Warning:?? This post will only be mildly interesting to home school moms.

I start the kids back to school the day after Labor Day so I have been spending my time gathering my curriculum and writing my year goals.?? My biggest struggle right now is figuring out how to catch Tanner up in writing.?? He is WAY behind.?? The reason for this is simple – he HATES it.?? He is overwhelmed by writing.?? I think this is in part due to his perfectionism (doesn’t want to write what he can’t spell) and in part personality.?? He has a very difficult time expressing.?? I mean VERY difficult time.?? Even at 8 years of age, Tanner has trouble answering questions or making decisions.?? I have no real explanation for it other than when he is put on the spot with a question, he panics.?? We have been working on this with asking him lots of questions and game playing and he is doing better in a casual environment but if he senses any amount of import – he just shuts down (and looks at his younger brother knowing Ty will speak up).?? So Tanner can barely put a sentence together on his own (in writing).?? Not because he lacks the skill, he lacks quite frankly – the courage – strange as that may sound. He loves brainstorming with me though.?? We have been brainstorming and writing little sentences about a place we have imagined together called Blue City and he just loves our time invested in that.?? We haven’t written much though – just talked about it.

So this year I plan to do an oral grammar lesson daily, daily paragraph editing, daily dictation, AND some form of creative writing.?? That may seem overkill but we are really behind on this subject and we are going to need to spend a lot of time together on it.?? I have read through so many curriculums, and workbooks, been to the library, Barnes and Noble, surfed the web….I have been looking looking looking for a great writing program that will start him at the beginning and work him through and so far I haven’t liked anything.?? In the first place, I am not a workbook mom.?? I just hate them and I avoid them whenever possible.?? In the second place, I really like learning by doing so dictation and paragraph editing are great ways to teach practical grammar (and AGE OLD tried and proven methods to boot).?? Teaching independent writing though??????? Ahhhh…I am at a loss!?? I don’t know how to motivate him.?? I know he likes to Mind Map so we can start with that but then what??? My friend Kristi told me today that she thinks I should start his basic paragraphs with summaries.?? Get him to answer Who, What, Where, When, Why (How), and then put it together in a short paragraph.?? I think that is a great suggestion and will incorporate that daily as well.

What I am trying to do is make a skeleton outline for each writing assignment type.?? It would be awesome if I could find different “forms” for guiding them through the different types of writings.?? I found some book report forms online that I really like that ask what the title is, who the author and illustrator are, when and where story takes place, setting, characters, character description, the problem, the solution, the conclusion, what their opinion is, if they would recommend it…etc.?? I love this.?? I want something like that for every thing I have Tanner write.?? I think if we can step it out this way, and then put it together, he might have an easier time transitioning.?? I have bought several resources that I am trying to pull together such as Well Trained Mind Language Lessons, Bright Ideas Calendar, Story Starters, Daily Paragraph Editing, Writing Curriculum Week-By-Week Lessons…etc. ?? I have written down the steps to 5 paragraph essays, and the six traits of writing, and the form for friendly and business letters, and lists of creative writing ideas. I have exhausted myself on this topic and I still do not feel like I have a firm handle on this.?? Grrrrrrrrrr….

I think it is because I know where I am, I know where I am going, I know what I want accomplished…I just am not sure how to get MY little guy to get on this train with me.?? Waiting for a call back from Aunt Karen now.?? She said that she has a friend who taught wonderful writing workshops that she used starting in the first grade and that it worked wonderfully with her students.?? Praying this will be another good resource.

Homeschooling K-3rd is hard!?? Will girls get easier??? AND…I am starting Ty to boot??? There went my year I think!

Update:

Why do I wait so long to pray specifically about these things????? I seriously have been wandering around my house, researching, thinking, scads of notebook papers with ideas, calling Kristi (several times), calling Aunt Karen, pulling my hair out, going over and over the same things and still unsatisfied with my end result that I posted above.?? Finally this evening I prayed and told the Lord I really needed some help here.?? As I said above, I knew what I wanted I just couldn’t find it.???? At 11:00 PM tonight I finally found something that I think will work for Tanner and I so I am simplifying all I said above.

I have purchased:

First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind, Level 3 Teacher’s Edition and Student Workbook
Writing with Ease:?? Strong Fundamentals (Text and Level 3 Student Workbook)

Why?

In the first place, call me old fashioned, but I am very attracted to Charlotte Mason and Classical Homeschooling approaches.?? If it worked for generations of brilliant minds before now, why break what ain’t isn’t broken??? :)?? I like to approach things in a real world way with “living” books, with simplicity, and without all the fluff of added “stuff” just to say we did it.

Before I started teaching my kids I had done enough homework to be thoroughly convinced that I wanted to approach grammar and writing through copywork, narration, and dictation and grow from there.???? Fortify the foundation FIRST.?? I started with copy work in First Grade and some dictation and then did more dictation in Second Grade.?? That was working well.?? What wasn’t working was independent writing/creative writing.?? I explained why above.?? I have felt pressure over this because in the AZ public schools, kids are writing research papers, creative stories, and book reports in the third grade and we haven’t moved that direction yet.?? (Nor is Tanner interested in that yet).?? When I read through excerpts from Well Trained Mind’s Writing With Ease Text, I quickly was saying “Amen” to those lovely ladies who believe as I do.?? Get the fundamentals down first in the 1st through 4rth grade and grow their creative expressions once they have mastered more skills (unless they REALLY want to write creatively).?? To summarize, they defend that you CAN teach younger students creative writing but it lacks something (a whole lot of somethings).?? If you ground them firmly in the skills first, they will be not only better equipped to write something worth reading but also much more willing to put their neck out there to do it.

I already have the grammar workbook (language lessons) because I bought that several months ago without realizing they had a writing program as well.?? It looks very straight to the point without fluff or redundancy – just how I like it.?? The writing program will emphasize reading comprehension, narration (summaries), and dictation daily all using strong classical literature references.?? In fact, the first six weeks of grade 3 are FREE online because they are late in printing their materials.?? Here is the link if you want to check it out (from the Well Trained Mind website):

Instructor Pages

Student Pages

Finally finally finally…I feel ready and excited to teach this!?? Hope this works!