dorothythomas Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 not using any writing curriculum for my 1st grader? Instead, at this moment, we are working on making a book on the Creatures of Middle Earth. Today she wrote on a page, "Mirkwood Spiders" as the title and then, "As with all spiders, these uncommonly spooky spiders have eight legs." Actually, she dictated those, I wrote them, then she copied them. Now she is drawing a picture. Then she is going to dictate probably a page long, almost certainly very stream-of-thought summary of their habits and life for me to write down. And we are going to keep doing this for orcs, trolls, dragons, ents, and on and on for a month. :001_rolleyes: I feel kind of guilty that we are doing something so laid back and some other homeschool mom asked me yesterday what curriculum I was using with her. I felt very sheepish. Assuage my mommy guilt, please, or else help motivate me to greater writing work for her! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 YOu don't need writing curriculum. Not for a 1st grader. In first grade focus on handwriting and reading. Read and discuss. But honestly, handwriting is all that is needed. If you want, write down the narrations for the child. Don't frustrate them. We didn't do writing until 3rd grade for my dd and 4th for my ds. Used Writing Tales. It was light enough, but taught some basics. Using R&S now and will add in IEW next year for 5th/6th. My kids can still write a summary and do a basic outline. Don't add in too much too early or you will all burn out. In first grade the kid needs to learn handwriting and work on copywork to build up to being able to write longer periods of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyBC Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Sounds great to me! No guilt allowed. Sometimes I think we feel lame because we don't have an official name for something. Maybe next time you can say you're working on a month-long, literature-inspired writing project, involving creative writing, copywork and illustrations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassenach Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 That sounds pretty much perfect. Have you listened to SWB's writing seminar? You instinctively did what she explicitly teaches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 not using any writing curriculum for my 1st grader? Instead, at this moment, we are working on making a book on the Creatures of Middle Earth. Today she wrote on a page, "Mirkwood Spiders" as the title and then, "As with all spiders, these uncommonly spooky spiders have eight legs." Actually, she dictated those, I wrote them, then she copied them. Now she is drawing a picture. Then she is going to dictate probably a page long, almost certainly very stream-of-thought summary of their habits and life for me to write down. And we are going to keep doing this for orcs, trolls, dragons, ents, and on and on for a month. :001_rolleyes: I feel kind of guilty that we are doing something so laid back and some other homeschool mom asked me yesterday what curriculum I was using with her. I felt very sheepish. Assuage my mommy guilt, please, or else help motivate me to greater writing work for her! :lol: Same kind of lame homeschooling mom I am. :D The very idea of a structured "writing curriculum" for a little person who is only 6 or 7 is just not right. In the history of the world, children that young were not even always reading, much less being instructed in formal composition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2_girls_mommy Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 We used WTM as a guide and have never used a writing curriculum. We did copywork, narration, and dictation all through elem, though R&S has more and more composition exercises as you go, and we have done them. Not purchasing a published curriculum doesn't mean you aren't teaching writing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UmMusa Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 You're doing great :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UmMusa Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 You're doing great :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 I had no writing curriculum for my oldest. She is an amazing writer at age 15. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merry gardens Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 It sounds like you have an amazing writing curriculum for your first grader, taylor made to her interest! You might want to check out Brave Writer--not so much so as to change your style but to help ease your guilt. You might feel better to realize what you're doing is actually a curriculum that some people spend money on to learn! And you came up with it all on your own. Great job, mom. :hurray: She composes, she does copywork and she illustrates. I don't think it's wise to expect much more from a first grader! I like how she dictates to you, the copies what you wrote so that she can see what the correct spelling and grammar looks like the first time she sees her stories written instead of being left to guess. (I assume your spelling and grammar is correct, unlike most first grader's. :001_smile: ) You are doing fantastic!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Yeah, I wouldn't worry about using a writing curriculum for a first grader at all, especially not with that kind of free writing -- that sounds great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErinE Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 You are not lame! What an amazing sentence! I teach both kids writing based on their interests. It keeps them motivated and engaged in their education. Plus, they are so proud of the final results. I haven't started project based writing with my youngest, but you've inspired me to try. You might want to add in dictation. I dictate sentences to dd7 to cover sentence mechanics and spelling. The sentences come from her readings or narrations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 That sounds fantastic. You are the opposite of lame. You rock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 I think it sounds absolutely perfect. Why pay for a curriculum to give you boring things to write about when she's obviously very interested in writing about this? :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeindeed Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 I love what you're doing. It sounds great. Last year my dd12 and I did a Twilight unit study as a fun extra. She did some of her best writing ever! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 I bet the majority of people on this board don't use a formal writing curriculum, certainly not in first grade. It's the WTM forum, after all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briansmama Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 I don't use a formal writing curriculum for my 3rd grader and he decided to write his first novel this year :) We are having way too much fun to stop and go through a formal writing program right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaOz Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 I don't use a formal writing curriculum for my 3rd grader and he decided to write his first novel this year :) We are having way too much fun to stop and go through a formal writing program right now. Love this. And I agree. Even my older kids don't do formal writing programs and they write so well. I don't want to mess with their writing by adding something formal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 Some children are natural writers. If you have a child who loves to write of dictate (if young) then a writing curriculum is not necessary until later on in the upper grades. Your idea sounds great. She is doing creative writing and research (had to find out about spiders) and then she adds to her paper a mini report. That is more then enough for 1st grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 Goodness, what's lame about that? It sounds brilliant. I think the sentence "As with all spiders, these uncommonly spooky spiders have eight legs" is impressive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dorothythomas Posted May 3, 2013 Author Share Posted May 3, 2013 Wow. Wow. Wow. You all have been super supportive. I expected some judgement at least for not being rigorous enough. But it is fostering her love of writing, very simple research, writing, spelling, etc. Huh. Well then, to repay you for the kind words, here is the full dictated-to-me-by-her entry on Mirkwood Spiders. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! "One of the many things about Mirkwood Spiders is that you can always tell the difference between their webs and other spiders' webs. There are three main reasons why you can tell. Mirkwood Spiders' webs are dark and grayish, but normal spider webs are perfectly clear and skinny. And their patterns are different. A Mirkwood Spider's web pattern is straight but on the very outside it goes sideways. These particularly large spiders are incredibly dangerous. Their favorite things to eat are dwarves, humans, and full grown bears. Given the advantage that they are bigger, first they will dangle their long, thick threads down from the large Mirkwood trees. Then their prey gets stuck to the rope. Then they wrap the thread around you and pull up. Then they wrap you around with their spider web and leave only your nose and the very tips of your toes sticking out. They hang you there for at least two weeks. Then they unwrap you and pinch you to see which part of you they should eat first. Their fangs are one of the sharpest things that exist on earth, in fact it's probably the sharpest. These spiders do not suck blood, they eat your lungs, skin, and heart and leave the rest lying around. " :lol: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 That is completely awesome. You've got a brilliant young writer there, you're doing everything exactly right. Keep up the good work (her too!)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErinE Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 Wow. Wow. Wow. You all have been super supportive. I expected some judgement at least for not being rigorous enough. But it is fostering her love of writing, very simple research, writing, spelling, etc. Huh. Well then, to repay you for the kind words, here is the full dictated-to-me-by-her entry on Mirkwood Spiders. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! My DS10 would get multiple gold stars if he willingly narrated this paragraph. Even for stuff he's really excited about, it's like pulling teeth, some days, to get coherent sentences from him. Lovely descriptive writing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilaclady Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 That is such a nice narration. I think you are doing well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeindeed Posted May 4, 2013 Share Posted May 4, 2013 Wow...that is terrific writing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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