When I was a young homeschool mom (back in the days of dinosaurs, and just before the Model T and home computers), I had limited sources for support and resources:

1. A close-knit circle of homeschooling friends
2. My homeschool support group
3. Our annual homeschool convention
4. A small handful of local curriculum stores and catalog companies
5. The public library

Today’s homeschoolers have so much more at their disposal! With the advent of the Internet, the world has become a smaller place. Now, with the click of a mouse or the swipe of a finger, homeschool moms can access articles, experts, discussion forums, online stores, virtual conventions, product reviews, e-books, apps, and printable downloads.

And blogs. Blog upon wonderful blog.

There’s really nothing quite like the homeschool blogging community, “which puts so much inspiration and so many great ideas right at your fingertips, without ever leaving the comfort of your home.” ~Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers

The homeschool-mom blogosphere has exploded.

Not only are there tons of amazing blogs, both established and emerging, there are now blogging conferences such as Relevant and the 2:1 Conference.

These conferences refresh, inspire, challenge, and equip women to become more successful bloggers as they tell their stories and share their journeys, lives, and faith.

Though next month marks the 4th anniversary of my own blog—In Our Write Minds, I’m excited to dip my toes in some new water as WriteShop helps sponsor three sweet bloggers who will be attending the 2:1 Conference in April.

Want to meet them?

Maureen of Spell Outloud homeschools her six children. I love her blog! It’s loaded with ideas and projects, free printables, helpful articles, loads of activities for preschoolers, and curriculum reviews and giveaways.

Stephanie blogs at Bowmania. She’s mama to five kiddos, including a new baby. She blogs about family, homeschooling, and life in the trenches (her family lost their house to a fire last year). Stephanie also does book reviews and giveaways.

You’ll find Shay blogging at Wonderfully Chaotic. A mom of two with diverse talents and interests that range from homeschooling to home birthing, Shay writes with refreshing honesty.

Please visit their blogs! I pray that the 2:1 Conference meets each of these women in a specific and fresh way. I’m excited to watch them continue to grow as writers, and I know I’ll learn a thing or two from them as well.

~Kim

The children who are beta testing the upcoming WriteShop Junior series have been learning about the writing process:

• Brainstorming
• Rough draft
• Editing and revising
• Final draft

They’ve enjoyed watching our book covers go through this process too, and it’s helped them realize that everything worth doing takes time.

So let’s follow our talented artist, Deborah Thomson, as she designs a book cover for us!

Brainstorming

At the initial concept stage, we toss around ideas and settle on a “woodland animals” theme. Deborah throws together some sketches.

The characters are cute! But they’re also a little young for our target age. So we talk about tweaking the drawings so that they’re more suitable for older elementary ages.

Mixed Reviews

The reviews are mixed. Some of our test families love the sketches, others think they’re still too young-looking. We talk with Deborah about creating characters that reflect some of the genres we’re teaching, and she goes back to the drawing board.

Rough Draft

The excitement is starting to build! The animals have taken on an older look. There’s detective rabbit for our mystery theme. And a mad-scientist goose for our science fiction theme. We’re ready for more feedback, so we run these by the families who are beta testing WriteShop Junior.

The verdict? We’re getting warmer! It’s time for a concept cover!

Editing and Revising

Final Draft

Bingo! We have a winner! We give Deborah the go-ahead and she creates the full-color final cover for WriteShop Junior Book F (the third book in our series).

And here’s a peek at the cover for Book D.

And Book E!

I’m wild about our new book covers! Aren’t you?

We would love to publish the first book, WriteShop Junior Book D, within the next couple of months. Praying every detail falls into place!

Do you ever wonder if your writing makes a difference?

As I blog about teaching writing, the thought crosses my mind from time to time: Do I offer anything of substance to weary homeschooling moms of reluctant writers? Do my tips and ideas bring encouragement and fresh insight? Am I making a difference at all?

This morning, I learned about Musings of a Housewife Jo-Lynne’s 2010 Blog Recap Carnival and decided to take up the challenge. As I copied and pasted the first line from each post, I came away confident that my words do matter, and In Our Write Minds does have an impact within my little sphere of influence.

So . . . on this first Monday of 2011, let’s recap the first blog post of each month during 2010 (or the second post, if the first one was a contest or promotion). I’m hoping you’ll find a nugget of encouragement along the way.

~Kim

January

Sometimes, your teen’s opposition to writing has nothing at all to do with laziness, procrastination, perfectionism, or confidence—and everything to do with relevance.

February

No matter the curriculum, whether math, penmanship, or writing, picking the best starting level for your child can challenge the most seasoned homeschooler—especially when said child doesn’t exactly fit a grade-specific mold.

March

Every single day, almost without fail, the poetry lessons draw more folks to this blog than any other article (with the two most frequently accessed posts being Writing a Diamante Poem and Cinquain Poetry). 

April

Concreteness transports us into a story like nothing else.

May

I love the deliciousness of certain words—the way something as ordinary as chocolate can take on an entire new personality when dressed up with adjectives like warm, rich, thick, gooey, chilled, creamy, or frothy.

June

“Summertime … and the livin’ is easy.”

July

The 4th of July is right around the corner, and if you’re looking for some writing activities to occupy your children in preparation for celebrating Independence Day, this jam-packed, colorful, patriotic word list is sure to inspire some great stories.

August

When assigning writing to your children, you don’t always have to reinvent the wheel with a brand-new lesson.

September

In generaral, I hope his concrete work is better than his spelling.

October

I hear it all the time: We’re having self-editing issues.

November

Do your older children have a hard time thinking of what to give a younger sibling for a birthday or Christmas gift?

December

Your on? Wow. I’m struck dumb every time I see a sign or ad like this.

new adj.

original

unspoiled

novel

fresh

unfamiliar

cutting-edge

improved

untouched

pristeen

unused

beckoning

untried

refreshed

. . . . .

Happy New Year! May 2011 be the best and brightest for you and yours.

~Kim

thank · ful  adj.

appreciative

grateful

content

beholden

indebted

cheerful

obliged

satisfied

overwhelmed

at peace

pleased

glad

comfortable

Monday.
Overflowing-inbox Monday.
Piles-of-laundry Monday.
Rainy, drizzly, mountains-shrouded-in-fog Monday.
You’ve-been-nominated-for-a-blog-award Monday.

Yes! 

Just when Monday was threatening to overtake me by storm, I learned that In Our Write Minds has been nominated for a 2010 Homeschool Blog Award in the “Best Curriculum and Business Blog” category.

I’m humbled and thrilled at the same time!

If my blog has blessed or encouraged you this past year, I’d be honored to have your vote. Voting ends November 18.

~Kim

A couple of weeks ago, I posed a question at the WriteShop Facebook page: What is YOUR favorite part of the writing process—brainstorming for ideas, writing the rough draft, or self-editing and revising? The responses were pretty evenly divided.

• Rough draft….I get to be sloppy!!!!!
• Rough draft – definitely
• A completely finished final draft!
• My favorite part is self-editing and revising.
• Brainstorming
• I like the editing and revising part, the polishing and refining. I have such a hard time with the idea of a “completely finished” final draft…. I have to work on that perfectionism and being able to say “This is good, and ‘good’ is good enough.”
• I love the creativity and freedom of the rough draft.
• Definitely the brainstorming and research! I could do it for weeks!

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a lot like spilling out a box of puzzle pieces, finding the edges, and hunting for a few particular colors and shapes. All the parts are there, and you’re working on the framework and key elements, but the main picture is still a big blank.

Those who favor the brainstorming stage love watching an idea begin to emerge. They find joy in the initial bursts of inspiration and creativity, knowing they can sort and organize later.

During brainstorming, you toss out ideas—all kinds of ideas! Some will end up sticking while others will fall by the wayside. Ample brainstorming helps reduce writer’s block by giving you something to say when it’s time to write.

Rough Draft

Writing a rough draft reminds me of shaping a vessel out of clay. You have a sense of what you want to make, and now you’re going to jump in and start creating.

The rough draft is the favorite of those who enjoy watching their story or essay begin to unfold. They love getting started. They love the imperfection. They love playing with ideas and watching them take shape. And they love knowing their best work is yet to come!

This is the time to begin herding those random brainstorming ideas into formation. I like to call the first draft a “sloppy copy” because it gives the writer permission not to be perfect the first time.

Karen emailed me to share how this revolutionized their homeschool writing:

My son hates writing assignments … because he puts so much pressure on himself to be perfect. The phrase “sloppy copy” instead of “first draft” is the breakthrough we’ve been needing. In his mind the assignment is now to make a sloppy copy; therefore he HAS to include errors or he would not be fulfilling the assignment.

Self-Editing and Revising

Once the ideas have begun to form on paper, the tweaking begins. The writer replaces dull or repeated words and ideas, reduces clutter, cuts off rabbit trails, and focuses on polishing the writing.

Like a stream, writing is a fluid entity. Replacing a word, altering a phrase, moving a sentence—these are like adding rocks or removing log jams to redirect the flow of the stream. With even the simplest, most subtle movement, a writer has the ability to alter the direction of the composition. It’s a powerful, beautiful thing.

Editing and revising happen to be my favorite part of the writing process. I just love watching my early ideas find their groove!

What’s your favorite part of writing?

A Success Story

I love hearing from students who have found success in school and life. Recently, I received an announcement in the mail from one of my former WriteShop I students (also a homeschool grad), who graduated summa cum laude from Gordon College.

Along with the announcement, Kaeli included a copy of an essay she had written for a grad school application—an essay limited to just 300 words. The irony of this little requirement didn’t escape either of us, for brevity was never her forte, and was in fact the very fly in her WriteShop ointment.

Back in our WriteShop days, restricting this enthusiastic writer to a single five- to seven-word paragraph was practically the same as torture. More than once she pleaded for eight sentences. More than once she made a passionate case for those extra adjectives. Much to her dismay, I always stood my ground.

Not that it’s a crime to write a ten-sentence paragraph or use a string of four perfect adjectives. Rather, it was all about a skill we were trying to develop in our young writers: conciseness.

Teaching conciseness is a foreign concept for many of you—you’re just happy to see a complete sentence materialize on your child’s paper! But we discovered that the same limits on paragraph length allowed parents to teach one simple WriteShop lesson to both struggling and eager writers.

The result? The reluctant child sees a doable goal (“I only have to write five sentences”), and the enthusiastic student learns to hone her writing and avoid rabbit trails and unnecessary verbiage.

Kaeli fit the latter profile. Bursting with ideas, she wanted to say it all. But her year in WriteShop taught her instead how to say it best.

Where Are They Now?

It was good to hear from Kaeli. From time to time I think of my former students and wonder, “Where are they now?” Deb and I haven’t taught a class in several years, but it’s really rewarding to see how successful many of these homeschoolers have become:

• Pastors and missionaries
• Military men and women
• College graduates in a wide variety of majors including journalism, English, sociology, criminal justice, Middle Eastern studies, photography, communications, art, music, and theater
• MA and PhD candidates in English, economics, political science, philosophy, psychology, and theology

In most cases, it’s been eight or more years since I’ve edited their fledgling writing attempts. But I’ve also read some of their recent writing. And what I see now reflects what I saw in my own son as the post-WriteShop years passed: maturity, knowledge, wisdom, growth. They express themselves in different ways, but they have all moved well beyond those WriteShop days.

Laying a Foundation

Some of you are just beginning your journey. You can’t even begin to imagine that one day your child will write an articulate, coherent thought. Others of you have taught WriteShop to several children who are now young adults succeeding in college and the workplace.

We “veterans” have learned that WriteShop served as a launching place, a training ground for instilling the basics of writing, including concreteness, conciseness, clarity, and sentence variety—skills that many incoming college freshmen lack.

Take heart. You’re teaching your children that writing is more than random thoughts tossed onto paper. You’re helping them learn to use important tools that lay a foundation for future writing—writing that will take shape and mature as their knowledge, life experiences, vocabulary, and thinking skills develop.

My girls were intuitive writers, easy to guide and easy to teach. But I didn’t have much faith that my reluctant 12-year-old son (the WriteShop guinea pig) would be able to write. Our journey was hard, and we experienced more than our share of frustration. But diligence paid off. He’s now a 25-year-old PhD candidate whose writing has actually become his work. 

Your child may not become a scholar . . . and that’s okay. But good writing skills will take him far in the workplace and in life. So stay the course, and be encouraged that a great deal can—and will—happen between now and adulthood.

If you’re a regular reader here at In Our Write Minds, you may wonder why I’m not posting as regularly as I normally do. I thought I’d give you a little peek into the goings-on around here so you’ll understand.

It’s crazy mode at my house for the next few weeks as we prepare to host a wedding reception for our son and his new bride.

Because their wedding took place in England last summer, very few friends and family on this side of the pond were able to attend, so we’re looking forward to our California celebration.

We’re also excited to spend some time with the two of them—a true luxury, now that we’re an ocean apart. We have a wonderful—albeit full—couple of weeks ahead of us!

I’m finding it hard to squeeze in much writing time, between baking dozens and dozens of cookies, planning all the details for the party, and preparing to speak at a homeschool convention on April 10. If time permits, I’ll do my best to post a few articles between now and the reception. Otherwise, at least you’ll know what’s become of me.

Thanks for understanding!

~Kim

Three Flavors of Communication

Writing. Speech. Conversation. These “Three Flavors of Communication” provide the theme of the 5th Annual Say What You Mean Convention, which brings you a day packed with learning and laughter.

Sponsored by Art of Eloquence, this annual online convention offers keynote speakers, live workshops, and pre-recorded audios designed to equip you and your children with stronger communication skills.  The conference is peppered throughout the day with exciting activities such as contests, giveaways, fun, and fellowship.

Date: Wednesday, February 3
Time: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. PST / 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. EST

Workshops by Kim Kautzer

I’m excited to share that I’m one of the hosts and speakers again this year. That means you’ll get to hear me present four all-new workshops!

• Writing Skills: More Important Than Ever!
• How to Wrte a Speech
• Speak the Truth in Love
• The Lazy Student: What’s a Mom to Do?

Live Seminars

Most of the live seminars will also be recorded for later, but if you’re listening in live, you can win bonus gifts. Plus, you won’t want to miss the Michael Jr. live interview, which will NOT be recorded at all.

• 8am PST/11am EST – Interview with Christian comedian Michael Jr. on Faith and Humor
• 10am PST/1pm EST  – JoJo Tabares  of Art of Eloquence “The Three Flavors of Communication: Writing, Speech, and Conversation”
• 12pm PST/3pm EST – Cindy Rushton of Talk-a-Latte ”Building a Passionate, Forever, Happier, and Happier-Ever-After Marriage”
• 2pm PST/5pm EST Joan Rudder-Ward of Girl Nurture “The Heat is On: Techniques to Protect You and Your Daughter from Becoming Culture War Casualties.”
• 4pm PST/7pm EST Kim Kautzer of WriteShop “Writing Skills: More Important than Ever!”
• 6pm PST/9pm EST Prayer Chat

Pre-recorded Audios

Read the descriptions of each talk here. The audios will be available at the Say What You Mean Convention website for one year!

• How to Tailor Your Writing for Effectiveness
• The Lazy Student: What’s a Mom to Do?
• What Good Is a Speech Course If Your Kids Won’t Use It?
• How to Write a Speech
• Conversation: The Most Important Communication
• Speak the Truth in Love
• What Most Apologetics Courses Don’t Teach You
• Talking vs. Communicating
• Listening: THE Most Important Communication Skill
• Humor: A Powerful Communication Tool
• Avoiding, Reducing and Healing Conflicts
• What It Takes to Be a Great Communicator

And More!

• Drawings (must pre-register to be eligible for drawings)
• Contests
• Freebies
• Free Admission
• Visit the Say What You Mean Convention for more details.