Quote from Forum Archives on July 5, 2001, 10:40 am

Posted by: homenews <homenews@...>

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THE HOPE CHEST: Ideas and Inspiration for Home Education
Issue #42 part 2 / July 2001
Tackling the Trouble Spots
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WELCOME TO THE HOPE CHEST!

The Hope Chest Home School News is a free bi-monthly e-mail
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This is part 2 of 3.

HELPING YOUR RELUCTANT WRITER by Virginia Knowles
A MATH SUCCESS STORY by Barb Dell
THE BENEFITS OF BOWLING by Michelle Demarest
IDEAS FOR SUMMER AND WRITING by Marybeth Whalen
A PORTFOLIO FOR MOM by Angie Payne
DOWN SYNDROME WEB SITE by Priscilla Kendrick

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HELPING YOUR RELUCTANT WRITER
by Virginia Knowles
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Do you have a reluctant writer? This is the child who seems
to be allergic to pencil and paper when it comes to putting out
WORDS rather than pictures. The thought of writing a
paragraph, much less a story or report, is totally overwhelming
to him. Based on recommendations from veteran home school
moms, and experience with my own children, I’d like to present
a few helpful methods. In the last issue, I described what I call
tandem reading. This is tandem WRITING -- working as a
team with your child, while gradually transferring the skills and
responsibility to him.

First, find a topic which grabs your CHILD’S attention and
interest. Maybe you are out in the garage doing laundry when
he comes up and starts chattering about an exciting book he’s
been reading about snakes or Neil Armstrong or whatever.
You can tell he is psyched about it. You know the information
is rattling around in his brain, just waiting to be released --
through his mouth! This is what Charlotte Mason method folks
call oral narration, having your child TELL what he knows about
a subject. Let it stay at this level for quite some time, just
getting him comfortable sharing verbally, either with factual
information or an original story. At the same time, you might try
basic “copy work” -- a method in which your child copies a
sentence, a paragraph, or more from well written literature.
This will help them absorb basic capitalization, punctuation,
spelling and grammar without trying to be simultaneously
“original” in deciding WHAT words to write. Sometimes trying
to combine creativity with mechanics at once can be
overwhelming!

But perhaps one day you sense that he is ready to move on
to a more advanced level. So you suggest, ever so casually,
“Can you tell me a few things about _______ so I can write
them down?” Have your pencil and paper ready so you can
slide into this naturally, without raising too much suspicion. If
your child is willing to do this, ask him for a certain number of
things -- say two or three -- that you can write. “OK, I’m ready
for the first thing.” Then write just what he tells you -- some fact
or opinion. Rephrase something for him if necessary. Then,
“How about a second thing?” Don’t worry if there is a smooth
transition from the last item to this. Now is not the time for
major editing! You might, however, suggest an specific thing
based on the first, such as, “What does the king cobra eat?”
You can keep this up as long as your child is interested. Then
put it away until tomorrow. When you come back to it, read it
together. Help your child decide what order the items can go in
more logically and number them on the paper. Then have your
child type it into a word processing program, and you can work
with him on the grammar and other editing. This is much
easier than having him do it with pencil and paper since you
can change and rearrange to your heart’s content. This also
gives you the opportunity to show your child how to use the “cut
and paste” function. If he can’t type yet, then you can neatly
rewrite the amended version for your child to copy. Voila! A
finished composition!

If you have a child who is learning how to write reports, the
first few times may require intensive coaching and assistance.
Most classroom teachers don’t have time for this, so you are at
a great advantage! Walk them through these steps:
* brainstorm for a topic, subtopic and target audience
* make an outline or graphic information “web”
* gather information from books and other resources
* write a first draft
* edit and proofread
* prepare a final draft

You can use this phase of tandem writing as often as
necessary until your child has enough confidence in his own
“power over words” that he can write it down for himself. Do
not insist on perfect handwriting or spelling or punctuation in the
early drafts. Some children get distracted by these little details
and it interrupts their train of thought and creative flow. Work
with your child gently, as a team. You are the consultant to
help him learn and improve at his own pace. Be realistic with
your expectations. Don’t make any one assignment seem to be
a burden, but break it down into manageable pieces.

In case you are wondering, this is not mere theory to me. I
have tried it and it works beautifully. For example, Joanna, age
8, hated to write at the beginning of this past school year. I
knew I needed to get at least a few good writing samples from
her to put in portfolio. When she started spontaneously telling
me about her hero Florence Nightingale, I seized the
opportunity, and asked her to tell me five facts so I could write
them down. Then, using a word processing program, she
worked for hours (much of it by herself) on a one page report to
give to her great-grandparents the next day. Another time, I
told her we were going to play a writing game. I gave her three
random words/phrases (clown, school bus, and flower pot) and
asked her to tell me a story about them. I was trying to make it
VERY easy for her by doing it orally. Instead, she giggled,
snatched a pencil and paper, and disappeared. A half hour
later, she handed me a hilarious tale, which she hadn’t
bothered to punctuate at all. The words had just gleefully
tumbled out on the page. If I had made her do mechanics at
the same time, I would have gotten only two or three very dry
and dutiful sentences. She went back later, added the
punctuation, typed it on the computer, and printed it in a
whimsical font. I’m just glad she had a fun writing experience!
Attitude is everything!

If you are looking for a good writing curriculum, I personally
like the Write Source series by Houghton Mifflin, which are
available from ROCK Solid (www.rocksolidinc.com).
There are text books for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th-8th
combined, and 9th-12th combined. These attractive books
cover the writing process and the different kinds of writing:
poetry, stories, reports, essays, letters, etc. They are so
comprehensive and well-organized that even if you (as the
teacher) knew nothing about writing at the start, you would both
get a great education in it by the end. Grammar workbooks are
available for each individual grade. The exercises in them are
uncomplicated, and are keyed by page number to the reference
sections in the back of the textbooks in case you are unfamiliar
with a concept.

Can you teach a reluctant writer at home? Of course you can!
Just make it simple, allow the creative juices to flow, work on
mechanics separately, and give it lots of time.

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A MATH SUCCESS STORY by Barb Dell
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When we started out this school year, my nine-year-old son
consistently did very poorly on his math lessons. He understood
the concepts, but he made so many careless errors that he
would still get the answers wrong. He often got more than half
of the problems incorrect.

By the end of the year, he was consistently getting A's and B's.
What made the difference?

First, we had many discussions about the importance of
accuracy in math. He wants to work for NASA on the space
program, so we talked about the how Hubble Space Telescope
didn't work because of a tiny math error.

Second, he started doing his math on graph paper. (We
bought spiral-bound graph paper notebooks at Wal-Mart.) The
graph paper helps him keep his columns lined up.

Third, he started doing the opposite problem for each problem
as a check. (Thanks to Candace on the Home School
Curriculum Swap discussion board (www.theswap.com)
for this suggestion!) If it's a division problem, he checks it with
multiplication. If it's a subtraction problem, he checks it with
addition. I give him an extra point for every check he does. I
also give him fewer problems from the lesson (Saxon 5/4) since
he's taking longer with the ones he is doing.

Fourth, he has started doing what he calls his "final sweep" of
each lesson, where he double checks to make sure he's put in
all his dollar signs and units of measure (cm, mi, etc.), and that
his handwriting is readable.

This has made SUCH a difference in his life. He feels
successful at math now. He finished the book last Thursday,
and stunned me on Friday by telling me he missed math! (I
offered to get him the next book so he can get a head start over
the summer, but he quickly declined. 🙂 Guess he didn't miss
it that much!)

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THE BENEFITS OF BOWLING
by Michelle Demarest
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This past winter the Brunswick bowling alley near us started a
homeschool bowling league. It was close by and at a very
reasonable price so we decided to join. I can honestly say that it
was worth every penny spent.

As I’ve been encouraging others to look into this sport I started
looking at the benefits that I thought it provided to us as a family
and individually. The first thing that I thought of was that it was
a family sport. We could do it all together anytime we wanted a
family fun night. When you join a league they give you coupons
to be able to practice bowling anytime you want to for a very
reasonable price. So, we spent many Friday nights as a family
bowling. What a thrill it was for my 7-year-old to beat my
husband! My husband was not so thrilled.

It was then that I realized how good bowling was to teach
children the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat without
having to go to an organized sport such as softball. As a
homeschool family we try to do most any teaching of values
that we can ourselves. I have not put my young children into
organized sports because I just didn’t feel that I wanted to
relinquish that responsibility to someone else so soon. In
bowling I can be their coach and their cheerleader. They can
learn to lose gracefully and how to win gracefully. They also can
learn to start taking direction from someone in order to be
better at what they are trying to accomplish. This has worked
very well. They’ve learned that they will not always bowl a strike
and sometimes their score will be quite low. They’ve also
learned that if they pay attention and do what the “coach” has
instructed them to do that they may bowl a very high score.
They’ve also learned to celebrate other people’s victories and
to encourage those that aren’t doing so well.

Even though the children bowl what is known as “League
Bowling” they are really only competing against themselves.
They do receive patches for attaining certain goals such as
bowling over 100 or bowling a certain amount over their
average. This is such a thrill for the children and teaches them
that if you try very hard you can receive a reward or if you don’t
receive one you can learn to be happy for the person who does.
At the end of the season everyone receives a trophy and a
certificate for a job well done.

It’s also a sport for old and young alike. My children are 4,7 and
9. The 4-year-old actually bowled the highest score of all three.
The bowling alley uses bumper guards for the inexperienced
bowlers and for the older children who don’t wish to use this
they provide lanes without the guards. The machines keep the
scores for you, so you can just sit back and enjoy watching and
cheering your children on. The alley also provided people to
help teach the children how to bowl. The children loved them
all. It’s helpful if you have some knowledge of how the game
works, but it’s not necessary. As with any homeschool project
you learn as they do.

The Apopka lanes will be providing a league three times a year.
One will start in the fall, around September, the next will be a
winter league starting sometime in April and the last will be a
shortened summer league starting at the end of June and
lasting for 10 weeks. And remember it’s air-conditioned for
those of us who don’t wish to sit in the sun! And there are no
practice games to go to. Everyone bowls the same day at the
same time so it’s only one trip out of the house.

I used to bowl in leagues when I was younger so it was easier
for me to be more excited about this sport because I used to
enjoy it so much. I encouraged a lot of people who had never
been before to try it and they were also hooked. We also got to
meet a lot of new people. People outside of our normal support
group. That was really a special part of the time. A lot of
bowling alleys offer a day when the bowling isn’t too expensive.
Call yours and see when that day is and try it to see if this is
something you think that you would like to invest in. You don’t
have to own any of your own equipment. The alley provides
everything. Just make sure you wear socks. This is not an
extremely strenuous sport so for those of us who are a little out
of shape it’s the perfect way to have fun without hurting the next
day.

I hope you give this a try. It’s an old sport just waiting to be
discovered and enjoyed again!

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IDEAS FOR SUMMER AND WRITING
by Marybeth Whalen
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SUMMER: I will probably begin our new school calendar in
June and then run it through the year until next June, taking lots
of breaks whenever we need it! I will count any summer
classes (our town offers some great ones through parks and
rec), the library reading incentive program. Barnes and Noble
is having a good incentive: read 8 books and pick a free one
from a list of 25! I will also count parts of their vacations. Their
grandmother is taking them to Yellowstone for 10 days and we
will go to the beach and try to include several field trips while
there (i.e.-- the aquarium, seeing a battleship, etc.) Plus we will
read about the ocean, shells, fish etc. to prepare for the trip. I
try to count as many things as "school" to meet my
requirements of days as I can! I use some of these summer
enrichment opportunities to accomplish that. I figure, hey, they
are learning! As far as the other summer stuff I have planned,
I sat down and scanned my records for projects and books, etc.
that I had plugged in but never gotten around to. I made a
page in my record book of "summer goals." So, we will be
trying to do some of those. I have planned to at least play a
game and read aloud to them every day. We have already
played some games and they have liked it. Suggestions
include, Money Matters for Kids, Build A Sentence (language
arts), Knock Out and Jelly Beans (math), and The Remembery
Game. The last game is a homemade game that a lady in our
support game made and sells. It is great for ANY drill you need
to do using flash cards. The good part is that each child playing
can use whatever they are working on to drill. One kid can be
working on addition, the other on alphabet recognition, etc. I
have used it with phonograms too. I will also use the summer
to read and plan ahead...

WRITING... a big topic for me right now... I have decided that
will be our main thrust this year after getting back his test
results! After MUCH research, I decided to go with
"Understanding Writing" by Susan Bradrick. She is a
homeschooling mom and that was/is my biggest requirement
for choosing a program. I like the program to be written by
someone who "gets it". I like this program because it has
everything for grades 1-12 in one large notebook. It also
includes grammar so you only need spelling and reading other
than this program. It is a bit pricey ($75) but small change
considering that it is for all your kids for all grades. It is also
broken into daily lesson plans so I like that, I need the discipline
and accountability that provides me! I got mine at our state
curriculum fair through Best Picks but you can also order it from
her directly. Other programs that I looked at were Writing
Strands, WIN A and B, Writing for God's Glory, Shurley
English, and Writing Power since we are using Spelling Power.
One more thing, when I had my son (age 9) tested the tester
said that he did not even know what a sentence is! I thought he
did!! So, we have been playing that game "Build a Sentence"
and that has been great -- in a very easy non-threatening
format they learn nouns, verbs, prepositional phrases,
subject/verb agreement, incomplete versus complete
sentences, etc. They also have a great time making silly
sentences!! I got my game at a used fair but I saw it in Alpha
Omega's catalog for $14.95. I highly recommend this one for
writing skills!

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A PORTFOLIO FOR MOM
by Angie Payne
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Thanks for the newsletter issue on reading. I am a bookaholic
too! We always need more bookshelves and I can't bear to part
with most books.

While I was thinking about what I have read this year, I had an
idea. Last year, I included in our portfolios a log of what the
teacher had read in relation to homeschooling, so why not a log
of pleasure reading as well? Then I got to thinking, "Why not
make my own portfolio?" I have thought about including a
history of myself, copies of high school and college diplomas,
reading lists, volunteer jobs and responsibilities, home school
seminars I have attended, etc. This way, if anyone ever
questions my ability to teach, I have something to impress them
with!

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DOWN SYNDROME WEB SITE
by Priscilla Kendrick
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I wanted to tell you about a Down Syndrome website we have
been working on. It's at
www.tbinet.org/einstein-syndrome/ This
is a different kind of website that is Christian and offers lots of
hope and encouragement. I have several articles on there that
I have written about having a child with a disability. I just
thought it might be a good resource to mention for those who
have or know of a child with DS. Thank you.

Priscilla Kendrick, Homeschooling mom of 9 including Evan, 5,
born with both Down Syndrome and Spina Bifida