Reviews Kimberly Hahn in The Catholic Home Educator Laura Berquist, director of the Kolbe Academy Home School Cathy Duffy in Christian Home Educators Curriculum Manuals Beverly Hernandez, the About.com homeschooling guide Would you like a grammar resource that your children ask you when they can play it? Would you like to see your children assist each other in the skills of editing, punctuation, spelling, definitions, pronunciation and grammar usage? Have I got a game for you! THE GREAT GRAMMARIAN(R) is a grammar-skill game we use with second through eighth grade children following our practice spelling and geography bees. (The game is suitable for high school students, as well.) We also play the game with just our family. We form teams so that children help each other - different children have strengths in spelling or grammar usage, for instance. It's a joy to hear them discuss their answer, giving their reasons for a particular response. Some of the younger children might not be able to play it on their own, but in the company of older students, they gain confidence and knowledge about grammar. THE GREAT GRAMMARIAN(R), based on the "Trivial Pursuit Game" format, has over 1000 cards to cover the most common mistakes in the topic areas mentioned above. The object of the game is one team earns a gold sticker star for each of the six grammar categories. Team members may have particular strengths, but they will need correct answers in all six areas to win. The materials include a brightly-colored gameboard, the pieces needed to mark the teams' places, stars, and well-written, time-tested directions. THE GREAT GRAMMARIAN(R) is not a substitute for the study of grammar, but it is just the kind of game you want to reinforce their training, along with a lot of fun and laughter. As an English major at Grove City College, I could not believe how poorly trained incoming Freshmen were in the area of grammar - THE GREAT GRAMMARIAN(R) can help you prepare your home. The inventor, Patricia Rock, has taught English from grades one through postgraduate levels of college. She is currently teaching at New York University. She initially developed this game to help train people in the business world so they would have better communication skills. Now she is making this resource available to families. Kimberly Hahn, product review in The Catholic Home Educator Back to top "I think [THE GREAT GRAMMARIAN(R) questions] are clever because they are funny as well as instructive... there is enough for the participants to do so that they feel like they are playing a game rather than doing a lesson. Further, there are varying degrees of difficulty in the questions that are posed to participants. That's a great help in a family game. "Most important... is the fact that the game reinforces grammar concepts. I firmly think that grammar is an important discipline in intellectual formation; for the young student it's the best way to learn how to analyze. Your game helps the student learn to analyze. And it's fun. What a great combination." Laura Berquist, director of the Kolbe Academy Home School Back to top "This board game has questions...that help your children review parts of speech, spelling, punctuation [editing, pronunciation, definitions] and proper word usage as they move around the board collecting gold stars... It is set up for team play, but it should work just as well if students play as individuals... The board is quite large so it easily accommodates a 'crowd.'" Cathy Duffy, in Christian Home Educators Curriculum Manuals (Elementary & Jr./Sr. High grades) Back to top "The Great Grammarian is a great way to get kids excited about grammar. [...] The discussion involved to arrive at the answer is invaluable. I recommend The Great Grammarian for homeschooling families." Beverly Hernandez, product review on the About.com homeschooling site. Click here to read the whole review on the original website! Back to top Back to main page