10 Homeschool Writing Resources

I am always on the lookout for new ways to teach the same thing. With the end of the "school year" drawing near the kids are often bored by now of the things we started the year out doing....even when they may not be mastered yet. (we normally take a portion of the summer off and just do some unschooling) So I have been on the lookout for some new writing resources. Here is a list I have compiled of resources and ideas I hope to be trying out soon.

• Fun Writing Games for Kids- Check out these fun writing games for kids. Enjoy a range of free activities,resources and practice exercises related to writing letters, stories, newspapers, debates, advertising and instructions.

• Scribblitt- Kids write and publish their own stories.

• Write rhymes- As you write, hold he alt key and click on a word to find a rhyme for it.

• Newspaper blackout poems (this looks like something I would like to do myself!)

• For your older child help them create their very own blog. I have been trying to convince my 11 yea old daughter to do this. Of course I would supervise with an activity like this.

• Online writing homework help- because sometimes...your child may need some extra guidance from someone besides mom.

• Inspire young writers- These resources promote writing across subject areas and cover everything from grammar basics to fantasy-writing inspiration.

• keyboarding games- Learning keyboarding skills is vital for today's learners and tomorrow's earners. These free typing games are a great way to build typing skills.

• Journal Buddies has lists of journal prompts listed by subject and grade.

• Set up an email account for your child. This is something I haven't done yet but would like to as so many of our friends and family live far away. I do recommend g-mail for kids though, as there is virtually no spam or inappropriate advertisements.

What type of creative writing activities do you do with your children?

Spring Break?

Well, this week I had planned on taking a spring break. Our plans are foiled as we have been passing around a really nasty cold the last 5 days. It started with A~man...and I thought Z and I had escaped it. Saturday morning Z woke up with it and it hit me hard last night.

This is A~man Wednesday, rosy cheeks and all. I cannot believe they can still fit in that tent. It's from when they were preschoolers and they drug it out to play. Oddly Buster kept going in there even when the kids weren't. (hiding?? heehee)

We obviously didn't get to go to church but we did get to dye some Easter eggs.

We did get out for a little hike as we desperately needed some fresh air.

We went to one of our favorite local places!

I was really hoping for an overnight trip somewhere this week but that may have to wait. I've already told the kids they were taking a break this week so I can't back out on that. I'm hoping to get them to watch some educational videos with me though and maybe do some printable worksheets as we do not normally do worksheets/workbooks. Anything to keep them busy while this gunk runs its course through the house. Dear hubby is next so I hope I can feel better before he gets it.

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

The Art of Poetry: A Schoolhouse Crew Review

Dust of Snow~Robert Frost

The way a crow

shook down on me

the dust of snow

from a hemlock tree

Has given my heart

a change of mood

and saved a part 

of a day I rued.

Poetry has a way of taking ordinary words and making something extraordinary out of them. They create a visual image in the mind of the reader that goes way beyond the black and white of the words on paper. Classical Academic Press has created educational materials that have brought back the art of classical education. Not long ago we received the curriculum The Art of Poetry to review.

Here is a description from their website-

If you have ever felt mystified by, or unable to enjoy the significance of poetry, this book will lead you step by step to understanding and love of this branch of literature, guided by a gifted poet and teacher. The Art of Poetry is an excellent middle school or high school curriculum; it will teach the practice of reading a poem slowly and carefully, introduce students to the elements of poetry (such as imagery and metaphor) and the many forms that can make a poem, from sonnet to open verse. In the belief that practice is the best way to learn, this book is rich with explications, exercises, and activities. A biography of each poet is also included, and we are providing audio files of many of the poems.

 Classical education is based on a three-part way of training the mind called the trivium. The first part of the education is when the child absorbs facts, the next stage is when the child learns to think through arguments. The last part of classical education is when children learn to express themselves. When we first started homeschooling this is the type of plan I really wanted to use. As a homeschool mom though, I learned that you have to teach the way your own children learn best, and I discovered that classical education would not be on our path to learning. Yet, I do have a few friends that teach in this manner and I have to sit back with a bit of awe as I think it is a beautiful way to learn. So I must say I was very excited to get to try out some of this type of curriculum. 

My 11 year old daughter and I sat down and went through several of the poems. With each poem there are included discussion questions and various activities to do. I really like how it gets the student involved in the whole thought process behind the poems. I think that I enjoyed it more than my daughter though as I do not think she is quite ready for this type of curriculum. I can very well see her being ready for something like this in the next year or two though. What I really like about this curriculum is the fact that you can move through it at your own pace. Which means that I might take the slow approach in the fall and ease into this with my daughter as it can be done over multiple years. 

Another neat thing about this curriculum is that it has a DVD of Mrs. Perrin going through some lessons with her teenage students discussing the poetry and elements. I can see this could help an older student work through the material more independently.

Here are the prices from Classical Academic Press-

The Art of Poetry book-$24.95  
It is also available on Amazon in a kindle version for $22.95 or $22.99 for an Apple iBook.

The Art of Poetry Teacher's Edition- $29.95

The Art of Poetry Bundle-$99.95 

For the quality of this indepth curriculum I think that it is well worth the price. The Schoolhouse review crew also did some reviews on another Classical Academic Press- The Discovery of Deduction: An Introduction to Formal Logic. Click on the link below to see what others on the crew think about both products! 

 

 

horrible no good day

It was a horrible no good day for the A~man. Days like this are rare, but from the time he woke up things went downhill for him. Normally when things start out badly we are able to redirect and divert his attention onto better things. Not today. It's the first full day that hubby has had off in awhile which was much needed as he has hurt his back. (which might be a possible reason for A~man's day...he does not like to see someone in pain)

All day long he was doing something he shouldn't, saying something he shouldn't...which resulted in an afternoon of emotional tears at the pool by the end of the afternoon. It started out that he was mad at me as I took an old phone away from him today. Phones have always been an issue for him. This phase seems over but he has stolen a phone from a friend years ago and of course up until a year ago he would snatch the phone from his sometimes scatterbrained mama and call people. Lots of people.

 Today's issue was a phone that a sweet friend of his gave him. (the phone didn't work anymore) She's actually a friend of Z's and he has been pestering her about it and finally, with her mom's permission, she gave A~man the old phone. The problem? 1. His newest issue is talking to people when we are out of earshot and asking them to bring him something. (not normally food ironically) I do not like this. Well, I like how nice people are as they will bring him something. BUT I do not want my son begging for stuff as it is not good. 2. I knew that he had been pestering our friend "H" to bring it to him and I told him he could not have it, but when I wasn't around she gave it to him. (she didn't know I said no) So I took it today. Broke his heart. :( Not what I wanted to do but I could see this asking situation getting out of hand as a life guard actually brought him his old Nintendo last week. (ended up not working...a whole nuther drama in itself) I appreciate the generosity but it had to stop. 

The other big issue today was due to the fact that A~man is girl crazy. He was born girl crazy. He will get in his head that someone (normally a girl between 16-21) is his girl friend. He truly thinks this. His love interest now is the very sweet and pretty lifeguard at the pool we go to. Today in the pool I told him for the millionth time that 1. He cannot have a girlfriend when he is 13. 2. That a girl 16+ is not going to be his girl friend. I told him "K" the lifeguard is not his girlfriend. I hurt his feelings with this. :(  Evidently before I got in the pool, (I was in the gym working out) hubby and A~man were in the hot tub and this oaf of a man (not referring to my husband I should add...this was a stranger ;) was giving my son inappropriate dating advice concerning the lifeguard. In actuality the beyond middle aged man was using my son to flirt with the lifeguard. *why my hubby didn't stop that I do not know*

Puberty and growing up is hard enough for a typically developing child but add in developmental challenges and it adds to the confusion. He talks about when he "lives in his own house", when he gets married and has kids, about how he is going to join the Army. The list goes on and on. These things are very likely not going to happen. He does have a lot of strengths and a lot of possibilities in his future though and I pray to God to help us help him discover them so he can reach the full potential God has for him.

Then there is the Z~girl. She is entering that territory too this last year. I've seen so much growth from her but being this age is challenging. I see so much of me in her right now. (the good and not so good) What does her future hold? She has had it in her head for many years that she wants to be a veterinarian. She LOVES animals and is very good with them. She will start back at the goat farm in the next month and she is very excited. She is doing awesome with the chickens we have that are about to be able to be moved outside. (thank goodness as my basement smells like a barn) It's a time of transition for her. She and I need to completely redo and clean out her room this spring. This will involve getting rid of "little kid" stuff that needs to go. Admittedly, this will be as hard on me as her. (I had really hoped there would be one more child in our life) So we will decide a handful of things to keep for her future children. Books, hahah though are non negotiable but hopefully I can move some downstairs to a huge bookcase we have. 

I moved far away from family. Then they moved even further away. Haha, no it wasn't anything personal, it was just the way things turned out. I TRULY hope that we can always live within driving distance of Z when she grows up. I am encouraged by the increasing amount of homeschool-friendly colleges across the country though. I fully intend to continue and homeschool for highschool and pray for guidance from above in helping her too to achieve her own personal potential. 

I think that today I came to the realization that growing up, well, seeing your children growing up feels as hard on the mama (and daddy) as it does on the child. 

Do not lose your spark!

Today I went to my daughter's violin lessons. Normally I use this alone time and stay home (A~man goes too) to work and my husband takes both of them. It had been such a long time I really wanted to go so I did. Watching her play the violin is so wonderfully entertaining. *disclaimer...I'm about to brag* We have never had to tell her to practice her violin. She will lose track of time and we will sometimes have to tell her to finish up in fact. She exhibits such complete joy and extreme concentration while playing and today was no different. The girl was practically dancing during her lesson while playing!

Also while watching her I was reminded that over the last several years friends that knew me when I was her age would say how much she looks like I did. I would always think to myself "REALLY?" Because when I look at her I see such a beauty that comes from inside to the outside that I couldn't believe she could look like I did. That was not something I saw in myself at that age. But today I SAW myself. The same nose, chin,   eyes, and hands. What was I missing at that age that had made me not see it before? Her SPARK. She has an incredible spark. Her and I always tease that we have most people fooled into believing that we are quiet and serious individuals. If someone doesn't know us well they probably think we are very quiet and serious.

HOW did I lose that spark when I was little? Why did my spark go out? When I was just a bit younger than her...probably 8 or 9, I started to get bullied and made fun of. In an extreme way. I grew really tall in a short amount of time and I was very skinny. From age 8-30 I had people accusing me of having an eating disorder. (I never did)  This caused me to hide away completely into myself until I probably was about 14 or 15. I also played an instrument for most of my school years and was considered very good. But I didn't have the joy and pleasure for playing the flute that I see when she plays her violin or fiddle songs. Oh, and I rarely practiced unless being nagged to do it.

I guess that is one of the many reasons I decided homeschooling would be good for both kids. I did not want them to have to experience what I went through. Yes, I know there will be (and in A~man's case there has been a couple) times when they will be hurt by others. That is just life period. I just hope and pray that I can raise both children to keep the confidence and exuberance that both of them have in such a high quantity so that if...no not if...when someone treats them badly it will not cause their spark to go out like mine did. Also I pray that I can continue to show them to treat others the way they want to be treated. Bullying leaves scars that can last a lifetime.

Homeschool writing

When it comes to writing we have taken an "unschooling" approach the last few years as we have not used a homeschool writing course for quite some time. Does this mean they do not write? Not at all! Z~girl writes stories, letters to family, and she writes in a diary. Thankfully she lets me read them and is usually very open to me correcting grammar,punctuation, and spelling errors with her. For A~man he loves writing letters, he is learning to type more on the computer, and I also do some copywork with him.

One thing in particular that has really helped Z~girl is that several times a year she likes to come out with a newspaper. She does the weather, comics, things we have done recently and sometimes even sports. At times we are able to even get A~man to contribute some art. (but not this time LOL) We send this to some of our family to show them what we have been up to and Z also likes to give one to our sweet grandma-like neighbor across the road.

She does almost all of the paper on her own but I assist her by showing her misspellings, typos, and grammar mistakes. I've been trying to talk her into creating a separate blog for her and I, but the though of it seems to overwhelm her. That is exactly how I felt years ago when I first started blogging but taking an actual blog course really helped me become more confident in my writing. I'm going to give her a couple of months and approach her again as I think blogging would be a good way for her to work on some creative writing. I would love to hear about other diverse ways homeschoolers teach writing without or in addition to an actual curriculum!

Worn..

I just saw a friend post this on Facebook and LOVED IT!!! It's by Tenth Avenue North.