From the Desk of WriteShop
May 14th, 2008 — Grammar
Jane Straus, author of The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation, is back as a guest at our blog. Today, Jane has stopped in to give us some practical writing tips. Jane says:
“Let’s see if we can help you become a more effective writer by learning some tricks of the trade. These are stylistic ideas that can turn a dull letter or report into an intriguing one.” Continue reading →
May 13th, 2008 — Elementary Ages, Kim's blog, WriteShop Primary, Writing Games & Activities
If the Gathering of Adjectives game seems too advanced for your K-2nd graders, you may enjoy using this simplified adjective-building activity with them from WriteShop Primary Book C.
First, cut out about a dozen 3-inch circles from construction paper to make a Willy Worm Word Wall. Tape the circles together in a row to form a worm. Mount the worm on a wall or place it on a countertop. Draw a smiley face on the first circle to represent the worm’s face. On the first three blank circles, write various describing words (adjectives), one word per circle. Use words such as small, fast, yellow, soft, or bumpy. Continue reading →
May 12th, 2008 — Elementary Ages, Junior High, Kim's blog, Writing Across the Curriculum, Writing Games & Activities
When we were homeschooling, I absolutely loved writing across the curriculum with my kiddos. It was such a natural way for them to write about the very things we were studying for history, geography, or science.
I’m excited to share one of our family’s favorite writing exercises—journaling with a twist—where kids write first-person diary entries as if they were someone (or something!) else. This is a great activity for kids of all ages—kindergarten through high school, pre-writers or prolific, reluctant or motivated. Continue reading →
May 9th, 2008 — Kim's blog, Writing Games & Activities
A couple of days ago I talked about the importance of helping your children develop their writing vocabularies through the use of writing games and word banks. Here’s an activity that serves both purposes: It’s a vocabulary-building game that helps your kids create word lists of their own—specifically, a gathering of adjectives. You can play this game with students of all ages. Continue reading →
May 8th, 2008 — Announcements, Kim's blog
May 7th, 2008 — Elementary Ages, Junior High, Kim's blog, Writing Games & Activities
A student who writes from a rich supply of words learns to express herself exactly as she intends. At the same time, she makes way for her reader to understand subtle shades of meaning.
Word banks are such great tools for helping kids expand their writing vocabulary. When a student is tempted to reuse a familiar word because she can’t think of any others, a word bank can prove helpful by reminding her of alternative words she already knows but can’t quite pluck from the edges of her mind. Continue reading →
May 6th, 2008 — Articles, Editing & Revising, Encouragement, Kim's blog
If you’re stopping by during today’s Carnival of Homeschooling, welcome! I’ll be talking about everyone’s favorite task—editing. What? It’s not your favorite homeschooling activity EVER? Then read on . . .
To most parents, the new and often unfamiliar process of editing and evaluating your student’s writing seems like an overwhelming, subjective effort. Apart from plucking a B+ out of the sky “because it’s not quite an A,” what can a non-English major homeschooling mom do to make editing and grading more objective? Continue reading →
May 5th, 2008 — Articles, Kim's blog, WriteShop
In Part 1 of our story, Debbie and I discovered that our plans for teaching our first writing class were very nearly doomed. Now for Part 2 . . .
It wasn’t just our own boys whose efforts cried out for help—every student in the group struggled at some level. So we canceled class for two weeks, scrapped the lesson plans we had so carefully crafted over the summer, and started from scratch. We had made a commitment to these parents, but clearly we needed to take a detour. Continue reading →
May 2nd, 2008 — Reviews, WriteShop, WriteShop Primary
I’ve been storing a mountain of emails in one of my Outlook folders—comments and testimonials from happy WriteShop users. Our brochures and website only have so much room for snippets like these, so I thought I’d give a voice to these dear moms and co-op teachers who took the time to brighten our day. Hope they encourage you, too! Continue reading →
May 1st, 2008 — Interviews, Reluctant Writers, Resources & Links
You will LOVE meeting Molly Fox! This young entrepreneur created a fantastic website, HomeschoolWriters.com, featuring a one-stop shop for dozens of writing contests for homeschool students.
I’m so glad you joined me today for this very special interview with Molly (pictured right). And once you’ve seen her thoughtful and articulate answers and visited her website, you’ll find it hard to believe she’s just eleven years old!
So pull up a comfy chair, grab a cup of cocoa, and come along with me to meet this extraordinary young lady!
Kim: Welcome, Molly! I’m looking forward to our interview today. First, I’d love to hear how you decided to launch a website centered on writing contests. Continue reading →
