11 Reasons Why This High School Grammar Course is Perfect for Homeschoolers

This high school grammar course is a perfect pick for homeschoolers.

I've been searching for self-paced online classes to best meet the needs of my 9th grader, especially for his first year of high school English.

Well, I'm delighted to share that I've found a gem that's actually made English grammar engaging and enjoyable for my high schooler!

Disclaimer: I received this product for free and was compensated for my time. As always, I’m sharing my honest opinions and was not required to provide a positive review.

I hope that our experiences with Mr. D Math American English Grammar help you get a better understanding of this outstanding online class. Oh, and you can find more self-paced AND live courses 😊

Why We're Taking a Fresh Approach to High School English

It's hard to believe that I'm embarking on another homeschool high school journey with one of my boys. Smiley (14) is entering is 9th grade year and we're working on mapping it all out plus his overall high school plans.

I've learned so much about the homeschool high school experience over the past few years. My oldest (now 20) graduated and found an amazing opportunity to train and work in his field of choice (construction). My second boy (18) is all set to start college this fall and major in History with a minor in Secondary Education (and play soccer!).

Now that they've graduated from our homeschool, I'm applying all of that knowledge to helping Smiley curate a high school experience to best fit his needs and aspirations.

I have a few goals in mind as we put together his high school plan. My main goal is to have Smiley be a part of the decision making process. I've found that our high school homeschoolers are much more likely to work towards successful learning when they feel they've had a say and are invested in the outcome.

Also, I want to ensure that Smiley gets a solid foundation in English skills, particularly writing. I've seen the importance of having strong English skills in my own work, as well as for his older brothers.

Smiley and I have worked together to build his 9th grade high school plan (and map out future courses). His American History choice has been incredible and he's truly enjoying it. He's looking forward to starting his Information Technology 1 with MYTEK Lab.

And he's so excited for his English 1 pick - American English Grammar (well, as excited as a high school boy gets about a class 😉)

Mr. D Math American English Grammar

After looking at what his older brothers used and extensive research with me, Smiley decided that this American English Grammar with Jenni and Jody, some of the amazing teachers of Mr. D Math, was the high school English course from him.

Smiley has enjoyed his self-paced American History course and knew that's what he wanted for English. He also liked the idea of his English class being a mix of online videos and written work.

There are 34 lessons in the course, with each lesson taking about a week. This course focuses on American English Grammar (compared to English spoken in other countries, like Great Britain) and can be used for 1 credit of high school English.

Mr. D Math American English Grammar was created for high school level . An advanced middle schooler, however, would be able to handle this course.

The first lesson provides an outstanding introduction to the course. Smiley was relieved to have the course expectations clearly explained, as well as a walk-through showing how to properly set up the two course binders (one for grammar and one for vocabulary building).

Quizzes, as well as midterm and final exams, are part of this high school English course.

Oh, and a pace chart provides a wonderful example of how to progress through the course! Smiley likes having this printable checklist to make it easy to open-and-go with his work.

11+ Reasons Why This High School Grammar Course Rocks

Here are 11 reasons why we love this American English Grammar course (and think you will, too). I originally had 11 points but find myself adding to our list because it's just that good!

1. Easy-to-Use

The course is easy-to-access and organized in an intuitive way.

The Course Welcome video breaks it all down plus there's a menu on the left side that you can use to access different lessons and resources.

2. All resources are provided

There's no need for extra books. You get everything that you need to complete the course. As a homeschool mom on a tight budget, I greatly appreciate no hidden costs!

3. Concise breakdown of what to expect in the course

Ms. Jenni gives clear explanations about why the course is set up the way it is and how it will help the student for this course, in future courses, and in life. It's perfect if you have a student - like mine! - who questions why a course or concept is necessary. If I had a nickel for every time I was asked "When am I going to use this in real life?" 😉

4. Built-in review weeks

Concepts are thoroughly covered but not in a boring way. Smiley has found that the review weeks help solidify the information and get him prepared for quizzes and exams.

5. Includes lessons on getting organized and study skills

Wonderful for students starting high school classes! Adults often think that academic organization and study skills are natural and easy. We forget that we either had someone awesome mentor show us how to do it OR we went through a lot of trial-and-error.

Ms. Jenni demonstrates how to organize the course materials and gives creative ideas for customizing and making it fun.

6. Practice with testing

Whether we like it or not, testing is going to be a part of our student's life in some way. Test taking skills are essential if your high schooler is thinking of taking college entrance exams (like PSAT, SAT, and ACT). These skills are also important for things like CLEP, AP, driver's test, ASVAB, and others.

I'm not a big fan of tests. My boys take standardized tests in grades 3, 5, and 8 that are required by our state for their portfolio reviews. It's not that I'm totally against tests. I'm against quickly memorizing a bunch of stuff for a test, only to forget it soon thereafter 😉

The approach to testing in this high school grammar course, however, makes sense to me. The built-in reviews and well-timed quizzes and exams work to solidify what's being learned.

7. Thorough demonstration and practice with Cornell notes

I wasn't familiar with Cornell Notes until my second boy took dual enrollment classes through ASU (Arizona State University). I saw the benefits of learning and using this method of note taking so I was thrilled that it was thoroughly covered in American English Grammar.

This course includes a video demonstration on how to take Cornell notes plus a rubric to help students self-assess.

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8. Smart vocabulary building

Another brilliant benefit of this high school grammar course is with its smart approach to building vocabulary. Students study over 150 vocabulary words plus their roots (word etymology) for extremely helpful test prep for those college entrance exams, future classes, training, and life.

9. Lessons build on each other

This course provides a solid foundation of grammar and more. There's a logical sequence to how the lessons flow and progress.

10. Encourage independent learning skills

I mentioned that Cornell Notes rubric for self-assessment. Also, by the end of course, students are able to self-edit their own work!

11. Taught by experienced writer and homeschool teacher

Mr. D Math American English Grammar is presented by Jenni Stahlman with her best friend, Jody Hagaman, helping her in the background. "J & J" share their stories (and resources) over on From Cradle to Calling.

They have over 30 years combined experience as homeschoolers!

12. Creating 2 reference binders

When Smiley started to raid our stash of school supplies, I wondered what was going on. He explained that Ms. Jenni gave a list of recommended materials for making and organizing his binders.

Well, I'm a sucker for school supplies so offered to help! Together, we prepared 2 binders - one for his grammar work and one for vocabulary. These binders will be fabulous resources for Smiley to reference for this course and beyond.

The Grammar Binder includes:

• Pace chart
• Study tools
• Syntax lexicon
• Course reference
• Syllabus
• Rubric

The Vocabulary Binder has:

• Vocabulary "Part of Speech" Cheat Sheet
• Vocabulary Master List
• Vocabulary Worksheets (where your student practices the vocabulary word in a variety of ways)

Our Experiences with This High School Grammar Course

This self-paced Mr. D American American English Grammar class has been phenomenal for Smiley. Although he had a basic understanding of grammar concepts (from using Winston Grammar in middle school), this high school grammar course has already had a tremendous impact on his overall English skills.

Smiley prefers to learn with a blend of video and audio so these recorded lessons really help the concepts stick. Smiley says, "I'm actually starting to understand how all this grammar stuff works together because of Ms. Jenni."

He also found the Course Welcome video to be helpful, especially "when Ms. Jenni explained why English can be so confusing with all its different rules". Smiley shared that this course covers grammar rules often used in academia (compared to book publishers or periodicals). I loved seeing that a-ha moment as he explained it 💡

According the Smiley, he now "gets" why grammar is important "because it helps us communicate clearly - and not just to torture us with a bunch of useless stuff."

From a homeschool mom perspective, I'm impressed with this high school grammar course. As a student, I loved English but have had a difficult time helping my boys share that passion. I'm ecstatic that Ms. Jenni and her Mr. Dr Math American English Grammar course is helping Smiley appreciate (and hopefully love!) English, too.

And with all that's been covered and is on the course syllabus, I firmly believe that he will 😊

FAQs About Mr. D Math Courses & Resources

High School Grammar (& More) That You'll Feel Good About

Make sure your homeschool high schooler gets a solid foundation for English and more!

With this self-paced online class, your student will be well-prepared for college entrance exams, future high school courses, and beyond. It's a simple way to empower your high school student with essential skills. And you'll be able to relax and enjoy the experience with your teen 😊

I encourage you to pop over to Mr. D Math and take a look at this high school grammar course and ALL of the remarkable resources. You'll find so many cool ways to boost your homeschool adventures 🎉

Do you have any questions about this high school grammar course? If so, please let me know in the comments area at the bottom of this post!

Also, have you tried any of the resources available at Mr. D. Math? I'd LOVE to hear about your experiences!

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