One of the most controversial of Charlotte Mason’s principles is how she viewed the teaching of composition.

‘Composition’ comes by Nature.––In fact, lessons on ‘composition’ should follow the model of that famous essay on “Snakes in Ireland”––”There are none.” For children under nine, the question of composition resolves itself into that of narration, varied by some such simple exercise as to write a part and narrate a part, or write the whole account of a walk they have taken, a lesson they have studied, or of some simple matter that they know. Before they are ten, children who have been in the habit of using books will write good, vigorous English with ease and freedom; that is, if they have not been hampered by instructions. It is well for them not even to learn rules for the placing of full stops and capitals until they notice how these things occur in their books. Our business is to provide children with material in their lessons, and leave the handling of such material to themselves. If we would believe it, composition is as natural as jumping and running to children who have been allowed due use of books. They should narrate in the first place, and they will compose, later readily enough; but they should not be taught ‘composition.’

Did you get that last sentence?  Not teach composition?  Let’s look again at her thoughts restated in modern English:

1. Under the age of nine, composition should not be taught as a subject. Rather, children should narrate, either orally or in combination with writing, about an experience they have had or on a subject with which they are familiar.
2. Children who have been exposed to the best in literature will automatically be able to express themselves in writing.
3. Punctuation (grammar) should be taught using the books they are reading for examples rather than in isolation.
4. She intimated here and states more clearly elsewhere: Children are to be exposed to superior literature and be allowed to interact with it themselves without us voluminously interpreting and explaining it to them.

One of the keys to understanding this teaching is that she is discussing younger elementary children, not middle school and high school children.  In our curriculum we do not recommend formal composition instruction prior to the age of nine (third grade) – and by that I mean teaching children to write reports, summaries of literature or anything requiring more advanced reasoning skills or even requiring more than a very short paragraph at a time.

Some of the popular Charlotte Mason ‘interpreters’ believe Charlotte did not have children do any writing during those earlier years, but she did specifically state in the quote above (from Volume I, The Original Home Schooling Series) that narrations could be all or part in writing, even for children below nine.

Although we don’t believe children are to jump right into school with copious quantities of writing, as more classically oriented curricula often suggest, we do feel there are many skills involved in learning to write and they are more easily learned if they are taught using real books and reinforced through copy work in the earlier years. Some CM purists might disagree.  We do keep those lessons very brief and always in conjunction with books written at the child’s comprehension level, but we utilize copy work from first grade on and we include basic punctuation and grammar, as you can see in this first grade sample week  from our first grade plans here.

Although in #2 above Ms. Mason assumes that children exposed to high quality literature will be able to write automatically, I can’t say that has been my experience for all children.  Some have definitely been more natural writers than others, in my opinion, and some have benefited by more detailed writing instruction.  But not in the first few grades — save it for later elementary.

One can’t underestimate what young children learn and absorb through hearing and reading top quality literature, however, we shortchange them if we don’t answer their questions and clarify areas that they obviously do not understand, paying close attention to their attention span and interest level.  In Endangered Minds: Why Children Don’t Think And What We Can Do About It, Dr. Healy describes just how important discussion between parents and children is to developing children’s verbal and language skills, and the more conversation, the better.  Mind, I am not talking about  daily lecturing your primary-aged learners! If your find your children’s eyes glazing over and they suddenly disappear at read-aloud time, consider that you may have crossed the line.  This time with literature is to be enjoyed, not analyzed to death.

I would love to hear how some of you long-time Charlotte Mason fans have dealt with composition in your home schools.  Have you taught writing using traditional CM methods or used another curriculum?  At what age did you begin composition instruction?  I appreciate your input – it helps all of us!

Blessings,

An extensive knowledge of the exact meanings of English words accompanies outstanding success in this country more often than any other single characteristic we have been able to isolate and measure. —Research Scientist Johnson O’Connor

An extensive vocabulary is a valuable tool that will help your children in every arena of their lives: academically, vocationally and socially.  An excellent vocabulary will improve one’s ability to comprehend other’s ideas,  understand the ‘grammar’ of a field of study, and to better articulate one’s own thoughts, opinions and beliefs. In our family, the development of an excellent vocabulary is one of the benefits of a Charlotte Mason education that we have observed firsthand.

How is Vocabulary Developed?

Vocabulary is developed by immersing children in high quality literature – in other words -  living books.  Generally, it is not by vocabulary programs and workbooks. Although those have their place, nothing exposes children to a broad, varied vocabulary like reading exceptional books. Many exceptional books.

Even before children painstakingly learn to blend vowels and consonants, their minds should be stimulated by hearing top notch literature.  In fact, even Ms. Mason was amazed that young children were able not just to grasp, but truly enjoy books that were several ‘levels’ beyond their own.  Exposed frequently at an early age to living books resulted in children “acquiring a copious vocabulary,” according to Ms. Mason.

Do I Have to Stop and Look up Every Word I Don’t Know?

It seems logical to have children look up the words they don’t know, doesn’t it?  Surprisingly, Ms. Mason did not agree.  She felt as though it was demeaning to children even to offer explanations for words unless they asked.  She quite definitively proclaimed that explaining the words destroyed children’s interest in the story and ‘just flat annoyed’ them!  So how did she think they would learn words they didn’t know?  Charlotte felt that most of the time they had some idea of what a word meant by the context in which it was found.  She felt if children read broadly enough, they would encounter words in different contexts and eventually glean quite a competent understanding of them.

So How Do We Help Our Kids Add to Their Vocabulary?

There are a few things we can do to help our children learn new words:

1. Teach children to try and figure out new words by their context. Walk them through the process as you are reading to them if they ask about a word: What is the author talking about here? What do you think it could mean?  What other word might fit in that spot (based on the rest of the sentence)?
2. Model enthusiasm for learning new words by circling words during your own reading that you are going to look up later.  Add them to your ongoing word list.  Talk about them.  Practice using them in sentences.
3. Pick out vocabulary words from their history and science reading and have them learn the words at another time – not during their reading time.  Epi Kardia’s Daily Lesson Plans use this method.
4. For children third grade an up, have them start two lists in their language arts notebooks: one for Tired Words and one for WOW! Words. (For those of you who use Epi Kardia curriculum, those charts are in the Tools section of your Manuals.)

For example, Tired Words are words that are overused, nonexpressive and imprecise.  Words like good, bad, pretty, mad, great and nice are bland, boring and don’t convey much to your reader.  Help your children ‘collect’ more interesting words that will add zing to their writing.  On their WOW! Words chart they could add: virtuous, dreadful, gorgeous, furious, tremendous and mannerly. (Be sure to read their work aloud with the Tired words and then with the WOW! words — they will be amazed at the difference!) During their composition lessons, teach them to replace their Tired words with WOW! words. When you find an overused or nondescript word in their writing, it should be added to their Tired Words list, to be forever banned from appearing in their writing.  Have your children add to both lists regularly, and as you teach them to self-edit, have them eventually identify and replace any Tired words they find on their own without any help from you.

But most importantly, read, read, read!  If you do, you will be surprised at the words your children will learn and begin using in their conversation!  Have you not found that to be true in your own homeschool?

Happy reading!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Monday night Beth had the opportunity of presenting a workshop on mini-books and lapbooks, types of graphic organizers, to our homeschooling support group.  We were pleased to have such a good turnout and spent a delightful evening with old and new friends.  It was especially enjoyable to see some ‘textbook’ moms learn that hands on projects such as mini-books and lapbooks were not only fun, but also educational!

What is a Graphic Organizer?

For the benefit of those of you who were not present, a graphic organizer is any tool that allows your student to organize his thoughts and record what he’s learned in a visual way.  Examples of common graphic organizers include:

• Charts and Graphs
• Venn Diagrams
• Scrapbooks, Lapbooks and Mini-books
• Library Pockets and Envelopes

We made two different types of mini-books at our workshop – an accordion book and a layered-look book, and we showed  examples of mini-books and lapbooks that had been made by our children as well as some we had made in teaching a Reluctant Writers class a few years ago.

For example, here is a very simple mini-book that can be made by an elementary aged student:

Directions:

1.  Using one single piece of 8 1/2 x 11 inch colored paper, hold the base piece of paper vertically, then fold it in half lengthwise.

2. Out of contrasting paper colors, construct a simple flower clearly showing the petals, leaves, stem and roots, as shown in the picture on the far left.

3. After gluing the flower to the top half of the folded paper, cut through the flower and the top half of the paper, to the fold.  Make three cuts so that the flower, leaves, stem and roots each have their own section.

4. On the inside of the flaps, label each section, as shown.

5.  Write a short description of each flower ‘part’ opposite each label.

What is a Lapbook?

A lapbook is a innovative, visual, creative, kinesthetic, way to organize information.  Examples abound of lapbooks online (and see our resource list at the bottom of this post), but on the right is an example of one my son made a while back about space.  The base is simply made from two file folders glued together.

Directions for making the lapbook:

1.  Take two file folders, laying vertically open on the table in front of you.

2.  One at a time, take the outside edges of each file folder and fold them in towards the center fold.  Crease well, then let them open.

3. Glue together the sides of each folder that are next to each other.  Voila!  That is all there is to it – you can make lapbooks bigger by gluing on more folders or attaching additional flaps inside.

At the left is a photo of the inside of the lapbook.  There is space for vocabulary, illustrations, charts, book reports, clip art and anything else your study included.  The multicolored mini-book is a favorite of ours, the layered-look book.  It allows students to do a fair amount of writing, depending upon the number of pages it contains, but is much less intimidating than that dreaded big, blank sheet of paper because it is divided into many different sections.

Lapbooks are not only fun to make but:

• they are kinesthetic and visual, maximizing other learning modes
• they beg to be shown to others, giving students an automatic and painless review of the material contained in their lapbook, every time they show it to someone else
• they can be used for studying almost any subject and easily may integrate several subjects, maximizing learning
• they are great at enticing reluctant writers because they are divided into many smaller sections
• they can also be used as an assessment tool, especially when assigned with an accompanying rubric outlining what is to be included in the lapbook
• they can be used for all ages, kindergarten through high school

As with all graphic organizers, anytime your elementary student is organizing information, he is building a foundation for learning more advanced writing skills as well as for learning how to take notes.

At every grade level and in every type of curriculum we have,  Epi Kardia curricula uses mini-books, lapbooks and graphic organizers!

Online Resources for Mini- and Lapbooks

Here is a resource list for mini- and lapbook resources including instructions, ideas and even free lapbooks:

• This site has every type of mini book imaginable as well as  free templates!

• This site has guided reading materials and  MANY mini book ideas and resources for elementary ages.

• This is one of our favorite original sites with great instruction and ideas. Check out the blog for this site as well.

• This has an array of lapbook information for all ages. In fact, at The Homeschol Lounge (highly recommended!) you can join a group of homeschooling moms who share lapbook ideas and resources.

And for those of you who want to incorporate notebooking and scrapbooking into your homeschooling (or you like to scrapbook yourself):

• These are resources and other links for educational scrapbooking.

• This is a free software download (full version) to begin digital scrapbooking immediately.

If you read our last post, Six Steps to Start Second Semester, mini- and lapbooks might be just the thing to add some pizazz to your homeschooling this semester.  Even if you use a traditional curriculum, please give your students a chance to do some thing hands on, colorful and creative!  Enjoy!

In His Service,

P.S. If you have a reluctant writer or two at your house, in addition to trying mini-books, you might find our reluctant writer series helpful.  See Reluctant Writers – Part 1 The Early Years, Reluctant Writers – Part 2 The Middle Years and Reluctant Writers – Part 3 High School and Beyond.

We’re Not Just Featuring a Cyber Monday sale…

How About a CYBER MONDAY THRU FRIDAY Sale?!

This week only at Epi Kardia, we are having an unprecedented

Buy 2 , Get 1 Free Sale*

Have you ordered an Ancients Unit of our Complete Daily Lesson Plans and wish you could order all three sets? This is the week to do it!

Example: Buy Sets I and II of any grade level and get Set III for free! If you’ve already bought the Ancients unit, you’ll still get to deduct that original $25 from your total! Save $75-$95!

Need high school courses? This is the time to buy! Buy any 2 and get the third one free!

Example: Buy American History I and American Literature , and get British Literature for free! You’ve covered 1 year of history and 2 years of literature for around $100.

Now, that’s a deal!

Have multiple aged children and want Complete Daily Lesson Plans for every child?

Example: Buy Set I for two different grades and get Set I free for another grade level! That’s a savings of at least $75!

Can’t decide on a Complete Program or Complete Daily Lesson Plans ? Get both!

Example: Buy 2 sets of Complete Daily Lesson Plans and get a Complete Program free! You’ll save at least $75 on that purchase!

You can mix and match any and all of our curriculum for this sale. When you order, be sure to note which item you’d like free in the “notes” section of your order form.

Sale ends midnight, Friday, December 4^th, so order today!

*The lowest priced item of the three will be free.

We, believing that the normal child has powers of mind which fit him to deal with all knowledge proper to him, give him a full and generous curriculum, taking care only that all knowledge offered to him is vital, that is, that facts are not presented without their informing ideas. Out of this conception comes our principle that….’Education is the Science of Relations’; that is, a child has natural relations with a vast number of things and thoughts: so we train him upon physical exercises, nature lore, handicrafts, science and art, and upon many living books… (Emphasis mine)

One of Charlotte Mason’s most popular tenets is that children do not have a natural affinity for twaddle, which includes second rate, predictable stories, dry compilations of others’ ideas, and incomplete textbook summaries.  Just as it is our job as parents and teachers to feed our children’s bodies, it is our responsibility to nourish their minds with living ideas found in what Charlotte termed living books.

What Are Living Books?

Charlotte Mason described living books as bursting with vital, vivid ideas written by authors who are passionate, knowledgeable and obviously fascinated by their subjects.  These books have noble ideas and often heroic characters.  Facts are usually combined in these works with fiction, and by that I don’t mean “made-up” information, I mean, a story. What young reader’s attention is not captured by a fascinating story?  All the better when the story contains or is based upon factual information and is accompanied by detailed, accurate illustrations.

Along with a large segment of homeschooling parents today, Charlotte and many of her devotees believed that living books should have a preeminent place in children’s education.  Charlotte observed that children had a natural affinity for literature and were distinctly susceptible to picking up living ideas from well-written, living books.

Interestingly, she also thought that our place as teachers should be ‘second place’ to children experiencing a book themselves.  Not only with books, but we should take a back seat when children study nature, artwork and music, as well.  First, children are to interact, or develop a relationship with, the book, tree leaf, painting or sonata. Then, they are to narrate (we will deal more with this in a later post), or tell back, what they observed, learned or thought about the work. Only then may we discuss our thoughts with them on the subject.  Giving them time to reflect on the object before we add our two cents is certainly contrary to many classrooms wherein students are expected to listen all day to “pre-digested” information in the form of teacher’s lectures.

We remember what that is like, don’t we?

Not Only For English

Did Ms. Mason believe living books were useful just for literature studies?  Absolutely not! Living books are appropriate for most children’s subjects, and should be included in many areas, including history and science.

• History – Fortunately there are bountiful numbers of wonderful children’s books that are included in the historical literature genre.  Believe me; an exciting story based on accurate historical and cultural details will engage your child’s imagination like no history lecture ever could, and help your children learn and be able to recall many details about a culture or historical period. Our family often discusses favorite books that we read together as many as ten years ago! Now that is retention.   Some of our favorites are The Golden Goblet (Newbery Library, Puffin)
  Johnny Tremain and RIFLES FOR WATIE.

• Science – Often considered a science book, The Librarian Who Measured the Earth contains fascinating historical details and describes a higher level scientific/mathematical concept in language that can be understood by an elementary school student.  Like so many living books, this one can be considered as doing ‘double duty’ and can be used not only for science, but also for history, math or even geography.

• Fine Arts – Add well-written biographies of musicians, artists, books about the history of instruments or how they are created, or about how different cultures express themselves in fine arts.  Charlotte would probably have you expose your children to the literature, art or music prior to reading the book, though.

• Geography – Read stories that take place on the plains of Africa, in the rainforests of South America and the bleak tundra of the Antarctic and use maps, globes and other activities, after written and oral narrations, to fill out and solidify the knowledge gleaned. Reading about missionaries and about explorers are other ways to include living books in your geography studies.  Check out Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of the Shakleton Expeditionfor an exciting story about Antarctica!

If you haven’t already, whether you use a literature-based curriculum or not,  we recommend you making a large place in your school day for an abundance of whole, living books, as Charlotte Mason did with her students.  Time to put away the predictable series books, the teenage romances (please!) and the dry textbooks (unless they are used as references or to fill in here and there.)  Liven up your homeschool and give your children the gift of enjoying learning.

Read more about some of our favorite books, coming soon. 

Happy Reading!

What do you do when a your child has a bad attitude about doing his schoolwork, his chores, or anything else you’ve asked him to do?  I confess, my initial reaction is not usually pleasant, although I am working on that.  Of course, it has be the child’s problem, right? After all, I am the mature one…

Actually, over the years I have learned that the most profitable thing to do first is examine is my own attitude and expectations. Am I giving this child enough help and attention, or am I more focused on other tasks I want to accomplish during school time? Am I short-tempered or critical because I’m in a hurry or unhappy about being “interrupted, again?” Do I have too many other activities and commitments to be able to focus on my children and their education? (Ouch!) If this makes you wince, pray for yourself and your child(ren), and ask God to give you insight and wisdom into this situation. Believe me, He will do it.

Secondly, talk with your child about his attitude, and really listen to what he says. Is she hungry? Tired? Lonely? Overwhelmed? Sometimes there is a physical or psychological reason that can easily be dealt with by a snack and/or a little focused attention. If it involves more than that, at least you will convey to your child that he is more important to you than the completion of his grammar lesson.

Thirdly, determine if this is a character issue.  If it is, it’s critical to identify and take steps to remedy the problem.  God’s Word is very clear on the issues of anger and rebellion, and I believe the heart condition of a child is more important than his math facts. Teach scripture and train in righteousness.  Have him memorize pertinent verses and hold him, your other children, and yourself, to a standard of kind and cheerful speech.  Teach and reteach that “obedience” is the following: when you give an instruction, a child looks you in the eye and says “Yes, ma’am,” (I’m living in South Carolina) or “Yes, Mom,” and then immediately begins the task.

As well, this is a prudent time to get the principal involved. Whether Dad helps with academics or not, it’s critical for him to be aware, involved, and supportive of your goals and struggles with each of your students.Your children need to know they will answer to Dad for a poor attitude or negligent work.  One of the systems  we’ve had in place in our home during the ’younger years’ to facilitate communication is a weekly “Presentation Night.” Children have the opportunity to share what they’ve learned that week and present reports, and Dad has a chance to praise and encourage, as well as peruse any test papers and ask about any substandard work.

Lastly, use positive motivation and incentive.  Try to catch your student doing something positive, such as working quietly, completing an assignment independently or quickly, speaking kindly, or having a helpful attitude with a sibling.  When those occasions occur, we generally make do with a warm hug and verbal recognition, but you may want to take it to the next level.  A system of tally marks or stickers per incidence with a “store” of small items, where those tallies can be redeemed at the end of the week, may work well with your child.

With realistic expectations, a calm, organized and attentive mom, consistent training and good modeling, you should be able to see improvement in your child’s attitude. And if you are anything like me, you might even grow a bit in the process.

Still learning,

I remember when my now college student, Ally, was in 4th grade and we had just begun home schooling.  Ally and I poured over curriculum and researched so many different approaches that I felt like I was back in school!  One of the things that caught my attention early on was the idea of incorporating fine arts education into home schooling.  Even though she had come from a private school, Ally didn’t have much of a fine arts education. She loved and still loves to paint and draw (a quality she received from my mother…definitely not me!).That was about as much fine art as we had in our home.  I had been teaching about eight years at that time and never considered fine arts in the classroom because there just wasn’t any time for it. However, with the whole new world of home schooling in front of us, leaving behind bells and lines and required curriculum, I felt a tremendous sense of freedom and decided, yes, we definitely needed fine arts in our studies. 

I began to educate myself by the most sensible way I knew at that point…going to the library.  I checked out books on artists from a variety of time periods, read books about how to evaluate art, discovered the great composers and brought home hoards of materials.  Although I never had a passion for the fine arts, I have always had a passion for learning, so began my art and music education. I tried to recall my college art appreciation class and only remembered my grade for the one major paper. 

Below are the major points that I learned through that process and over the years to come concerning fine arts in our home. 

1.  Each family should define "fine arts" in their own way. Some of the great blessings of home schooling are that you can put the emphasis where you choose and you can develop your schooling program around your family’s core beliefs and values without concern about what others are doing or think. Case in point, I don’t think Andy Warhol was much of an artist.  It’s not just that I don’t like his style, I just don’t see the great art potential in his work. There’s not much there to even analyze for me. However, I really love Norman Rockwell.  His ability to catch the human spirit in expression and activity totally blows me away. I can look at his work repeatedly and find new things to enjoy every time. Crazily enough, by the world’s standards Andy Warhol is an artist and Norman Rockwell is an illustrator (basically because his most popular work was on magazine covers). Now, you may strongly disagree.  You may have Campbell Soup renditions all over your house and spend hours each day delighted by their vibrant colors and realness. Or you may find Norman Rockwell bland and unoriginal because he chose real people as his subjects and really did do his best work for The Saturday Evening Post. That’s the beauty of it. Determining which art is fine for your family is your decision.

2. Just because they’re naked doesn’t mean they’re art. Artists have painted the human body in a variety of ways and sculpted them in even more variations. If nudity determines artistic credence, then you can find plenty of fine art in convenience store magazine racks. There is a major difference, although I have met "artists" who don’t agree, between admiring God’s handiwork in the beautiful creation of the human body and simply painting nude people because others will look at them.

3. Just because they’re naked doesn’t mean they’re not art. I am not legalistic about the presentation of the human body. I did not have a problem explaining Michelangelo’s David to my children. However, there have definitely been graphic paintings and provocative sculptures that I deemed inappropriate. Children are often fascinated by the human body and presenting it in a God created expression through art can be very healthy. Other presentations create pictures in their minds that are not easily removed.

4. Art and Music are excellent tools for teaching discernment. These are great areas for demonstrating the worldly vs. godly viewpoints. Art and Music with violent or graphic themes may still be considered art and music, but that does not mean they’re appropriate for a believer’s heart to embrace. Teaching our children from early on that ungodly examples exist in literature, fine art, movies etc. can only benefit them. I am amazed at how many parents allow their children to read poorly written books with negative, sometimes even anti-God themes, and rationalize it by saying "At least he’s reading". Whether we’re looking at art, listening to music, reading a book or watching a movie, none of those activities are valuable in themselves. What our mind and heart processes through the experience is the valuable component.

5. "Exposure" has not been proven a good teacher. I was a teacher when the government decided that exposing elementary age children to drugs and how those drugs affect people would prevent the children from using drugs later. The same decision was made about AIDs and safe sex. It didn’t take long to realize that simply exposing children to something isn’t quite the same as educating them.  As well, a child can be educated about many things without having to be exposed to them. Simply exposing your children to art and music, even the really good stuff, won’t necessarily do much.  Interaction and communication are better teachers.  Discussing why something is considered art or considered fine, leading your child to examine art and listen closely to music, and integrating fine arts with writing or other academic areas will all produce a higher quality of education than visiting a multitude of museums and simply showing them.

6. Go with your gut. If a work of art makes you feel uncomfortable or evokes negative emotions, go with your instincts and prayerfully consider whether it won’t cause the same emotional reaction for your child.

As parents and teachers, we have a tremendous responsibility to not only educate our children but also to train them to educate themselves. When we look at any component of their education, we want to make sure that their education has real value. Teaching or doing something because other families do or simply as a desire to instill as much knowledge as possible into our children will not produce the best results. As you decide what components are incorporated in your child’s education, don’t overlook the arts. However, remember that a Christ centered education means that all aspects of study relate back to God and His will.

If you’d like to view some fine arts options online, check out Epi Kardia’s resource links where you can visit The Louvre, take a virtual tour through the National Gallery of Art and more!  Just go to www.epikardia.com/links.htm .

Every family seems to have one, or more.  They dread the moment they hear words like writing, paragraph or even sentence!  You wonder if they’ll ever choose to communicate in the written word and knowing how important it is in every aspect of life, you wonder if not writing will cause them to live with you forever.  The Reluctant Writer or in some cases, the obstinate “no way on this planet” writer…how do we break through and convince these students the importance of writing well?

First of all, we need to examine what could be causing students to feel incapable of writing.  The four most common reasons include:

1.  The act of writing is painful or physically uncomfortable – It is essential that we teach our students how to hold a pencil properly, correct paper position and proper letter formation in the early years.  It may seem obvious to some, but students can develop some pretty uncomfortable and messy habits if left to their own devices.  As well, students who do not have proper writing instruction initially will be slower writers resulting in frustration later when their hands can’t keep up with their brains.

2.  Insecurity – Students will often have unexpressed fear of not being able to do the job well or feel unsure that they have the ability to develop ideas needed for writing.  Even when students do express fears, they are often overlooked because parents and teachers think that all kids have these issues on some level. When your child expresses such concerns, be sure to reassure him that while it is not uncommon to feel some anxiety, the best way to get past such feelings is to jump in and write!  Also, make sure your student knows that you will not be overly critical at first and then make every effort not to be critical.  When evaluating your student, especially in those early years, always point out positives before negatives and try not to focus more on negatives than positives.

3. Perfectionism – Students who tend to be perfectionists don’t often enjoy writing because it’s about impossible to get it right the first time around.  They don’t like to see their errors, let alone correct them.  Writing causes uncomfortable feelings as compared to their workbook pages that are orderly and have one correct answer for each problem.  Writing is also very abstract and may seem ambiguous, again leaving room for error that makes a perfectionist squirm.

4. It’s hard work! – It is rare for a child to want to do any job that is difficult.  This is particularly true when you get to the editing and re-writing stages of the process.  Writing can be discouraging for many students because they like to do a job and be done with it.

So, what can be done to prevent at least some of the above issues?   How can we start early and create a writer mentality?  To begin with, from early on focus on proper physical writing skills.  By Kindergarten, students should be focusing on forming letters properly and holding pencils correctly.  Staying on top of these skills and correcting any bad habits that might occur is wise.  In 1st – 3rd grades, forming words and short sentences should be the primary concern.  These skills are best achieved through modeling (you writing and your student modeling after you) and copy work (excerpts pulled from books that exhibit strong writing).

In most cases, you don’t want to push thought based writing prior to 3rd grade.  Unless your student demonstrates an obvious interest and the abilities required to get his thoughts on paper in some organized fashion, this type of writing can be very frustrating for young students.  They often lack the experience and maturity to transfer thoughts to the written word.

Encouraging a student to express himself verbally from early on by asking questions and discussing his thoughts on various topics will often lead to stronger writing later.  The ability to organize and present thoughts verbally is a precursor to organizing and presenting thoughts in writing.  Discuss things that happen each day, what he observes and what he thinks about a wide variety of things.  Make thinking and processing a habit for your student by practicing it with him.

Set up situations for your student to experience success.  This is most easily done in young students by providing early writing activities that are enjoyable.  Incorporate “fun” writing projects to work together on such as making greeting cards, writing simple sentences to label illustrations, and creating mini-books and lap books. (Epi Kardia users see your Parent Manual for lap book instructions and unit booklets for lapbook ideas.) Give strong, sincere, positive feedback referring to your student as a writer and point out what he does that makes him a writer.

Discuss the importance of writing and point out situations where writing is necessary.  Look at the relevance of it in real life whether it’s at the doctor’s office or the fact that there isn’t a television show that could be produced without writers. Talk about how written communication leads to wonderful things such as the Bible, poetry, beloved stories, plays, music, computers etc.  Discuss what the world would be like without writing.  How many great experiences would we miss if no one knew how to write?

Model writing for your student. Point out the times when you use writing to communicate more easily.  Draw attention to the many times a day you have to use your writing skills and how difficult life would be if you couldn’t write.

Read, read, read with your student. Oral and shared reading builds a student’s confidence in understanding the written word.  There is a direct correlation on standardized testing between comprehension and writing skills.  Just as reading is incorporated into all subjects, so is writing.

Don’t treat writing like an academic subject. Approach it as a life skill.  Compare writing to exercising your mind just like running or swimming is exercising your body.  Make sure your student understands that writing is skill to used to become a better student in all areas.

As with most things of value in this life, writing begins early and should be practiced often. With the early years, encouragement and success are vital.  A good attitude early on will go a long way!  Don’t be discouraged, however, if you have a writer past the early years already.  Be looking for Reluctant Writers – Part 2  The Middle Years and Reluctant Writers – Part 3 High School and Beyond, which will be published soon.

Wishing your family a wonderful Christmas season!!

Beth