Entries from May 2009 ↓

Wow—free access to the sildes on Level 2.  Wonder what it normally costs?

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Stop by every 1st and 3rd Wednesday for a peek into the world of spelling, punctuation, or grammar gone wrong!

This coming weekend—May 21-23, 2009—heralds two of the largest homeschooling conventions in the nation, one in Florida and the other in North Carolina. WriteShop will once again have a booth at each of these.

FPEA

Florida homeschoolers, especially if you live in the Orlando area, will not want to miss the fabulous Florida Parent Educators Association (FPEA) Convention at Rosen Shingle Creek.

NCHE

Likewise, if you live in North Carolina, you’ll want to attend the annual North Carolina Home Educators’ Convention (NCHE) in Winston-Salem.

This is the perfect time to stop by our booth 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
• Purchase WriteShop Primary Book A and see a preview lesson from Book B! 
• Learn how you can teach a WriteShop co-op class in your area.
• Receive much-needed encouragement about teaching writing.

Visit the convention sites for workshop schedule, exhibit hall hours, and directions to the conventions. See you there!

And check WriteShop’s convention schedule to see where we’ll be next!

Book B

WriteShop Primary Book B is coming!

It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted any WriteShop Primary news. (Actually, I’m embarrassed to say it’s been over a month since I posted just about anything. Read on and you’ll soon see why!)

We’re getting ready to begin an official countdown on the release of WriteShop Primary Book B, and we’re quite excited around here!

First, we’ve had an amazing group of homeschoolers beta testing the Book B lessons for us. We wrapped up the test period last month. Here’s what these moms are saying about the lessons:

“[My daughter] went from painfully writing 3-5 sentences to writing whole stories complete with beginning, middle, and ending. It even helped me not to be scared of writing.” –Andrea, CA

“Spelling improved. CONFIDENCE was a huge improvement. I had been dealing with the dreaded ‘I can’t’ and this program has helped them see ‘I CAN’! …A fantastic experience! –Cheryl, ON

“The difference in the length and complexity of [my son's] stories was astounding.” –Rebecca, CA 

Last-minute frenzy!

Right now we’re in the final editing and revising stage as we work with our dear editor friend, Sallie Borrink. As we polish up each lesson, we whisk it off to Sallie’s husband David, who did an absolutely fabulous job with the layout of WriteShop Primary Book A. He’s got a few new tricks up his sleeve for Book B, which has a few surprise components.

Meanwhile, it’s back to the drawing board for Deborah Thomson, our talented illustrator, as she turns our worksheet concepts into adorable, kid-friendly activity pages.

If all goes well and we don’t have too many wrenches tossed into the mix, we should be able to go to press by the first of June. Do I hear an amen?

What can you look forward to?

Here are some of the lessons you’ll enjoy with your first and second graders in Book B (though many of our test moms loved using the lessons with their reluctant older ones as well):

• Writing a Friendly Letter
• Standard Spelling
• Acrostics
• Poems and Nursery Rhymes
• Fairy Tales and Predictable Stories
• In the News
• Writing with Humor
• Problem and Solution
• Character and Setting
• Story Organizers

Keep watching for more info to come. Book B is just around the corner! In the meantime, visit our website for more about WriteShop Primary.

If you homeschool in the Dallas area, this weekend is the annual Home School Book Fair in nearby Arlington! 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 our booth (#603) 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
• Purchase WriteShop Primary Book A and see a preview lesson from Book B! 
• Learn how you can teach a WriteShop co-op class in your area.
• Receive much-needed encouragement about teaching writing.

Visit www.homeschoolbookfair.org for workshop schedule, exhibit hall hours, and directions to the Arlington Convention Center. At only $10 per person, don’t pass up this opportunity!

And check WriteShop’s convention schedule to see where we’ll be next!

Clearly, punctuation problems are a universal issue.  Not only was this ad professionally produced, it somehow slipped under the editing radar to boot. Too bad for Telecom. I’m sure they paid big bucks for that errant apostrophe!

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Stop by every 1st and 3rd Wednesday for a peek into the world of spelling, punctuation, or grammar gone wrong!