Search Results for: blog putting the grammar back in literature

Is Grammar Overrated?

I was thinking about this the other day when the topic came up among some friends. I was surprised to learn that I was the only one in the group that didn’t teach formal grammar as a separate subject. So I asked some other friends. In that group I was the only one to do any sort of grammar at all. Now I’m curious as to who teaches formal grammar, who doesn’t and why. What the Experts Say Some experts claim that you never should teach grammar as a formal and separate subject. After all, grammar is useless apart from … Continue reading →

Putting the Grammar back in Literature

Your kid loves to read books. You have managed to get regular book reports out of them. Now what? Use those book reports to teach them to apply grammar to their writing. So often, grammar and literature are treated as two separate entities. Children read good books, and write halfway decent reports. Then separately, they learn grammar rules. Here is how I have decided to start applying grammar to my children’s reading programs. Step 1, Get them to read: Like I mentioned before, first get them to read. You can make up an incentive program like the Accellerated Reading program … Continue reading →

Shakespeare Graphic Novels

Recently we have embarked on studying Shakespeare in our homeschool. Shakespeare is essential teaching to anyone with a literature, classical or Charlotte Mason approach. In fact, at some point all students are given exposure to Shakespeare. One of the most common complaints by students is their lack of understanding the Old English used in all of Shakespeare’s writing. While I find it one of the most beautiful aspects it is source of frustration for even many homeschooling moms. This is understandable as the Old English is quite different than today’s modern language. One advantage my children have when reading Shakespeare … Continue reading →

Twaddle Free List of Kindergarten/First Grade Books

Kindergarteners and first graders are curious and creative. To keep their interest and to nurture their already innate sense of curiosity you need to keep your bookshelf stocked with twaddle free books. Allow your child the pleasure of introducing them to Curious George, Madeline or Amelia Bedelia. All three were noted as great childhood friends in my literary world. One book that always brings back the fondest of memories is Corduroy. Who can resist this precious bear who only wanted a home or his adventure with his lost button? What memories do you have from your childhood books? I remember … Continue reading →

Twaddle Free List of Preschool Books

It is important to develop a good taste in books from an early age. What preschooler does not enjoy sitting on a caretaker’s lap with a good book. At this age this love of books is formed by the relationship associated by the preschooler with the caretaker. A natural curiosity about the world is nurtured by opening up a world of books. Just like we teach good eating habits at an early age, we need to teach good reading habits. Below is a list of “twaddle” free books to enjoy with your preschooler. Lyle, Lyle Crocodile (all Lyle books), by … Continue reading →

The 4 Squares Method to Reading Comprehension

Have you ever had your child sit down to read something that wasn’t fiction and find that he walked away not remembering anything? Truth be told, I don’t really have this problem with my own kids. I think this might be one of the benefits of having home schooled from the beginning. . .or maybe they just like what they’re reading. But I have run across more than a few people who say that when they sit their child down to read something, or even when they read to their kids, when they ask them comprehension questions–the kids are still … Continue reading →

Homeschooling Week in Review: January 27 – February 2, 2007

We covered a wide variety of topics on the Homeschool blog this week, from dust bunnies to the Titanic. Here’s an overview: Saturday, January 27 Andrea Hermitt took a look at where we homeschoolers spend most of our time: Homeschooling or Housekeeping? Sunday, January 28 A great science resource was reviewed in Andrea’s Website for Homeschoolers: Science News for Kids. Monday, January 29 Andrea did some Digging for Historic Truth on the History Channel. And, in her post What Grade are They In?, she discussed how homeschoolers assign (or don’t assign) their kids to specific grade levels. I finished a … Continue reading →

Charlotte Mason: What’s the Point of Copywork?

In this series of posts on CM methods, I’ve covered several of Charlotte Mason’s ideas about education. Today, I’d like to touch on one that doesn’t always get quite as much coverage as “living books” and narrations. Copywork was advocated by Charlotte Mason as a way to teach handwriting, but also as the best way to teach spelling and punctuation rules, sentence structure and basic grammar. It was her theory that reading and copying excellent literature would lead to excellence in composition skills. I’ve used some of Miss Mason’s ideas about copywork and have been really pleased with the results. … Continue reading →