When I started planning to homeschool I never worried about ELA. I’m a writer. JustaBXgirl and I are readers. The relationship between reading and writing should be harmonious. Yet, somehow it became the most challenging topic to cover. JustaBXgirl doesn’t care about misspelled words or where to place a comma. She only wants to read a good story or tell one. Thankfully through the Melanated Gold Review Squad, we got to check out Grammar Galaxy Blue Star Volume 5 from Fun To Learn Books. Grammar Galaxy merges the good story with the good grammar!
Finding a Language Arts program that works for JustaBXgirl really has been challenging. She likes to do the majority of her work online but to me writing should be done offline. We use a few online programs to help but I really wanted something that could be worked on offline and would get her to write rather than type. Writing has been one of her least favorite activities despite her being an excellent storyteller.
Grammar Galaxy has helped. This curriculum hardly feels like learning. It is story-based and JustaBXgirl loves reading a good story. It is interactive in the sense that students become Guardians of Grammar Galaxy. They must complete Missions in order to help Kirk, Luke, and Ellen English save the galaxy. The lessons begin by reading a short chapter and then completing the corresponding exercises (Missions).
I like that the Grammar Galaxy curriculum is not stuck on being grade specific. Th Blue Star volume is for grades 4-6 but can be used by any young person that is ready to cover the material. I do wish that we started with earlier volumes because I did notice that some lessons (Missions) were more difficult for JustaBXgirl because she didn’t have the foundation to work through them. Those lessons took longer because I had to kind of go backward and cover things that she hadn’t been exposed to in traditional school or other curriculum that we used. The good thing is that Fun To Learn Books offers a placement test on the site so that you can get a good idea of which volume to order for your child.
We have the digital version so I print out the Mission that we are up to so that JustaBXgirl can work on it but I no longer print the story. I did print it for the first chapter, then realized I could save my ink and trees by having her read it on the computer and go back to it if necessary when completing the missions.
Ultimatley, i belive this is an excellent ELA curriculum. I look forward to using it on our fourth grade journey. I also look forward to seeing what my team at Melanated Gold Review Squad thinks of it and how it works for their littles.
5 Questions About Grammar Galaxy Blue Star
- How do children learn using this curriculum? Children will read a short chapter of the story, answer a few questions at the end of the chapter then switch to their Mission Manual where they will complete the corresponding exercise. If the lessons seem too easy for your little then you can have them complete the Advance Guardian exercise as well.
- How can I track what my child is doing? You will review the work they have completed in their Mission Manual.
- What input do I have on what my child is learning? This is a curriculum that I wouldn’t use out of order. Since it is story based you want to follow the outline given. You can decide if you want to do the advance guardian objectives.
- What grades does this curriculum cover? The Grammar Galaxy Blue Star Homeschool Kit is designed for 6th grade. Yes, I know that JustaBXgirl is technically a rising 4th grader but her reading level makes this a good fit for her. According to the website 4th grade is the lowest grade they recommend using this unless your child has already mastered Red Star or its equivalent.
- What does this curriculum cost? The Grammar Galaxy Blue Star Homeschool Kit (Text & Mission Manual) is $50 for the digital version and $60 for the printed one. Purchase includes the Blue Star text (story book) and Mission Manual (workbook). No teacher’s manual is required. The text is 197 pages and the mission manual is 401 pages. Also includes the Quick Grammar Guide PDF.
Love the 4 questions about the program. Def not a bad price I was thinking at least $100. I like space theme maybe the crew will too
You can also download a sample lesson from their site!
This program sounds amazing! Will definitely be checking them out.
It is so simple!