Help me with my writing/grammar plans please.....

[Ariston]

ETA:  Feel free to skip the not-so-brief background and jump to my actual question :))

 

Brief background:  I've been mostly in the delayed academics camp when it comes to writing and grammar.  The only grammar that my kids have done is grammar land, which they loved and retained.  They have done zero assigned writing, and have had no writing instruction, narration, copywork, etc.  My 10 year old daughter loves to write on her own, and the things she writes are often very interesting and well worded.  My 12 year old son is dyslexic and dysgraphic.  Writing is definitely physically painful/exhausting for him, and he also has a hard time mentally structuring what he wants to say. 

 

He rarely writes on his own.  I think whatever I use to get him writing will have to be very step by step and incremental.  I may be wrong but I think he'll need something to teach him exactly what to do in  a manageable way.  I have a feeling that's the opposite of what my daughter will need, since she seems to be able to naturally write pretty darn well and just needs help with structuring her paragraphs and ideas.

 

Ok, sorry, that wasn't as brief as I had meant.

 

Well this year we are going to jump in.  I'm pretty much set on MCT Town.

 

I was also considering Bravewriter Partnership Writing.  (I have The Writers Jungle but haven't looked at it in years and never understood how to use it.)

 

For some reason I also wanted to add in Hake/Saxon Grammar 5.  I thought it looked like it might give the step-by-step help my son needs.

 

Any thoughts?  Am I jumping in too deep since they haven't done anything yet?  Would any one of these be enough, or would they complement each other?

 

Also if you have experience with these programs how much of a daily commitment are they, and how independent?  I know MCT will not be independent but not sure about the other two.

​TIA!

[blondeviolin]

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[Ellie]

My preference would be Easy Grammar and Writing Strands, Level 3 for your ds, maybe 4 for your dd. Both are very simple and straightforward and easy to teach.

[Ariston]

Thanks.  I was just looking at the Hake samples online and I don't think it would be a good fit.  It looks like it would be way too much and overwhelming for him, and would require a lot of tweaking on my part which I don't have time for.

 

I'll check out your suggestions.

 

I'm also thinking I might just do MCT, and possibly add in BW and leave it at that for this year.

[TKDmom]

I think MCT and BW sounds good. I like the grammar sections of MCT, but not the writing assignments. There's no instructions on how to write.

 

I love BW. I haven't used partnership writing, but I have done Kidswrite Basic and my oldest is using Help for High School. The BW philosophy is gentle and natural. Having something to say is the emphasis rather than mechanics. Julie encourages you to scribe for your child if they need it, and to work as partners, with both of you providing words and ideas. I think it's a great way to scaffold reluctant writers, unless you have your own major anxiety about writing. In that case, I'd do pre-expository writing with WTMA. They are relaxed and encouraging. My ds12 was able to take ownership of his writing last year in that class, without my anxiety spilling over into his work.