The Eve of NaNoWriMo

National Novel Writing Month starts tomorrow! Every year since 2009, which was my second year of participating, my kids have written novels during November.

When I talk about NaNoWriMo, I encourage EVERYONE to participate. You may have a novel inside you and not even know it. And don't even try to tell me that you don't have time. We can compare schedules. ::::grins::::

If your CHILD will be participating:

You, the parent, will sign up your child at http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/.  If you, for whatever reason, don't want to affiliate with NaNo's YWP, that's ok; you can be local participants only. Students choose their own word count goals on the YWP site. Here's a handy chart to help you choose: http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/wordcount I actually recommend higher numbers than these, starting with 1000 words per grade level. So a 7th grader could aim for 7,000. 

This year, my kids have these word count goals

Emily (12th grade) - 50,000 - that's 1667 words per day

James (9th grade) - 25,000 - that's 834 words per day

Suzy (7th grade) - 7,000 - that's 233 words per day

ADULTS can write too!
Moms and Dads, you can sign up too. Go to the main NaNoWriMo website at www.nanowrimo.org and sign yourselves up!  Adults all aim for the 50K word count goal.

So, my own word count goal is 50,000. I will be writing a middle grades novel entitled Ebenezer McCracken and the Saga of the Sphinx.

Come on! You'll be really glad you did!

Many resources exist on the website. They have written novel-writing lesson plans and FREE workbooks for your students (and they are EXCELLENT) as free downloads. Very cool! http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/resources

What is NaNoWriMo?

National Novel Writing Month happens every November!

It is a fun, seat-of-your-pants novel writing event where the challenge is to write an entire novel in just 30 days. That means participants begin writing November 1 and must finish by midnight, November 30. The word-count goal for our adult program is 50,000 words, but our Young Writers Program allows participants who are 17 years old and younger to set reasonable, yet challenging, word-count goals.

The only thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.

Make no mistake: you will be writing a lot of strange stuff, and some of it will be just plain bad. But that's a good thing! For 30 days, you get to lock that inner editor in the basement, let your imagination take over, and just create!

As you spend November writing, you can draw comfort from the fact that, all around the world, other National Novel Writing Month participants of all ages are going through the same joys and sorrows of producing the Great Frantic Novel.

In 2013, over 300,000 adults participated through our main site, and nearly 90,000 young writers participated through the YWP.

www.nanowrimo.org

http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/

Let me know if you have any questions!

Can't Imagine Homeschooling Without Our Co-op!

Another year at our homeschool co-op is underway. This is the eleventh year our family has done co-op and I have been on the leadership team the whole time. We really can't imagine our homeschool lives without co-op.

How is our co-op structured? Each child chooses 4 classes from several choices offered for each age group. We break for lunch partway through the day. This provides some downtime for the kids to interact (and the moms too!). We meet every other Friday 14 times between September and April and finish up with a program at the end of the year to show what we've been learning all year. You can check out our website at www.sofhomeschool.com. 

This year's class choices are:
Suzy, age 12 (7th grade)
Creative Crafters - a craft class for ages 10-15
BFF Club - a chance for girls to get to know others and to plan activities for the group to participate in. Each girl will "host" a week.
Babysitting  - Red Cross babysitters training
Drawing Portraits - learning to draw portraits (DVD-based class)

Emily, age 17 (senior)
What's Next - Life skills training
Foundations Personal Finance - Dave Ramsey for teens
Literature - Mythology
Choir - yeah, singing

James, age 14 (9th grade)
Drafting - the basics of Drafting
K'Nex Bridge Bldg - physics and engineering using K'nex to build large bridges
Literature - Mythology
Personal Protection - self defense and fitness

We are NOT Hermits!

We have nothing on the calendar today because a field trip was canceled. Here's a conversation I had with my 14yo son.
James: We have nothing today?
Me: Well, we have lessons.
James: But we're not going out of the house today?
Me: No.
James: Oh my gosh, we're hermits!

As this post will tell you, we are quite a long way from being hermits. Now that our school year is under way, our routine is becoming second nature. Here's a glimpse at how our days (should) go.

I work 20 hours a week from home on the computer.
This is divided into 4 hours each day Monday through Friday, but I have the freedom to work whenever I want during each day. So, when you look at the below routine, you can imagine me shoving my 4 work hours into the "free" times. For example, while the kids are at karate, I bring my laptop and work from the karate school.

Our mornings usually follow a schedule like this:
6:00 AM - Mom gets up. Get ready for the day and work before the kids get up.
6:30 AM - Dad gets up
7:00 AM - Alarms go off for the kids. Get up, do chores, get ready.
7:30 AM - Dad leaves for work
9:00 AM - Lessons begin. The bulk of their work is done in the AM.
12:00 PM - Lunch and clean up kitchen.

I will note that the kids NEVER get up when their alarms go off. I am working on how to make that happen. Ideas welcomed. Keep in mind that I rarely go upstairs where their bedrooms are.

On Mondays and Tuesdays, we are generally home in the afternoons so the kids keep working on lessons or have free time. I am a paid supervising teacher at a homeschool partnership on Wednesday afternoons; the kids have stayed home on Wednesdays and done much the same as on Mondays and Tuesdays. James and Emily have just gotten a seasonal job that will probably keep them busy on  Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons for a few weeks. Suzy went with me to work this week Wednesday and she will do that if the older kids are at work.

On Thursdays, I teach two writing classes and my kids are each in one of the classes. We leave at 10 AM and don't return home until dinnertime. One Thursday a month, I have scheduled as an off-day and we do not have writing class on those days. During the class they are not in, my kids work independently on assignments. After writing, they attend two karate classes - their own level and a lower level for review. We often stop at the store on Thursdays after karate.

Every other Friday is homeschool co-op, so on those days we are out of the house from 9 AM to 3 PM. On the off-Fridays, we often have a field trip or park day to choose from. Lessons for the week must be done, or they don't get to attend anything special on Friday (or the weekend, for that matter).

In the evenings, we have some commitments as well.
Monday night - karate class at 5:30 and sometimes a lower level class at 6:15
Wednesday night - James goes to Royal Rangers at 5:30 and youth group at 7:00. Emily goes to youth group at a different church at 6:15. (She has to be on track with her work in order to go.)
Friday evenings are usually work time for me, but often the kids have a friend over or make plans to go somewhere.
James and Emily have been learning to referee soccer games and those are usually on Tuesday and Thursday nights and Saturday mornings. They only can ref if we have no other commitments.

Emily goes to Teens for Christ two Saturdays a month and is gone from about noon to midnight.

I am trying to protect Tuesdays as our Stay Home Day and make no regular commitments on those days.

So, there you have it! The basics of our full lives!

Planning Time - Science

Science is the bane of my homeschool. I don't like science and I don't want to teach it. I also don't like how science is taught. (This is probably the reason I dislike the subject. I was public-schooled, you know.)

Emily doesn't have a science credit this year since she has nearly finished her three required science classes. She has a few experiments to finish from Chemistry that we have saved for her to do this fall.

Thankfully, I found The 101 Series. This is a DVD-based curriculum that gives a nice overview of the science topics for the non-science-oriented child. James will be doing Biology 101 this year since he is a freshman. I add a dissection lab to this curriculum to round out the content. (Anyone want to teach James dissection? I. Do. Not. Do. That.)

The structure I use for this curriculum is for the student to watch the DVD section of the current module and read the text pages.Suggested activities and readings are included with each module, so I usually assign some outside reading from the library and short reports to summarize the information. We complete most of the suggested activities and experiments. Sometimes a field trip is suggested. Once those activities are complete, I have the child re-watch the DVD lesson and re-read the lesson before taking the end-of-the-unit quiz.


Suzy will be doing some experiment and reading from the book Exploratopia. We are starting with some kitchen science experiments. She will be doing experiments twice a week and writing them up on the other days.

Planning Time - History

History is easy. It's just a story.

OK, it's a really long story with multiple settings and countless characters. But still a story.

We use The Mystery of History. We are nearly done with Volume 3.

We will push hard to finish Volume 4 this year so that Emily (my senior) will be able to finish it with us.

When starting Mystery of History all those years ago, I had it in mind to do the whole thing TWICE before David graduated. Well, the books didn't come out fast enough for that. We made do and used other resources.

Suzy and James will get to do all 4 volumes twice. That's the plan.

So, for this year, we will work hard the first three weeks to finish the last few lessons of Volume 3. Then we will try to keep up the pace the rest of the year. We don't do tests or worksheets for history. It's a story and so that's how we study it.

I like to reinforce the topics with videos and hands-on projects. We also work on a timeline to put everything in order.

We're still not starting school....

Most of Michigan's public schools begin the new school year tomorrow, Tuesday, September 2nd. Many of my homeschool friends are following suit.

We, on the other hand, won't start our 2014-15 lessons until next Monday, the 8th.

A friend asked me why and I gave her a couple of reasons, but as I thought about it, I realized I'd only given her part of the story.

Quite a few reasons figured into my decision to wait another week before hitting the books this fall.
1 - I hate starting on a  Tuesday. Mondays are my best "get school done" days.
2 - I have a work commitment this Wednesday and therefore will be out of the house most of that day. Great second day of school THAT would be.
3 - I have NO planning done yet. I mean that. None. So, I need this week to plan.
4 - We were originally thinking about going out of town this week - until I realized that A) I have to work on Wednesday and B) We had to buy a new alternator instead of a vacation.
5 - My summer hasn't been long enough! And now we have some nice weather! I don't WANNA sit inside.
6 - And last, the public schoolers are starting, but that's no reason for us to copy their schedule. I don't copy their snow days, government holidays, or end of school schedule, so I don't need to worry about when the first day of public school is either.

So, this week will involve lots of lesson plans. I hope to post some of that!

And best wishes to all those starting their lessons on September 2nd. I'll think of you! :-)

The Best Writing Curriculum Ever!

I've done a lot of research into language arts and writing curricula and the best I've found is IEW. I tried substitutes and I've tested other approaches, but I return to IEW over and over.

Why did I choose IEW curriculum? IEW, or Institute for Excellence in Writing, is a very thorough and effective program that yields excellent measurable results. However, the learning curve for the instructor is steep so many homeschool moms find it difficult to integrate into their homeschool routines. 

This year I am again teaching composition classes for high school and middle school and I am using IEW curriculum. (Sadly, there doesn't seem to be local interest in an elementary level class.) Offering these classes to homeschoolers means that I can provide quality writing instruction to students in a group setting. Parents can be assured they will progress steadily toward excellence in writing without the pressure of learning how to teach this system.

When you have this, you can learn from the master himself - Andrew Pudewa. Prepare yourself to be overwhelmed and confused at first. I viewed the TWSS twice and taught David and Emily the SWI-B (Student Writing Intensive) before I felt really confident about teaching these concepts.

However, some moms don't have the advantage of a local class. So, what do they need to do? Well, if you're serious about teaching writing with this method, I'd suggest getting the Teaching Writing with Structure and Style (TWSS) DVD set from IEW. Yes, it's expensive. I went in with a group of friends and we purchased it together. 

My classes are using the Thematic books from IEW this year. The middle schoolers will be using the Ancient History-based theme book and the high school group will be working through the Character-based theme book. Last year my middle school group completed the Following Narnia theme book which turned out to be a valuable experience. These books are only suitable for use by instructors who already know the IEW system well. 

Parents can skip the learning curve by choosing the SWI courses. These DVD-based courses allow your children to learn from Andrew Pudewa and work through exercises in the corresponding work binder. I would recommend watching the DVD along with your children so you understand how to complete the assignments.

If you want help choosing IEW curriculum for your family, IEW has a helpful tool on their website HERE.

Students who learn to write with IEW gain confidence and skill and become excellent writers. I recommend starting now!

No Fall Sports (this year anyway)

David at about age 8 in 2003

For the first time in thirteen years, no one in this house is playing soccer this fall.

We've been a soccer family since my oldest child David was about six years old. (He's almost 20 now.)

Some years we'd have four soccer games on a Saturday morning, often in different locations. We've sat through hot sunny games, cold rainy games, even games that we huddled under blankets in our winter coats.

Emily after a muddy game in 2011
at age 14

We've picked up colorful new uniforms and passed down old soccer cleats. We've looked for sales on Capri Sun and made last minute runs to the grocery store on game day when we forgot it was our turn for snacks. We've juggled practice schedules and decided if Mom or Dad would go to the games.

We've kept camp chairs and blankets and spare shinguards in the car. We've stocked up on water bottles. We've figured out which long sleeved shirts work best under this season's jerseys.

But not this fall.

This fall we are taking a break from soccer so that the kids can concentrate on training for their black belt in Tang Soo Do karate.

Suzy in 2007 at age 5

The three kids still at home (ages 12, 14, and 17) are planning to test for black belt in February. They need to attend more karate classes at their PKSA school. I need to make sure they practice regularly at home.

James in 2010 at age 10

So we made the tough decision to say "no" to soccer or any other fall sports. That choice was especially hard on Suzy, the youngest, because she adores soccer and also because she has had fewer years of play than the others. She also is considering how to fit volleyball into her life and that's also a fall sport. So, there was no volleyball this year and her best friend is playing volleyball.

But it's just one season. By next spring, they will hopefully have reached their martial arts goal and will be free once again to play soccer.

And once again I'll be shivering on chilly fall mornings. I'll make sure to pack my blanket.

Basic Essay Writing Intensive

My Writing Process Blog Tour

"You're writing a book? How cool!"

That's what people often say when they find out (usually during National Novel Writing Month) that I am working on a novel. Then they often ask something about how it's done.

"When do you find the time?"

"How long does it take?"

"Where do you get your ideas?"

"Isn't it hard?"

When I was invited to participate in the #mywritingprocess blog tour by my friend Kaye Sims at Wondering as I Wander, I thought it was a valuable opportunity for me to sit down and think through some of those questions. During NaNoWriMo, I'm usually too busy frantically typing to make my word count to give the process much thought. By the way, I met Kaye via mutual friends on facebook when I noticed she also was writing for NaNoWriMo. She inspires me with her commitment to writing and simplicity as well as her willingness to go deeper spiritually. Thank you, Kaye, for this opportunity for some self-reflection and connection to the community of writers. 

So, Question #1 - What am I working on?

The bulk of my writing is done during the month of November, the aforementioned National Novel Writing Month. During the rest of the year, I blog, sometimes regularly, sometimes occasionally, and think hard about finding time to edit. 

My book club guide to the works of Jane Austen is in the editing stage and that's the project that is most likely to surface first from the murky recesses of my computer files. I'd also love to find some time to finish the weird sci-fi novel I attempted during NaNoWriMo 2013. 

Question #2 is 'How does my work differ from others of its genre?'

Focusing specifically on my Austen book club guide, my goal was to give the reader the sense of actually being at our book club. Since most of you have not been there, you wouldn't know that it's slightly irreverent, yet serious in our discussion of the classic books we read. 

We are not the kind of book club that just meets to drink wine and giggle, though we often do both of those things. We nearly always choose books that have modern film adaptations because we are very visual and we watch the films together. However, we chat through every movie, commenting on everything that strikes us funny or philosophical. 

So, I wanted to give my book club guide that same lighthearted feel but still be able to discuss the deeper questions that Austen's books raise in the modern reader. I haven't found any other discussion guide with the same goal.

My fiction work is much more earnest, I think. I'm not a dystopian or ironic sort of author. I don't think my fiction differs much from other books in the genre, but that's not necessarily a disadvantage. Readers who choose a genre often do so for some commonality between authors and works.

The #3 question asks, "Why do I write what I do?"

I'd like to give some really artsy answer here about how the story would burn in my soul if I didn't tell it. The truth is much more practical though. I'm not artsy. I don't have a story burning a hole in my soul.

I would like to make a living as an author. If that's too prosaic and practical for you, I guess I'm not your kind of writer. However, I think there is room in the world for writers of all proclivities and preferences, and I tend to be more common sense than romantic. 

But I have found that I absolutely adore creating a fictional world. The characters come alive, though they do not always do what I tell them. The story leads somewhere and I'm not always leading it! 

And I am in love with words. Selecting the perfect word is a process I enjoy. My weighty Roget's thesaurus containing 330,000+ words is my trusty companion.

The last question for this tour is #4 - How does my writing process work? Since NaNoWriMo is my normal writing environment, VOLUME is the key. 50,000 words in a month boils down to 1667 words per day. My process in November is to write as many words as I can in a sitting. I write fast and don't let the blank page bother me. At least not bother me much.

I like to do a lot of research, but NaNoWriMo isn't very conducive to that, at least not while I'm working a job other than my writing. So, either I try to do some research before the writing begins, or I write about something that doesn't require much research - a modern-day story or, as I tried this year for the first time ever, a science-fiction story.

Planning or outlining the story ahead of time is something I've done on a couple of occasions, but more often I've flown by the seat of my pants. Since my days are full without even considering any writing time, planning is a luxury that I haven't allowed myself to indulge in much. Perhaps my writing would improve or my stories would be easier to finish if I did more of it. Something to experiment with, I suppose!

Maybe you are wishing for many more details about how I actually write. But I doubt it. I will attempt to do more blog posts in the future about the nitty-gritty, but for now, I'll bring that to a close.

And now I would like to introduce three of my writing friends, C. Gockel, Andrea Miles, and Gina Lawton. Within the next few days, each will be posting their answers to the writing process questions. I can't wait to hear what each has to share! 

C. Gockel writes a series of books that I've much enjoyed and I'm so thrilled she's agreed to participate in this blog tour. I found her books due to my not-so-hidden Loki obsession and have enjoyed each one thoroughly. I highly recommend you download I Bring The Fire: Part I Wolves and immerse yourself in her mix of modern Earth and Asgard. (I see that Part 1 is free to download on Kindle today, so you've got nothing to lose!)

C. Gockel got her start writing fanfiction, and she is not ashamed! Much. She received emails, messages and reviews from her fans telling her she should 'do this professionally'. She didn't; because she is a coward and life as a digital designer, copywriter and coder is more dependable. But in the end, her husband's nagging wore her down: "You could be the next '50 Shades of Gray' and I could retire!" Unfortunately, the author isn't much for writing smut. She is sad about this; she'd love for her husband to be able to retire and just work for her so she could nag him.

At the moment, Ms. Gockel is working on the next installment of "I Bring the Fire".

Ms. Gockel loves to hear from readers. She can be reached by email at: cgockel -dot- publishing -at - gmail -dot- com
Her Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/CGockelWrites

Blog link: http://ibringthefireodin.tumblr.com/

My next writing friend, Andrea Miles, is a fellow homeschooling mom whose first book, Trespassers, is coming out later this year. I look forward to reading it! I found Andrea on Twitter (or maybe she found me?) and have enjoyed her tweets. https://twitter.com/THEandreamiles

Andrea Miles earned her Masters of Professional Writing from the University of Southern California. Originally from Pocomoke, Maryland, she currently lives in Birmingham, Alabama with her husband and three children. Her first novel, Trespassers, is forthcoming this October from She Writes Press. Visit her website (www.andreamiles.com) or find her on FB (https://www.facebook.com/THEandreamiles)

Gina Lawton has been my friend in real life for many years and she always inspires me - in writing, in education, in learning, in food (!), and in following Christ with a whole heart. Her blog is always thoughtful and sincere, going deeper than the shallow obscurity of so many blogs that I've clicked through.

Gina Lawton is a Mom, wife, wanderer, connoisseur of the "finer" things in life, writer, photographer and always looking for what comes next ...You can find her blog here: www.hobobone.wordpress.com

I'd also like to give a shout out to a writer I follow on Twitter who has been very inspiring to me - Nat Russo. His tweets pour forth every day bringing writing tips, ideas, and practical information. His first book is Necromancer Awakening: Book One of The Mukhtaar Chronicles. I saw that Nat had also participated in this blog tour so here is a link to his post: HERE

http://www.nat-russo.com/

Thank you for reading, everyone! Please visit my friends' blogs.