Tips on improving a Mom's LA skills ahead of child (using WWE, FLL, AAS)

[OrganicMom]

Any tips on improving the holes in MY writing, punctuation, and grammar skills while teaching children? I am sure I am not alone in the reality of a teachers lack as they become educated all over again!?

 

As of right now, I am just going to be going along with my daughter through WWE, FLL, and AAS. I am also beginning to read "The Elements of Style" by William Strunk Jr. I love the book already!

 

But outside of that, does anyone have any tips? I have always struggled with writing. Succeeded in many other subjects and am an avid researcher/reader/learner, but my weaknesses in written communication are not serving me well. :)

[Arboreal TJ]

I have the same deficiency! I'm tempted to get WWS and put myself through the ringer. Hopefully someone more qualified will chime in.

[OrganicMom]

I am tempted to get WWS, too. :D

[UncleEJ]

I too have been thinking about doing WWS also! Has anybody done this?

[EKS]

The best thing I ever did to improve my ability to teach writing, though I didn't know it at the time, was to take two writing intensive graduate level courses. These courses weren't writing courses, but they each required about 50 pages of perfectly APA formatted output in 10 weeks. Since it was at a level that was quite challenging for me and the APA thing was new to me (I had never had to conform to any sort of style, even in college), it gave me an understanding of the challenges that my children were having and how to help them overcome them.

 

As for grammar, the best big picture overview I've found has been the MCT materials. Once I understood grammar the way MCT teaches it, all other grammar has been easy because it conforms to the big picture. I recommend getting The Magic Lens 1 and practice book and working through them. Then if you want a more refined picture as well as specific mechanics instruction/practice, Hake 8 would be a good choice.

[blondeviolin]

For spelling, there are a few books you could pick up. How to Teach Spelling is the most similar to AAS with all of the rules in one place. You could also look at Understanding the Logic of English.

[Walking-Iris]

Bravewriter's ebook The Writer's Jungle could help in your understanding of the writing process and how to teach it. BW suggests that moms write alongside their child and they work through the editing/revising process together. My ds really enjoys reading my freewrites. It makes me his classmate rather than just the parent instructor Also Writing Down the Bones and The Vein of Gold will help in developing your own creativity and voice while working on your writing skills.

 

For grammar you can get a book like Woe Is I or The Deluxe Transitive Vampire, and for spelling, maybe something like Sequential Spelling for Adults. For punctuation practice you could maybe work through the higher levels of EditorInChief.

[Amy M]

I can't help much with the LA, except that I was thinking that IEW's teacher's DVDs would be helpful for my own writing as well. I also am thinking of putting myself through WTM's suggestions for logic and rhetoric before my kids get to those ages, when I might not understand what I'm doing but won't have time to study it with them.

[OrganicMom]

Thank you guys for all your advice! I actually have been thinking over your suggestions AND doing some research of my own, too.

 

I have since made a weekly schedule of both independent studies and reading plans for a daily "attack plan" that goes throughout the weeks head. :D

 

Kai, thank you for your advice! I cannot tell you how much reading I have done on MCT, b/c of your recommendation and I already placed my first of many orders from them. :) (I will be re-using the books with our kids even if it is a supplement, I fell in love with them and the process online) I ACTUALLY started with the basic level, dually b/c I feel so inept (maybe more lacking confidence in this area), as well as I secretly do not wish to miss a thing. :) My plan is to triple-time it through all the levels. I have a evan-moor paragraph editing book, as babyish as it may seem that I will use some. I want to look into HAke though.... As I have done zero reading on that curriculum. I have also looked at R&S... but I don't have a lot of knowledge on some of the other programs out there, besides PHP's stuff. (and I also did LLATL growing up - hated it, probably b/c i never got it.)

 

After ordering, I realized that the writing portion of MCT is probably not going to serve me the best. Still unsure about this area....

 

Waling-Iris, thank you for your recommendations. I put a few of the books on my wish list to purchase soon. I have the first level of Sequential Spelling, DVD (that we tried to do with daughter before landing on AAS) - I was tempted to go through the motions of that and the other DVD's even if it was slow going, mainly b/c it was independent... I spoke to my husband about giving me tests... but don't know if i want to do that or if we have the time... still chewing on this... still open to thoughts... I guess I need to look into the logic of english or the how to teach spelling book...

 

I keep hearing about IEW, but never gave it a long look due to what seemed like a steep cost and was already sold on WTM way... but my horizons are expanding... very quickly! The above is the same with the brave writer and the main manual for them.

 

I am hungry to fill in my "gaps" and go far. So far I have schedule 30-1 hour slots daily for 'my studies' each day of the week is focused on a certain area: grammar, writing, spelling, vocab, math (trying to find a way to rightstart math independently quickly ahead of my littles - not sure how that will work), & latin. then daily I have my 30mins-1hour reading. each day of the week covers something different and I will write brief summaries of what I have read. and that covers: history, classics, etiquette & public speaking, spiritual, and health & nutrition. Yes I am becoming a geek to the core, always have been.... I am basically deciding to make time for what I have always wanted time for.

 

So I have the slots and books lined up to read for those areas but not all the areas of study are mapped out with the correct "independent" curriculum. The good side to using curriculum, instead of an online course is that these will be resources for our schooling the children.

 

Any other tips or advice is welcome! Thank you, again!

[OrganicMom]

Does Hake 8 cover everything that Hake 5-7 did?

[OrganicMom]

Looking at Hake now, I'm wondering if it would have been best to go with that one. I don't regret ordering MCT, but maybe I will buy both? Undecided. I know there are many options out there. but Hake surprises me.... I disliked Saxon, growing up, but the style applied to grammar seems to maybe be better. OK, will chew on this more as I do a little more research and wait to see of anyone else responds.

[Amy M]

For writing you also might want to look at the Great Courses. I thought I just saw a "set" on there at a good price on writing.

[OrganicMom]

They DO have some great prices right now. I had not heard of them, thank you for that recommendation!

[Hunter]

I have worked through a lot of programs ahead of my students. Many were okay for me, but I won't use directly with students. I'm still wishy-washy about what to use with students.

 

For comp and grammar for ME, I've liked Cozy Grammar, the Amish Climbing to Good English, Learning English with the Bible, some vintage texts, and Warriner's 5th.

 

For Spelling for ME, I've liked WRTR 4th. I usually prefer to use Alpha-Phonics and How to Tutor with students though.

 

I've have found it essential to work on MY handwriting, so I can prepare homemade copywork. I like WRTR 6th edition lowercase cursive and Simply Charlotte Mason ZB uppercase manuscript. For numbers I got them out of a vintage text and make them 1/2 way in size between the uppercase and lowercase letters. Lowercase letters are 1/3 the height of a line. Uppercase letters are 2/3 the height of a line. Numbers are 1/2 the height of a line.

 

I've also been influenced by Waldorf, Students of the Word and the Principle Approach.

 

Oh and Write Like Hemingway gave me the confidence to keep things simple with students and skip all the favorite curricula most often used here.

 

Sorry, not a concise answer, I know. :grouphug:

[OrganicMom]

Thank you for those recommendations!

[Dolphin]

I really would give IEW a second look. I went to a conference last Spring and was able to hear Andrew Pudewa talk. I went to the first, just to see who he was and what he was about. I ended up going to every one of his sessions. I came away feeling so confident in my ability to teach writing.

 

The DVD course is not for the kids (although some people have their kids watch with them). It is all about teaching you how to teach writing. The best thing is, IEW has one of the best return policies out there. If you get it and just really don't like it, send it back.

 

After going to the conference I didn't get the writing program as I felt I had learnt enough to attack WWS (5th grade), but I did end up with 2 of their other products. Phonetic Zoo (a spelling course for after AAS3) and The Linguistic Development through poem memorization. If I was doing it again I would have done IEW 3-4 then switched to WWS at grade 5. (that is what I am thinking about doing next year with DD.

 

Another one to look at, and what I am doing with dd(k) is the Phonetic Road to Reading and Writing. It is also a DVD course for mom, although not nearly as much fun to listen to as IEW.