We received a lifetime membership to The Basic Cozy Grammar and Punctuation Combo by Marie Rackham and Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma.

All you need to get started is an internet connection, there is an option to download the transcripts and worksheets as well, but it is 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 Basic Cozy Grammar Course covers topics such as basic nouns and adverbs to subordinate clauses and complex sentences, interjections, and conjugation of verbs. A separate lesson is also included to focus on some common errors. The Basic Cozy Punctuation Course explains the usage of quotation marks, hyphens, dashes, slashes, and even the interrobang.

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 is to watch the lesson video until you feel confident with the lesson’s goal then read the summary and study notes for extra information and explanations. Complete the exercises and review any answers that were not correct. 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 on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

If a student is struggling, hints are provided in the exercises to help when needed. Marie will not let her students move on until they achieve a minimum of sixty percent on the exercises, which helps students from becoming too overwhelmed by progressing to the next lesson before being comfortable with the current topic.

If students find they still have questions about any of the lessons, or perhaps another aspect of grammar or punctuation, Thomas hosts a monthly live Q&A online. Ask your questions when you register in advance and Thomas will answer them for you during the session and ensure you are happy with the answer. We attended a session and found it to be informal and welcoming, with four students and parents in attendance from around the world. Thomas makes families feel that he genuinely cares about his students’ success.

My ten-year-old daughter is simply loving learning with Marie and Thomas. 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 could not do that because she loves the class so much!

Using classical music in the background (played on the piano by Marie) while also having pleasant scenery, in addition to daily repetition in both visual and auditory form, Marie and Thomas ensure that students of different learning styles will all succeed.

The only thing I would change about the Basic Cozy Grammar and Basic Cozy Punctuation courses would be to have the ability to adjust the pass mark on the exercises so that students can stretch their brains and aim higher than 60%.

These courses can be used as the main route to learning how to use punctuation and grammar.  They can also be used as a refresher for those who need a little extra help, and they would benefit English as a second language learners on their path to understanding the complicated ins and outs of the English language.

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.

-Product review by Crystal McClean, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, September 2020