[HappyMomof3]

Our family is in the middle of our second year of homeschooling. Our oldest is a first grader. I would like input from other homeschoolers and unschoolers as to teach or not teach things like verbs, nouns, and adjectives. I know those things would be taught later, but I would like some input of others. I have a BA degree and never used those sorts of things in college, or my adult life, only in public school. I am trying to learn if there is a good reason to teach these things or not.

 

[ShannonCC]

Well, they're really useful in Mad Libs <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/bouncy.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="bouncy"><img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/orngbiggrin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="orange big grin"> That's probably all I use them for either <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/winky.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Wink">

 

[Openskyheart]

I don't think that it's necessary for such young ones. Once a child is older, and is really writing, those terms are very useful for communicating about writing.<br><br>
I agree with Shannon on the use of Mad Libs. They're fun, and the kids learn what verbs, nouns, etc. are painlessly - and for a real purpose.<br><br>
Laura <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile">

 

[applejuice]

I never learned the parts of speech until fifth grade myself.<br><br>
In the school I work in, the idea is introduced in 1st grade, and I really think that is too early to grasp the concept, don't you?

 

[Lillian J]

<span>I wouldn't bother with it at this point. When they're a lot lot lot older, they can learn those things in no time at all. In fact, my son never formally studied them, but he read voraciously in his teens and learned the gist of it just from observing the language. I assumed I'd need to get him brushed up with a quick remedial review when he was about to go into classes at the community college, but before I had a chance, he was bringing home papers with rave remarks from English teachers. You'll be amazed over the years as you watch them soak things up without having formally study them yet. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/wink1.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="wink1"> Lillian</span>

 

[HappyMomof3]

Thank you everyone for your opinion and information. We to have thought Mad Libs would be a fun format to introduce or teach the concepts of nouns, adjectives, and such. I don't plan to teach it for a while. I do remember having fun with Mad Libs when we travelled. It was to help pass the time, and I likely learned more then because it was fun. I want our children to have an understanding of the terms, but not spend a large number of hours on it as I had to in school. Again thank you.

 

[MamaGaia]

I think the whole reason we learned them was for Mad Libs <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol">

 

[ShannonCC]

I probably wasn't clear (I rarely am <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol">) but I was tying to say I don't see the need to teach them. Grammar, spelling, vocbulary (all that) is, in my opinion, best learned from just reading and writing and speaking. I don't see a need to ever have my kids diagram a sentence. And I know plenty of people who disagree with me and that's ok too. We all have different opinions here in Homeschool Land <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/Peace.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Peace"><br><br>
But yeah, my dd knows them just because Mad Libs is a fun game <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol"> (and she likes Schoolhouse Rock which I bought for ME but it turned out the kids enjoy it).

 

[Marsupialmom]

opps double post.

 

[Marsupialmom]

I am coming from a mom with a child with fine motor skills issues. Learning on the small parts made it easier for him to write and put the big picture together. My son was a non-writer and teaching about verbs, nouns, et have helped him because a writer. He built confidences in writing one good sentence than fretting over more. I did a lot of writing for him.<br><br>
Now my girls are younger and I don’t know if it is because they do not have fine motor skill issues or if they have listen to me teach their brother but they are much better writers earlier.<br><br>
I think you can teach these things without the mind toiling hours. You can have a find the noun day. Do the verb day. Learn the “be” verbs by a chant.

 

[rainbowmum]

WOW <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/yikes2.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="yikes">:<br>
I never heard of mad libs before!

 

[vegimom]

I use some of the free lessons from this website:<br><br><a href="http://www.dailygrammar.com/archive.shtml" target="_blank">http://www.dailygrammar.com/archive.shtml</a>

 

[SagMom]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>ShannonCC</strong></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">I don't see a need to ever have my kids diagram a sentence.</div>
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This was really important in a grammar class I had in college. It was what the whole course was about and our "final" consisted of diagraming passages from two different authors and using that to analyze and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of their styles.<br><br>
It was interesting, but entirely useless outside of that class! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol"><br><br>
I guess for kids who enjoy words and word puzzles, they might actually LIKE to diagram sentences, but I can't imagine how that would be used in everyday life.<br><br>
To me, it seems like being able to conjugate verbs, yk? Most of us naturally do this just from talking and reading. We don't need to sit there and think through the process in order to choose which form is appropriate. Likewise, I think most of us form sentences without thinking, "Let's see, I have a noun, now I need a verb."<br><br>
(My kids love Mad Libs too.)

 

[ShannonCC]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>Joan</strong></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">This was really important in a grammar class I had in college.</div>
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Ok Joan, the part of your post that really got me was that there was an entire class on grammar in college? Seriously? <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol"> Was that for English majors or Education majors or something like that? (what was your major anyway?). When I was in college my English classes were on writing (actually writing <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol">) and literature. We diagrammed sentences in High School. How do you fill an entire class with grammar? Or did you mean one session as opposed to one semester? I just can't get my brain around that <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol">

 

[UnschoolnMa]

MAD libs rule lol. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol"><br><br>
We just address it as it comes up. The library has lots of good handy books about it too. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile">

 

[mammastar2]

I love grammar. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/orngtongue.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Stick Out Tongue"><br><br>
...and I've found and continue to find it useful. Definitely reading widely is a huge part of it, because no one's ever going to master good grammar by doing fill-in-the-blank worksheets and reading the back of cereal boxes. However, it's also helpful to have the rules, the whys and the wherefores to hang your hat on. I got an unusually good grounding in it when I was elementary-aged, and I'm still grateful - I diagrammed sentences, I identified antecedents, I learned how to work with the subjunctive. It helps me to write effectively and clearly and, in my profession, not to irritate the heck out of important people. It's also invaluable in learning foreign languages. The people who have the hardest time understanding and using sentence structure in foreign languages are frequently those who have never had a background in English grammar - when you're working in a language that isn't intuitive to you, how do you do it without looking to the 'rules'?

 

[raleigh_mom]

You might want to consider the School House Rock - Grammer video. My 5yo likes watching the SHR videos. I suppose eventually I might sit down and see if my kids learn it, but of course mine are too young for that yet.<br><br>
As awful as it sounds, I just don't want people to give them a hard time when they are older. I can imagine their adult friends sitting around complaining about having to learn grammer in school and my kids saying, "huh? What's a noun?" But I'm an adult and I still don't think I could diagram a sentence! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol">

 

[HappyMomof3]

Yes, we want our children to understand what the terms mean. I don't want them to be clueless about it later in life. I don't feel the need to spend much time on it, if they have a basic understanding it. I didn't mind learning it, but sometimes it seemed like we spent far more time on it than was needed. Maybe I just felt like there were so many more important things that I would rather have been learning. Thank you to everyone for the helpful information.

 

[SagMom]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>ShannonCC</strong></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">Ok Joan, the part of your post that really got me was that there was an entire class on grammar in college? Seriously? <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol"></div>
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<br>
Seriously. A full semester, 3 credit course. And it was a senior level class. I know there were English majors as well as education majors taking the the course, but I don't remember if it was required or if it was an elective. (I certainly had no clue that grammar could be so complicated! It was tough! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol"> )

 

[Hera]

Some people really enjoy decoding language. I always liked grammar, even as a first grader. I liked diagramming sentances too. I may not "use" that information now, but I'm glad I know it. I'm actually very excited to teach grammar and get to diagram sentances again.<br><br>
It's also very helpful when learning a foreign language, especially the way they are usually taught from books. There were a lot of verb tenses that I learned in French class that I had no name for in English grammar. (Pluperfect??) It would actually have been helpful to me to have known the names and uses of the different tenses.<br><br>
Joan, that class sounds really fun. I would have liked it!<br><br>
eta: dd is more or less a first grader and we're using English for the Thoughtful Child right now. We just started, but she's liking it better than First Language Lessons. It is similar, but a little more fun.