It's okay. I can take it.
I actually felt my pulse quicken the other day while explaining to Ian the finer points of a definition of a panda and why commas are so important ... to omit, in this case.
Panda: Eats shoots and leaves. As opposed to ... Panda: Eats, shoots, and leaves.
So anyway. You know that kids' game, Cranium Hullabaloo
? Pretty fun, right? Well, around here, we play Grammar Hullabaloo.
I get out a book, lately a volume of poetry, and a sand timer. We scatter our parts of speech around the driveway or yard (noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun, conjunction, interjection). I flip the sand timer -- actually, Caroline does. This is an excellent job for a preschooler. I call out words, and they run to the correct part of speech.
When the timer runs out, we tally up their words. It's a cooperative game, by the way. I count the word once both kids land on the correct part of speech.
Then we're on to the next round. They each earn a point if they beat their previous team score. (i.e. if they scored fourteen words the first time, they win this round if they have fifteen or more). The next round, it's double-or-nothing.
And that's about it for formal grammar practice in our august halls of learning.
Except, of course, when I interrupt them to say, "Did you mean 'Eliza AND I were taking all the pillows off of Mom's bed'?"
They love that. Do they ever.
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3 comments:
Cute game!
If you're ever interested in a grammar curriculum that isn't fun but is really comprehensive without requiring a huge time commitment, let me know. Most kids don't find it particularly engaging, but it manages to teach a whole lot very efficiently.
Claire actually likes it, but she also enjoyed "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves" and "Woe is I", and read both cover-to-cover. :)
Wow - you make learning so much fun!
Now that is a game I would LOVE! Did you ever take E360k at UT. . .THE grammar class? I looooved that class. I am glad you are making it so much for your kids.
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