Homeschool Reviews for You

Growing with Grammar
Author: Tamela Davis
For more information or to order: www.growingwithgrammar.com

What does a homeschool mom do when she can’t find the grammar program that meets her own expectations?  She writes one, of course!  Here, in her own words, is what Tamela Davis was looking for, but couldn’t find: “For several years, I have been aware that homeschoolers around the world are in need of a thorough grammar program that can be used by all educators regardless of their background or beliefs.  My husband and I began Growing With Grammar to fill that need in the homeschool community.”

Growing With Grammar comes as a set, which includes a Student Manual, a Student Workbook, and an Answer Key.  The workbook pages correspond with each of the 105 lessons in the Student Manual.  The workbook is spiral bound and the student completes the front and back of one page for each lesson.  One of the things I really like about the workbook is the spiral binding being across the top of the book.  This is great for left-handed children – they don’t have to rest their arm on the metal spirals.  The Student Manual is also spiral bound so it lays flat for easy reference.

This is one of the most thorough and easy-to-use programs I have seen for the elementary years!  I reviewed the 3rd grade level, which is broken down into five chapters: Sentences, Nouns & Pronouns, Verbs, Adjectives & Adverbs, and Words & Punctuation.  Each chapter has about 20 lessons and introduces multiple topics, which include dictionary skills, writing paragraphs, plurals, capitalization and more.  The Student Manual provides all of the instruction and is written to the student.  I really like this, as it allows for a child to work almost completely independently if desired.  There are plenty of examples in the manual and each lesson is refreshingly short and to the point. 

Growing With Grammar offers many things that make it stand out from the rest.  First, when the child is completing their workbook page, there is notation that tells them what lesson the material was presented in.  This allows the child to look in his manual if he is struggling to remember a concept. In addition to covering material presented in the lesson, the workbook page also reviews previously introduced concepts.   Also, there is plenty of space provided for answering the questions or completing assignments.  I also like the cumulative review at the end of each chapter.  The review consists of four pages, so you might want to have your child cover the review over the course of a few days.

The Student Workbook has a very “clean” look to the pages.  They are not cluttered at all.  In fact, I like that there are very few pictures to distract the child.  Growing With Grammar does teach diagramming sentences.  For some families this is a big plus, others are not “sold” on diagramming.  I typically belong to the latter group, but because diagramming isn’t a part of every workbook page, we have found it to me most manageable.  In fact, that’s another thing I like about this curriculum – no busy work.  Some grammar courses have so much writing that it just wears out a young child.  The author has done a great job of providing “just enough” variety in the types of exercises to adequately cover the material without burning the child out on grammar.  The workbook activities range from simple underlining or circling words, to rewriting sentences correctly and diagramming. 

Although the concepts presented are definitely on grade level, I have found that this 3rd grade level works very well for remedial work.  An older child who has never had grammar instruction or just doesn’t “get it” can really benefit from the gentle, yet thorough approach used in Growing With Grammar.  The author also has completed a 4th grade level and is working on 1st/2nd grade and 5th grade levels, which should be completed in the spring of 2007.

If you have been looking for an easy-to-use, thorough grammar program that doesn’t burn kids out with too much writing and doesn’t break your budget, Growing With Grammar might just be for you!  It lays a solid foundation in grammar that will serve students well for years to come.

Making the Grade: A+
Cost:  $29.95
Value for your homeschool dollar: 10