The Growing with Grammar collection is growing

My friend Tamy Davis finished just before Christmas with the latest in her Growing with Grammar (GWG) series, the combined First & Second Grade volume, and we just received it in the mail.

I used First Language Lessons with Laura for first and second grade, and while she was quite enthusiastic about the book, there was an awful lot of eye-rolling from her brothers at all the repetition, and that was with a fair amount of judicious pruning on my part.

I'll definitely start Davy with the new book after we get back from our trip, and just might switch over Daniel, who's in second grade and has been working slowly through the third grade GWG book.

I haven't had the chance to look very closely at the new GWG so far, but here's what I do know: unlike the 3rd grade and 4th grade programs, for the Grade 1 & 2 program, the student's manual and workbook are combined. Tamy writes at the website, where you can also view the new book's index and some sample lessons for each grade, that the Grade 1 & 2 program

is based on a 36-week school year for both grades (72 weeks in all), and there is a new concept introduced each week. There are three lessons to reinforce each concept. This program assumes a three-day work schedule for grammar. The
program, however, is easily modified to suit your family’s needs. At the beginning
of the book, we have assembled an index that lists the 72 concepts (36 per year)
and the lessons that pertain to each. Review questions are strategically placed
throughout this book. There are also comprehensive review lessons at the end of
each section.

Just as with the Grade 3 and Grade 4 books, what I like best about the GWG programs is that they foster independent work from the start. The books are all spiral-bound at the top (especially handy for lefty Davy) and stay open easily, and the text is addressed to the child. And the new volume is printed in a nice large font perfect for first graders just beginning to read on their own. For instance, the examples for the first lesson, Introduction to Sentences, are

"Linda ate peas."

"The frog hopped."

Perfect for new readers or those just learning.

Davy is excited to start, and I'm excited to have one more high-quality secular, classical program available for our home education adventure.