Any other Homeschoolers out there?

[Becky Drish]

I was just wondering if there are any other homeschoolers on this site, other than Margie and myself. :) Are you in a co-op setting? Are you using the 6+1 Traits on your own? I would love to bounce ideas off of you! I like all you other public and private school teachers, too. :) You guys have awesome ideas as well. I used to be one of you before I decided to homeschool my own kids.

[Sarah Hanchett]

Hi Becky! I found this site after our talk at Swim/Gym today. We are going to try the "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" lesson - dictation style!
Sarah

[Becky Drish]

Hi Sarah! This website is fabulous! I will be excited to hear how the dictation goes. :) Have a great day!
Becky
p.s. you can go to writingfix.com for even more lessons...

Sarah Hanchett said:

Hi Becky! I found this site after our talk at Swim/Gym today. We are going to try the "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" lesson - dictation style!
Sarah

[Bonnie Fiegel]

Hi Becky,
I'm new to this site. I thought I had posted a reply last night, but I don't see it anywhere. So, here I go again. I am a homeschool mom and I have been using Time4writing which is a great writing program. Your child responses to a prompt or questions and a teacher corrects it on the other end and sends it back. I am using it as a supplemental resource, but I have seen some possible results.

[Becky Drish]

Hi Bonnie!
I haven't heard of the program you are using. I'm glad it works well for you. I teach 2 sections of our homeschool co-op group. In my beginning writing class I have 25 students, grades 4th-7th. In the Advanced Writing I have 16 students, which covers grades 8th-12th. I am completely sold on the 6 traits method. It has enough method to help students improve on key areas without restricting the creative side of writing. The writingfix website has an abundance of lesson plans, mainly geared toward upper elementary. I really like the literature based lessons. It helps the students to see a correct model of what you are trying to get them to replicate, before they do it. I also used Razzle Dazzle Writing for my begininng writing class. It has many great ideas, especially its method for writing stories. Glad to meet you and happy writing!!!

Bonnie Fiegel said:

Hi Becky,
I'm new to this site. I thought I had posted a reply last night, but I don't see it anywhere. So, here I go again. I am a homeschool mom and I have been using Time4writing which is a great writing program. Your child responses to a prompt or questions and a teacher corrects it on the other end and sends it back. I am using it as a supplemental resource, but I have seen some possible results.

[Shannon Lougee]

Hi Becky,

I am a homeschooler as well. I teach my two boys who are 11 and 8. Writing is definitely our most challenging subject. My older son is a reluctant writer and my younger one loves to write, but doesn't want any feedback. Both present their challenges. I like Razzle Dazzle as well and the six-traits method is fantastic. I love the writingfix website and I'm thankful to all these teachers who put so much time and energy into building this resource.

Shannon

[Becky Drish]

That's great! I would recommend getting the Going Deep with the 6 Traits book put out by the team at Writing Fix. It is well worth whatever the price is!


Shannon Lougee said:

Hi Becky,

I am a homeschooler as well. I teach my two boys who are 11 and 8. Writing is definitely our most challenging subject. My older son is a reluctant writer and my younger one loves to write, but doesn't want any feedback. Both present their challenges. I like Razzle Dazzle as well and the six-traits method is fantastic. I love the writingfix website and I'm thankful to all these teachers who put so much time and energy into building this resource.

Shannon

[Lisa Sanders]

I'm a homeschool mom of a 5th and 2nd grader. The youngest is dyslexic so we struggle quite a bit with writing and reading. I love this site, and so glad I found this forum. I always love to hear/see what other homeschool families are up to. Happy Monday!

[Esther Foster]

Hi, I'm another Homeschooler who has a 12 boy who HATES writing. This is my first time on this site. So if anyone has any ideas to help me out that would be great. I am looking foward to finding out everything I can to help him out.

[Emily Wood]

yes, we homeschool! this site has really helped my older daughter's writing flourish! its more purposeful than anything else we've tried. Emily in GA

[Becky Drish]

Hi Esther,

There are many reasons why kids can be apprehensive about writing.  If the assignments are smaller and focused on a specific writing trait, the student isn't so overwhelmed.  Writingfix has many lessons to draw from that are smaller in scope and focus in on one or two writing traits.  Also, consider "alternative" writing assignments.  I love the Wacky We-Search ideas.  Here is a link on writingfix: http://writingfix.com/RICA/Wacky_We_Search_Reports/millionaire1.htm

Also, let your son write about things that interest him.  Obviously, you can't stick to that forever, but if it helps to motivate him and allows him to gain confidence in his skill, than that would be a good thing! :)

I have been teaching writing for our homeschool co-op for about 4 years now, and I have students who said they hated writing when we began.  However, over the years they have gained considerable skill and even though writing may not be their favorite subject, they do not have such animosity towards it anymore. :)

Writing is an invaluable skill.......best of luck to you!

Becky

Esther Foster said:

Hi, I'm another Homeschooler who has a 12 boy who HATES writing. This is my first time on this site. So if anyone has any ideas to help me out that would be great. I am looking foward to finding out everything I can to help him out.

[Virginia Harlow]

I've got a 10th grader who hates, I mean hates, writing.  He's competent.  Amazing.  But he won't do it without threats.  The 5th grader is really struggling.  Seems she wrote better last year.  Unprompted, she will write something totally nonsensical using no modifiers at all, no adjectives, no adverbs.  It's a real struggle.  But they are both marathon readers.....  And they read on their own.  I have to assign them progressively more difficult material to read, and they sometimes balk, but the 5th grader can read Shakespeare with us together, so that's going great!

 

But writing?  I need all the help I can get.  Complicated by a 3 year old constantly interrupting, of course.  These are my grandchildren.  Site looks very promising! 

[Becky Drish]

Virginia,

How kind of you to homeschool your grandchildren!  If your 10th grader requires threats to do his writing assignments, perhaps you could check into a local community college and see if they offer dual credit in an English/Composition course.  Perhaps he will be more inclined to do the work for a professor? At his age, it isn't about whether he loves the subject or not, it is about what he needs for high school graduation and college preparation.  

He needs to respect his teacher, whether that is you or a prof, and do the work! ;)

For your 5th grader, I would suggest looking at some of the writing fix lessons on word choice to enhance the use of modifiers.  You may have a certain expectation for your grandchildren in their writing, because they read at such a high level.  Instead, simply take your grand-daughter at her skill level, wherever that is, and teach her there.  Don't frustrate her or yourself by aiming at a level she cannot obtain right now.  That is one of the perks of homeschooling~!  Just because it says "5th grade" on the workbook, we all know that doesn't necessarily mean it will work for YOUR 5th grader.  It may be too difficult or too easy!  Meet them where they are....and encourage them to improve from there!  Happy homeschooling! :)

Becky