The beginning of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is just a few days away. Have you thought about using the NaNoWriMo challenge in your homeschool? Have you made any preparations? If you have, you may be concerned about whether your child is grammatically ready to write a whole novel in a month’s time. But tools […]
grammar
English 2: Developing Young Writers
Writing has always been one of my favorite things to do. My mother would transcribe oral stories I retold as a preschooler. (It’s true! You can read about it here.) Then when I was in the elementary grades, we would “publish” a book each year as a compilation of all my homeschool writing projects. I […]
Writing and Grammar—Two Halves of One Whole
For a busy parent, with everything that has to be completed in one homeschool day, teaching writing and grammar is a lot of work. It might seem to make more sense for you to handle these two related subjects as separate classes, or to spend one semester on grammar and the next on writing. So why does […]
Teaching Grammar the “Write” Way
Do your children dread the part of the day devoted to writing and grammar? Maybe they have trouble seeing the correlation between grammar and good writing, or maybe they view grammar as boring, impractical, and repetitive. Before college, I felt the same way. So how did I end up with a bachelor’s degree and a master’s […]
Learning the Value of Grammar Lessons
Many high schoolers question the usefulness of studying grammar. I know I did. My parents started homeschooling when I was in seventh grade. I was a good student and had stayed on the honor roll throughout elementary school. I loved learning and generally spent my spare time either reading or typing out stories on my family’s […]
How We Build a Solid Foundation in Our Elementary English
Children love building tall towers. Their goals can be quite lofty (literally) and sometimes others are enlisted to complete the project. At some point, the simple tower always seems to come crashing down. For an unsuspecting child, his response to the fallen tower is often tears or outbursts of frustration. But a “demolished” tower […]