I did not teach grammar until my kids were 12. I had tried earlier, but had little success. At 12 they were sufficiently literate to grasp the concepts.
I enjoy reading these threads on homeschooling. Although our children are in public school, we know many parents who homeschool their kids, most with pretty good success it seems. Even though I am a former high school teacher, we decided that public school would be good for our kids for a number of reasons. My wife was/is already a bit overprotective (our kids were referred to as “the bubble children” where she works) and I was concerned about socialization and exposure to some aspects of society at a time when we would not be able to exert influence on our children. For us it has worked well. We get our kids to think critically when confronted with perspectives presented at school with which we disagree, whether presented by teachers or other students.
Our daughter had a friend at school who had two “mommies.” Hannah was invited to her friends’ “mommies’” wedding. When we told her that she would not be able to attend she was upset. As we questioned her, we learned that it was because they were serving cake. We got her cake and the matter was solved (she was in 2d grade). We are involved in our kids’ school and see what goes on. We keep up with what the teachers are teaching, and when the emphasis is on something we disagree with, like “saving the earth” we provide our viewpoint and encourage critical thinking by our children.
For us it has worked out very well. All of us are not cracked up to be homeschool teachers— including some who are trying to homeschool. But, to each his own.
hahah, ok, Truth is out. I NEVER taught grammar. Oh, we read Shakespeare and he wrote a lot, and often. But he graduated before I got to the nitty-gritty things like grammar and term papers. He learned grammar when he took Russian at 15, and he writes beautifully.
My friend who teaches at a university near here said all the research shows that ‘good readers make good writers.’
Interesting thread. Thanks for all your guyses posts (speaking of grammar). So very interesting.