SeaConquest Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 We have been happily using ELTL1 and WWE1, but I wanted to start doing some weekly Bravewriter Jot It Down style freewrites with my 5 year old Ker son. As you will read, he is obsessed with Pokemon. We just finished reading Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher, which he adored, so I gave him the following writing prompt: You walk into a magic store. What do you find? The following is what he dictated to me over the course of about 15 minutes. He was super excited about the freewrite and wants to keep writing his book. Thank you to Farrar and many others for their encouragement re Bravewriter. I think that freewrites will be a fun addition to our homeschool. The Adventures of Jeremy and Gaingar By Sacha Ethan L****** Chapter One: Gastly and Jeremy Once upon a time, there was a six year old named Jeremy. He lived in a house with his mom, dad, cats, and his dog, Grief. One day, on his way to school, a wind blew him off his course and on to a street he had never seen before. He found a shop, and went inside. When he went inside, it was full of magic stuff. He found a sparkling ball. He went to the counter to see the man who let people buy things. Jeremy said, “I want to buy this ball.†"That will be ten pennies,†said the store manager. “Here are ten pennies,†said Jeremy. Then, the store manager said, “You may have the egg.†“Wait, the egg? This is a ball?!†The store manager did not nod. Jeremy was confused, but said, “Whatever it is, I want to have it.†“Ok,†said the store manager, “But you don’t want it. It wants you.†Then, the egg started to hatch. Out of the shell came a Pokemon. “What is this?†asked Jeremy. “It is a Pokemon. A Pokemon is an animal that has powers. This one, is a ghost type, so you cannot ride it. But, it can protect you if you are in danger. Take this box, and some Pokemon food, and take it to your home. Keep it a secret or you will be sorry. Now go, home. Take the back door. It will get you home faster.†“Ok,†said Jeremy. Jeremy went home. Chapter Two: Gastly Evolves After Jeremy went home, he dashed into his bedroom and opened the box. He found Gastly sitting there. The egg had hatched. Gastly began to turn white; it was evolving into a Haunter. Then, something appeared on the front of the box. It was a Pokedex – something that you use to learn about Pokemon. “Place a Pokedex in front of any Pokemon to find out about it,†said the Pokedex. Jeremy placed the Pokedex in front of Haunter. The Pokedex said, “Haunter, the haunting Pokemon, and the evolved form of Gastly. Haunter will surprise you. It is very hard to catch, so catch it quickly if you find one in the wild.†Jeremy knew that this was not a wild one. But, how did he know that? Then, something else appeared on the front of the box. It was a Pokeball. The Pokedex explained that a Pokeball is something that you use to catch Pokemon. “Haunter has already been caught, so if you want Haunter to go into your Pokeball, you just need to say, ‘Return, Haunter,’ and it will return to the Pokeball. To get it to go out of the Pokeball, you just say, ‘Go, Haunter!’ Chapter Three: Haunter and Jeremy Make Friends After Jeremy knew a lot about Haunter, he wanted to try out the Pokeball. Jeremy said, “Return, Haunter.†Haunter disappeared when he returned to the Pokeball. Then, Jeremy wanted to send Haunter out again. He said, “Go, Haunter!†and Haunter reappeared from the Pokeball. Jeremy and Haunter began to make friends. When Haunter realized that he was being well cared for, he wanted to play with Jeremy. So, they started to play. Haunter was getting comfortable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Good job, Sacha! You can tell that he knows a lot about Pokemon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Awesome! My kids also usually write freewrites that are stories like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted January 11, 2015 Author Share Posted January 11, 2015 He's up to over 1500 words (6 chapters) after 2 days of writing. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted January 12, 2015 Author Share Posted January 12, 2015 The chapters are getting longer. 7 chapters -- over 2500 words! He literally started to cry today when I asked him to give me a break! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mamamae Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 What a great story! Can you tell us more about how the free writing works? Do you sit down and type what he writes as he says it out loud? Does he do any self-editing (for example, asks you to read something back and says, "No, I want to change that?") I've been researching Brave Writer recently. The program really appeals to me, but my oldest (son) is just 3 years old. Do you think I could make use of the program now--or should I wait? He absolutely loves telling stories (and always has). Basically, he gets on a roll with a story and I'm quick to jump up for paper or my computer to write down what he says. Sometimes I just record him using a voice record app on my phone and transcribe later. His stories are usually about 3-5 paragraphs right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cassafraz Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 That is so much fun! I have been considering adding Bravewriter to the mix. This story definitely goes in the pros column! I am curious, do you scribe it at the time? Would it work to record him and then write it down? My kiddo gets soooo excited while telling stories, I'm not sure I could keep up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted January 25, 2015 Author Share Posted January 25, 2015 What a great story! Can you tell us more about how the free writing works? Do you sit down and type what he writes as he says it out loud? Does he do any self-editing (for example, asks you to read something back and says, "No, I want to change that?") I've been researching Brave Writer recently. The program really appeals to me, but my oldest (son) is just 3 years old. Do you think I could make use of the program now--or should I wait? He absolutely loves telling stories (and always has). Basically, he gets on a roll with a story and I'm quick to jump up for paper or my computer to write down what he says. Sometimes I just record him using a voice record app on my phone and transcribe later. His stories are usually about 3-5 paragraphs right now. I haven't actually bought any BW products yet. I just read her blog and decided to incorporate some of her ideas into our writing practice. I started scribing his literature narrations last year, when he was 4, but this was the first time that we tried something more creative. If your son is already spontaneously telling stories, I would definitely run with it and scribe/record them -- no curriculum required. The main thing that I try to emphasize to my son is that he is getting his voice, his thoughts down into words, and how powerful those words can be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted January 25, 2015 Author Share Posted January 25, 2015 That is so much fun! I have been considering adding Bravewriter to the mix. This story definitely goes in the pros column! I am curious, do you scribe it at the time? Would it work to record him and then write it down? My kiddo gets soooo excited while telling stories, I'm not sure I could keep up! You could definitely record it. I scribe for him on the computer, which allows us to go back and edit more easily. He now has me read things back to him, edits for clarity, and we discuss where he might use different words to give his writing a different effect. He now understands that we can use a thesaurus to get a more precise word or to avoid repetition. It's been a great exercise for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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