All this talk about writing programs....anyone NOT use one?

[kalanamak]

And still do writing?

I'm thinking way ahead here (it is my nature) and I'm getting a little dizzy trying to keep all these things I've never seen straight, secular, not, scripted, not, etc. etc.

I have WS, as I found the books double-dirty cheap at goodwill. I like the idea of CW but would have to lay hands on before purchase because of the differing opinions about the degree of religion in them.

 

Anybody actually, really do a writing curriculum of their own making? Who did you steal from? Can I steal from you? Online sources? Did you just do it along with other subjects?

 

Is the support from CW was really makes it worthwhile to you? Kiddo is, at 5, a math person not a word person, but he looks at books in shopping carts and the car, and I was a poor reader until age 7, so the jury is out. I need to go over it formally, so as to teach it with confidence, but I am not writing-phobic myself. Thanks for any ideas!

[Laura Corin]

I don't use one. I've been just encouraging writing development slowly with Hobbes. Right now, his only requirements are to write in full sentences pieces that have a beginning, a middle and an end. I use the writing prompts in Junior English, or just ask him what he'd like to write.

 

With Calvin I'm extending this, and the other day, with the help of some ladies here, put together a rubric for different kinds of writing. He's a big reader and has absorbed decent grammar - I'm just continuing to encourage organisation, thought and show-not-tell.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

[fishnoises]

I admit that we do not do a whole lot of creative writing. We do copywork and they struggle with that! We use CW, but I am not happy with it. They do have a good concept, but I think they have more editing to do! It is a little sloppy. (ANd the covers have fallen off!) I really think that the key is reading good stories like Aesop and then having the child write their own version. It is very hard for young kids to write a made up story (it's hard for adults!) It is also difficult for kids to concentrate on their handwriting, spelling and grammar rules. They do great on those subjects on their own, studied separately, but when they have to remember all the rules in their own writing, then everything they learned seems to have fallen out the window!

I did worry about the lack of creative writing the kids did previously, but when I see what they do write on their own, I am shocked and well pleased with their writing. So I don't push it. I think kids will write very well and can be very creative if we just let them do it (kind of like with their constant sketching and doodling.) We just need to make sure we are giving them great models to follow.

[Guest Lorna]

We use 'So You Really Want To Learn English' for our general English course. It simply gives subjects for writing and no guidance.

The children write to their pen friends at least once a week (who are great readers and writers themselves). They write to adults too. I think this has helped them the most with their writing fluency. Letter writing is motivating and you get instant feedback on your writing with further inspiration.

I also encourage lots of reading to give them good models for their writing. I correct only their grammar because I want them to find their own voice in their writing.

I would consider using a programme in future, perhaps for tips on essay length, structure and argument. We tried Writing Strands and I really disliked it. I found it awkward to implement and confused. I also felt the children's writing was sanitised by it.

[Closeacademy]

I majored in English specifically in British Lit and Creative Writing. I started looking at writing programs a couple of years ago and found things to not be what I wanted or what I wanted to be too expensive.

 

So I found out about a book called: Composition in the Classical Tradition. The book sells for around $85.00 but I was able to interlibrary loan it. This book was written to teach a college course. Between this and Rhetoric in the Classical Tradition you have all you need to create a composition program through the end of high school.

 

Personally, I took tons of notes and outlined my own version of the progymnasmata that was tailored to meet the needs of my dc. Currently in second grade we are reading fables and my dd is dictating them back to me as precis (summary) writing. She then illustrates and copies what she has composed.

 

Both books have lots of useful information on both creative and serious writing.

 

Hope this helps. :)

[fishnoises]

Composition in the Classical Tradition

 

I think I might look into that.

[8filltheheart]

I don't use a writing curriculum. When I have tried to implement one, it has driven me crazy. I tend to take writing curricula, take the instructional portions that I like, teach that part along with my own ideas, and create writing assignments that are relevant to our studies. (I have followed this approach for yrs and have graduated one this way with no problems. :) )

 

I recently read Rhetoric in the Classical Tradition. I second the suggestion. If you aren't clear on where you ultimately want to end up, it will provide an excellent base for formulating your own thoughts for ultimately implementing an independent approach to writing.

[JennW in SoCal]

We never used a writing program either, instead I ruthlessly "stole" the tips I learned from Susan Wise Bauer! My kids first did copy work for several years, then moved up to dictations, then to narrations and are now writing research papers and essays. These writing assignments have always come from their current studies, so the writing was a natural extension of history or science or literature. These days they still need a few tips here and there, and I use the editing process as a learning tool.

 

I think it helped that they are both so dang verbal, and were from the very beginning, so it was simply a matter of learning to transfer that endless stream of thoughts onto paper. In fact, I was their scribe for many years, when they had a story to tell or a picture that needed a description. But, they did not write with any kind of fluency until they were older, especially my oldest ds, whose writing skills suddenly gelled when he was 12. He was still doing narrations at that point. My younger one, in comparison, was fiendishly doing research reports and writing epic tales when he was 11.

[kalanamak]

writing into a drudge, and by the looks of things, there is room to do much more writing in the classical approach than 98% of the rest of his peers.

 

A few years ago, I dug up my father's grandfather's obit, circa 1901. It was a very unpopulated county and each weekly newspaper had a obit of the most prominent man who died that week. Most started "God-fearing man and beloved father" etc. My great-GF's started "He never did anything merely for protocol". So you see, I question this because of my genes....really not my fault at all. Thanks again.