Moonshadows

Grammar Stage: Spelling, Grammar, Reading and Writing

Spelling:
Call me a heretic, but I could care less about spelling. Camille and I tried Sequential Spelling for a while, but neither of us felt like it was worthwhile. Her spelling has improved over time, probably because of the volume of reading that she does. So for now, I’m not going to worry about Chloe and spelling. It is skill that she can develop later on if it becomes something that slows her down.

Grammar:
Camille and I worked through most of First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind by Jessie Wise, and I suspect that it will suffice for Chloe’s first and second grade years as well. Camille has done a hodge-podge of grammar since then, including some Scholastic workbooks, Latin studies and Singapore stuff. We’ll see what Chloe needs once we finish the first two years of FLL. I see that there is now a Level 3 for FLL, so maybe that’s something to consider.

Reading:
Will Chloe turn into the kind of reader that Camille is? I doubt it. Chloe is much more physical in her activity, humor, relating. But she loves to be read to; I’d say that goes along with her greater need to interact with others. So while I suspect she won’t go off and read on her own as much as Camille does, I think she will enjoy reading as a group activity.

I need to remember to refer back to WTM every so often for good recommendations of books. In fact, I see some listed for fourth grade that I will suggest to Camille as she finishes up fourth grade.

Writing:
WTM only suggests IEW, aside from handwriting. Handwriting was another one of those things that Camille didn’t want to work on. Her handwriting is improving on its own (and is probably better than her dad’s already).

As for IEW, I’m not convinced, though it seems to be the only option listed in WTM. I wil spend more time considering IEW and Writing Strands. Camille needs more work with writing, and I’d like to get Chloe started earlier than Camille started.

2 comments December 30th, 2007

Kindergarten Notes

Chloe is halfway through “kindergarten”. I would like her learning to become (slowly) more formal. We’ve done fairly well about keeping up with a holiday a week, but our South America studies are slowing down too much.

Each week, along with her reading lessons from 100EZ Lessons, I’d like to:

Notes from “The Well-Trained Mind”

As Chloe finishes up her “Year of Learning How To Read,” I am working to prepare a plan for homeschooling next year. Camille’s first year was quite full, but we’ve slowed down over the following three years. Next year Camille will be restarting the four-year sequence, so both she and Chloe will be following the same cycle. I am hoping to capitalize on this and do some remedial work for myself as well.

The first step in the plan is to re-read The Well-Trained Mind by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer. While I don’t consider the book to be the manual of homeschooling, I do believe that they have done a lot of research and provide a reasonable starting point.

One thing that I have learned about myself is that I retain and consider information more thoroughly if I organize, write and research as I read. It is sure to make a boring read, but here it goes.

Add comment December 30th, 2007