Is Shurley Grammar my problem?

[Pine Ledge Academy]

I have done FLL in K/1 then Shurley 2,3,4, and then onto 6.....but I am not sure it is really the best choice. My 2 dd, who are very different in their learning styles, both struggle with things that I think should be already very easy..silly things such as homonyms,punctuation, and capitalization..am I expecting too much from them or should I try something else? My oldest dd just finished 4 and my next dd just finished 3.

[SBP]

I love Shurley for learning the question and answer flow, but I do think that for some children, it doesn't offer enough chance to practice mechanics. I used Daily Grams along with Shurley for several years, and it really seemed to help my dc nail down those capitalization/punctuation issues.

 

And this year, I switched to Growing With Grammar, partly because I wanted something that taught diagramming and partly because I was getting a little tired of Shurley (like you, we did levels 2, 3, 4 and about half of 6) and just felt the need for a change. I like that the daily worksheets in GWG give a little more chance to practice each concept than Shurley did. However, I'm not at all sorry for the years we did Shurley. All those years of parsing sentences "the Shurley way" has made the diagramming in GWG a breeze.

 

Hope something here helps. Good luck in finding the right thing for your dc :).

 

SBP

[coralloyd]

Rod & Staff also has plenty of practice and instruction. My 7 year old can form well written sentences, due to R&S.

[Pongo]

I love Shurley for learning the question and answer flow, but I do think that for some children, it doesn't offer enough chance to practice mechanics. I used Daily Grams along with Shurley for several years, and it really seemed to help my dc nail down those capitalization/punctuation issues.

 

 

 

:iagree: Exactly what we do, and Editor in Chief sprinkled in;)

[Shelly in the Country]

I totally agree about Rod and Staff. My dd has retained everything she has learned from their grammar program and I think it's because of how much practice is built into it. (Grammar is her least favorite subject btw.) Years ago when I was first choosing curriculum, I ALMOST went with Shurley. I liked the idea of Shurley. But it was pricey and I ran it by my dh. My dh (who was homeschooled himself and whose grammar is far and away better than mine) wanted to know one thing: Is there diagramming? Old fashioned, tedious diagramming. We went with Rod and Staff. I didn't do any diagramming in my public school education. Although dh's family didn't use Rod and Staff. They used Abeka.

[Pine Ledge Academy]

Thanks. I grew up on Abeka and could probably still diagram standing on my head....maybe we will skip Shurley 6 and try R&S or Abeka for a change of scenery.

[FloridaLisa]

I love Shurley for learning the question and answer flow, but I do think that for some children, it doesn't offer enough chance to practice mechanics. I used Daily Grams along with Shurley for several years, and it really seemed to help my dc nail down those capitalization/punctuation issues.

 

Exactly what we have done as well. Shurley doesn't have enough mechanics and usage practice until Level 7 (through the editing exercises). Just today, I was teaching a Shurley 5 lesson on punctuation and capitalization. The *lesson* was a mega-list of every cotton-pickin' capitalization and punctuation rule in the book. :001_huh: Had my dc not been doing DG all along, there's no way I would have continued to teach the lesson that way.

 

Also, we only use every other level of Shurley, since it's so repetitive. We use the odd levels -- 3, 5 and 7.

 

HTH,

Lisa