TOTAL TOPIC SHIFT...One of the topics I find myself wanting to talk about a lot is the way we use technology in our homeschool. I joke sometimes that 75% of our schoolhouse is on my iPad2. I mean, that's an exaggeration, but not an egregious one. I rely heavily on my iPad for our homeschool, and sometimes I find really awesome apps and I want to tell people about them.
So today, I'm gonna do that. :) Our latest app-love is an awesome little language arts app called Grammaropolis (limited version is free; full version is $12.99).
I am going to let you guys in on a surprising little secret -- teaching grammar is a weakness of mine. I know, I'm a writer and a certified 6-12 English Education teacher! How can that be?
Well, the truth is that grammar has always been instinctive for me. I could do well on tests and such without ever learning the rules because I could just hear it. So transitive verbs? Abstract nouns? Ughhhh, it's been so long since I've looked over the rules for that stuff, and it can be really, really boring for both the teacher and the student.
This is where Grammaropolis came in for me. I downloaded the free version and let Little A have a go at it. And she DEVOURED it. She loved it. In less than an hour, she was giving ME primers on the different types of nouns and how to identify them. She loved the songs, she loved the activities, and best of all, she was just soaking in the information.
Then she wanted the full version. And man, it's $12.99.
$12.99. For an app, that is PRICEY.
But I had been searching for SO LONG for a good basic grammar/parts of speech program that was challenging for her without being frustrating. I thought, I would spend $12.99 on a good workbook without blinking. So why not an app that functions as a good workbook?
I talked myself into it, and I wasn't disappointed. It was all she wanted to do for the next 2-3 days. She hummed the songs and we watched the really cute video lessons.
I don't know that it's right for everyone, and at $12.99, it's not exactly a throwaway app price. But if you're looking for a parts-of-speech primer (I'm going to go with grades 3-5 as a target age group), I would really encourage you to download the free version and try out the nouns section. It will give you a good idea of whether this is the type of thing your child responds to. Mine did. Like crazy. So the $12.99 was absolutely worth it. Now she's reminding me how to tell the difference between a transitive and intransitive verb and how to figure out if something is a collective noun. Not a bad investment, if you ask me.
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