My daughter doesn’t seem to be retaining her grammar lessons
Question
My 4th grade daughter is close to finishing up Language of God, Level C. On all the review pages I am finding I need to explain what to do as if it is her first time learning about a certain concept. Yesterday she read the directions and asked what a subject is. She doesn’t seem to be retaining anything and I was wondering what advice you can give to help us. Love your products!
Dear Mom,
Ah, it’s frustrating for Mom and daughter to need to return and review, isn’t it? (I’m not fond of reviewing when I forget directions myself!)
Does your daughter have difficulty with retention in other subjects as well? How about in math? The reason I ask is that math generally involves daily review, so concepts are not forgotten as easily. If your daughter retains math problems better, that might give us a starting point.
My suggestions would be these: first, every day, have her read the introductory explanations for the day’s lesson aloud as you listen. As she reads the examples, ask questions to determine if she does understand. Then have her do just the first “problem” on the page. If she understands, allow her to continue with the lesson. Correct her assignment that day and, if it appears that she has had difficulty, review the topic right then. Be sure to praise her for her efforts.
The next day, spend a few minutes reviewing with her the lesson from the previous day, before progressing to the new lesson. This time of review can really help cement in the concepts.
Finally, math concepts often stick better when they are coupled with hands-on examples. Language lessons, too, can be made hands-on, by opening a favorite book (it’s easier to do this with primary books), showing your daughter how to find the parts of speech or subjects, etc. Then ask her to find a few subjects, or nouns or whatever the topic is. If she continues to seem to need a little extra review, assigning her to find five nouns or subjects, etc., every afternoon can be a low-key way to practice.
May God bless and guide your homeschool years!
Nancy Nicholson
About Nancy Nicholson
Nancy Nicholson is one of the founding authors of Catholic Heritage Curricula. Equipped with an abundance of God-given talent, a major in Secondary Education–English, and years of experience homeschooling her own children, she has written over thirty educational titles, beginning with Little Stories for Little Folks. Her unique ability to develop programs and workbooks that “fit” both advanced and struggling students is due to her experience raising children of different ability levels and learning styles: two of her children are developmentally challenged, while another went on to graduate from Harvard and is now a college professor.
