You win Grammar! - Feedback welcome.

I was thinking, "Oh, it doesn't matter if I don't have perfect grammar."


It was has been the death of me since 5th grade.  I remember sitting crying in class because I was in the lowest spelling group with only 3 other kids.  Crying because I would practice, practice, practice and it never made perfect.  Crying because everyone would tell me to "sound it out" and nothing sounded to me like it was suppose to be spell.  Crying because the rules of grammar never ever made any sense to me and I just felt like I was learning a foreign language.  I honestly can not remember whole heartedly what I learn in school in regards to grammar.  I felt like I lived in a different country for that hour of class a day and I had no idea what I got out of it.  Somehow, I didn't receive bad grads in these classes, but I think that was pure luck!


But frankly after writing out my stories so far I can just see that I need to study up!  I haven't gotten any complaints or anything like that, but I something is worth doing I truly believe it should be done right.  I have learned there is no right way of saying something (as long as you say it from the heart and appropriately), but there is a write way to punctuate it so it's understood correctly.  Punctuation doesn't exist in normal speaking, and I write how I speak, so in my mind I'm thinking this is OK.  NOT!


So, I thought, I'll take a class. Then I realized, I learned nothing from the myriad of classes I took already!  Why?  Because the teacher wasn't catching my attention.  I kinda have a teaching bug and have come from a family of teachers.  I teach my my kids stuff all the time.  So, light bulb moment, I can teach MYSELF!!  Searching through our small library in our house I came upon two books.


"On Writing Well" - by William Zinsser.  My husbands college professor recommended this as the best book he has ever come in contact with regarding writing well.


And


"Harbrace College Handbook"  Hargourt, Brace and Jovanovich.


I can do this!!!


The other reason I thought this to be important was after a talk I had with my husband the other night.  We were discussing how we want to ensure that we can help our kids with their homework as they get older.  My parents helped me, mostly my father with the whole math and science aspect.  Maybe that's why I felt more comfortable in the math and science realm because I had access to a helping hand that could teach it to me easily.


I don't want my kinds growing up asking me about proper punctuation and writing book reports and essay's and me thinking, oh, spell check will fix it.  That was always the answer my parents gave me, an yes it does work to a point.  But, would I say I have any clue what I'm doing when it comes to proper grammar!  NO!!!  I have no idea how my brother accomplished this as one of his strong points.  He went the editorial direction and I went the complete opposite in the science direction.


I think I need to get back on ground with the happy medium.  Writing out the ABC's and tracing letters is right up my ally, but once my kids get into sentence structure I'm going to be at a complete loss!!


So, here I go!!!!  Erin is taking on the school of grammar!!!  If you are a grammar fanatic please feel free to  fill me in on my mistakes and let me know what I can do better.  I'm definitely up for feedback.  (In a private note on FB Message only, please.)  I don't need the whole world seeing how I structured a sentence incorrectly, but I would like to know if I did.


I also found this handy tip on FB called Grammar Girl!  I'm looking forward to her helpful tips and tricks that ensure I'm "speaking to you correctly" and ensuring my kids don't grow up with this "disease" of bad grammar!


All my best!
Erin