar is done slowly, repetitively, and often taught within the student’s own individual writing.

• Elementary years: we focus on things like simple punctuation, nouns, verbs, and pronouns.
• Middle years: we add in good adjectives, adverb lists, prepositions, and style.
• Junior high years: we normally add a grammar workbook and a dictionary and thesaurus for research and improvement.
• High school years: we teach MLA structure, high school/college grammar (which may or may not include sentence diagramming, depending on the student’s need). 

If you have a positive attitude about grammar, then it will come out in your instruction. You can search online and find fun games and ways to teach grammar in a delightful way.  

If you find yourself lost in the teaching of grammar, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine offers some practical helps.

Is Sentence Diagramming Puzzling You?
by Jennifer Padgett                                          

Grammar FUNdamentals 
by Carrie Daws 

Preserving Our Language: Teaching English Grammar 
by Leigh Bortins

Drawing Up Great Grammar 
by Amy Barr

Don’t forget the grammar – the “jot and tittle” – of the Bible. There is a reason for every word, and it benefits all of us to search it out. We have used Scripture verses in our school as copywork. The children have copied the verse correctly when even the grammar is copied correctly. Learning by seeing and copying works to imprint good grammar in our children, as well as words of life. We can never underestimate the power of the Word of God in our children’s hearts and minds. It is the beginning of wisdom and understanding.

God bless you this week as you continue being good stewards of God’s children and doing the hard thing of teaching them grammar as well as keeping them Home Where They Belong.

You CAN do this – yes, even teach grammar – through Christ Who gives you strength! One day at a time! 

~Deborah

Deborah Wuehler is the Senior Editor and Director of Production here at The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine. She would say she is a very ordinary homeschool mom–with one exception: she has an extraordinary God Who provides all she needs for life and homeschooling. She has eight children aged 11 to 29. Deborah’s mission is this: to point other homeschoolers to the Lord in all they do, think, and feel—and to confirm that they, too, can find everything they need for life, godliness, and homeschooling in their knowledge of Him (2 Peter 1:3-4).