From the Desk of WriteShop

I’m excited to welcome Daniella Dautrich as a guest blogger today! 

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IS YOUR student a strong-willed writer? If you answered “yes,” these scenarios might ring a bell:

• As a preschooler, she would refuse help with coloring pages, unwilling to accept suggestions about “normal” color choices.
• She cries at the sight of red pencil corrections: “You wrote on my paper!”
• She becomes quickly disheartened if you suggest any changes to her writing.
• She is a perfectionist who wants to shine and excel in her work.

Guiding the Strong-Willed Writer

From childhood onward, I have been that strong-willed writer. My mother began homeschooling me when I was in second grade, and she quickly encountered childish tears and protests whenever she corrected my writing assignments.

When I entered high school, my parents enrolled me in Kim and Debbie’s WriteShop class, and the course was a perfect fit for my tenacious ways. When I went on to study American literature in college, my essential personality was blessedly unchanged. However, I carried with me those fundamental writing skills I first learned as a young high schooler.

Your strong-willed child is who she is, and you cannot change that about her. You can, however, guide her into a mastery of writing skills. Speaking from experience, I offer four teaching tools for more effective—and, I hope, more enjoyable—writing instruction:

1. Teach self-editing skills.

Checklists are invaluable tools for teaching self-editing. Instead of giving your student red-pencil corrections, give a checklist with reminders about strong nouns, colorful adjectives, various sentence starters, minimal “to be” verbs, etc. It diffuses emotion when she holds her paper accountable to a list of lesson requirements instead of weighing it against her own subjective expectations.

WriteShop is an excellent curriculum for teaching self-editing skills.

2. Commend her efforts and praise her successes.

You’ll probably feel some frustration when a strong-willed child sees every writing assignment as a performance, with more ecstatic highs and devastating lows than the average homeschool is fit to bear.

While others are satisfied to take directions, your student wants to be original and take the lead, so be sure to point out the positive aspects of both her writing and personality.

“Your word choices are excellent.” 
“You really captured the emotion of that experience!” 
“I love how you think outside the box. Your creative ending totally took me by surprise!”

3. Focus on incremental writing corrections.

Don’t overhaul her first draft. Instead, address errors bit by bit. For example, during the first week you might say: “I can spot three repeated words, five weak nouns, and four dull verbs in your paragraph.” Armed with tools such as word lists and a thesaurus, your student can identify the problem words and make the changes. 

Once she’s addressed those specific issues, you might turn your focus the next week to spelling and punctuation. Review her writing and say: “I can see five misspelled words, one comma error, and two misplaced apostrophes.” Again, let her find the mistakes and make the corrections.

All the while, try to keep the editing process light-hearted. See if you can make it a game!

4. Challenge your student to imitate great writing.

Remember, Ben Franklin taught himself to write by studying and imitating great books. Samuel Johnson, who compiled the first English dictionary, likewise believed that fine written expression could only be acquired by “daily imitation” of the best authors.

When you give your students writing instruction, set aside time to examine a passage from a great book. Ask your child, “What sentence starters does the author use? Where does he place commas, periods, and quotation marks?” Copywork and dictation exercises, such as those used to supplement WriteShop I, are useful for reinforcing this learning experience.

Each of these correction strategies will teach your student to think independently and solve problems creatively. This, in turn, will prepare her for the kind of self-directed study that becomes essential in higher education. If she emotionally connects and personally identifies with her own writing, so much the better! She will likely be able to engage topics and make persuasive arguments in later fields of study.

When you approach a new writing assignment, your job as teacher is to provide the right tools and vocabulary. Remember that your child has strong ideas and convictions, and she is already motivated to express those thoughts in her own terms.

Thanks to Daniella Dautrich for joining us as a guest blogger. Daniella is a homeschool graduate and WriteShop alumna. A happily married writer and homemaker, she blogs at www.waterlilywriter.wordpress.com.

If you homeschool in the Dallas area, the annual Home School Book Fair is coming this weekend to nearby Arlington May 11-12, 2012! With great speakers and all sorts of curriculum exhibitors, you won’t want to miss this extra-special conference!

This is a perfect time to stop by to see us at Booth #605 to ask questions, see what’s new, or browse through WriteShop books in person.

At the convention you can:

• See our full line of WriteShop products, including the popular WriteShop Primary.
• Take a peek at our brand-new WriteShop Junior series.
• Browse our writing and grammar supplements.
• Learn how you can teach a WriteShop co-op class in your area.
• Receive much-needed encouragement about teaching writing.

At only $20 per person at the door, this is one of the most affordable homeschool conferences in the country! For workshop schedule, exhibit hall hours, and directions to the Arlington Convention Center, visit www.homeschoolbookfair.org.

Attend Kim Kautzer’s workshop

Kim is a featured speaker at the Arlington Book Fair.

You won’t want to miss her Saturday workshop, Gone Fishing: Tips and Ideas to Motivate Young Writers.

“What’s the secret to raising enthusiastic writers? Hook them while they’re young with fun, appealing activities that teach foundational writing skills. Kim will share engaging pre-writing games, clever brainstorming ideas, and creative publishing projects that will make your K-6th graders eager to write and proud to be published!”

See you there!

MOTHER’S DAY is right around the corner. Time for breakfast in bed, roses, homemade cards, and extra snuggles!

There’s just one teeny-weeny problem: unless your children are self-motivated (or Dad’s on the ball), you may find yourself pouring your own orange juice, quietly weeping into the pancake batter, and emailing yourself a sappy e-card to mark the occasion!

Instead, be proactive and ask your children to write or create something special for you for Mother’s Day. Whether it’s a letter, essay, card, poem, or simple crafty gift, it will bring you joy to bask in your children’s sentiments on your special day!

Mother’s Day Writing Prompts

Journaling about Mother’s Day can help your kids focus on the important role of motherhood. Whether they write about special times you’ve shared together or ways you show love to your family, your kids may gain a better appreciation of what it means to be a mom.

Type up, print, and cut out the following prompts. Tell your children how much you love getting special notes and letters from them, and invite them to choose the prompt(s) they want to write about. Make craft supplies and fancy paper available in case they also want to create a card. 

Prompt Ideas

• Tell why you love your mom.
• Explain how you know your mom loves you.
• Tell how you know your mother loves being a mom.
• Write about some important things you have learned from your mom.
• What are some things you can do to make your mom’s life easier?
• What do you think is the hardest part about being a mom?
• If you could give your mom anything in the world for Mother’s Day, what would it be?
• Describe something that made your mom really happy.
• Write about five things a good mom must do.
• How can you tell when your mom is proud of you?
• Write a list of 10 things you appreciate about your mom.
• What are three of your favorite things about your mom? Write about them.
• Why is it important to celebrate your mom with her own special day?
• Write a prayer thanking God for the things that make your mother special.

Mother’s Day Poems

• Write a cinquain or haiku poem about mothers (or about your mom).
• Write an acrostic poem about your mom using the letters in the word “MOTHER.” Older kids might enjoy the challenge of using all the letters in “HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY,” while younger ones can write a simpler acrostic using “MOM” or “LOVE.”
• Ask a young child to think of words that describe you (soft, huggable, kind, loving, beautiful, warm, friendly). Then have her compare some of those traits to familiar things. For example, she might say, “Mommy is as soft as a marshmallow.” Help her create a simile poem like this one:

Mommy is as sweet as _______.
Mommy is as gentle as _______.
Mommy is as huggable as _______.
My mommy is ________.

Mother’s Day Cards and Crafts

I realize it may be hard to actually ask your kids to make you a Mother’s Day card or gift, but maybe you can hint to your husband or teen to organize younger children to make one of these fun crafts!

• Wheel of Affection
• Fingerprint Cards
• Craft Stick Photo Frame
• Hot Chocolate in a Jar
• Easy Handprint Coaster

No matter how your family celebrates you, I pray each of my mom friends enjoys a special Mother’s Day surrounded by those you love the most.

. . . . .

Your Turn

What was your most memorable Mother’s Day? OR, what is the most special Mother’s Day gift you’ve received?

“Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book.” ~Author Unknown

A Friendship with Books

I can’t remember my life without books, but this much I do know: my love for reading started young. My parents often told me they could hear me turning pages in the dark as I sat in my crib as a baby.

As for actually learning to read, I don’t remember a process. One day, it seemed, it just … happened. I was reading.

I must have been five or six, shortly before we moved back to the States from our four years in Mexico City.

Back when Hawaii was still a U.S. territory and Thailand was called Siam, I would curl up on my bed to learn about Wilhelmina of Holland, Kala of Hawaii, Ching Ling and Ting Ling of China, and other Children of Foreign Lands.

Mother Goose was a dear companion, and I read my book of nursery rhymes till it fell apart. But my earliest reading memory finds me sitting on my bedroom floor in the company of Wanda Gág’s Millions of Cats, with its red and yellow cover, hand-lettered text, folk-art illustrations, and familiar refrain:

Cats here, cats there,
Cats and kittens everywhere,
Hundreds of cats,
Thousands of cats,
Millions and billions and trillions of cats.

To this day, it remains my very favorite picture book.

That was merely the beginning. From there, I solved mysteries with The Bobbsey Twins and Nancy Drew, enjoyed the innocent charms of small-town childhood with Carolyn Haywood’s Betsy, and ventured into the world of trolls and princesses in The Blue Fairy Book.

I traveled with the Ingalls family in covered wagons, floated on pink feather-clouds with Betsy and Tacy, and learned about regional America through Lois Lenski’s charming stories.

Always eager to re-read old favorites, I fairly wore out my copies of Heidi, Caddie Woodlawn, Charlotte’s Web, and Black Beauty. My open-minded (but non-religious) parents even bought me a Children’s Bible, my first introduction to Jesus, with his kind eyes and flowing blue robe.

Passing the Torch

The librarian and I were fast friends, and nothing gave me more pleasure than strolling my young babysitting charges to that wonderful place for their first library card.

As a young mom, I enrolled my toddler in a monthly book club, which exposed us to new favorites such as Ping and A Year at Maple Hill Farm.

Reading was a huge part of our homeschooling, too. My girls followed immediately in my footsteps, becoming voracious readers early on. Spurred on by our unit studies, we would check out dozens of library books at a time. I loved introducing them to many of my old friends, even as together we discovered a wealth of books I’d never read before.

Books have never been far from my children’s reach! Our son, a late bloomer, began to enjoy reading upon discovering Nate the Great. Eventually, he came to count The Great Brain and The Chronicles of Narnia series among his own favorites.

One of my fondest memories is of my middle daughter perched high in the branches of our white alder, engrossed in Little Women.

And when our eldest suffered a serious leg fracture at age 11—and middle-of-the-night pain woke her in tears—her daddy would read Call of the Wild to her on her makeshift bed downstairs till she would once again drift off to sleep.

I’m so glad their early reading roots pushed deep into the fertile soil of excellent children’s literature. Today, their adult reading tastes vary widely from classical to contemporary, but readers they remain. It’s fun to watch my grandchildren enjoying that fruit, too.

As Charles W. Eliot once wrote:

“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.”

This week marks Children’s Book Week. I hope you’ll take time in your homes to celebrate by reading favorite children’s books—together and individually, and this list of the Top 100 Children’s Books of All Time a great place to start!

Your Turn

Share a childhood memory about books and reading. Or, list a few of your own favorite children’s books!

Alvina Lopez joins me today as a guest blogger here at In Our Write Minds. Alvina writes for accredited online colleges.

ONE OF THE most difficult aspects of writing is perfecting the art of description—the thing that really brings a scene, image, character, or feeling alive within a piece of writing.

While younger children often love using imaginative language, many struggle to find the most appropriate and engaging words to put down on paper. One of the best ways to engage students in descriptive and imaginative language is through the use of the five senses.

Try out this fun and simple lesson to help your students experiment with descriptive language that is unique and full of life and movement.

1. Discuss the Senses

It is through our five senses that we experience the world around us. Discuss with your students what the senses are and how they work. List the five senses and invite them to come up with examples of descriptive words within each sense category.

• Talk about sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste.
• Collect words from your students that fall within each category. They will likely suggest that something can look pretty or ugly, sound loud or quiet, feel hard or soft, smell good or bad, taste yummy or nasty.
• This is a great way to help them identify weak, unimaginative descriptions.

Talk about why it is difficult to come up with sensory words in this manner: Writing with your senses means you have to really take the time to see, hear, feel, smell, or taste what you are trying to write about. If you can’t experience the subject at hand with all your senses when you are writing about it, then your readers certainly won’t be able to either.

2. Experience the Senses

This is where the lesson gets interesting and fun. Gather objects your students can experience with each of their senses:

• Sweet, salty, sour, or bitter foods for them to taste
• Objects that are interesting to touch
• Noise-making items to listen to
• Fragrant or aromatic things to smell
• Objects that are colorful and interesting to look at

Let’s say you gathered some Silly Putty, a fork, and a sharp rock to help them experience their sense of touch. Hide the items in a bag or box. Have your children take turns closing their eyes, reaching into the bag, and feeling an item. Remind them to focus on only one sense at a time (in this case, touch).

It’s important that they only describe how the object feels (hard, sharp, pointed, cold, smooth), not what it is used for (you stab food with it). This will help focus their senses on the subject, and it will narrow their descriptive language to really pinpoint the attributes of that item. If extra help is needed, they may use word banks or a thesaurus.

Next, hide a bell, rattle, squeaky cat toy, or other noisemaking objects in a box or bag. Have students close their eyes as you produce each sound, and then make a list together of specific words to describe it.

Repeat this exercise with the other items you’ve collected to help them explore the other senses. Help them really zero in on one sense at a time. You and your students will be surprised and excited by the descriptive language they come up with for each of the senses, such as fluffy, icy, pliable, jagged, papery, leathery, or slick.

3. Use Descriptive Language in Writing

Once your students have recorded all of their sensory words and phrases, have them compare this list with the list they made at the very beginning.

Open up a conversation about why the second collection of words contains stronger, more descriptive language. Your students will surely explain that they were able to actually feel, see, or smell the thing they were writing about, so it was easier to come up with more concrete, specific words like downy or silky instead of just plain soft.

This is the lesson: If you can’t picture what you are describing in your writing, neither can your reader.

Now that the students have a collection of interesting, concrete words to draw from, invite them to create a poem or story containing descriptive language. What a fun and engaging way to help students “feel” their writing to create more illuminating poetry or prose!

Thanks to Alvina Lopez for joining us as a guest blogger. Alvina is a freelance writer and blog junkie who blogs about accredited online colleges. She welcomes your comments by email at alvina.lopez @gmail.com. 

MANY OF YOU have children who are pre-writers. Their busy young minds are bursting with ideas, and their often-hilarious stories and ideas pour forth to the amazement—and amusement—of friends and family.

But since they can’t write yet, what happens to these little tales? We think we’ll always remember them, but before we know it, our children’s words have floated away on the breeze.

What do you do when young age, immaturity, or lack of skill with a pencil prevents your littles from recording their own brilliant thoughts? Simple! Act as their scribe as they narrate to you.

Here are five fun activities to get you started:

1. Illustrating a Story

As your child dictates a sentence or a short story to you, write it at the bottom of a large sheet of paper. Next, have him draw or paint a picture at the top of the page to illustrate it.

Alternatively, have him create his picture first, and then ask him to tell you a story about his work of art. Write it beneath the illustration.

2. Retelling

A young or reluctant writer may feel more comfortable retelling a familiar story than trying to plan an original story of her own.

Read a paragraph or short book or excerpt to your child. Have her orally tell the story back to you in her own words. Help her by asking questions (Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?).

As she narrates her story, write it down word-for-word. Sometimes she will give such a mature-sounding narrative that the only thing to remind you of her young age will be words like “catched” or “brang.” Not only will you have recorded her story, you will have a treasured memory of her early speech habits!

3. Narrating a Wordless Book

Using a wordless picture book, your child can make up a story either orally or in writing to accompany the illustrations. Consider some of these:

• Good Night, Gorilla
• Trainstop
• The Red Book (Caldecott Honor Book)
• Rainstorm
• A Boy, a Dog, and a Frog
• The Lion & the Mouse
• Wave
• Good Dog, Carl
• Pancakes for Breakfast

4. Narrating into a Recording Device

Let your child narrate his account into a tape recorder or digital recording device. When his writing skills have developed sufficiently (perhaps by 2nd-4th grade), you may want to have him write his story from dictation. He can stop and start the recording as he writes his own words on paper.

5. Narrating Letters

Your child can dictate letters to friends or relatives, greetings to missionaries, thank-you notes, etc. If she is old enough, correct grammar and spelling with her and let her recopy the letter in her own writing. To apply this to your schooling, she may write a letter about a field trip she took, a book she read (or you read to her), or an exciting science experiment you did together.

What are the benefits of these simple exercises?

• They teach young children important skills such as retelling a story, observing their world, and organizing their ideas.
• They boost confidence and pave the way for later writing.
• Early writers can share the pencil with you, dictating what they cannot write by themselves.
• Reluctant writers experience the freedom to put together ideas without the limitations and fear of having to write them down.
• Often, a child’s speaking vocabulary is more advanced than his ability to write. You may find that even your older children’s stories are more colorful and descriptive when they dictate them to you from time to time.

Why not try a narration activity today? You might just open up a whole new world of words for your pre-writer!

Your Turn

What are some of your favorite ways to incorporate narration into your schooling?

TOMORROW IS April 26, and that means it’s the fabulous Poem in Your Pocket Day!

The idea is simple: select a poem you love during National Poetry Month then carry it with you to share with co-workers, family, and friends on April 26. “Poems from pockets will be unfolded throughout the day with events in parks, libraries, schools, workplaces, and bookstores. ~Poet.org

Ideas to Try

I love these little-known but oh-so-celebratory holidays, and there are many clever ways to embrace Poem in Your Pocket Day! With a little bit of simple preparation today, you’ll be all set to celebrate tomorrow.

• Keep a short poem in your pocket. Look at it often and memorize it.
• Type up and print some favorite poems and pass them out in your community.
• Distribute bookmarks with your favorite immortal lines.
• Post a poem on your blog or social networking page.
• Add a poem to your email footer.
• Text a poem to friends.
• Tweet a poem using the hashtag #pocketpoem.

SHARE! What poem will you keep in your pocket on April 26?

AS WE continue celebrating National Poetry Month, I’d like to share a few more great (and free) online resources with you.

Poetry Links

Poetry-Writing Workshop with Karla Kuskin – Children’s poet Karla Kuskin helps children turn their words and ideas into descriptive and powerful poems.

Ms. Kuskin includes writing tips that she uses when she writes her own poems, as well as ideas children can use to revise their work.

10 Compelling Reasons to Memorize Poetry – Memorizing a poem can be one of the most fulfilling and fun ways to explore poetry.

10 Classic Poems - Some of the world’s most popular classic poems

Poetry Foundation – Browse for poems by title, poet, or subject matter such as ”Animals” or “Stars, Planets, Heavens” (both found in the Nature category).

Poetry in Homeschool - Need help incorporating poetry into your homeschooling? Jimmie of Jimmie’s Collage shares ideas, resources, and links.

Poetry-writing Tips for Children (or anyone!) – Plus a bonus list of 20 poetry anthologies to browse

Interactive Word Mover - Using this online too that’s similar to magnetic words, children can move individual words around to create original poems.

Poetry + Letter Writing = Fun

Not only is April National Poetry Month, it’s aslo National Card and Letter-Writing Month! Here are two ideas for incorporating poetry and letter writing.

Write a Letter to a Poet - Let the poets who you are reading know that you appreciate their work by sending them a letter.

Put a Poem in a Letter – Next time you send a letter or holiday hello, treat the addressee to a poem as well. You can put a poem directly into the text of your letter or include a typed or handwritten copy in the envelope.

Your Turn

Have you ever memorized a poem? What is one of your favorites?

Spring is…

• brand-new baby birds
• beautiful blossoms and blooms
• curriculum conferences
• decluttering and deep-cleaning
• planning and purchasing
• special spring savings for our spectacular supporters

Have you been thinking about ordering for next year? From now until April 30th, you can save 15% on your order from the WriteShop store using the coupon code SPRING15 at checkout.

WriteShop products for every age

The last week in April is going to be busy yet rewarding! If you are attending the SHEM homeschool convention in Springfield, Missouri, I’ll have six sessions packed with tips and encouragement for teaching writing. Please stop by and say hello!

WriteShop is also sponsoring three bloggers who will be attending the 2:1 homeschool blogging conference. If you will be at the conference, be sure to see Stephanie, Shay, or  Maureen for a WriteShop special just for 2:1 attendees!

Did you know that WriteShop has a booth at the Virtual Homeschool Convention? Unlike other conventions, this one is open 24/7, and you can attend without leaving home. Peruse the shelves and learn what our writing curriculum has to offer your homeschool.

CONTENT, style, and mechanics all play an important role in creating a strong essay, story, report, or article.

When we communicate on paper:

• Our goal is to be thorough, accurate, concise, and concrete.
• Our writing needs to flow well and make sense.
• We have to guard against misspellings and sloppy grammar, which can distract the reader and dilute our message.

Writers have dozens—even hundreds—of tips and tools at their disposal to make this process easier and improve chances for success. From time to time, I pick different ones to help you or your students plan, write, or edit more effectively. Here are six tips to try out:

1. Brainstorm Before Writing

The purpose of brainstorming is to plan ideas and jot down details to jumpstart your writing. Brainstorming can take many forms, including clustering, mind-mapping, lists, grids, and formal graphic organizers.

Instead of writing full sentences, it’s better to make lists of words and short phrases. Later, as you refer to your brainstorming sheet during writing time, your list of concrete words and other details will jog your memory and keep your writing from taking tangents. Brainstorming keeps you on track.

2. Use Different Kinds of Sentences

Try a combination of simple, compound, and complex sentences to add variety and improve the style of your writing. Here’s a helpful quiz on sentence types.

3. Choose Strong Words

Vivid, active, colorful words have the power to paint clear mental pictures and stir the reader’s emotions. When dull, vague, or overly used words clutter up your writing, replace them with stronger, more precise ones.

Dull: Isabella made a nice dessert.
Interesting: Isabella whipped up a rich chocolate mousse.

Watch out for boring words such as fine, nice, or good. Is it a good book, good friend, or good weather? Then express it more specifically.

riveting book, faithful friend, balmy weather

Avoid vague verbs such as cried, said, or went in favor of concrete ones:

The orphan sobbed, wailed, or wept.
Dr. Cooper ordered, whispered, or agreed.
The horse galloped, trotted, or raced.

Check to see that you haven’t repeated main words too many times, using your thesaurus to find appropriate synonyms.

Finally, when picking the best words for saying what you mean, don’t choose them based on how long they are or how clever they make you sound. Otherwise, you run the risk of sounding pompous or stuffy.

4. Include Subordinating Conjunctions

Sentence variations can add interest and maturity to any piece of writing. Using subordinating conjunctions is just one way to vary sentence structure, often by combining sentences like these together:

I shop frugally. 
I save several hundred dollars each month.

Example 1: When the subordinating conjunction begins the sentence, a comma follows the dependent clause.

Because I shop frugally, I save several hundred dollars each month.

Example 2: When a dependent clause beginning with a subordinating conjunction comes at the end of the sentence, don’t separate the two clauses with a comma.

I save several hundred dollars each month because I shop frugally.

Either way, you can see how using because to combine two short sentences results in a single but more interesting sentence.

If the term or concept is new to you or your students, you may find it helpful to print out a list of subordinating conjunctions.

5.  Watch Out for Misplaced Modifiers

Avoid pesky misplaced modifiers—phrases or clauses placed near the wrong noun. Make sure to position a modifier close to the word or phrase it should modify to avoid confusion.

Incorrect: Hiking along the overgrown path, a tree stump tripped Fernie. 

Why is this wrong? Because the sentence implies that the tree stump was hiking along the path!

Correct: Hiking along the overgrown path, Fernie tripped over a tree stump.

6. Revise Everything

Everyone’s writing improves with editing, so no matter how great you think your article or story is, let it breathe for a day and then scrutinize it for clarity, conciseness, concreteness, and errors.

Your Turn 

What’s your favorite writing tip?

Creative Commons photo by Claudio Gennari, courtesy of Flickr.