JAG question

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

So you really not use anything until 4th or 5th grade then start using JAG? I am trying to decide what to do with ds for next year (2nd) Do you just informally teach grammar through writing/reading? If you do use something before JAG, what? I know ds will need another good year full of phonics next year and I don't want to over do his schedule! Would just informally teaching nouns, verbs, capital letter usage and punctuation be enough until we do JAG with him in 4th grade?

[atozmom]

We are using The Sentence Family now (download from Currclick is cheaper) and then continue to informally teach grammar until we start JAG. We are using WWW for writing and will again next year. It will be easy enough to ask him to underline or circle the nouns in red etc., in his sentences while writing.

[MinivanMom]

We are another family waiting on formal grammar until 5th grade (and considering JAG among other programs). I teach mechanics and very basic grammar (nouns, verbs, complete sentences) as a part of spelling. My kids write using the writing process, so I also reinforce basic grammar as I help them to edit their writing.

[hooahwife]

As a former Army wife, my first reaction to the thread title was to wonder what the Judge Advocate General had to do with homeschooling.

 

My mind has been taken over by milspeak.

[Jennefer@SSA]

With my first we did very informal grammar until we started JAG in 4th grade. I use the definitions in FLL to teach him the definitions of nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. We would identify a few of each in readings when he was younger. We focused on formulating a good sentence. I taught him that every sentence needed 2 things to be a complete sentence - a subject and a predicate. That was it until JAG and he did great!

 

With my second ds I am using GWG until JAG just because it is inexpensive, easy to implement and only takes 3-5 minutes a day. He is not a natural memorizer like his older brother so I think the repetition will help but I am confident that if I did the exact same thing I did with his older brother, he would be fine. JAG really is that well done. We are huge fans!