Writing Assignment for the kiddos, need help!

[Wee Pip]

We recently went on a family vacation to some big museums. Dh gave the kids a summer assignment. The 9yo needs to write 8 pages and the 7yo needs to write 6 pages about their trip. We haven't done much formal writing in the past. Dh has specifications: paper must be typed by children (not Mom), 12-point font, double spaced. It can take a month to do this project (a little bit each day). So far, it is taking us about 45 mins per day just to write 2-4 sentences. This is going to take forever!!!

 

Please, no criticisms about whether dh should be making this assignment, whether it is unfair to ask a 9 & 7 yo to write such an assignment, so on and so forth. Would I have made such an assignment? No. But it must be done, and I need help. TIA!

[Snickerdoodle]

Have the children taken any kind of typing lesson? I think it sets up bad habits to have them do index finger hunt typing.

 

What exactly is the goal of having them type this?

 

I won't say any more about the appropriateness of this exercise but perhaps your husband would benefit by listening to SWB's talks on writing.

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/store/elementary-grades-mp3.html

[Robin in DFW]

but, does your very well-meaning dh know that writing that much for those ages is developmentally inappropriate?

 

Please do not take this as an attack...I DO NOT mean it to be...:001_smile:

 

Maybe a gentle discussion with your dh about young children and writing would be in order...then have him listen to SWB's downloadable lectures on writing...very eye-opening.

 

Also, maybe turn the assignment monitoring over to him. Since he came up with the assignment, make him responsible for helping dc, checking their progress and working with them rather than you doing it. Sometimes, when others don't work with the dc every. single. day. they don't know what's really do-able...kwim?

 

I wish you luck and monumental amounts of patience!!!;)

[Wee Pip]

LOL, thanks Snickerdoodle:) The 9yo tried typing a year ago and hit a wall. She can hunt & peck somewhat quickly, but still slower than writing by hand (and she writes really sl-ow by hand). The 7yo types in another language, not even spellcheck can guess what she was trying to type (yikes!). Today, I started having the 9yo brainstorm with me and I jotted down a mind-map of our trip. Then, I wrote an outline for one area, and she composed 4 sentences from my outline. Not sure if this is the best way to go about it. I've suggested to the kids that they hand write the paper and then I read it aloud to them while they type it, but they adamantly REFUSE to do it this way (it sounds like double the work for them).

I just want easy. Not gonna be easy, is it?

[Snickerdoodle]

Since we are not to comment on the appropriateness of this exercise, it leads me to wonder if this wasn't given as a form of punishment for something or other. I admit, it's what first came to mind.

 

In any case, I wonder what the lesson learned will be from such an exercise and whether you might be looking at some unintended consequences.

[radiobrain]

My husband does things like this too, not quite such giant and rigid assignments but... I know how it is. :001_rolleyes:

 

Are you allowed to help them in the writing part?

 

If so, work on the writing part with them and type it later. OR you can be working on the writing and then tell your husband that, as they can't type very well YET, maybe he can accept the handwritten part until they are more confident... ??

 

Also, if it is taking so long to write it.. you should just DECIDE what they should write about. Today, write about "blah blah blah". OR remember that awful dinner we had wherever... work on that... if you give them little nuggets to work with at a time, so it is not so stressful and unweildy, you might have a bit more success. Now, is it supposed to also be good, well written, perfect spelling, coherent AND have transitions? Ugh. I am sorry but I think you need to have a talk with your husband about what he really expects and why he is asking it.

 

Does your husband know that a typical 5 paragraph essay for 7th graders should only be about 2-3 typed pages? Maybe even less?

 

good luck!

Edited July 27, 2010 by radiobrain

[Colleen in NS]

Dh gave the kids a summer assignment.

 

But it must be done, and I need help. TIA!

 

I just want easy. Not gonna be easy, is it?

 

In this situation, I don't think you are going to get "easy." And because of the parameters he gave you and you gave us, I would ask *him* for advice on how to go about it. Tell him about their current abilities, their skills background, your current schedule/responsibilities, and ask how *he* would go about doing it. Tell him you need specific details on how he wants you to accomplish this and your other responsibilities in a day, because it's a huge project for them. If he says he doesn't want to go into all this detail, then ask him if he could supervise the project.

[Kuovonne]

Dh has specifications: paper must be typed by children (not Mom), 12-point font, double spaced. It can take a month to do this project (a little bit each day). So far, it is taking us about 45 mins per day just to write 2-4 sentences. This is going to take forever!!!

 

Sorry you are stuck with this assignment.

I agree with others on trying to put the assignment back in DH's hands.

(E.g. what does he hope to accomplish with this assignment?)

 

If there really is no room for negotiations, did DH specify the

paper size or the margins? If not, you could mess with them.

What about illustrations? You might be able to eat up a few pages

with pictures.

 

How about a set of 4x6 index cards with 1" margins all around and

a few pictures, and then put the thing into a mini-photo album?

Edited July 27, 2010 by Kuovonne

[missmoe]

For that age group, I had my kids pick a postcard each day of vacation and write something on the back of the postcard. Mostly for that age it was a sentence or two. If you must continue this project, maybe you could start with something like that. Do you have photos of the vacation? Look at those and have your children write about what is in the picture. After they have done several pictures, work on putting their sentences into paragraphs, and then work on fitting those paragraphs together. I do think that this will really test your level of patience and writing more then theirs.

 

I know you don't want comments on the assignment, but I'm going to offer a few anyway! :001_smile: If your husband is handing out assignments like this now, what will he require of your children as they get older? And by that point, will their joy of "school" and learning be gone? Will the joy of spending time together on a vacation even be marred by the impending work that will follow?

[NanceXToo]

Also, maybe turn the assignment monitoring over to him. Since he came up with the assignment, make him responsible for helping dc, checking their progress and working with them rather than you doing it. Sometimes, when others don't work with the dc every. single. day. they don't know what's really do-able...kwim?

 

Yep! If my husband wanted to assign something like that, which I wouldn't have assigned myself and didn't really deem age appropriate, I'd tell him to oversee it himself. Let him work with them, monitor them, answer their questions, check their progress, teach them what they need to know to do it the way he wanted them to, and let him see firsthand how it's going (or not going, as the case may be).

 

And when he got all frustrated or saw that it was not going well or realistically, I'd have to have a talk with him about the age appropriateness, or lack thereof, of what he was suggesting.