Mommy2BeautifulGirls Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 Here's my situation. My daughter turned 5 in February. We are currently finishing up 1st-grade McRuffy Phonics and Reading. However, we ditched the "reading" part of it a while back. She is reading way above this level, so what I do is have her read the story aloud to me and that's it. I know she comprehends, because if the story says "X yelled, 'Drop that right now!'" she yells. She's very good at reading dialog out loud. She also will pause and make comments about the story from time to time. So, for next year I'm thinking we will move on to 2nd-grade spelling with R&S. We are also going to use FLL and GWG for grammar, probably redoing the 1st-grade material because it will be more rigorous this time through. We are doing some FLL right now, but have covered the first 10 lessons since I picked the book up at the library on Sunday. She says that GWG looks more fun to her because there is writing involved, and she's always been the workbook type. I think I will just continue to supplement her McRuffy with FLL for the next few weeks while I have the book from the library. Then I think I will end up getting her GWG for next year, unless she decides she really likes FLL better. Now here's my dilemma. I need a writing program to go with either of those two grammar choices, right? She likes to write, but she's still only 5 so sometimes she says her arm is tired. Should I wait a while on the writing or start when I start the grammar? If I start when I start the grammar, what program should I choose? I'm kind of looking at WWE and Writing Strands. Are these good choices? And if they are good choices, what level should I choose for either of them? Oh, I should also mention that she LOVES to write things on her own. Lists, recipes, signs, stories, cards, letters. It's just the assigned work that makes her arm tired. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 My ds is also 5, and we finished 1st grade grammar in FLL and have started on 2nd grade. We do copywork regularly but other than that we don't do a writing program. He narrates summaries to me of anything we study in science and history, so he has to come up with the sentences while I write. Even this is like pulling teeth sometimes. He complains when he has to write more than a sentence as part of any assignment, so I think it is better to wait a little longer to start a real writing program than have to argue every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristineMM Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 It is normal for a child of 5 to get hand pain when writing for long periods. If you work on oral narration it will help with the composing part of 'writing composition'. There are some good articles online about narration, usually on Charlotte Mason sites. She could also make up stories and dictate them to you while you type them into the computer or write them out by hand. You are lucky she shows such an interest in writing, makes lists, uses writing in real life applications. I am sure you will have no problem with her in this area. Just let her body grow, her hand muscles get stronger and her fine motor skills develop more. You could also have her dictate into a tape recorder or if you know how to record on your PC into MP3 files, do it that way. Also use a digital camera to make little videos of her telling stories or narrating nonfiction information. Kids are not afraid of technology the way we are. Little kids also are not usually camera shy and some really are more hams and like to make little videos on the digital cameras. Lapbooking or Notebooking is another way to use writing in small amounts on academic subjects. My kids hated Writing Strands. However that doesn't mean that others don't love it! We are using IEW now. There are other elements to reading comprehension, read the book 7 Keys to Comprehension, it is a popular book and is usually in public libraries. Your DD is young, enjoy it while she is that way, they do grow up so quickly! If you have the time I suggest lots of picture book unit studies like Five in a Row or More Science Through Children's Literature. That is great stuff to do with 5 year old's. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy2BeautifulGirls Posted May 9, 2009 Author Share Posted May 9, 2009 If you work on oral narration it will help with the composing part of 'writing composition'. There are some good articles online about narration, usually on Charlotte Mason sites. We do struggle in this area a bit still, but we will continue working on it. We haven't done any narration for science, but we do some with SOTW. I'll definitely be researching ways to make this easier for her. She could also make up stories and dictate them to you while you type them into the computer or write them out by hand. She doesn't need me for this. She usually just asks me how to spell things, unless she is making me a "surprise" story. Then she just guesses at the spelling. Sometimes I will have her give me a story to write out for her, but usually she prefers to do this on her own. Unless I tell her to do it, of course. She's very headstrong. You could also have her dictate into a tape recorder or if you know how to record on your PC into MP3 files, do it that way. Also use a digital camera to make little videos of her telling stories or narrating nonfiction information. Kids are not afraid of technology the way we are. Little kids also are not usually camera shy and some really are more hams and like to make little videos on the digital cameras. This is a great idea. I usually use the video function of my digital camera. If I stick to 40 seconds or less, it is usually small enough to email or put on my blog. I have had her read for me before, but I like the dictation idea, too. Thanks! Lapbooking or Notebooking is another way to use writing in small amounts on academic subjects. She has made one wetland lapbook and she loved it. She's working on a desert one now. I think she almost has all of her mini books done for it. She really likes researching stuff. She even has the Children's Encyclopedia Britannica on the computer that she likes to use to look up animals. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy2BeautifulGirls Posted May 9, 2009 Author Share Posted May 9, 2009 My ds is also 5, and we finished 1st grade grammar in FLL and have started on 2nd grade. We do copywork regularly but other than that we don't do a writing program. He narrates summaries to me of anything we study in science and history, so he has to come up with the sentences while I write. Even this is like pulling teeth sometimes. He complains when he has to write more than a sentence as part of any assignment, so I think it is better to wait a little longer to start a real writing program than have to argue every day. Do you know when you plan to start a writing program? Or are you just playing it by ear? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted May 9, 2009 Share Posted May 9, 2009 We will probably wait at least one more year to start a formal writing program. By then he will be almost 7 and will hopefully be more agreeable on the writing issue. In the meantime I really like Christine's idea about having him dictate into a recorder. Right now he dictates to me and he either goes too fast for me to write, or he loses track of his thoughts because he is going so slow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeatherInWI Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 I'd hold off on the writing, too. If she wants to write, she'll do it for fun! When my dc were young, they had handwriting books, but I didn't require any composition, and even through early elementary years, only asked for an occasional letter or paragraph. On their own, however, they started writing letters, articles, making their own newspapers and magazines, etc., because they'd decided that writing was for fun, not drudgery. By 5th/6th grade, they enjoyed watching the high school level Student Writing Intensive from IEW, and when I asked them to write their first research papers, they did them independently and blew me away with their skill. (I've taught junior high English in public schools, and these papers were better than anything I'd had a student turn in!) If your dd reads a lot and is read to, I don't think there's any point in pushing the writing, and that it's far better to let her learn to love it and do it on her own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy2BeautifulGirls Posted May 10, 2009 Author Share Posted May 10, 2009 I guess the main reason I'm thinking of WWE is because I think it might help with the narrations, too. We seem to struggle with those. Any good tips for doing those? We're slowly going through SOTW volume 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurel Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 I guess the main reason I'm thinking of WWE is because I think it might help with the narrations, too. We seem to struggle with those. Any good tips for doing those? We're slowly going through SOTW volume 1. WWE has certainly helped with our SOTW narrations. We struggled some with narrations, and WWE helped me see how to help her narrate. And WWE helped her realize that she didn't need to remember and retell everything in a SOTW section. When I asked her to tell me about one part of the section, she realized that I really meant only one part. (She's a bit of a perfectionist, so if she's not confident with something she tends to shut down.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy2BeautifulGirls Posted May 10, 2009 Author Share Posted May 10, 2009 WWE has certainly helped with our SOTW narrations. We struggled some with narrations, and WWE helped me see how to help her narrate. And WWE helped her realize that she didn't need to remember and retell everything in a SOTW section. When I asked her to tell me about one part of the section, she realized that I really meant only one part. (She's a bit of a perfectionist, so if she's not confident with something she tends to shut down.) :lol::lol::lol: I think I just responded to your post about this on a different thread. :D I think I will end up getting the WWE text just for that purpose. Thanks again! My daughter is a perfectionist, too! She gets so mad if she makes a mistake that she would rather give up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurel Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 :lol::lol::lol: I think I just responded to your post about this on a different thread. :D I think I will end up getting the WWE text just for that purpose. Thanks again! My daughter is a perfectionist, too! She gets so mad if she makes a mistake that she would rather give up. :lol: :lol: We have had SO many conversations lately about how everyone makes mistakes, and that she's supposed to get things wrong, or she wouldn't be learning anything, etc. I wish I could say it was sinking in, but I suppose I can't expect miracles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy2BeautifulGirls Posted May 10, 2009 Author Share Posted May 10, 2009 :lol: :lol: We have had SO many conversations lately about how everyone makes mistakes, and that she's supposed to get things wrong, or she wouldn't be learning anything, etc. I wish I could say it was sinking in, but I suppose I can't expect miracles. We're getting to that point. My 4-year-old is starting to show signs of the same thing, too. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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