Convention Season: In Which I Attend The First Writing Seminar

Getting Words on Paper: Strategies for Reluctant Writers -  Kathy Kuhl and Janice Campbell

We rolled into town mid-afternoon and got settled into our hotel room. I had to hustle to get to the first seminar by 3:30, Getting Words on Paper: Strategies for Reluctant Writers with Kathy Kuhl and Janice Campbell.

My goal for this convention was to find as many writing seminars as possible to help me in my job as a writing teacher to homeschooled students. Since I have a number of reluctant writers in my classes, the title of this seminar caught my eye.

Kathy and Janice alternated speaking, but I didn't note who said what. 

They began by asking why the task of writing is often so hard. Some of the reasons mentioned were:

• the physicality of the task
• uncertainty of the writer
• perfectionism
• memory issues

To overcome this reluctance, goals should be specific. 

• We want to teach students to communicate skillfully and clearly on paper. 
• We want them to be confident in various writing formats (essays, reports, etc.). 
• We want students to be able to self-edit.

Methods we can use to accomplish our goals could be the classic five-step writing process or the model-based writing process. In either case, not every piece of writing needs to go through every step of the writing process.

Five-step Writing Process

1 - Read and Research 

Keep reading aloud to students. Dyslexics usually have a smaller vocabulary than typical students, so combat that by pouring words into students. Learning Ally (formerly Recorded Books for the Blind) can be a resource.

2 - Thinking on Paper aka Brainstorming 

This process is like turning on a faucet. Sometimes the hot water takes a while to come through. Mind-mapping/webbing are good techniques. Try using a white board or large paper, so as not to limit ideas. Index cards work well for some thinkers. Dictation software can be helpful. They also mentioned a website called Coggle It, which I have not checked out. 

3 - Organize Ideas

Number your ideas in order of quality, best ideas first.

Think of vivid examples for supporting points.

Teach outline format.

Use graphic organizers, such as the fishbone map. 

4 - Writing the First Draft.

Teach patterns, such as the keyhole essay format. 

Reluctant writers may simplify their first draft due to lack of spelling ability, dread of penmanship, etc... Anticipate this and counteract these problems. 

Try having the student dictate or record the first draft.

Use systematic instruction to provide a foundation.

THE MORE YOU WRITE, THE BETTER YOU GET.

Try techniques such as free writing or copywork.

5 - Revise (Learn to Self-Edit)

Use a rubric (scoring sheet).

Janice Campbell has a book called Evaluate Writing the Easy Way.

Model-based Writing Process

1 - Absorb

Read deeply, both silently and aloud.

Copy writing. (Have them begin by copying a line you have written as a model.)

Annotate.

Give pens and paper. They suggest a Jetstream pen. 

Experiment to counteract sensory issues.

2 - Consider (the piece of writing)

What kind of writing is this?

Who is it written for?

What does it mean?

What if....?

Be sure to engage students in the piece of writing before moving on to #3.

3 - Transform

Change THIS to THAT.

Change poetry to prose. Change Ancient to Modern. Change Essay to Letter to the Editor. Etc....

4 - Create

Write something in the same form as the original.

Adapt for reluctant writers. 

Audio, play, interview, graphic novels.

Special Tools and Strategies

William VanCleave - Writing Matters

Diana Hanbury King's book A Guide to Helping Your Child at Home: Developing Foundational Skills in Reading & Writing

tablet apps

Explicitly teach sentence skills.

Focus on process more than product.

Words at Work

Card games

Perfect Reading, Beautiful Handwriting (for lefties)

Short, sweet daily lessons

TIPS:

Use the "Triage" concept. Don't try to fix everything in a student's writing all at once. 

Rank substance in writing before style and mechanics.

Encourage! Always find something to praise!

Encourage! Always find something to praise!

Janice Campbell's Pinterest has a graphic organizer board.

Although there was no "new" concept to me in this seminar, I loved hearing the contrast between the two writing processes. I also liked hearing the titles of books and resources that can be helpful.

RECOMMENDED - Especially for parents of reluctant writers in upper elementary through high school

Convention Season: In Which I Reflect on the Experience

Vendor Hall BEFORE it opened

One of the highlights of my year is attending the Great Homeschool Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio. For the past five years, I've made the five-hour journey down I-75. Even the car ride is fun, since I travel along with good friends.

A few days spent with some of my favorite people is one of the main reasons for loving the convention. A getaway is such a blessing. We laughed together more than I've laughed in months and months.

Of course, there's the convention itself - a huge vendor hall filled with curriculum and learning materials and some of the most motivating homeschool speakers. BLISS!

This year I attended ten seminars. Over the next few weeks, I'll share what I learned. My goal was to attend seminars that will help me in the writing and literature classes I teach to homeschoolers, as well as motivate me to finish the last four years and 2 months I have left before my youngest graduates. (Not that I am counting or anything!)

1. Getting Words on Paper: Strategies for Reluctant Writers - Kathy Kuhl & Janice Campbell
2. Nurturing the Writer in Your Child/Nurturing the Writer in Yourself - The Writing Family
3. Beauty and Delight in the Ordinary Chaotic Homeschool - Sarah Mackenzie
4. Witches, Wizards, and Wands, Oh My! A Parent's Guide to Fantasy, Fiction, and Faith - Adam Andrews
5. Why Writing is Not a Subject and Why Every Subject Needs Writing To Be Properly Taught - Andrew Kern
6. How We (Mis)Read the Bible: Being Biblical As We Try To Be Biblical - John Stonestreet
7. How to Mark a Student Paper Like a Pro (Only Better) - Brian Wasko
8. The Socratic Method for Dummies - Become a Great Teacher - Adam Andrews
9. Teaching Reading in the Screen Age - Andrew Kern
10. G.K. Chesterton and the Metaphysics of Amazement  - Martin Cothran

Wow, strong inspirational teaching in every seminar but one. (You'll have to stay tuned to find out which one was the stinker!)

I rarely attend the keynote speakers and this year was no exception. None of them was compelling enough to skip our evening hijinks. On Thursday night, my friends and I gathered at a restaurant on the nearby city square and laughed and ate (tasteless) burgers. Friday night we ventured on the trolley across the river into Kentucky to have much better burgers and see a movie at the mall.

One of the things I've learned to expect is that I "hit the wall" so to speak after hearing so much valuable information. It's just mentally exhausting. So, I've learned to plan for that ahead of time. Four seminars in a day is usually all I can manage, along with a stint in the vendor hall. Now that I've learned to expect that, it's much easier to get through the weekend.

For those newbies, one thing that has made my experience easier is to bring a rolling cart. If you're heading to a convention, that's my tip!

SUCCESS! (Sitting Still Training Victory)

Yesterday, while sitting in church on Easter Sunday with my family, I realized something.

They were all sitting still!!!

Longtime readers of my blog may remember our family's attempts at Sitting Still Training (2006). In 2013, we revisited the attempts. My youngest were 13 and 11 then.  Those two are now 16 and almost 14 and can sit still!

I know. They probably would have learned to do it anyway. But it still feels like success!

Professional Development at Cincinnati Convention

I spent the last three days at the Midwest Homeschool Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio. My main goal for attending this year was professional development for the writing classes I teach for homeschoolers. I wanted to examine as much writing curriculum as I could. I will be writing down some impressions of the curriculum I looked at, but nothing was a game-changer for me.

These are the information-packed
seminars I attended.

• The Four Deadly Errors of Teaching Writing - Andrew Pudewa (IEW)
• Dyslexia Remediation and a Strength Perspective: Hope and Help for Dyslexics - Beth Ellen Nash (Wings2Soar Academy)
• George Washington: Father of Our Country - Jim Weiss (Greathall Productions)
• Fiction as a Weapon in the Culture Wars: How to Write Back and Fight Back - Don Brown 
• Finding the Glitch When Kids Won't Write - Karen Holinga (Demme Learning/Math-U-See)
• How to Read a Great Book and a Hard One - Andrew Kern (CiRCE Institute)
• Danger of the Homeschool Bubble: Helping Your Kids Discover God's Purpose for Their Lives - Bob Sjogren (Cat and Dog Theology)
• Teaching Students to Test Truth Claims - John Stonestreet (Chuck Colson Center)
• Preparing Students for College Writing - Kim Priesmeyer (Belhaven University)
• Quitting is Not An Option: How to be a Homeschool "Lifer" - Tina Hollenbeck (Celebrate Kids, Inc.)

I will post some thoughts on each of these seminars in the next few weeks.

Downsizing the Book Collection, or 44 Children's Books That Made the Cut (+5 more)

For a long time - most of my life, really - I've collected books, well into the thousands.

Our teensy house has barely contained all these volumes. Pressure from my family and my dislike of clutter has resulted in me culling my collections quite severely.

I know, I know. You may be horrified at my willingness to downsize my library. However, I no longer truly believed my old mantra: You can never have too many books.

I DID have too many books. I just knew it was time to let many of them go.Today was another step in that lengthy journey.

Our upstairs landing once held 4 bookcases; today the landing is book-free. No worries, as I still have a bookcase in my bedroom and two in the living room. The kids own books which they keep in their bedrooms.

Deciding what to keep was painful. I've sold some, given away some, and even (gasp) discarded some. (Only the really well-used ones, I promise!)

I asked myself questions like these to help weed through my collection:

• Will any of my children (currently ages 12-20) want to read this?
• Will I personally ever read this? (I tried to be very realistic.)
• Would a replacement be easily available if I ever wanted one?
• Is the information in this book current and useful?
• Can I find this information faster online?
• Will I ever want to read this book to a grandchild? 
• (And a corollary to that is: Do I want to hold on to it until that event happens?)
• Does this book hold special memories? (For example, was it gifted by a special person?)
• Is the book in good enough condition to keep?

I don't need to hold on to books for emotional reasons. Well, at least not very many. (I will admit to a small box of books that fit that description.)

For those that are wondering which books were deemed worthy of shelf space in my living room, here are 44 picture books that made the cut:

1. A Squirrel's Tale by Richard Fowler (Usborne)
2. The Amelia Bedelia Treasury by Peggy Parish
3. Animalia by Graeme Base
4. Are You My Mother by P.D. Eastman
5. The Big Snow by Berta and Elmer Hader
6. The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
7. Catskill Eagle by Herman Melville (illus by Thomas Locker)
8. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault, illus by Lois Ehlert
9. Corduroy by Don Freeman
10. Dr. Seuss's ABC
11. The Frances Collection by Russell Hoban
12. Go, Dog. Go! By P.D. Eastman
13. The Golden Egg Book by Margaret Wise Brown
14. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
15. Guess How Much I Love You, by Sam McBratney
16. How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
17. I Am a Bunny by Ole Risum, illustrated by Richard Scarry
18. I Can Draw Animals by Ray Gibson (Usborne)
19. Jamberry by Bruce Degen
20. Least of All by Carol Purdy
21. The Little Bear Treasury by Else Holmelund Minarik
22. The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper
23. The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood
24. Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
25. Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton
26. Millions of Cats by Wanda Ga'g
27. The Monster at the End of this Book starring Lovable, Furry Old Grover by Jon Stone
28. Mother Goose, Carolyn Wells edition (1946)
29. One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey
30. Picnic by Emily Arnold McCully
31. The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey
32. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
33. Saint George and the Dragon retold by Margaret Hodges, illus by Trina Schart Hyman
34. Sleeping Ugly by Jane Yolen
35. The Snowman by Raymond Briggs
36. The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
37. The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
38. Ten Apples Up on Top by Theo LeSieg
39. The Usborne First Thousand Words in Spanish by Heather Amery and Stephen Cartwright
40. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
41. Wait Till The Moon is Full by Margaret Wise Brown, illus by Garth Williams
42. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
43. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
44. White Snow Bright Snow by Alvin Tresselt

Quite an enjoyable collection of picture books, don't you agree? I know there are a few greats that are not here. For example, my copies of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Caps for Sale were worn out, so I didn't keep them. Other favorites like Blueberries for Sal and the oversized volumes by Richard Scarry have gone missing over time. I will probably replace those titles and others someday.

For picture book aficionados, here is a list of School Library Journal's Top 100 Picture Books. (Psst.... lots of mine are on there!)

I will leave you with a picture of my picture book collection. (And yes, I do have two copies of Make Way for Ducklings. I like that book, ok?) Many other books, both fiction and non-fiction, live on that bookshelf too. I am in no danger of being book-less.

But my new mantra is Only Keep the Books You Really Want.

EDITED 1/10/15 - I went through another box of books I found and found 5 more picture books I want to keep.

1. My Little Golden Book About God by Jane Werner Watson (this one is inscribed from me to David April 1995)
2. Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion
3. We Were Tired of Living in a House by Liesel Moak Skorpen, illus by Doris Burn
4. Christina Katerina and the Box by Patricia Lee Gauch, illus by Doris Burn (not the new edition with different illustrations)
5. Andrew Henry's Meadow written and illustrated by Doris Burn 

(evidently I like Doris Burn's illustrations)

This Year At Co-op

We are part of a fun and practical homeschool co-op that I helped start 10 years ago. We are now in our eleventh year of co-op and my kids could not imagine homeschooling without being in co-op.

Here are the classes the kids are taking this year.

Suzy, age 12
Creative Crafters - fun crafts
BFF Club - learning how to host parties for your friends and creating friendships
Babysitting - the Red Cross babysitting class
Drawing Portraits - a DVD course with an art teacher to learn to draw portraits

James, age 15
Drafting - learning both pencil/paper drafting and CAD
K'Nex Bridge Building - using K'Nex to learn about the physics of bridges
Literature (Mythology) - Greek and Roman Mythology
Personal Protection - Physical fitness and self-defense

Emily, age 17 (her last year of co-op)
What's Next - preparation for adult life (careers, bills, housing, etc...)
Foundations Personal Finance  - the Dave Ramsey course for teens
Literature (Mythology) - Greek and Roman Mythology
Choir - yup, singing in a group

Since this is Emily's last year, next year I will have only two kids at co-op.

If you haven't found a suitable co-op in your area, starting one may be very rewarding!

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.