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Homeschooling doesn't have to be expensive!
Read the August issue of The Old Schoolhouse� Magazine online or by downloading the free mobile apps for budget-saving ideas.
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Thanks ever so much. I love the encouraging articles! I really loved the list of 25 all in one place. Nice to have this little bit of "free" encouragement in my mail. I don't have funds to subscribe or purchase frills and with also working more than half time I don't have time to search it out. May God bless you exceedingly.
--Teresa, rural Kansas
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The Old Schoolhouse� Magazine
August 15, 2012
Help! High School Grammar
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Greetings!
 | | Deborah Wuehler and family |
Whenever I come across a subject that I am not confident in teaching, I send up a short prayer starting with the word, "Help!" God has been faithful to walk me through each step of each child's learning experiences.
Many of you are experiencing the high school teaching jitters and are specifically asking about high school grammar.
Two weeks ago, I shared a little about what we do with elementary grammar, and now I will share our grammar experience with our three children who have been through high school already, and what I plan to do with the one that is entering high school this year.
Our high school preparation time helped them learn enough basic grammar to be sufficiently prepared for excelling in their college level English classes. Although they didn't know all the college MLA formats when they started, that information was covered in their first English class. (The MLA format includes the design of your paper, how it looks, how it is spaced, and how to make citations and bibliographies). I found that I didn't need to worry after all as long as they were proficient in basic English grammar skills, and could articulate their thoughts on paper, they were ready for college English.
My daughter who graduated this last year, has decided that a four-year college is not in her future. Instead, she is heading for a trade school next year in equine massage. This year, she is earning money for school and a car by taking on two jobs. None of these areas have needed advanced grammar, so her high school grammar workbooks and classes were enough.
For my son entering high school this year, we will be preparing him for college unless the Lord directs us differently in the next four years. So, I have decided to use the college English handbook that the older boys used in their college classes. That way, he will definitely be prepared for higher education if that is the route the Lord has for him.
So what does high school grammar instruction look like? I can only tell you that it is as different as each family that teaches it. There are classes and books, and online helps in abundance. There are plenty of resources available for high school instruction as well as grammar/language arts products that homeschool families have reviewed for you.
Pray . . . research . . . plan . . . prepare . . . teach . . . and then trust God.
Trusting with you,
~Deborah
TOS Senior Editor
SeniorEditor@TheHomeschoolMagazine.com
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Advertisement
EASY GRAMMAR™ texts, grades 2 - Plus, incorporate innovative  techniques for teaching concepts easily.
DAILY GRAMS™ texts, grades 3 - 7, include 180 daily, 10-minute reviews.
EASY GRAMMAR ULTIMATE SERIES (EGUS) high-school teaching texts use a 10-minute, 180-lessons format.
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Advertisement
Quick: What's the first word that comes to mind when you hear the word grammar? Go ahead, admit it. Did you say "boring"? If you did, you're not alone. Many teachers--and students--feel this way.
But grammar shouldn't be boring. Grammar makes great writing  possible. Just like a gymnast can't dazzle an audience with her routines unless she uses all the tools at her disposal, a student can't write to the best of his ability without understanding the tools he has at his disposal. Strong muscles, skill, and perseverance are just some of the tools a gymnast needs. Clauses, participles, and parallelism are a few that a great writer needs.
Looking for an example?
"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die . . . a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance . . . " (Ecclesiastes 3:1-4). Now that we use only KJV, we do not notate the version.
Everything has its time, whether it's being born, dying, weeping, laughing, mourning, or dancing.
Notice that the Ecclesiastes passage goes beyond mere words and communicates with the heart. This passage from the King James Version of the Bible is grammar at its finest, using the tools of repetition, dependent clauses, emphasis, and parallelism.
Fortunately, your last name doesn't have to be Shakespeare for you to teach great grammar skills to your children! Resources abound. The Schoolhouse Dailies zone on SchoolhouseTeachers.com provides daily exercises in both grammar and writing. And, every month, SchoolhouseTeachers.com brings you a new writing lesson from Kim Kautzer of WriteShop, full of grammar and writing tools, tips, and more!
Stop by our sample pages and discover the resources you need to transform your children's writing into something deeper--communication that moves the emotions.
SchoolhouseTeachers.com members also have access to all TOS magazine back issues, receive bonus E-Books, can download recorded sessions of Schoolhouse Expos, and get all five of the Schoolhouse Planners. Not a member? Join today!
Bonnie Rose Hudson
bhudson@thehomeschoolmagazine.com
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Advertisement
The American School offers outstanding value for homeschoolers wishing to earn an accredited high school diploma. Students work at their own pace in the General High School or College Preparatory program. Individual courses for enrichment are also available for purchase.
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The Familyman
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Todd Wilson
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Todd Wilson, Familyman Ministries
OK, the Olympics are over so I guess we have to start thinking about . . . school. Now don't be afraid. Just because we're thinking about it, doesn't mean we have to jump right into the icy waters, it's better to e-a-s-e into it.
Of course when the topic at hand is high school grammar, it feels like jumping into a frigid Minnesota lake in the dead of winter. All that I know about high school grammar is from my accumulated experience at Danville Community High School. And what I remember about high school grammar is . . . nothing . . . nada . . . el zippo.
I'm sure we did some stirring exercises on sentence diagramming and parts of speech--but I'm drawing a blank on what they actually were. As you know from reading these posts I'm not the brightest crayon in the box when it comes to grammar.
So my advice when it comes to high school grammar is . . . do whatever you think is best. If you love grammar and think it's important to master in order to live a productive life . . . then teach grammar. If on the other hand, you're like me and think it's all a bunch of hooey and don't want to teach high school grammar, then don't. God made you smart enough to know what's best for your children.
E-a-s-e into it.
Be Real,
Todd
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Announcement
How quickly can you and the children get out of the house for an appointment, lesson, or other activity? Malia Russell shares how to create a launch pad to propel your family out the door on time and with all your belongings.
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Relational Homeschooling
www.DianaWaring.com
 | | Diana Waring |
Dear Friends,
I can't do it. I can't generate more talk about grammar. In moving from military base to military base as a child, I somehow missed most of the lessons on grammar.
So, for this week, it seems more appropriate to talk about something that is, perhaps, a lot closer to where you live. I know that many of you are currently facing a lot of stress, a lot of pressure, a lot of gearing up to try to do it all. You and I both know that homeschooling is one of the most demanding, creative, terrifying, incredible jobs on the planet, so I understand the pressure you are feeling! But, as one who's been interacting with homeschool families for more than twenty years, can I give you some perspective?
First, take a deep breath and RELAX. I'm serious! (This impacts you physically.)
Second, open your Bible and READ Psalm 131:2. Take a few minutes to consider what it would mean to you to be as a weaned child with its mother, to calm and quiet your soul . . . (This impacts you emotionally.)
Third, in that oasis of calm, PRAY. Prayerfully bring your needs, your fears, your challenges before the Lord as described in Philippians 4:6-7. It would be helpful to actually write them out. (This impacts you spiritually.)
When your body, soul, and spirit are at peace, resting in the Lord, your circumstances and difficulties are going to look much different. And, when you are not all knotted up and panicked inside, wise solutions will be more easily found.
Praying that you will be blessed!
And, remember--be relational,
Diana
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Announcement
Are you a parent or grandparent to boys? Could you use some advice as you raise them to be Godly men? Do you need encouragement when it comes to parenting?
Please join us for an encouraging night with Hal and Melanie Young live on August 23, 2012, at 7 p.m. EST for a FREE Online Schoolhouse Expo!
Hal and Melanie Young are the homeschooling parents of six boys and two girls and the authors of Raising Real Men: Surviving, Teaching, and Appreciating Boys, Practical Guide to Equipping Hearts and Minds of Boys without Losing or Breaking Your Own.
Then welcome our guest speaker David Stelzl of Raising Entrepreneurs as he leads the workshop: Starting a Business in High School. David is a speaker, strategist, coach, author, and homeschooling dad of seven children ranging from 4 to 20 years of age.
Deborah Wuehler, Senior Editor for The Old Schoolhouse � Magazine will also be presenting the devotional, Homeschooling: Preparing Your Heart and Home. Deb has been a Devotional Editor almost ten years and is a homeschooling mom of eight children aged 3 to 20: several ordinary children, a few gifted, a couple of struggling learners, and one special needs child.
Get sound Biblical advice for raising young men--FREE!
Visit SchoolhouseExpo.com for more information and to register.
Reserve your FREE seat today---only 1000 available
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Announcement
Creation Revolution
Lizards shed their tails when threatened by a predator. The squid can abandon an arm when it is threatened. Learn more about this self-amputation, and watch a video showing a squid shedding portions of two arms in the article "Squid Loses Arms Like Lizard Loses Tail."
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Contest Corner
For the month of August, 2012
Go Science: Volume 6 (Water, Space, Solar System)
Library and Educational Services is a wholesale supplier of Christian, wholesome, educational books, CDs, DVDS, games, and more. They offer a 30-70 % discount to wholesale customers including resellers, educators, libraries, churches, and schools. Homeschoolers are considered educators and are able to create a free account and purchase through LES! We had an opportunity to review one of their many products: Go Science DVDs.
Go Science is a DVD Series featuring Ben Roy who teaches Science Methods at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and is the former director of a science program on television. There are 6 DVDS in the series: Vol 1 Motion, Vol 2 Simple Machines, Sound, and Weather, Vol 3 Magnetism, Electricity, Engineering and Design, Vol 4 Chemistry, States of Matter, and Life Sciences, Vol 5 Air and Flight, and Vol 6 Water, Space, and Solar System. Throughout the DVDs, Ben captivates, inspires, and motivates children ages 6-14 to be excited about science while giving them instruction based on scientific phenomenon. More importantly, each of his demonstrations has a spiritual application and points to our Creator, God. (...)
To read the rest of this Crew review Click Here.
You can win this DVD!
TO ENTER:
Email Deb (SeniorEditor@TheHomeschoolMagazine.com) with your name, mailing address, and phone number for contact purposes, with the subject line, "Go Science" for a chance to win* the DVD!
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