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Camille

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  1. Hi Everybody, A friend told me that someone here was asking about writing, so I should get on here and talk about my favorite curriculum. =) So, if I may, I will. Erica, the Lost Tools of Writing may be what you need. It's a great writing program and teaches all the parts of writing clearly, well, and step by step. Plus it's easy to use this program to ask Literature questions. It helps students think through stories, which can prove very valuable and very powerful. It trains the students to ask their own questions and to make sound judgments. SO, while they learn to write well, they gain the added benefits of good thinking which can lead to understanding which can help them step toward wisdom. I hope this helps......I've taught this program a BUNCH and would be happy to answer questions. You can e-mail me if you want, because I'm not online tooo much. =) My address is chg@whetsone.bz Nice to be back here! Camille
  2. I should never have claimed to be a writer and thinker! I should have proof-read that better before I posted it!!! I have learned SOOO much, but still.....what a long way to go! But I love what you said, Leanna, about spending all that time with your kiddos discussing ideas. That's the part of being at home with them that you'll look back on and treasure. (My last one (sixth) is about to graduate!) I deem priceless all the conversations we've had, especially the ones that led us both to a better understanding of people, of life, of the Lord. That's a sure way to experience a happy mid-life "crisis"! How wonderful to look back at all the time we've invested in our children and to know that we have invested in eternity.
  3. Hi Charles, Well, the Student Workbook is crucial for the students, because the worksheets there contain the patterns for the exercises the students practice. Those exercises will form good habits of mind for students, especially as they learn to think of something to say (i.e. to think). The teacher materials you need depend on your experience as a teacher. Maybe it also depends on your courage. =) The two parts for teachers are the Teacher's Guide and the lesson plans, i.e. Module Guides. The guides/lesson plans show you how to teach each day's concept - one concept per module. (That means three modules per essay/lesson - one for Invention, one for Arrangement, and one for Elocution.) You could use the Teacher's Guide to obtain an overview. Then if you can present each worksheet's concept by preparing the student, giving him lots of examples, etc., you don't need the "lesson plans". OR, you could buy the Lesson Plans and teach through the program without reading about the big picture first. That plan would be a bit like going on a hike without taking an aerial map. You could just follow the plan step by step, then look back later at the view once you've climbed higher. It is nice though to see the big picture, then follow the step by step instructions. (The CDs give the overview to the overview - kind of like "the shortcut to the shortcut" in Holiday Inn, but with a happier ending. ;)) Hope that helps! Camille
  4. You all sound amazing and lots of fun. =) I too recommend Lost Tools of Writing to pull together the whole curriculum and to teach good habits of thinking. Robin, and the rest of you close to Texas (or not) I HIGHLY recommend the Lost Tools of Writing. (I've been teaching it for about six years now, beginning as a teacher who wasn't crazy about writing but knew it Had to be done. By me. Yikes.) But actually, I meant to say, I recommend coming to the CiRCE conference in the Dallas area this summer. Meet lots of people who are thinking about education!!! YAY... (fun) Also, Andrew Kern will be available for conversation, Leah Lutz (his long-time apprentice) will be speaking about LTW - and available for conversations at lunches, etc. I'll be there too. I've been learning LTW for about six years, teaching it too (including for Memoria Press now). And I've seen it transform so many children (and me! ;)) into writers and thinkers. If I can help, let me know. You all are asking such great questions, thinking great thoughts, being the best for your kiddos!!! Keep up the good work! Camille
  5. Dear Friends, As Paden says, "I figure I can approach life as though everyone is my friend, or no one is". Paden and I both choose the former! I jumped into this forum as though you were all my friends (since you all sound the same :001_smile:). But we really Don't know each other. And I didn't even introduce myself, or say "Good Morning", or "How are you?". I hate it when that happens, and now I'm the one who did it!! How rude! Please forgive me. I'm the Camille that Andrew mentioned in his post the other day. I came because this LTW conversation had prompted a mom to e-mail me and ask me questions. So I came to see the conversation. (I love conversation. :001_smile:) So now you know. I'm sorry about my oh-so-rude beginning here. Thank you Capt. Uhura for your kind words to me. I hope that I was some help with the things I was throwing out. I LOVE this LTW program because I have seen it transform so many young lives. (And one old one. ;)) I'm happy to help if you have more questions. Things are a bit crazy for me now, though, at year-end. If you Want my answers, you can find me more quickly in the "LTW Mentor" Yahoo loop. But I'll try to come back here too. Blessings on you all as you love your children, as you learn, and as you teach! :001_smile: Camille P.S. Yes, Charles, you can buy the program in parts.
  6. Rhondabee, LTW teaches students to think of something to say. In the process, it teaches them to think. Period. That's the difference between LTW and most other writing classes. LTW teaches the canon of "Invention" (or Discovery). That's where it teaches students how to think of something to say for their papers. Other programs just teach the second and third canons of organizing and style (Arrangement and Elocution, as LTW calls them). All writing programs use imitation. This one (LTW) teaches the student to imitate the thought process of a good writer, not just a good outline, or good metaphors, etc. It does teach those things too. But it's different from the rest because it teaches students how to come up with something to say. Hope that helps! chg P.S. I also recommend the LTW yahoo group for good LTW answers! =)
  7. I think yes, I'd listen to all the CDs first for an overview. Then read the Teacher's Guide. (Each CD is approximately an hour.) Of course the more times you listen or read, the more it'll sink in. ; ) chg
  8. Hi Carolyn, Here's the deal. First choose some characters from your literature (or choose one from a science or history study). Next list several actions that each character took. After you have a list of actors and actions, choose one pair and ask whether that actor should have performed that action. For example you might ask whether Sidney Carton should have taken the place of his friend in prison. Or you might ask whether Scout and Jem should have crawled under the Radleys' fence. You might ask whether Achilles should have been angry with Agamemnon. You can ask whether Almanzo should have fed taffy to his pig, or whether George Washington should have crossed the Delaware - or Julius Caesar the Rubicon. I hope that helps! Camille
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