Nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions, phrases/clauses, synonyms/antonyms/homonyms, prefixes/roots/suffixes, etc., etc., etc.
Grammar is an important skill to master for proper speaking and writing. It can also be confusing if taught incorrectly. Anyone remember having to diagram sentences? Okay, so I LOVED diagramming sentences because I am a geek. See?
Sorry! I couldn’t resist showing off my new glasses! Back to teaching grammar.
What we tried but stopped using:
Abeka – We actually haven’t completely stopped using Abeka. I use the language arts workbooks for grades K-2 but beyond those grades we stopped using them. I just didn’t like the way concepts were taught and there was very little review. My kids do like the colorful workbooks. The early grades are mostly phonics review and basic introduction to nouns, verbs, and adjectives.
I didn’t use anything else because I didn’t know any better. Now I know better.
What we use now {and have used for the past seven or eight years}:
Easy Grammar – I LOVE this system and highly recommend it! Prepositions are memorized first. Then through the process of eliminating prepositional phrases the students are taught how to get to the basic sentence structure. 
At first I just bought the teacher’s manual as it contains pages you can copy for the students, but after two years of copying and copying countless pages it was worth it to buy each child their own workbook. Okay, I admit I also bought workbooks for me to do too. We start with Easy Grammar Grade 3 and go on up through 8th grade.
Daily Grams
English from the Roots Up
Copywork and Dictation- “Why should you use copywork and dictation in the early grades? The purpose of copywork is to get into the child’s visual (and motor) memory the look and feel of a sentence that is corrrectly composed, and properly spelled, spaced, and punctuated. The purpose of dictation is to have a child practice transferring his knowledge of the rules of grammar, spelling, and punctuation to actual writing.” ~Jessie Wise, The Well Trained Mind
For beginning writers we use the free pages found at Simply Charlotte Mason and Guesthollow. Older children copy directly from scripture, General Conference talks, classic books of literature, original documents {the US Constitution, Gettysburg address, etc.}, and poetry.
Thanks for the info! I’m really excited to dig into Latin and Greek roots myself. It is so helpful! My husband is very knowledgeable in that area and I’m jealous. ( :
I took Latin prior to college (a summer course) and loved it. Of course, it helped that much of the sacred music I’d sung for years was in Latin. I am planning to have our oldest use Latin as his elective next year – keep your fingers crossed. I will have to check out the Daily Grams. Sentence diagrams are no longer taught, as such, in our system, but I’d like to see my children learn the process.
I love grammar almost as much as history.
I am the diagramming geek – I also do the workbooks, lol.
I would love to wear argle glasses as well – love those!
I love english from the roots up. The flashcards make learning so much fun. Thanks for the links. I am going to check out some I haven’t heard of.
What age/grade do you recommend for the English from the Roots Up series? I can’t find an age recommendation on the amazon link.
I’ve been using it with my 2nd graders on up so around 7-8 years old and older. It’s great for adults who just want to learn too.
I loved diagramming sentences, as well. I was shocked when I moved from one school district to another and practically had to beg the English teacher to spend a week diagramming sentences. It was clear, proofreading several of my classmates’ essays, that they needed it. O.o
Thank you for this info. I haven’t found our preferred method yet. The children Roots Up sounds excellent. I have found the wizard whimstaff extraordinary english adventures series a great intro. My children sure love it anyways. 🙂
I never learned diagramming in school–is there a good resource for an adult learner? I don’t need a seven-year program!
This is so helpful for a newbie, like myself. Thanks!
I am thinking about grammar for my 7th grader. What level would you suggest she do since they don’t have 7th grade for easy grammar. It looks like it goes up to 6th and then goes to grammar plus. My daughter has done a little bit of Winston grammar and Growing with grammar, but nothing seems to click. What do you think, would she be ready for grammar plus or a lower lever first? Wish I had started with easy grammar from the beginning. Thanks!
If you go to http://easygrammar.com/ they have a small placement test {10 questions} your daughter can take for both elementary and 7-12 grades. That would be most helpful in determining what book to get.