KBadd Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 I'm contemplating what writing curriculum is best for my 2nd grader, and I'd love your advice. We are about halfway through WWE2, and my son is handling the copywork, dictation, and narration fine, but he complains about writing every day. His writing is quite neat, his hand doesn't hurt, but if anything his writing seems to be getting a little messier as he takes less satisfaction in it. He whines whenever I say it's time for writing. He is my more emotional child, and I understand this is a character flaw in him, so I don't necessarily blame the curriculum. I know there are things we just have to press through with our kids, because they need to be done and our children need to learn to be responsible and work diligently. But I'm wondering if another curriculum might be better suited to him. He whined through a lot of OPGTTR, but he got through it and is now a very good reader. But for that curriculum, it was helpful for us both for me to bring something "fun" to phonics, like writing the words out on a whiteboard or using Bananagram tiles. I'm not sure what I can do with WWE to make it more interesting for him, or if I even should do so. Or if something else would be a better fit for him. A little more about my son: he is good at math, loves to read and learn about things, and always loves stories. He also enjoys history, drawing, and science. He can narrate back to me very well - he likes to go fast and animatedly, and tell the story with pretty good vocabulary. (I'm not sure the structure of WWE in leading them to summarize the main point of the passage is serving him well - it's just more questions. This is my own uncertainty with him - I feel like he might be better off if I just said, "What do you think was the main point?" and kind of lead him there.) I'm going to change his routine and put writing in the morning when his mind is fresh and it will be out of our way. He complains about the actual writing, which I know is not heavy, but I thought that if he were more engaged with the curriculum maybe it wouldn't seem like such a burden. He doesn't complain about writing for FLL or when we write a letter to someone. What do you think? Is this something where I just trust the curriculum and stick with it? Or is there something that might be better suited to him? If I should switch, when should I do so? Thank you for your thoughts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpicyPeanut Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 Following because I'm in a similar boat. My DD6 does fine with ww1 but she doesn't really enjoy it and I've come to dread it because I know she's going to drag her feet and whine and try to get out of it etc... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KBadd Posted March 11, 2017 Author Share Posted March 11, 2017 Following because I'm in a similar boat. My DD6 does fine with ww1 but she doesn't really enjoy it and I've come to dread it because I know she's going to drag her feet and whine and try to get out of it etc...At least we're not the only ones 😉 Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KBadd Posted March 11, 2017 Author Share Posted March 11, 2017 This is a different issue, but I've also been noticing differences between Charlotte Mason and Julie Bogart's style of narration and SWB's, and I'm wondering what you all think. Should narration be regurgitated memorized facts and end up looking the same for every student, or should they reflect the personality of the narrator and be unique for each student? Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiara.I Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 I wouldn't say "character flaw." Being more emotional isn't a bad thing, it's just different. Anyway. A lot of people run WWE a year "behind." It may be that even though he's able, he'll do much better with it 6 months or a year from now. Maybe move to doing copywork and narration for a while, but NOT using WWE, so that it's a "break" for him? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KBadd Posted March 12, 2017 Author Share Posted March 12, 2017 I wouldn't say "character flaw." Being more emotional isn't a bad thing, it's just different. Anyway. A lot of people run WWE a year "behind." It may be that even though he's able, he'll do much better with it 6 months or a year from now. Maybe move to doing copywork and narration for a while, but NOT using WWE, so that it's a "break" for him? I didn't mean to say being emotional is a character flaw. I meant being lazy or being unwilling to do a reasonable amount of work without drama is a character flaw. Just to clarify. I worded it that way on my original post to make it clear that I'm not just looking to lighten his load and make all things enjoyable for him, because I just won't be able to do that for any of my kids - that's not how life works. And I want him to grow up to be a responsible adult. Thanks for the advice about giving him a break from WWE, that might be a good plan. Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 (edited) Have you thought of just using the TM and making up your own lessons from literature and everyday events that have more meaning to your child? I agree with the poster that said the scope and sequence might be too rigorous for some children. I personally prefer the narration lengths being about a year ahead of the grammar topics. I only own the TM in hardcopy and like it a lot. I have some of the eBook workbooks but have no plans to use them. The TM is more my style. Edited March 12, 2017 by Hunter 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hisforhomeschooling Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 Same boat. Trying to figure out whether to stick with WWE for level 3 next year. Definitely don't want to, but not sure where to go from here either. Wondering about doing copywork from his curriculum or doing the copywork books from Simply Charlotte Mason instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2att Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 Have you listened to SWB's lectures about the writing process and teaching writing? It explains the reasoning behind WWE and why it's important to lay well the foundation through narration, dictation, and copywork. It's available here and very much worth the $4 download price. Second grade is still so very young. Time is a wonderful gift in homeschooling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindsey Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 (edited) Same boat here, too! I am looking at Writing Tales and IEW. I really want IEW but the price is out or our budget, unfortunately. WT looks like something mine would enjoy, though!Edited to add, mine doesn't necessarily whine when it's writing time, but he is getting increasingly lazier with his writing and responses, and half the time zones out while I'm reading the initial story chunk! Edited March 13, 2017 by lindsey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 Writing Strands, Level 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 sWB says that wwe is for kids who need the pecked by ducks approach and they not every kid does. Those who don't are fine using a traditional program. We liked the lower levels of WriteShop because it was short and fun. I'm on my phone or else I would link to SWB's little video about this but it is on the welltrained mind press website. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carriede Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 (edited) Have you listened to SWB's lectures about the writing process and teaching writing? It explains the reasoning behind WWE and why it's important to lay well the foundation through narration, dictation, and copywork. It's available here and very much worth the $4 download price. Second grade is still so very young. Time is a wonderful gift in homeschooling. This! OP, absolutely listen to the lectures if you haven't. It's not an infomercial about WWE at all and will give you essential knowledge no matter what curriculum you choose. Edited March 13, 2017 by carriede Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2_girls_mommy Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 We never used WWE, but instead took the ideas behind it from WTM and used it across the curriculum. We didn't have a writing time. We had a history time. And we did narrations from SOTW after we read it. We did copywork from books we were reading during reading time. Sometimes they picked. My dd12 picks all of her own copywork currently. I encourage her and help, like if we are working on quotations in grammar I tell her to pick a conversation from her current book. We wrote the pen pal letters. I gave dictation on the spelling test. For one that was good at on the spot dictation I just picked up our current science book or SOTW and gave a sentence that wrapped up the lesson well. For another we did studied dictation. I would use the same sentence for dictation that we had worked on for copywork. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.