How Many Years of Grammar Do You Need?

As I talk to homeschool parents at conventions and via e-mail, I am often asked, “How many years of grammar should I be requiring of my student?” or “Does the Grammar Made Easy: Writing a Step Above course cover all the grammar you need to teach your child through the twelfth grade?” Connie Schenkelberg and I answered that question rather thoroughly in a pair of e-mails I thought I’d share with you today. As usual, there are few announcements immediately following the body of the post.

A mom e-mailed to ask: “Does this course seem to cover all the grammar you need to teach your child through the twelfth grade? I am not certain how complete it is and whether or not I would need to continue with another grammar course when this course is finished…”.

My (Janice’s) response:

Thank you for writing! I’m going to give you my opinion, but I’m also going to forward your note to Connie Schenkelberg, the author of the course. I think she will have even more insight on all the course covers.

If you’re familiar with my writings (on the website and my blog) about the learning lifestyle and teaching your student to write, you probably know that I have what I would consider a relaxed Charlotte Mason/Thomas Jefferson approach to schooling.

Grammar Made Easy was the only formal grammar we used, and I felt that it was a perfect foundation for all future writing, as well as for foreign languages. Based upon my own education, extensive reading, and the education of my boys, I believe that once the grammar foundation is laid, further grammar study should be done contextually through writing and the study of foreign language. Read more

Summer Reading Lists: What’s On Yours?

We’re back from the last convention of the season, and life is slowing down. It’s a good thing, because I came home with a pinched nerve, and am not supposed to be on the computer for more than 10 minutes in an hour. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to write in 10-minutes interval, but if you haven’t, I can tell you that it’s not the way to be creative and productive!

I hope to catch up on a bit of reading during the rest of the summer. I finished Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey last night (very funny), and am still reading a few other things. The none-too-organized stack beside my chair includes: Read more

Everyone “Knows” Shakespeare- Or Do They?

“O, like a book of sport thou’lt read me o’er;
But there’s more in me than thou understand’st.”
~ William Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida

The balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth’s fateful meeting with the three witches on the moor, and Brutus’s betrayal of Julius Caesar are just a few of the unforgettable scenes in William Shakespeare’s masterpieces. If you know Shakespeare, you will see echoes of his work everywhere; if you haven’t studied him, you will probably miss the significance of many of the allusions that have infiltrated our language and literature. Next to the Bible, the works of Shakespeare are the most necessary reading for cultural literacy.

Like any rich and worthwhile text, a Shakespeare play is challenging. Not only is the language and vocabulary archaic, the plays themselves brim with a multitude of characters, with plots, subplots, and counterplots. Shakespeare packs a lot into a single story! However, there is a way to approach the plays so you can understand and enjoy them. Here is a simple four-step plan: Read more