My daughter’s favourite grammar class ever is Basic Cozy Grammar and Cozy Punctuation. These online interactive classes are a feast for the senses with the backdrop of Vancouver Island and classical music in each lesson. Grammar lessons are woven into everyday situations in a unique and pleasing way for both native English speakers, as well as English as a Second Language students.
We received a lifetime membership to The Basic Cozy Grammar and Punctuation Combo by Marie Rackham and Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma in exchange for our honest review..
All you need to get started is an internet connection. There is an option to download the transcripts and worksheets as well, but it’s recommended to do the exercises online for immediate feedback and scoring.
The Basic Cozy Grammar Course is 28 lessons and the Basic Cozy Punctuation Course is 15 lessons. One lesson per week is easily achievable. Each lesson has a video, a written summary, as well as study notes and two to four practice exercises.
The Importance of Grammar
One thing that I have always insisted upon is that my children take grammar seriously. When one is inept in grammar they will not sound educated and many doors will close. The grammar (or rather lack of correct grammar) here in Northern Ireland astounds me, to be honest. There are days I turn off social media as I cannot handle trying to make out what people are trying to say.
Don’t get me wrong, grammar was not my best subject at school but I also know how important it is to be successful in life. Therefore, I insist my children do their best to use it correctly, even if it means correcting them not just for their school work, but also in daily conversation.
If you live in the UK, or are familiar with `How Clean Is Your House? TV show’s Kim and Aggie, you’ll perhaps think that Marie is to grammar as Kim Woodburn is to cleanliness.
How It Works
The courses have been adapted so that they can now be done entirely online through watching videos with text overlays of grammar points. The videos are professionally filmed on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada, in and around Marie’s cozy riverside cottage. The scenery is spectacular and you’ll find Marie going for trips in her trust el Camino, prepping for fishing, canoeing on the river, or working in her garden when she’s not inside her cozy cottage making tea or setting the table for guests.
The Basic Cozy Grammar and Punctuation Combo is easy to use and adjust to your schedule depending on the age and ability of the student and how many days a week the course is used.
The suggested way to move through the courses are to watch the video until you feel confident with the lesson’s goal and read the summary and study notes for extra information and explanations. Complete the exercises online and get immediate feedback on them. If students are struggling, hints are given to help. Marie will not let her students move on until they achieve a minimum of 60%. Repeat at least three times per lesson.
Kallista watches the video and reads the study notes on Mondays. On Tuesdays she watches the video again, reviews the notes, and completes one exercise. She repeats this process again on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
You can find some of these sessions, as well as many other helpful videos on the Cozy Grammar YouTube channel.
Cozy Grammar Final Thoughts
My ten-year-old daughter is simply loving learning with Marie and Thomas. In fact, she is enjoying the classes so much that when I was going to give her a half day off on Friday, she insisted that I couldn’t do that because she loves the class so much!
The only thing I would change about the Cosy Grammar and Cozy Punctuation courses is to have the ability to adjust the pass mark on the exercises so that students can stretch their brains and aim higher than 60%.
Grammar and punctuation can be difficult and dry to teach, as well as to learn; however, The Basic Cozy Grammar and Punctuation Combo makes it pleasant and painless for all involved.