Want a creative supplement to WWE (or like The Writer's Jungle but balk at the $$$)?

[Jocelyne]

I wanted to chime and thank the OP too! This looks like a true gem of a book. In my cart for sure.

 

We are users of the Writer's Jungle. I have been going round and round deciding between how exactly I wanted to implement things. But I knew I wanted something else to give it the creative punch. And Jot It Down is defintely too young for my son.

[Amy Jo]

So those of you that have scheduled/used the book, will you do it daily, weekly, as a short-term focus unit? I'm not sure about adding in 30 min to an hour of writing everyday - there's only so many hours in the day. (Part of that might be because it's summer & nice outside.)

 

Thanks for pointing this book out - it's high on my to-buy list.

[Ecclecticmum]

I've bookmarked it :D It sounds great (I don't need it right now, but definitely looks like something I would want later on)

 

Do you think it would be okay in Kindle Format? Or would you get the PDF (I'm not in the US, have lotsa littlies that like to destroy my books, so I mostly get pdf for reference ones I want to keep for years :tongue_smilie: ) or is it more the type of book you would be constantly flicking back and forth through (like WTM? which I really have to now get a "Real" version of, rather than pdf lol)

[Alte Veste Academy]

Do you think it would be okay in Kindle Format? Or would you get the PDF (I'm not in the US, have lotsa littlies that like to destroy my books, so I mostly get pdf for reference ones I want to keep for years :tongue_smilie: ) or is it more the type of book you would be constantly flicking back and forth through (like WTM? which I really have to now get a "Real" version of, rather than pdf lol)

 

There was this exchange upthread...

 

What do you think about the Kindle edition vs. the printed edition? Is this the kind of book I'm going to want to highlight and write in (I like to highlight and write in my books)? Or will I be taking notes outside (in a notebook) of the book? Hmmmm.

 

LOL You are asking the wrong person. I hate my Kindle! Gave it to DH for work, in fact. His whole work life is one giant collection of PDF files. :tongue_smilie:

 

The lessons for the whole year are laid out in chapters 3 and 4, one after the other. I've already filled in the margins with copious notes, mostly thoughts about what books I already own that could be used with the mini-lesson. Now I'm going through VIE to put in the genre correlations. I'm probably going to end up retyping my own lesson plans in the end, just to have something tidier to work with. Personally, I would hate to be trying to take notes while reading it on a Kindle but, again, I'm biased.

 

It would depend on how much you take notes in margins or whether or not you would eventually correlate and/or retype the lessons into another format anyway. I really am the wrong person to ask though, as I never took to the e-reader.

 

So those of you that have scheduled/used the book, will you do it daily, weekly, as a short-term focus unit? I'm not sure about adding in 30 min to an hour of writing everyday - there's only so many hours in the day. (Part of that might be because it's summer & nice outside.)

 

She presents one lesson per week that focuses on a single element of good writing. For each week, our focus is on that one element. I do the main lesson on Monday morning and we work on that element all week. I am doing one mini-lesson on grammar, mechanics, form, etc. each morning (5 minutes or so, on the whiteboard). We already had group writing going on each morning though, so it's just evolving for us. I'm not having to find more time or steal from another subject. I am trying to figure out the best way to work in genre lessons, toying with the idea of making genre file folders for inspiration or labeled book baskets with examples, similar to how she has her kids learn to sort books by writing features in the book.

 

It is summer here too but it is decidedly not nice outside. :tongue_smilie:

[Ecclecticmum]

Alte Veste - Just had a closer look at the Publishers site and realized that they do the ebook version as well, which is (from reading ebook faqs on their site) PDF format, and you are allowed to print it. So that would solve all my problems :) I love PDFs, I can print it, thumb through it as much as I want, have a leisurely read of it on my kindle, and when my printed pdf has coffee spilt on it or too many scribbles, I can bin it, and print a new, fresh copy *ahhhh* :lol:

[Alte Veste Academy]

Alte Veste - Just had a closer look at the Publishers site and realized that they do the ebook version as well, which is (from reading ebook faqs on their site) PDF format, and you are allowed to print it. So that would solve all my problems :) I love PDFs, I can print it, thumb through it as much as I want, have a leisurely read of it on my kindle, and when my printed pdf has coffee spilt on it or too many scribbles, I can bin it, and print a new, fresh copy *ahhhh* :lol:

 

Oh, that's nice. I need to look at that, actually. I know some e-books are "enhanced" and you can cut and paste the content. I would love to be able to cut and paste each week's lesson onto a single page. Then I could just print, three hole punch and put it in its place in my LA. Hmmm. I could even rearrange them as needed, when I note deficiencies in my kids' writing and see something we should work on sooner. Thanks!

[Forgiven]

Thank you so much for this!

 

My 4th grader is doing ViE this year again (she did 3rd grade ViE last year and I love it), and my 2nd grader, well, I couldn't figure out what to do with him. I bought him LLATL, but wasn't sure, so then I bought WWE2 for him and am so excited to use it for him, that I figured I'd get it for my 4th grader too, but when I read this post, I just had to go and buy this book too.

 

Now my 4th grader is going to do ViE, WWE 4, and now NMID.

 

My 2nd grader will be doing LLATL, WWE 2, and NMID

 

I can't stop buying LA stuff! I also bought the McGuffey Readers for my youngest (K), and plan to use them for my 2nd and 4th grader as well where spelling is concerned.

 

If you figure out how to correlate the NMID chapters with the ViE genres, I'd love to see what you're doing. I'll be trying to do the same once my book comes in!

[She Reads a Lot]

Oh, you're welcome! And thank you!! I would love for you (and anyone else who uses it) to report back about your plans, how it's working, progress made, etc.

 

I have become super-stoked about the Writer's Workshop concept! It is very exciting to me that all of my kids are old enough to not only participate but really get the most out of this concept. I have been pulling in the genre lessons from Voyages in English, figuring in grammar for mini-lessons, and just generally planning up a storm.

 

I also purchased Everyday Editing from the same company to bolster mechanics in mini-lessons. With DS9 going into 4th, I want to be sure mechanics are solid, and solidly connected to writing. He's been doing the workbook portion of ViE for grammar and likes it but I like the idea of directly connecting the grammar lessons to his writing outside of the workbook. I've purchased writing notebooks and reader's notebooks per Notebook Know-How and Notebook Connections. I'll be using those resources in conjunction with NMID (especially with DS9, as we need to take our LA depth up a notch).

 

Anyway, thanks for letting me know that you like it! :001_smile:

 

P.S. I do not work for Stenhouse or have any financial interest in the company. :lol:

 

P.S.S. Long live Post-It flags! :tongue_smilie:

 

So could you tell me more about Everyday Editing? Hubby is starting to say that I have a book addiction, and I can't get this one at our library, but it sounds so good!:tongue_smilie: My question is, what grade level would you say it is for?

 

I've got "Juan and Marie Join the Class: Caught'ya! Grammar with a Giggle for Third Grade" arriving today: http://www.amazon.com/Juan-Marie-Join-Class-Caughtya/dp/0929895347/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1342549816&sr=1-1&keywords=juan+and+marie+join+the+class.

 

And I've already got The Sentence Family and Grammar Punk. It seems that I do not need any more grammar programs/books for third grade, right? Right?

 

Christina

[Alte Veste Academy]

Thank you so much for this!

 

My 4th grader is doing ViE this year again (she did 3rd grade ViE last year and I love it), and my 2nd grader, well, I couldn't figure out what to do with him. I bought him LLATL, but wasn't sure, so then I bought WWE2 for him and am so excited to use it for him, that I figured I'd get it for my 4th grader too, but when I read this post, I just had to go and buy this book too.

 

Now my 4th grader is going to do ViE, WWE 4, and now NMID.

 

My 2nd grader will be doing LLATL, WWE 2, and NMID

 

I can't stop buying LA stuff! I also bought the McGuffey Readers for my youngest (K), and plan to use them for my 2nd and 4th grader as well where spelling is concerned.

 

If you figure out how to correlate the NMID chapters with the ViE genres, I'd love to see what you're doing. I'll be trying to do the same once my book comes in!

 

Thanks! And I can totally relate to the bolded! :lol: I will get back to you when I schedule everything together. I probably won't throw WWE into the plan though. I keep that separate because it's so easy and fast that way. Plus, I consider that a completely separate LA track from our other LA stuff, mostly because it's easier for my brain. :tongue_smilie:

 

So could you tell me more about Everyday Editing? Hubby is starting to say that I have a book addiction, and I can't get this one at our library, but it sounds so good!:tongue_smilie: My question is, what grade level would you say it is for?

 

I've got "Juan and Marie Join the Class: Caught'ya! Grammar with a Giggle for Third Grade" arriving today: http://www.amazon.com/Juan-Marie-Join-Class-Caughtya/dp/0929895347/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1342549816&sr=1-1&keywords=juan+and+marie+join+the+class.

 

And I've already got The Sentence Family and Grammar Punk. It seems that I do not need any more grammar programs/books for third grade, right? Right?

 

Christina

 

I'll let you know more about EE after I schedule it in. You're right though; it does seem like you're covered. What's one more book? :D

[daughterofsarah77]

I was able to check this out from the library and it looks wonderful! We were looking at doing IEW through the co-op next year because I don't think WWE is "enough" in the way of developing the creative side. But I thought that would be too much together...but adding this to WWE fulfills that need (better than IEW I think) and looks do-able. I am so happy to have found this!

[Ecclecticmum]

I was able to check this out from the library and it looks wonderful! We were looking at doing IEW through the co-op next year because I don't think WWE is "enough" in the way of developing the creative side. But I thought that would be too much together...but adding this to WWE fulfills that need (better than IEW I think) and looks do-able. I am so happy to have found this!

 

SWB doesn't really have any "creative writing" books until Middle School (there's a supplement to go with WWS thats creative I believe), I think it is. She doesn't believe in "forcing" creative writing, so she concentrates more on the act of writing itself

 

Here's a thread talking about the MP3 talks

 

So yes, if the child wants to do more creative writing, then some creative thinking exercises and a book like NMID could be nice for a supplement. And it's a book, rather than a "program" (even though it has lessons etc in it) which allows you to take away what you want from it, but it just a few ideas, or implementing the book as is. :001_smile:

[Alte Veste Academy]

Never mind. I think I misunderstood. Low blood sugar. :lol:

Edited July 19, 2012 by Alte Veste Academy

[Alte Veste Academy]

I was able to check this out from the library and it looks wonderful! We were looking at doing IEW through the co-op next year because I don't think WWE is "enough" in the way of developing the creative side. But I thought that would be too much together...but adding this to WWE fulfills that need (better than IEW I think) and looks do-able. I am so happy to have found this!

I am so happy to hear this. I am one who believes strongly in the methodology and philosophy of WWE but wish to add to it. First of all, my kids enjoy writing. Secondly, as I have said before, I like having something on the side that is more typical instruction in the early years in case I get hit by a bus and the kids end up in school. :tongue_smilie: WWE is wonderful but its S&S is worlds away from the S&S of most PS LA.

[stripe]

I also purchased Everyday Editing from the same company to bolster mechanics in mini-lessons.

I just got my copy yesterday from ILL and it looks interesting, but it seems to be aimed at middle school students? What say you?

 

I like that these fleshes out some of the ideas that appealed to me in The Book Whisperer about using real literature, but applies to writing and whatnot.

 

Have you seen Anderson's other book (Mechanically Inclined: Building Grammar, Usage, and Style into Writer's Workshop)?

 

For the record, I have WWE (the manual not the workbooks) and haven't quite ever figured out how to implement it. I am doing a combination of Serl's PLL and Galore Park Junior English, but we are moving very slowly.

[Alte Veste Academy]

I just got my copy yesterday from ILL and it looks interesting, but it seems to be aimed at middle school students? What say you?

 

I like that these fleshes out some of the ideas that appealed to me in The Book Whisperer about using real literature, but applies to writing and whatnot.

 

Have you seen Anderson's other book (Mechanically Inclined: Building Grammar, Usage, and Style into Writer's Workshop)?

 

For the record, I have WWE (the manual not the workbooks) and haven't quite ever figured out how to implement it. I am doing a combination of Serl's PLL and Galore Park Junior English, but we are moving very slowly.

 

Yes, EE and MI are both aimed at mid-grade kids, I think. MI is his follow-up book and I haven't bought that one...yet. :D I knew EE was for older kids than NMID but I so wanted something that would give me specific, crystal clear examples of how to do high quality, engaging lessons related to mechanics. NMID is supposed to be for K-2 and EE is for older kids. I've got grades 1, 2, and 4 next year so I'm averaging out with these. :tongue_smilie: As I have looked over EE and started throwing it into my plans, I think it's a good fit for DS9 and DD. DS6 is not ready for it but it will be pretty easy to take the same comment the other two are working on and make it age appropriate. In EE, he provides lots of sample sentences to illustrate the concept but does talk about seeking out your own. My plan is to pull from my kids' reading and our read alouds, which have some pretty complex sentences. I feel the two books complement each other wonderfully. NMID is full of craft lessons for the traits of quality writing and EE is full of lessons for using mechanics in an artful way.

 

I think your resources are good. I've heard nothing but good things about Galore Park and Serl's books are wonderful. We won't quit WWE because I love what I see ahead in WWS and the potential of what is in the pipeline after that, but it has never been enough for us because my kids just like to write and write often. I don't want them developing bad habits or stagnating without further instruction so I've always supplemented that.

 

What I would love is a giant table full of all these "teacher books" so I can peruse them all and figure out which ones have the specific lessons and quality plans I'm looking for instead of a bunch of fluffy philosophy. The books about writer's/reader's notebooks that I purchased are OK...just OK. I will get some use out of them but I'll have to sieve out the good stuff, unlike with NMID which is full to the gills of the good stuff and ready to be plugged into lesson plans. I get tired of looking for a needle in a haystack, which is how I feel just about anytime I go in search of a new component of our curriculum. :lol: I will just resolve to be happy I've found two good needles for now.

[stripe]

I think Galore Park has a good selection of readings, and they are boy-friendly and more or less modern. I also have been starting to replace Serl's boring artwork with art in the books from the Come Look With Me series (I get them from the library).

[stripe]

Lucky! I was bummed my library didn't have it. I would ask about the Scholastic books but my pocketbook, sanity, and sagging bookshelves threatened to rough me up. :tongue_smilie:

 

Ha, I started reading Everyday Editing and ch 2 opens with a quote from Janet Angelilo's punctuation book! Glad I got her books for $1 each (download) from the scholastic dollar days...now to read them all!

[Alte Veste Academy]

Ha, I started reading Everyday Editing and ch 2 opens with a quote from Janet Angelilo's punctuation book! Glad I got her books for $1 each (download) from the scholastic dollar days...now to read them all!

 

Oh, that's awesome! I have been so-so on EE, half inspired and half regretting the purchase because he doesn't have enough specific lessons. I do like his invitation concept though. I'm still going through VIE to put everything together and schedule out the mini-lessons to some extent.

[Chelli]

I just got this book through ILL after reading this thread. It really is an amazing book!

 

I'm wondering if you think that you could draw the lessons out to take two years or would you just cycle back through the lessons each year using different literature for examples?

 

Just trying to figure out my plan of attack!

[Alte Veste Academy]

I just got this book through ILL after reading this thread. It really is an amazing book!

 

I'm wondering if you think that you could draw the lessons out to take two years or would you just cycle back through the lessons each year using different literature for examples?

 

Just trying to figure out my plan of attack!

 

I'm so glad to hear that you like the book! So far all the others I've looked at to correlate and/or pull in mechanics have paled in comparison. The beauty of the book really is the quality and specificity of the lessons. I am leaning toward the bolded. I know as I read through, I remember thinking that you could use the same concepts on any level.

[stripe]

I was reading it before bed and it made me feel like the biggest loser!

 

I appreciate that she has a good bibliography with trade lit, because....I just wouldn't be able to find good examples very easily, so that's handy.

 

Anyway is the idea that one does all this stuff with their kids and that's it for language arts? Or for writing? Or what?

[Alte Veste Academy]

I was reading it before bed and it made me feel like the biggest loser!

 

I appreciate that she has a good bibliography with trade lit, because....I just wouldn't be able to find good examples very easily, so that's handy.

 

Anyway is the idea that one does all this stuff with their kids and that's it for language arts? Or for writing? Or what?

 

Why did it make you feel like a loser?

 

I imagine most schools use a formal LA program and that writer's workshop is just a part of it. She just happens to be particularly skilled and creative. I was so inspired by the book! I keep remembering picture books we have that would beautifully illustrate one concept or another. I have been rearranging the books and pulling some that I particularly love to design my own lessons. But nothing has to be perfect and I don't get hung up on things being linear.

 

I use so much stuff for writing that I don't think the words "that's it" would ever pass my lips without DH rushing me to the ER. :tongue_smilie:

[stripe]

Why did it make you feel like a loser?

 

That you teach spelling, handwriting, composition, grammar, punctuation, and literary analysis all at once, while they write. I mean, it sounds good, but how to pull it off. I am not very good at grand projects.

[Alte Veste Academy]

That you teach spelling, handwriting, composition, grammar, punctuation, and literary analysis all at once, while they write. I mean, it sounds good, but how to pull it off. I am not very good at grand projects.

 

:D Well, I tend to spin everything I read to fit how I want to hear the message, so here's what I heard:

 

The writer's workshop is the writer's workshop. Look at all these cool mini-lessons! What fun we're going to have with them! We'll save the mundane skills for another time of day because during WW, we're going to build skills creatively without getting dragged down by formal lessons.

 

She incorporates lots of different facets of language learning into WW but it isn't all she does. I don't think she means for it to be a grand project that meets any and all LA instructional requirements. That's too much pressure on the WW. To me, it's about generally improving writing skill while nurturing the love of writing, pure and simple. Most of us here on the WTM boards wouldn't be brave enough to use NMID for our full LA program and I seriously doubt any PS curriculum buyer is braver than we are! :tongue_smilie:

 

ETA: I know I've made myself sound like I'm suffering from multiple personality disorder. :lol: Yes, I'm trying to correlate and find ways of throwing the skills from ViE and some other aspects of our LA into WW, but that is because I am crazy. You don't have to be crazy. ;) Also, even in doing that, I'm still not obsessively trying to cram everything in there. I've still got Spelling Power separate. I do MCTLA separately. WWE? Totally separate. When I look at throwing ViE in there, it's to take our absolute most boring and PS typical program :sleep: and meld it with something that fits our personalities better. :party:

Edited July 25, 2012 by Alte Veste Academy

[Chelli]

I'm basically going to use as follows:

 

Teach the mini lesson.

 

Spend the rest of the week letting dd have her 10 minute writing sessions.

 

End of week have consult with me about she has written and if she focused on the things we discussed in the mini lesson.

 

That's it.

 

We'll cover mechanics, grammar, etc. with our other programs. When she is ready to publish then we will proofread for spelling, punctuation, etc.

[Miss Tick]

I'm wondering if you think that you could draw the lessons out to take two years or would you just cycle back through the lessons each year using different literature for examples?

 

Just trying to figure out my plan of attack!

:iagree: This is what I'm thinking I will do. We might pick and choose topics that need revisiting, or even just do the lesson again, since the individual writing will be novel. Or, perhaps there will be a sequel by then! :D

 

Or, on the negative side, maybe we will crash and burn with this program by October...

[matilda]

Oh, that's awesome! I have been so-so on EE, half inspired and half regretting the purchase because he doesn't have enough specific lessons. I do like his invitation concept though. I'm still going through VIE to put everything together and schedule out the mini-lessons to some extent.

 

Another possibility might be Killgallon's Sentence Composing. It seems to have more sentences to use, but less writing to the teacher.

[Pen]

I hope to use the idea of a quiet ten --or however long--minutes writing time. We have done short "free writing" sessions, but they are generally full of, "Mom, how do you spell..." and "Mom, I don't know what to write next..." So far, they still are not quiet (possibly have other programs to thank for that), but if we can get there, that alone would be a big gain, I think. I am very glad you shared about this book!

[Alte Veste Academy]

Another possibility might be Killgallon's Sentence Composing. It seems to have more sentences to use, but less writing to the teacher.

 

Aw, man! I own that! :lol: Thanks! It is much more specific, just what I need. I must learn to shop from my own shelves first! :tongue_smilie: I do still like the philosophy in EE, the invitations and viewpoint that editing is the process, not just something that comes at the end.

[Alte Veste Academy]

I hope to use the idea of a quiet ten --or however long--minutes writing time. We have done short "free writing" sessions, but they are generally full of, "Mom, how do you spell..." and "Mom, I don't know what to write next..." So far, they still are not quiet (possibly have other programs to thank for that), but if we can get there, that alone would be a big gain, I think. I am very glad you shared about this book!

 

That alone would be a big gain. Ah, quiet. My mother told me one day I would want it too and boy was she ever right! :lol:

[Farrar]

Kristina, how much time do you end up spending a day on language arts?

 

For us, I feel like if we spend an hour, I know it begins to be too much for my 7 yos. They will write for 15 mins. They'll edit or do something about mechanics with me for five or ten. We can do another activity - spelling, or finishing up phonics or discussing literature - and sometimes they have to write again because we'll do a freewrite and a narration or something... but really, if I was doing any sort of, even truncated version of what you're talking about, my kids would completely rebel and turn into teary puddles.

[Farrar]

I was reading it before bed and it made me feel like the biggest loser!

 

I appreciate that she has a good bibliography with trade lit, because....I just wouldn't be able to find good examples very easily, so that's handy.

 

Anyway is the idea that one does all this stuff with their kids and that's it for language arts? Or for writing? Or what?

 

There's a way in which books about teaching writing do this to me and I can't quite put my finger on it exactly. The worst offender so far has been Your Child's Writing Life, which I didn't even read past the introduction yet managed to send me into a downward spiral of teacher-homeschooler-loserness that lasted for well over a week. But it's not the only book that has done that. I think instead of being inspiring, I find all the examples and the can-do spirit and the "look at what these young children are learning!" stuff to be really intimidating.

 

Bravewriter didn't make me feel that way. And the Peggy Kaye books didn't... Yeah, that might be IT. I'm really afraid to get No More, I'm Done now!:001_huh:

[Forgiven]

I received my copy mid last week and I immediately read through it. It was like picking up a great romance novel and not being able to put it down. So much good information. I've decided to have our writing workshop in the morning, right after Bible/scripture time. We'll do the mini-lesson, quiet ten, and then ten minutes where they can continue to write (draw for the youngest) or come up to me for a conference.

 

I went out and bought writing folders today. I was just going to make them, but then remembered that Lakeshore learning had writing folders that had information on them that could be useful. The one thing they're missing? The alphabet. I'll probably laminate the alphabet and put it in one of the pockets. Oh, and they have four pockets. I can't remember what they're all for, but one is for editing, one is for in-progress, and I'm thinking one of the other two is for pre-writing stuff like the graphic organizers and stuff. I think they'll work perefect. I also picked up a date stamp. I wasn't going to at first, but I know my kids wil LOVE being able to stamp their papers.

 

The process of not erasing and just to write and not worry about grammar and spelling mistakes as you go has me thinking about how I write (I write romance novels for a hobby in my spare time. I also do NaNoWriMo every November). I tend to not worry about that stuff when I first write. It's all about getting the ideas down. Later, after it's all down, then I go back and work on different areas. Each time I read through my work, I focus on different aspects, and in a way, that's what NMID seems to be teaching.

 

I'm going to do our writing workshop every day. I think there will come a time when I'll be able to notice common mistakes in my kids and I'll just gear the mini-lessons toward those issues, so I won't necessarily be doing them all in the order the book has them in. Also, my oldest uses ViE and they recommend books that illustrate the different writing styles for the writing portion of ViE, so I'll probably pull some of those books in to use in the mini lessons as well.

 

I agree about not being able to come up with ideas for books that can illustrate the concept for the mini lessons. I'm so glad the author of NMID included what she uses. I haven't heard of any of the books she's mentioned. I'm actually excited to read some of them because they sound great!

 

Oh, and one rule we're going to have for my kids is NO pictures or stories of killing, shooting, or video games. I totally agree with that. I can see my middle child drawing nothing but Halo battle scenes. Ugh! And he doesn't play that game very often at all, but it's all he talks about. Maybe because I won't let him play it so much is why he talks about it a lot. Not sure.

 

I still need to try and correlate some of the lessons in the book with the ViE lessons.

[Alte Veste Academy]

Kristina, how much time do you end up spending a day on language arts?

 

For us, I feel like if we spend an hour, I know it begins to be too much for my 7 yos. They will write for 15 mins. They'll edit or do something about mechanics with me for five or ten. We can do another activity - spelling, or finishing up phonics or discussing literature - and sometimes they have to write again because we'll do a freewrite and a narration or something... but really, if I was doing any sort of, even truncated version of what you're talking about, my kids would completely rebel and turn into teary puddles.

 

We do spend a lot of time on LA. A lot. We do not do every program every day.

 

Kids are different. DD was born to write. She could write all day. So often, when I go do my nightly kid check before turning in, I have to remove piles of paper and pencils, pens... She writes letters to the fairies, books about fairies. All three kids have joined together to write a book about themselves with super powers. It is a riot! DS9 was (for years) a writer through narration of artwork. He would draw and dictate a story while I typed it out. In the past couple of years, his physical writing became easier and he writes for himself. Two years is a great deal of time in terms of boys' handwriting. No way, no how would I have attempted so much with him at 7. In fact, I would argue that being relaxed and not forcing too much writing prematurely has helped his attitude toward writing more than anything, except perhaps DD's contagious enthusiasm. :lol: Sometimes I joke that she was born with pen in hand. I have almost zero expectations of DS6 now. He is where DS9 was in 1st, proudly narrating his own art, which I firmly believe is writing.

 

Anyway, all this to say don't sweat it. I think you might like NMID and not feel intimidated. It did have shades of BW for me. I felt simpatico with it :lol:, just as when I first read TWJ. But it is my nature to get too excited with possibility and be blind to my own limitations, which can be as paralyzing as getting intimidated, though on opposite ends of the spectrum.

[Alte Veste Academy]

I received my copy mid last week and I immediately read through it. It was like picking up a great romance novel and not being able to put it down. So much good information. I've decided to have our writing workshop in the morning, right after Bible/scripture time. We'll do the mini-lesson, quiet ten, and then ten minutes where they can continue to write (draw for the youngest) or come up to me for a conference.

 

I went out and bought writing folders today. I was just going to make them, but then remembered that Lakeshore learning had writing folders that had information on them that could be useful. The one thing they're missing? The alphabet. I'll probably laminate the alphabet and put it in one of the pockets. Oh, and they have four pockets. I can't remember what they're all for, but one is for editing, one is for in-progress, and I'm thinking one of the other two is for pre-writing stuff like the graphic organizers and stuff. I think they'll work perefect. I also picked up a date stamp. I wasn't going to at first, but I know my kids wil LOVE being able to stamp their papers.

 

The process of not erasing and just to write and not worry about grammar and spelling mistakes as you go has me thinking about how I write (I write romance novels for a hobby in my spare time. I also do NaNoWriMo every November). I tend to not worry about that stuff when I first write. It's all about getting the ideas down. Later, after it's all down, then I go back and work on different areas. Each time I read through my work, I focus on different aspects, and in a way, that's what NMID seems to be teaching.

 

I'm going to do our writing workshop every day. I think there will come a time when I'll be able to notice common mistakes in my kids and I'll just gear the mini-lessons toward those issues, so I won't necessarily be doing them all in the order the book has them in. Also, my oldest uses ViE and they recommend books that illustrate the different writing styles for the writing portion of ViE, so I'll probably pull some of those books in to use in the mini lessons as well.

 

Yes, I could not put it down either. I am still toting a stack of writing books from room to room and almost immediately set them down when I start reading one. I just need to donate them or hide them in the back of the closet because they're just guilt-inducing and I really am 100% happy with our LA lineup.

 

How cool that you are going to be using it in combo with VIE too. I am slowly, slowly, slowly pulling some thoughts together. We're not formally starting our new year until mid-August so I am hoping for DH to give me some serious planning time in the next couple of weeks. We are doing a somewhat informal geography/Olympics unit study now, so I am distracted by that as well.