{"id":697,"date":"2014-12-05T02:30:16","date_gmt":"2014-12-05T09:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/?page_id=697"},"modified":"2015-07-11T11:15:11","modified_gmt":"2015-07-11T17:15:11","slug":"ready-set-grammar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/ready-set-grammar\/","title":{"rendered":"Ready…Set…Grammar!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"grammarpig\"<\/p>\n

Now, I know “excitement” may not be how you describe the subject of grammar, but your kids will think this instant, silly game is plenty of fun, and they’ll get good at knowing their parts of speech too!<\/p>\n

Ready?<\/p>\n

Set?<\/p>\n

Grammar!<\/p>\n

#1 \u00a0Teach or review that a “noun” is a person, place or thing<\/em>. Have your children look around the room and find nouns. If you can touch it, it is a noun. If you count it, it is a noun. If you can go there, it is a noun.<\/p>\n

#2 \u00a0Teach or review the concept that a “verb” is an action word<\/em>. Anything you can do<\/em> is a verb. That would mean hopping, running, swimming, dancing, playing, typing,<\/em> etc. There are also words for just existing or being and they are verbs too! Is, am, are, be, were, being, was, <\/em>are all verbs.<\/p>\n

Now, for the game!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Have the children stand up and raise their hand. A hand<\/em> is a thing. The word hand<\/em> is a noun. So whenever you say a word that is a noun<\/strong>, the children are supposed to raise their hand up.<\/p>\n

Now have the children hop. Verbs are action words: hopping, swimming, dancing, running,<\/em> etc. Tell the children to hop on one foot whenever you say a word that is a verb.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Start easy by just saying random words:<\/p>\n

apple (noun<\/em>\u2014children should raise a hand up)
\ndancing\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0(verb<\/em>\u2014children should hop)
\nballoon\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0(noun<\/em>\u2014children should raise a hand up)
\ncookie\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (noun<\/em>) . . . continue<\/em>
\nwhistled (verb<\/em>)
\npet\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (noun<\/em>)
\nDisneyland (noun<\/em>)
\nbook\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (noun<\/em>)
\nslid\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (verb<\/em>)
\nslither\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0(verb<\/em>)
\nhamburger (noun<\/em>)
\nJapan\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (noun<\/em>)
\nslime\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (noun<\/em>)
\nsneezed\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0(verb<\/em>)
\njiggled\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0(verb<\/em>)
\n. . .etc.<\/p>\n

Be careful when saying verbs to state them in their -ing form (dancing<\/em> rather than dance<\/em>) or in a past tense form (danced<\/em> instead of dance<\/em>). The reason is that many verbs are also nouns. A dance<\/em> could be a noun. Dancing<\/em> and danced<\/em> are verbs.<\/p>\n

You can pick the silliest words you can think of and go faster and faster so that the children are racing to make their signals.<\/strong> This is lots of action, fun and laughs. When the children get good at this, slip in a few state of being verbs such as is, was, are, be, am<\/em>. When they are no longer stumped by the “being verbs”, you can start telling them a story slowly, and let them figure out the nouns and verbs. For example, you could say this sentence and expect these signals:<\/p>\n

“The pig gobbled his dinner.”<\/em><\/strong>
\nThe
\npig (noun<\/em>\u2014children should put their hand up)
\ngobbled (verb<\/em>\u2014children should be hopping)
\nhis
\ndinner (noun<\/em>\u2014hand up).<\/p>\n

“Charley was a large pig and he lived in a muddy pigpen.”<\/em><\/strong>
\nCharley (noun<\/em>\u2014hand up)
\nwas (verb<\/em>\u2014hopping)
\na
\nlarge
\npig (noun<\/em>\u2014hand up)
\nand
\nhe \u00a0(noun<\/em>\u2014hand up)
\nlived (verb<\/em>\u2014hopping)
\nin
\na
\nmuddy
\npigpen (noun<\/em>\u2014hand up).<\/p>\n

“Charley loved to eat apples.”<\/em><\/strong>
\nCharley (noun<\/em>\u2014hand up)
\nloved\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (verb<\/em>\u2014hopping)
\nto
\neat\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0(verb<\/em>\u2014childen should hop)
\napples (noun<\/em>\u2014children should put their hand up).<\/p>\n

You can add to the game by teaching a signal for proper nouns. Proper nouns are nouns that are capitalized and mean a certain, specific thing, such as Charley, Mr. Jones, <\/em>or Disneyland<\/em> rather than pig, man<\/em> and amusement park<\/em>, which are common nouns. Whenever a noun is proper, have your child bow in a proper way. So when you say the word, Charley<\/em>, your child will not only have his hand up to signal a noun, but he will take a bow to signal a proper noun<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

If you aren’t quick in thinking up sentences for your children to do the actions to, then read a simple children’s book aloud, sentence by sentence.<\/p>\n

Your children can join right in to make up more signals as you learn more parts of speech. There are 8 parts of speech (nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, coordinating conjunctions, preposition, articles) so this doesn’t get too complicated to have fun with.<\/p>\n

Who can resist grammar when it is just fun and games?!<\/strong><\/em>
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

May I recommend:<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n

\"October
\nMemorizing Magic
\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\"homeschooling-louisa-flannel
\nLearn Your Letter Sounds: Game
\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\"1677\"
\nWinston Grammar
\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Now, I know “excitement” may not be how you describe the subject of grammar, but your kids will think this instant, silly game is plenty of fun, and they’ll get good at knowing their parts of speech too! Ready? Set? Grammar! #1 \u00a0Teach or review that a “noun” is a person, place or thing. Have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7851,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[189,9],"tags":[167,57,58,90],"class_list":["post-697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english-grammar","category-what-articles","tag-grammar","tag-grammar-games","tag-hands-on-learning","tag-parts-of-speech","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/grammar-pig.png?fit=157%2C156&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6IrRN-bf","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":681,"url":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/alliteration-game\/","url_meta":{"origin":697,"position":0},"title":"Give ’em the Rigamarole","author":"Diane Hopkins","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"Have you ever been given the \"rigamarole\"? The dictionary says the word rigamarole is a noun that means: a set of confused and meaningless statements or a long and complicated and confusing procedure. Rigamarole is also the name of an old fashioned American tongue-twisting classroom game . \"Give 'em the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "English: Writing"","block_context":{"text":"English: Writing","link":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/category\/what-articles\/english-writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"emilylaugh","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/emilylaugh-243x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":265,"url":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/writing-in-my-homeschool\/","url_meta":{"origin":697,"position":1},"title":"Writing in My Homeschool","author":"Diane Hopkins","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"Come take a peek inside my homeschool. Here's how I teach writing! And it works\u2014one of my sons got a perfect score on the English portion of the ACT test for college. Journal Writing Each day I expect my students to write a journal entry. I use the number of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "English: Writing"","block_context":{"text":"English: Writing","link":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/category\/what-articles\/english-writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"emily_journals","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/emily_journals-234x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":679,"url":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/punctuation-games\/","url_meta":{"origin":697,"position":2},"title":"Punctuation Games","author":"Diane Hopkins","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"I've always found language arts workbooks dreadful. I know some children like doing them, but I love English and those workbooks seem to reduce a rich, lovely language to a dull, fill-in-the-blank exercise. I like to make things into a game. \u00a0So, when it comes to learning punctuation skills, I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "English & Language Arts"","block_context":{"text":"English & Language Arts","link":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/category\/what-articles\/english-language-arts-articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Our Daughter Louisa","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/birthdayclubimagesmall-e1428964764409.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":528,"url":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/poor-writing\/","url_meta":{"origin":697,"position":3},"title":"Poor Writing","author":"Diane Hopkins","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I could use some insights on how to get my kids to turn out better quality book reports and just writing in general.\u00a0 My oldest is in 6th grade and the next child is in 3rd grade, and here we've done grammar and writing year after year and yet\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "What"","block_context":{"text":"What","link":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/category\/what-articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Photoxpress_44768981-300x199","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/Photoxpress_44768981-300x199.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1256,"url":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/the-subject-of-the-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":697,"position":4},"title":"The \u201cSubject of the Day\u201d Approach","author":"Diane Hopkins","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"Studying the same subject together as a family, unit studies, has many advantages. It is much easier for mother to teach just one topic, rather than trying to explain several different subjects to several different children each day. The whole family can enjoy discussions together on the same subject. Enrichment\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "How to Homeschool"","block_context":{"text":"How to Homeschool","link":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/category\/how-to-homeschool\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/ammoncoverDS.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1234,"url":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/curriculum-planning\/","url_meta":{"origin":697,"position":5},"title":"How Do I Choose Resources for my Homeschool?","author":"Diane Hopkins","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"Homeschooling is a big decision that takes much thought and prayer. For most of us, the move into homeschooling is a step into uncharted territory. We haven\u2019t been brought up in this lifestyle and we aren\u2019t quite sure just how to proceed. Hopefully, you will take my hand and we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Choosing Curriculum"","block_context":{"text":"Choosing Curriculum","link":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/category\/what-articles\/choosing-curriculum\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"homeschooling curriculum","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/homeschoolingcurriculum.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=697"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6604,"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697\/revisions\/6604"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}