The Basic Cozy English
Grammar Course
Homeschool Curriculum
HOMESCHOOLING
TODAY
July/August 2002 issue
Curriculum Corner
by Craig and Cindy Young
It's always a pleasure to review an excellent product.
This video grammar course is creative, clear, well-organized, and
above all, entertaining. Retired English teacher Marie Rackham is the
star of this show. She knows her stuff and explains each point clearly
and carefully, but she's quirky enough, too, that she's a hoot to
watch. The lessons are filmed in and around her beautiful home on the
beach on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Some settings are
"cozy" (tea by the fireside) and others are grand (bald
eagles aloft), and they're perfect for homeschooled children who are
much more at home in those places than in a classroom. Ms. Rackham - a
classically trained pianist - even provides the soundtrack. Two
videotapes contain 27 lessons, from the basics of identifying subjects
and predicates through subordinate clauses and compound sentences. The
accompanying workbook restates the basics of each lesson and gives
three or four sets of exercises, plus four tests at the end. As we
write this, our three oldest children are glued to the TV, laughing
and learning with Ms. Rackham.
Enthusiastically recommended.
Basic
Grammar
