Which Vintage E-text Grammar book for those who delay until 4th or 5th grade?

[MamaNurse]

We are Charlotte Mason homeschoolers, so we don't study formal grammar until 10 or so years of age.

 

I was/am totally inspired by this thread: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=157186, but most of the suggestions are for younger aged children. I'm wondering if any vintage grammar textbook geeks :D out there have a suggestion for an older child beginning to study grammar.

 

I have Simply Grammar by Andreola/Mason. I'm really not enjoying it, which surprises me because I adore Andreola and Mason, but I'm not clicking with it and my son really doesn't like it. We're only on Lesson 3 and it asks the child to make 42 sentences with Noun subjects (it gives specifics on which type of nouns) and then it asks to repeat the exercise making 2 sentences with different nouns for the subjects.

 

Really? I find it totally uninspiring. My son has difficulty concentrating on sit-down work (unless it's reading) and this feels like drill and kill to me. I personally find the directions confusing.

 

I would love to know your favorite vintage E-texts for older children. I adore the subject matter, artwork and general vibe of the old-fashion books.

 

Feel free to throw out suggestions for other vintage books for older or younger children: Spelling, composition, etc. I'll save them for future reference...I've also got a 4 and 6 yr old. I've learned so much on this forum by lurking the past couple years.

 

Thank you SO much for your input.:grouphug:

[rhettsmommy]

We use "Graded Lessons in English" by Reed & Kellogg. They have an entire series for grammar, spelling and rhetoric. You can download the book for free on google.com/books. I couldn't find the answer key on google/books but I also throw in A2 (their yahoo group provides all of the answer keys). Good Luck

[MamaNurse]

Thank you so much. :)

 

Funny enough...that's the text that's recommended on Ambleside Online, the guideline we use in our home. But I hadn't realized it until I googled that book.

 

I wasn't familiar with A2, but found it, too. Thanks!

 

In my search, I found an interesting website dedicated to 19th century school books. It's got 140 school books on it. I haven't had a chance to browse, but it looks promising. I saw a rhetoric book on there.

 

http://digital.library.pitt.edu/n/nietz/

 

There are so many older texts...it's hard to decide which one to use. I'd like it to be in line with Charlotte Mason's philosophies.

[MamaNurse]

Just bumping in case anyone else wants to weigh in for the older kids. :auto:

 

Amy

[MamaNurse]

We use "Graded Lessons in English" by Reed & Kellogg. They have an entire series for grammar, spelling and rhetoric. You can download the book for free on google.com/books. I couldn't find the answer key on google/books but I also throw in A2 (their yahoo group provides all of the answer keys). Good Luck

 

Hi rhettsmommy....what is A2?

 

Thanks!

 

Amy:)

[thowell]

:lurk5:

[momto2Cs]

I'm looking at reading Grammar Land to my ds and having him do these worksheets, or we might just do the exercises orally.

[ThreeBlessings]

I haven't used Simply Grammar yet, but I did buy it and have been looking it over. In the Introduction one of the questions is How many exercises should my child complete in one sitting? The answer summed up is only what they can accomplish in 10-15 minutes. Then stop and pick up there next time. Another question is How many lessons should I do a week? The answer summed up is one lesson a week or even one every two weeks. If you follow these guidelines the exercises should seem much less intimidating. :)

[pooh bear]

Are these older grammar books still accurate with regards to modern usage?

[thowell]

I'm looking at reading Grammar Land to my ds and having him do these worksheets, or we might just do the exercises orally.

 

 

These are great for summer!! Thanks!

[MamaNurse]

I haven't used Simply Grammar yet, but I did buy it and have been looking it over. In the Introduction one of the questions is How many exercises should my child complete in one sitting? The answer summed up is only what they can accomplish in 10-15 minutes. Then stop and pick up there next time. Another question is How many lessons should I do a week? The answer summed up is one lesson a week or even one every two weeks. If you follow these guidelines the exercises should seem much less intimidating. :)

 

You're right...I read that before I started and felt really good about it. However, when we got into it, he couldn't stand making that many sentences.

 

Maybe it's just him and his difficulty writing (both physically and with putting thoughts onto paper). But...42 sentences is a mighty large sum and it does seem a bit repetitive. I don't know...I was hoping for something more dynamic.

 

Thanks for your thoughts. :)

 

Amy

[MamaNurse]

I'm looking at reading Grammar Land to my ds and having him do these worksheets, or we might just do the exercises orally.

 

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

Amy

[ThreeBlessings]

You're right...I read that before I started and felt really good about it. However, when we got into it, he couldn't stand making that many sentences.

 

Maybe it's just him and his difficulty writing (both physically and with putting thoughts onto paper). But...42 sentences is a mighty large sum and it does seem a bit repetitive. I don't know...I was hoping for something more dynamic.

 

Thanks for your thoughts. :)

 

Amy

 

I plan for us to do the exercises orally, not written. And I agree 42 is ALOT, lol. I also have two students and plan for both to participate and do roughly half of each lesson. But I figure they'll both benefit from hearing the other student's responses as well. I'll be chiming in with some responses as well for guidance and comedy. You could play that role and take turns making sentences with him. It may be funner that way. :)