I had a teacher in middle school who would have us “goldfish” a piece of paper. Where we had to write front the top left corner on the front to the right bottom corner on the back. She would give a topic to start us off, but then we could go to anything as long as it was connected in some way. She would also pull out pieces of paper from a cup that had random words and we would have to write a short story using those words. It was fun to hear how we would create vastly different stories, even though we had the same three words to incorporate.
My kindergartener is almost done with the spectrum phonics 1 book, and is starting to read easy readers. I have no idea what to do next. Nothing I look at looks of interest to either of us. He's not super into reading, but can and will if I tell him. He likes the workbook because we do it together, def a quality time, bouncy boy💙 What should I do for 1st grade? I'd love suggestions! I love your videos and your approach to homeschooling ❤
@@farmviewinterests3192 Have you looked at The Good and the Beautiful? They are revamping their K-2 levels, set to release this summer. We have done the old Pre-K, K Primer, and 2, and to be honest, my two kids struggled with the length and drilling in them. But the new lessons are much shorter and gentle, the readers are more aligned with what they're learning (all stories are written specifically for the lessons, and the old stories are beautiful! I'm stoked to see the new ones!), so I'm excited to try them out. They have a flip-through video on FB and RUclips of at least one of them if you want to take a look. And they have free pdf downloads!
Wish I had seen this our first year of homeschool! I was so overwhelmed by all the different parts of ELA, and confused by how often we should do them. Excellent break down.
Thank you so much for sharing Writing and Rhetoric, there is so little on RUclips about it or Well Ordered Language. Would love to see a do a lesson with me or a flip through of it! ☺️
We love writing and rhetoric! We started using it this year in our co-op and the kids have had so much fun writing (even our most reluctant writers enjoy it)
Thank you! I struggle understanding why my eight year old needs to know all the parts of speech as long as he is using proper sentence structure in the way he speaks. It's definitely a topic I would rather cover later on then fight and struggle over now. Create a love for the art of language and the desire to use or imitate it properly should follow.
You are truly a breath of fresh air! I have homeschooled my sons since their 4th and 5th grade years, (going into 7th and 8th this year 😳) but I learn so much with each passing year. The fact that your kids are about the same ages, helps tremendously. Thank you so much for sharing your homeschooling journey!
I’m a first year home schooler in Australia and you have helped me so much and I thank you from the bottom of my heart Keep safe to you and your family in this crazy world and I so look forward to more of you videos and advice it’s helped out greatly ❤️
that story was adorable! We do a lot of creative writing in our homeschool. In fact we actually did a homeschool project where the wrote entire books and I am in the process of editing it and getting it ready to be published :) It is important to definitely make writing fun. It doesn't need to be stuffy and boring. Writing is not supposed to be a struggle, but way too often do people complicate it with a while bunch of rules that keeps people in a box and makes them shy away from writing cause they don't want to make a mistake. The basics of writing are important. But once my kids have a good foundation I let them do as much creative writing as they want. And every year their writing improves and impresses me. We also are big on reading...like A LOT. lol
We do story telling too! My mom started it with my kids when they were toddlers and we have continued it over the years. Sometimes in the car we do it when the kids get bored also. So I’ll start and then we go one by one adding onto the story. My husbands stories are the silliest and funniest. My 8 year old is now creating war stories all on his own. He writes some of it then I’ll scribe for him sometimes as well. One thing I realized is that We don’t always have to make them write the sentences down themselves. They can watch us write what they are dictating to us and that in itself is so valuable. We use writing with ease and will transition to writing and rhetoric. Thank you for this. I hope this video gets watched by many mamas because I think this was such valuable information.
Thank you for all the great tips in your videos!! My 7 year old is on the spectrum and adhd. He also has hyperlexia (which was so cool when he was tiny). Basically, his brain decodes writing faster and at a very early age he was reading to us. All that said, he understands grammar without instruction 🤣🤣 it amazes me! Writing is harder, similar to your 5th grader, he can’t easily write things down from his mind to paper. We are working on that, and I don’t mind having him dictate his stories! My 5 year old isn’t formally learning grammar, but I’m using the good and the beautiful LA with her, and we love it. She’s also a story teller, we started that at bedtime also when she was about 3.5!!!!😃💖💖
We've been using Fix it Grammar this year as well with my 4th and 2nd graders and we love it. Every so often we go back and read the whole story they've written! I like that it is quick and always reviewing past concepts! Have you tried IEW's writing curriculums? We have kinda used them on and off this year and last but I have found it hard to fit everything in! I may do the 2 days writing 2 days grammar thing! I didn't enjoy writing as a child so its hard for me to enjoy teaching it!!
I have not used IEW’s writing curriculum. I know a lot of people really love it, but I’ve also heard from many who didn’t like it so we’ve just used other things. But it’s a great fit for many!
My 2nd grade daughter is using BJU press English 2 which is Writing and Grammar. Lessons are really short and practice just one new thing per lesson. It has built in review as you go through the course. It’s traditional but we like it a lot. She asked for it again next year. 😊
Love this!! I already had writing and rhetoric picked out for my going to be 5th grade boy next year!! Looks gentle but efficient! Love your approach, with 3 boys I have a similar mindset!!
This was a very informative video. I have heard about writing and rhetoric along with fix it grammar but haven't given them a try yet. Writing rhetoric sounds awesome. I love the 2 days grammar 2 days writing
Hello, I have a creative writing idea to share with your viewers. I'm a homeschool mom from way back in the early '90s when homeschooling was something that "normal" people didn't do. I homeschooled my three kids from 1st grade through 12th. Now I'm a homeschool grandmother! Homeschooling 2 of my 7 grandchildren. I did something with 4 of my grandkids last summer that turned out to be a big hit. I got the idea from a book that I had when I homeschooled my kids, only I have no idea what the book was named. At the time, my grandkids were pre-reading- writing, one was upcoming 5th grade and the other 2 were upcoming 6th grade. I began by asking them to draw a treasure map, which had to included a list of several things: such as a hidden treasure, a swamp, a bridge, and a forest, etc. Once they drew the map, they had to tell me about the adventure of how their character found the hidden treasure. (Of course, some were more excited about the project than others.) Then they wanted to get creative and make a few items to go along with their map, such as a sword, or binoculars, but I gave them limited resources to use, such as scissors, paper, (including paper towel rolls), and tape. So I allowed them to be as creative as they wanted to be. Next, they were asked to tell their stories to each other. This exercise ended with them eventually putting their story to pen and paper. It was a great way to get them excited and creative so that by the time they wrote the story they were brimming with ideas and were already planning their next storytelling adventure.
Love the video. We found Fix it grammar in middle and are now in high school, only doing 2 sentences per week minis writing story..more of a check off as the child is really good in this area. You could use one book and have each child do a sentence. For later high we’re moving to The Good and The Beautiful High school we’re it’s all in one…English is hard to piece together.
My 8th,6th &5th graders are on their second year of Fix It! Grammar and it’s been a good fit for us. I think the exposure to each of the things they have to label is good, gentle repetition. They do one sentence per day and self check with the instruction manual. My older 2 are using IEW for writing and that is going well also. It’s our first year issuing it. For my 5th grader I just have him write for me based on interested topics or whatever we are studying in history. We do that about once a week as he is easily overwhelmed by the mechanics of having to put thoughts on paper (but he has oh so many thoughts!! 😉) ~Amy
We love Fix-It! This will be our 3rd year using is and it is wonderful. Tried another traditional curriculum before that and there were tears almost daily. It was awful. For writing we tried IEW for 2 years and loved it. My youngest student will still be using it next year and my older two are switching to Classical Composition which sounds very similar to what you’re using. Do you teach formal phonics abs vocab as well in addition to spelling and reading? I’m trying to figure out how to cut back as we are doing all of these LA areas every day and it takes us almost 2 hours. I’d like to cut that in half for LA.
My boys are in 1st grade again this year but now homeschooling. Last year was very stressful for both them and us doing the distance learning. We were under to much pressure. The distance learning teacher was very nice but they way they have to teach us crazy for first grade. They are asked to write 5-7 sentences almost every day. The problem with this is that they don’t know how to spell at the age and not even sure how to form some of the letters, it was crazy. When I was in first grade we worked on properly forming those letters, we didn’t have to write sentences. They tell them to just write the letters they hear, OMG! So I am trying not to pressure them at all and get them to like reading really easy books and forming those letters.
Good job, mama! 👏🏼 So important to listen to those motherly instincts and do what you know is best for your kids! Sounds like you are on the right track. ❤️
I agree--it's insane what they're teaching our kids so early! They don't get the basics down first, and then they add so much so quickly. Way too quickly! My two oldest went to public school, and neither of them knows how to properly form their letters or read well. I pulled them out and don't plan on sending them back.
We delay grammar and writing until about 4/5th grade. We do Language Lessons which is mostly verbal and memorizing poems then start fix it in about 6/7th grade. We have taken online writing classes and just taken it at our own pace. We used the old grammar curriculum Grammar Land one year and that was really fun!
Thank you, Erin, for such helpful video. I am choosing a writing curriculum for my 6th grader and your video really helped to narrow my choices down. I really like both, Writing & Rhetoric and Writeshop Junior (I discovered a Junior series after watching your video). I am curious if you considered Writeshop Junior for your younger boys and if yes, then how/why you chose Writing & Rhetoric for them over WriteShop Junior. Which one would you recommend for a student who didn't try any curriculum yet. It will be our very first year starting homeschooling. My son is creative and defenetly has an artist in him. As for the knowledge, it doesn't seem to me that he has good foundation, good basic knowledge about writing yet. Thank you very much for your help, experience and thoughts. A very new homeschooling mama here 🙂
I haven’t used WriteShop Junior, so I can’t say for sure which I would recommend over the other. I’m planning on continuing with Writing & Rhetoric this year for my 5th & 7th graders. I just really liked the more classical/CM style lessons of that one.
@@TheEclecticHomeschooler Thank you very much. Yes, I looked at the lessons of both and I just fell in love with Writing and Rhetoric lessons and approach. We will be starting Writing and Rhetoric this year! Thank you for your video and your help with this. ❤
Any help or ideas for kiddos who break down in tears if they have to write anything beyond their name?? My son is in 4th grade (10years old) and HATES to write anything! He loves to make comic books but will only illustrate them and refuses to write a narrative. I have tried so many things! The only thing he actually likes is practicing/learning cursive handwriting using handwriting without the tears. But beyond handwriting, actually writing is a huge struggle!
My 11 year old is exact same!! It is a struggle.. he is just so different than my older kids who are creative writers. I am adjusting my expectations and trying to focus on what he IS good at and what likes. I'd love tips too!
My initial reaction would be to have a conversation, removed from the situation, when he feels calm to talk, and being careful not to sound judgmental, tell him you want to help him figure this out. You don't want to see him so frustrated and wonder if he has any ideas why this is a struggle? What part is frustrating? Does he just not like it or is he struggling? Often times, tears come when there's a breakdown in understanding and if we can help them find a way that it makes sense, then that will go miles in helping alleviate that break down. What if you tried having him tell you a story and you write it down for him? Give him the opportunity to just have fun in the storytelling process rather than adding the pressure of writing. Then once he's comfortable with that verbal story telling, have him record the story (or even just a sentence) and then write it down by listening to his recording. Make sure to emphasize you don't care about spelling or that you will help with that if that's a struggle. I know that helps take the pressure off for my son. Best wishes!
My 10yo was there, too, last year. I backed way off and pretty much scribed for him all year. It was our first year homeschooling, and I feel like public school put too much pressure on him and kind of traumatized him. This year, he has made huge strides! We use The Good and the Beautiful and he's on Level 4 now. The writing workshop is very gentle, writing just a few sentences at a time, and "learning from the masters," similar to what Erin shared about reading good examples. Anyway, he went from me scribing his sentences to him writing them himself without tears or complaining. And he is even having fun writing little 4-line poems. Poems! Granted, they usually include some kind of potty humor, but I'll take that over breaking down, lol. So based on our experience, I'd say take it slow, take the pressure off, and give it time. If my boy can come around, anyone can. And if he struggles again, I want to try the voice memo! That sounds like such a good idea, if he'll do it.
Just found your channel and I LOVE your videos!! Writing and Rhetoric looks awesome- do you think a 3rd grader who is on the writing reluctant side could start it? He LOVES telling stories and is the most creative thing ever, but has struggled with writing.
I have a son who is also Dyslexic and I homeschool as well. Thank you for sharing what works best for your son for spelling. Would you mind sharing what tutoring program he is doing and if that is helping me. I’m trying to find any additional resources for him.
We used Dyslexia Connect online tutoring for a little over a year. He did make improvement for sure, but I was still working with him at home too, so it was definitely a combined effort!
Thanks for sharing. We use W & R too, I don’t see this mentioned much on RUclips, do you still use it? I feel quite confident we’ll use it to the end of book 12, currently on book 4 :)
We are trying a Charlotte Mason approach to language arts this year. I did really like W&R though, and would probably go back to that if this way isn’t a good fit!
We are in Washington. Most days we have around 4 hours of lessons and then they often spend extra time on interest-led learning, reading and other independent work. We are flexible. Some days are more, some are less.
We've use it Fix it Fast grammar since last year and have started written narrations, but I know that my son needs more. He has ADHD and writing has been really hard for him. He's in 5th grade and is definitely not writing on grade level. Would you start him on that first book or is it too babyish? Thank you so much for your channel!!!
I wouldn't be afraid to start on this book. My 5th grader is doing it along with my 3rd grader. I don't think it's too babyish. I would say it's most skill set that you'd want to look at. This book teaches about nouns, pronouns, verbs, helping verbs, who-which clauses, conjunctions, possessives, conjunctions, etc. Best of luck!
I have gotten lots of good recommendations from Sarah Mackenzie at Read Aloud Revival. readaloudrevival.com/recommends/ Some other great books lists can be found from Ambleside Online (free online Charlotte Mason curriculum). Beautiful Feet Books has some great books that go along with their curriculum that I've gleaned ideas from. Sonlight also has great recommendations if you check out the lists they have for each Core curriculum they offer.
Do you ever have days where you feel you can't teach anything, you just feel less than smart lol?? Im there today! We do FIG and today is just hard lol!!!! My daughter is in6th grade and its tough
One thing I have to remind myself is to not force things. If he is struggling or visibly getting anxious, we stop for the day. Is very discouraging for them because they feel stupid even though it’s outside their control, so trying to keep a positive, encouraging demeanor myself helps a lot. I have different expectations set for my dyslexic child than my other children, which I have to remind myself that “grade level” doesn’t really matter, it more about seeing progress and being consistent. Using All About Spelling has helped a lot by learning the spelling rules to help when spelling words and writing sentences. We also do online tutoring for him once a week through Dyslexia Connect. Hang in there! Wishing you all the best!
Thank you so much! We are “shopping” for new curriculum. I have 2 homeschoolers and want to make sure what we are using is not overwhelming for him. I want them to be excited about the work we’re doing.
I don’t really use curriculum for my oldest anymore. He’s an excellent writer, and is writing his own book, so he basically just works on that and then we discuss. The only higher level curriculum we’ve used is Write Shop. Sorry that’s not much help!
What are your favorite writing/grammar resources or tips?
I had a teacher in middle school who would have us “goldfish” a piece of paper. Where we had to write front the top left corner on the front to the right bottom corner on the back. She would give a topic to start us off, but then we could go to anything as long as it was connected in some way. She would also pull out pieces of paper from a cup that had random words and we would have to write a short story using those words. It was fun to hear how we would create vastly different stories, even though we had the same three words to incorporate.
@@rebekahcayedunavant7656 Fun idea!! I’ll have to try that with the kids!
My kindergartener is almost done with the spectrum phonics 1 book, and is starting to read easy readers. I have no idea what to do next. Nothing I look at looks of interest to either of us.
He's not super into reading, but can and will if I tell him.
He likes the workbook because we do it together, def a quality time, bouncy boy💙
What should I do for 1st grade?
I'd love suggestions!
I love your videos and your approach to homeschooling ❤
@@farmviewinterests3192 Have you looked at The Good and the Beautiful? They are revamping their K-2 levels, set to release this summer. We have done the old Pre-K, K Primer, and 2, and to be honest, my two kids struggled with the length and drilling in them. But the new lessons are much shorter and gentle, the readers are more aligned with what they're learning (all stories are written specifically for the lessons, and the old stories are beautiful! I'm stoked to see the new ones!), so I'm excited to try them out. They have a flip-through video on FB and RUclips of at least one of them if you want to take a look. And they have free pdf downloads!
Wish I had seen this our first year of homeschool! I was so overwhelmed by all the different parts of ELA, and confused by how often we should do them. Excellent break down.
The longer I do this, the more I realize I was unduly stressed far too often in the early years. Thanks, Summer! ❤️
Thank you so much for sharing Writing and Rhetoric, there is so little on RUclips about it or Well Ordered Language. Would love to see a do a lesson with me or a flip through of it! ☺️
We love writing and rhetoric! We started using it this year in our co-op and the kids have had so much fun writing (even our most reluctant writers enjoy it)
That’s so great to hear!
Thank you! I struggle understanding why my eight year old needs to know all the parts of speech as long as he is using proper sentence structure in the way he speaks. It's definitely a topic I would rather cover later on then fight and struggle over now. Create a love for the art of language and the desire to use or imitate it properly should follow.
YES!! Exactly!
It's great that your children have lots of choice in what they write. Storytelling is great as well.
That voice clip of your sons story was ADORABLE!!!
❤️❤️ My favorite!
@@TheEclecticHomeschoolerHello. Can you help me ? Do you have Essential in writing book ?
You are truly a breath of fresh air! I have homeschooled my sons since their 4th and 5th grade years, (going into 7th and 8th this year 😳) but I learn so much with each passing year. The fact that your kids are about the same ages, helps tremendously. Thank you so much for sharing your homeschooling journey!
Thanks so much! Truly honored that you were encouraged here!
I’m a first year home schooler in Australia and you have helped me so much and I thank you from the bottom of my heart
Keep safe to you and your family in this crazy world
and I so look forward to more of you videos and advice it’s helped out greatly ❤️
So glad to hear that! Blessings, mama!
that story was adorable! We do a lot of creative writing in our homeschool. In fact we actually did a homeschool project where the wrote entire books and I am in the process of editing it and getting it ready to be published :) It is important to definitely make writing fun. It doesn't need to be stuffy and boring. Writing is not supposed to be a struggle, but way too often do people complicate it with a while bunch of rules that keeps people in a box and makes them shy away from writing cause they don't want to make a mistake. The basics of writing are important. But once my kids have a good foundation I let them do as much creative writing as they want. And every year their writing improves and impresses me. We also are big on reading...like A LOT. lol
Love that!! How fun to put their writings into a book! What a great keepsake! ❤️
We do story telling too! My mom started it with my kids when they were toddlers and we have continued it over the years. Sometimes in the car we do it when the kids get bored also. So I’ll start and then we go one by one adding onto the story. My husbands stories are the silliest and funniest. My 8 year old is now creating war stories all on his own. He writes some of it then I’ll scribe for him sometimes as well. One thing I realized is that We don’t always have to make them write the sentences down themselves. They can watch us write what they are dictating to us and that in itself is so valuable. We use writing with ease and will transition to writing and rhetoric. Thank you for this. I hope this video gets watched by many mamas because I think this was such valuable information.
That’s so great!! So glad you enjoyed the video! Thanks for watching! ❤️
Thank you for all the great tips in your videos!! My 7 year old is on the spectrum
and adhd. He also has hyperlexia (which was so cool when he was tiny). Basically, his brain decodes writing faster and at a very early age he was reading to us. All that said, he understands grammar without instruction 🤣🤣 it amazes me! Writing is harder, similar to your 5th grader, he can’t easily write things down from his mind to paper. We are working on that, and I don’t mind having him dictate his stories! My 5 year old isn’t formally learning grammar, but I’m using the good and the beautiful LA with her, and we love it. She’s also a story teller, we started that at bedtime also when she was about 3.5!!!!😃💖💖
OH MY GOODNESS! well thats genius,,, my son has dyslexia but isn't such a great writer but super creative... thanks for the voice memo idea.
We've been using Fix it Grammar this year as well with my 4th and 2nd graders and we love it. Every so often we go back and read the whole story they've written! I like that it is quick and always reviewing past concepts! Have you tried IEW's writing curriculums? We have kinda used them on and off this year and last but I have found it hard to fit everything in! I may do the 2 days writing 2 days grammar thing! I didn't enjoy writing as a child so its hard for me to enjoy teaching it!!
I have not used IEW’s writing curriculum. I know a lot of people really love it, but I’ve also heard from many who didn’t like it so we’ve just used other things. But it’s a great fit for many!
I'd love to hear more about what ages/stages you've started each aspect of LA.
This is so helpful!!!
My 2nd grade daughter is using BJU press English 2 which is Writing and Grammar. Lessons are really short and practice just one new thing per lesson. It has built in review as you go through the course. It’s traditional but we like it a lot. She asked for it again next year. 😊
Love that! So glad you found a good fit for your family!
You're a blessing to have on here. 💜💜💜💜
Aww, thank you! ❤️❤️
This was so awesome!
Thank you so much, it was so helpful and so many great ideas! 🫶🏼
Love this!! I already had writing and rhetoric picked out for my going to be 5th grade boy next year!! Looks gentle but efficient! Love your approach, with 3 boys I have a similar mindset!!
Hope you enjoy it! 😄
This was a very informative video. I have heard about writing and rhetoric along with fix it grammar but haven't given them a try yet. Writing rhetoric sounds awesome. I love the 2 days grammar 2 days writing
Hello, I have a creative writing idea to share with your viewers. I'm a homeschool mom from way back in the early '90s when homeschooling was something that "normal" people didn't do. I homeschooled my three kids from 1st grade through 12th. Now I'm a homeschool grandmother! Homeschooling 2 of my 7 grandchildren. I did something with 4 of my grandkids last summer that turned out to be a big hit. I got the idea from a book that I had when I homeschooled my kids, only I have no idea what the book was named.
At the time, my grandkids were pre-reading- writing, one was upcoming 5th grade and the other 2 were upcoming 6th grade. I began by asking them to draw a treasure map, which had to included a list of several things: such as a hidden treasure, a swamp, a bridge, and a forest, etc. Once they drew the map, they had to tell me about the adventure of how their character found the hidden treasure. (Of course, some were more excited about the project than others.) Then they wanted to get creative and make a few items to go along with their map, such as a sword, or binoculars, but I gave them limited resources to use, such as scissors, paper, (including paper towel rolls), and tape. So I allowed them to be as creative as they wanted to be. Next, they were asked to tell their stories to each other. This exercise ended with them eventually putting their story to pen and paper. It was a great way to get them excited and creative so that by the time they wrote the story they were brimming with ideas and were already planning their next storytelling adventure.
Thanks for sharing!
We love EIW writing curriculum. It teaches with short videos lessons. I love the fix it grammar - it’s on my list to try one year!
Love the video. We found Fix it grammar in middle and are now in high school, only doing 2 sentences per week minis writing story..more of a check off as the child is really good in this area. You could use one book and have each child do a sentence. For later high we’re moving to The Good and The Beautiful High school we’re it’s all in one…English is hard to piece together.
My 8th,6th &5th graders are on their second year of Fix It! Grammar and it’s been a good fit for us. I think the exposure to each of the things they have to label is good, gentle repetition. They do one sentence per day and self check with the instruction manual. My older 2 are using IEW for writing and that is going well also. It’s our first year issuing it. For my 5th grader I just have him write for me based on interested topics or whatever we are studying in history. We do that about once a week as he is easily overwhelmed by the mechanics of having to put thoughts on paper (but he has oh so many thoughts!! 😉)
~Amy
Sounds like you’ve got a good routine going!
We love Fix-It! This will be our 3rd year using is and it is wonderful. Tried another traditional curriculum before that and there were tears almost daily. It was awful. For writing we tried IEW for 2 years and loved it. My youngest student will still be using it next year and my older two are switching to Classical Composition which sounds very similar to what you’re using.
Do you teach formal phonics abs vocab as well in addition to spelling and reading? I’m trying to figure out how to cut back as we are doing all of these LA areas every day and it takes us almost 2 hours. I’d like to cut that in half for LA.
My boys are in 1st grade again this year but now homeschooling. Last year was very stressful for both them and us doing the distance learning. We were under to much pressure. The distance learning teacher was very nice but they way they have to teach us crazy for first grade. They are asked to write 5-7 sentences almost every day. The problem with this is that they don’t know how to spell at the age and not even sure how to form some of the letters, it was crazy. When I was in first grade we worked on properly forming those letters, we didn’t have to write sentences. They tell them to just write the letters they hear, OMG! So I am trying not to pressure them at all and get them to like reading really easy books and forming those letters.
Good job, mama! 👏🏼 So important to listen to those motherly instincts and do what you know is best for your kids! Sounds like you are on the right track. ❤️
@@TheEclecticHomeschooler thank you 🙏 I need to hear that because I am always thinking 🤔….am I doing the right thing?
I agree--it's insane what they're teaching our kids so early! They don't get the basics down first, and then they add so much so quickly. Way too quickly! My two oldest went to public school, and neither of them knows how to properly form their letters or read well. I pulled them out and don't plan on sending them back.
Such a great informative video!! Thank you so very much
You’re so welcome!
We delay grammar and writing until about 4/5th grade. We do Language Lessons which is mostly verbal and memorizing poems then start fix it in about 6/7th grade. We have taken online writing classes and just taken it at our own pace. We used the old grammar curriculum Grammar Land one year and that was really fun!
Great tips! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Erin, for such helpful video. I am choosing a writing curriculum for my 6th grader and your video really helped to narrow my choices down. I really like both, Writing & Rhetoric and Writeshop Junior (I discovered a Junior series after watching your video). I am curious if you considered Writeshop Junior for your younger boys and if yes, then how/why you chose Writing & Rhetoric for them over WriteShop Junior. Which one would you recommend for a student who didn't try any curriculum yet. It will be our very first year starting homeschooling. My son is creative and defenetly has an artist in him. As for the knowledge, it doesn't seem to me that he has good foundation, good basic knowledge about writing yet. Thank you very much for your help, experience and thoughts. A very new homeschooling mama here 🙂
I haven’t used WriteShop Junior, so I can’t say for sure which I would recommend over the other. I’m planning on continuing with Writing & Rhetoric this year for my 5th & 7th graders. I just really liked the more classical/CM style lessons of that one.
@@TheEclecticHomeschooler Thank you very much. Yes, I looked at the lessons of both and I just fell in love with Writing and Rhetoric lessons and approach. We will be starting Writing and Rhetoric this year! Thank you for your video and your help with this. ❤
Any help or ideas for kiddos who break down in tears if they have to write anything beyond their name?? My son is in 4th grade (10years old) and HATES to write anything! He loves to make comic books but will only illustrate them and refuses to write a narrative. I have tried so many things! The only thing he actually likes is practicing/learning cursive handwriting using handwriting without the tears. But beyond handwriting, actually writing is a huge struggle!
My 11 year old is exact same!! It is a struggle.. he is just so different than my older kids who are creative writers. I am adjusting my expectations and trying to focus on what he IS good at and what likes. I'd love tips too!
My initial reaction would be to have a conversation, removed from the situation, when he feels calm to talk, and being careful not to sound judgmental, tell him you want to help him figure this out. You don't want to see him so frustrated and wonder if he has any ideas why this is a struggle? What part is frustrating? Does he just not like it or is he struggling? Often times, tears come when there's a breakdown in understanding and if we can help them find a way that it makes sense, then that will go miles in helping alleviate that break down. What if you tried having him tell you a story and you write it down for him? Give him the opportunity to just have fun in the storytelling process rather than adding the pressure of writing. Then once he's comfortable with that verbal story telling, have him record the story (or even just a sentence) and then write it down by listening to his recording. Make sure to emphasize you don't care about spelling or that you will help with that if that's a struggle. I know that helps take the pressure off for my son. Best wishes!
My 10yo was there, too, last year. I backed way off and pretty much scribed for him all year. It was our first year homeschooling, and I feel like public school put too much pressure on him and kind of traumatized him. This year, he has made huge strides! We use The Good and the Beautiful and he's on Level 4 now. The writing workshop is very gentle, writing just a few sentences at a time, and "learning from the masters," similar to what Erin shared about reading good examples. Anyway, he went from me scribing his sentences to him writing them himself without tears or complaining. And he is even having fun writing little 4-line poems. Poems! Granted, they usually include some kind of potty humor, but I'll take that over breaking down, lol. So based on our experience, I'd say take it slow, take the pressure off, and give it time. If my boy can come around, anyone can. And if he struggles again, I want to try the voice memo! That sounds like such a good idea, if he'll do it.
Just found your channel and I LOVE your videos!! Writing and Rhetoric looks awesome- do you think a 3rd grader who is on the writing reluctant side could start it? He LOVES telling stories and is the most creative thing ever, but has struggled with writing.
I think so! It's designed for grades 3-4 but it's pretty gentle and you can work at your own pace.
I have a son who is also Dyslexic and I homeschool as well. Thank you for sharing what works best for your son for spelling. Would you mind sharing what tutoring program he is doing and if that is helping me. I’m trying to find any additional resources for him.
We used Dyslexia Connect online tutoring for a little over a year. He did make improvement for sure, but I was still working with him at home too, so it was definitely a combined effort!
Thanks for sharing. We use W & R too, I don’t see this mentioned much on RUclips, do you still use it? I feel quite confident we’ll use it to the end of book 12, currently on book 4 :)
We are trying a Charlotte Mason approach to language arts this year. I did really like W&R though, and would probably go back to that if this way isn’t a good fit!
We have never used Writing and Rhetoric. My daughter is 13 which level do you recommend?
Do you feel like you NEED W&R and Write shop to complete your writing curriculum or could any of them stand alone?
They are both stand alone for writing! I didn't use any other writing curriculum.
How long per day do you homeschool each child? And which State are you located?
We are in Washington. Most days we have around 4 hours of lessons and then they often spend extra time on interest-led learning, reading and other independent work. We are flexible. Some days are more, some are less.
@@TheEclecticHomeschooler we are in Washington state too! Love watching your videos!
We've use it Fix it Fast grammar since last year and have started written narrations, but I know that my son needs more. He has ADHD and writing has been really hard for him. He's in 5th grade and is definitely not writing on grade level. Would you start him on that first book or is it too babyish? Thank you so much for your channel!!!
We've also started doing a 10 minute daily journal entry which he has enjoyed more than I thought he would...
I wouldn't be afraid to start on this book. My 5th grader is doing it along with my 3rd grader. I don't think it's too babyish. I would say it's most skill set that you'd want to look at. This book teaches about nouns, pronouns, verbs, helping verbs, who-which clauses, conjunctions, possessives, conjunctions, etc. Best of luck!
What book list do you use? I don't know what makes good literature.
I have gotten lots of good recommendations from Sarah Mackenzie at Read Aloud Revival. readaloudrevival.com/recommends/
Some other great books lists can be found from Ambleside Online (free online Charlotte Mason curriculum). Beautiful Feet Books has some great books that go along with their curriculum that I've gleaned ideas from. Sonlight also has great recommendations if you check out the lists they have for each Core curriculum they offer.
Do you ever have days where you feel you can't teach anything, you just feel less than smart lol?? Im there today! We do FIG and today is just hard lol!!!! My daughter is in6th grade and its tough
We have lots of days where things don’t go the way I’d like for sure!
Can you offer some help on how you help your child with dyslexia?
One thing I have to remind myself is to not force things. If he is struggling or visibly getting anxious, we stop for the day. Is very discouraging for them because they feel stupid even though it’s outside their control, so trying to keep a positive, encouraging demeanor myself helps a lot. I have different expectations set for my dyslexic child than my other children, which I have to remind myself that “grade level” doesn’t really matter, it more about seeing progress and being consistent. Using All About Spelling has helped a lot by learning the spelling rules to help when spelling words and writing sentences. We also do online tutoring for him once a week through Dyslexia Connect. Hang in there! Wishing you all the best!
Thank you so much! We are “shopping” for new curriculum. I have 2 homeschoolers and want to make sure what we are using is not overwhelming for him. I want them to be excited about the work we’re doing.
How many folks would consider Dr Seuss as twaddle?
What curriculum does your older child have?
I don’t really use curriculum for my oldest anymore. He’s an excellent writer, and is writing his own book, so he basically just works on that and then we discuss. The only higher level curriculum we’ve used is Write Shop. Sorry that’s not much help!