Looking for grammar self-education suggestions for myself.

[Ferdie]

My oldest is going into 6th grade next year and already starting to cover some grammar terms with which I am not familiar. I wanted to spend a year studying grammar solely for the purpose of being able to teach my children in the high school years. I also thought self-study would enable me to give my children better feedback in their writing.

We use BJU homesat for a few classes so I was thinking of taping the 12th grade english class and working through the student workbook next year. I am wondering if there is a better source - something designed for an adult.

Has anyone BTDT and what did you use? Any thoughts or suggestions?

[Heather in VA]

I'd recommend Analytical Grammar - actually for both of you :-). It has been great for me to really understand why I even care about grammar and it has been great for my dd as well.

[Beth in Central TX]

I was in the same boat last summer. We had just finished R&S grammar 5 and CW Aesop when I realized that I lacked the grammar skills to adequately teach my boys. R&S is a great grammar program, but I wanted something more workbookish for me to do at night. I choose to do Jensen's Grammar and Jensen's Punctuation.

In Jensen's Grammar I could read the page of instruction on the left, do the workbook questions on the right, and then correct my mistakes. Jensen's also moved at a faster pace with less drill and less review. There's also a little difference in terminology--R&S uses predicate nominative while Jensen's uses subject complement, but I think that a good thing because I need to know both terms. It was difficult at first, but I pressed on, and now I feel confident as I work through R&S grammar 6 and CW Homer this year.

[4pillars]

Well, I just worked through the Rod and Staff series ahead of my children. I am up to grade 6, and will be getting grade 7 soon. I love R&S for the simple ease of use and explanations!

Jen

[Janet in WA]

Well, I just worked through the Rod and Staff series ahead of my children. I am up to grade 6, and will be getting grade 7 soon. I love R&S for the simple ease of use and explanations!

JenThis is what I would suggest too. Not Rod and Staff specifically -- but whatever your child will be using to study grammar.

[Lori D.]

... And have easily learned what we needed from Winston Basic and Winston Advanced, doing it alongside the boys. Also, because grammar was an area I had no familiarity with, I look at lots of grammar programs and supplements, pick up tips from them, and incorporate that into both my own understanding and in teaching.

I also tend to be someone who looks for connections, so, for example, when we learned the 7 noun functions in the Winston Basic, I saw that you could group them into 2 types:
- "object" functions (direct object, indirect object, object of the preposition)
- "naming" functions (subject, predicate nominative, appositive, noun of direct address)

So everytime our grammar would be focusing on noun functions, I would jot down our 2 lists, and then also help them remember to look for key things such as -- linking verb (then it can't be DO or IO); is there a preposition (then you may have an OotP); etc.

Anyways, it's been fun learning it -- like solving a big puzzle! I think my boys have looked at grammar in a similar way, so grammar has never been a chore here. (However, spelling is a different story!! -- lol) Warmest regards, Lori D.

[Ferdie]

Thanks ladies! You are an inspiration to me. We have a local hs bookstore so I am going to make a trip over there this week to check out some of the resources that you recommended.

I appreciate everyone taking the time to respond.

Blessings to you.