Analytical Grammar (AG) is by far the best grammar product I've used hands-down! I've taken grammar in high school, college, post-college (I like grammar!) and this is the best course I've come across. Not only are the lessons well done, but it simplifies grammar in a way I've never seen done before. My 7th grader and I did this course during homeschooling and while some days it was a bit of a struggle to get him started on AG, once we got going we laughed and had fun every day. He took the ACT and we attribute his very high English Usage score to AG (and we haven't even finished the course yet!). My older son has always hated grammar, but I've asked him to go through a few lessons in the hopes of improving his ACT scores, and he says this is the first time grammar has made sense to him. I'm hoping the Grammar Ladies will be picked up by Khan Academy (or some other large platform with a huge reach) to make grammar more accessible to the masses. Again, AG is the best product I've seen for grammar! (Note: This is not a game structured product, but a serious course.)
I absolutely loved AG for my 8th grader. She came from public school into homeschooling in 7th grade and I wished I'd found AG sooner but last year we used. It was my daughters first time ever diagramming and she said in doing so it gave her a better grasp on her writing and grammar. I would love to use for my twins but they are in a different category of learning and I feel this might be too overwhelming for them right now but will try in next few years. A very friendly teachers guide and DVD set to help the parent who is not a grammar teacher, made my life complete.
As someone who never learned anything about sentence diagramming, or even parts of speech, I found this curriculum to be very easy to use, especially having used the Jr. AG first. I just discovered the corresponding DVDs, and I am sure they will make it even better.
We used Analytical Grammar last year for my 8th grade daughter. It was mostly her first experience to such a thorough coverage of grammar and diagramming. She went through Season 1 and Season 2 in one year, and will finish Season 3 in the first part of this coming year, her 9th grade. Total time of her proceeding through it will be 1 1/2 years. The DVD's to accompany it are great and the curriculum is very thorough. Quality book selection excerpts for the student to do the diagramming on have been used. I love the author's viewpoint that it is not necessary to do a page of grammar a day for years and years, but can cover it solidly through this curriculum. Well done!
Grade levels used
8
9
Pros
Very thorough!
Cons
Takes a fair amount of time to complete each day's lesson, but the author gives ideas on how to shorten the lesson/year if needed.
Covers grammar and usage in one fell swoop. I used it with 8th and 9th Grade students (2 boys and girls each in a little class) and we all enjoyed it and learned from it. It can be used with other materials from the Analytical Grammar company to round out a language coarse, teaching writing and lit analysis. I also found the owners to be very responsive to questions. (Sadly, the first author, Robin Finley, passed away this year, but her daughter , Erin Karl, is outstanding in her organization and helpfulness).
Grade levels used
8
9
Pros
Very well designed and easy to use for teacher and student. Extremely well laid out, with usage classes building on the grammar exercises from earlier in the book, for example.
We really enjoyed trying out this program and giving it a review on our site. You can read our full review here: http://www.tidbitsofexperience.com/your-new-homeschool-grammar-system/
Very thorough grammar program. Very easy to use and systematic. My boys loved this program. They said it was a thorough program compared to what they used for middle school (I used something else during the middle school years). They wished they had this program in the middle school years. Robin Finley (who is sad she passed away) is an awesome teacher as she had videos of herself teaching the lessons. Both of my boys met Robin and Erin. They had a blast talking to both of them. They fell in love with Grammar because of these two awesome teachers. You will not regret using this program. I plan to use JAG for my daughter and then AG in the high school.