We read constantly in our house, and have since the kids were little. I feel like my guys have learned so much from that one activity, including how sentences should “sound”. Does anyone else feel most grammar can be learned this way? Especially if special needs are part of your homeschooling…some things just don’t seem that important to formally study.
That's great! Same here with our kids! I think they learn so much grammar from reading. I still have mine do a separate grammar study, but we don't start until 4th grade and it is very laid back.
My 6 years old has difficulty to write his thoughts on the papers, and I don't really know how to help him except ask him to repeat a story by his own words after he read them. Today I searched it online, and I was glad to see your video. It's very inspiring and useful, also I'm very impressed by the way you teach your kids, you have 9 and you teach them by yourself, but you are still so tender. I only have one and just help him a little after school but I'm always nuts. I'll go back to watch your videos again carefully, try to learn and be a better mom. Last and the most, thank you so much for your sharing, nice video!
Thank you! It's not easy to be patient as a mom, I can relate! The longer I have been a mom, the Lord has helped me to become more patient and understanding with them. One proverb says, "The sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness." This reminds me that kids learn better with a firm, but tender approach. I am glad you enjoyed the video and that it was helpful to you!
I needed this. I’ve been thinking my daughter is really behind in writing. I was trying to figure out how to help her grow. She loves reading, but hates writing. I might try this and start small. 😊
Wow thank you so much, that was amazing. We do copywork as well, but I need to get better with narration. I’m curious how your approach spelling in your home. Has copywork been enough for yours? Any children who needed additional help? My oldest is 9, and an avid reader, and overall a good speller, however he seems to rush and guess a lot with words he doesn’t know. He doesn’t have the phonics rules down as much because he figured out reading so fast, it was not necessary to progress with the lessons. What’s your thoughts on spelling?
You are welcome! I am glad it was helpful to you! We have used copywork for spelling. I think spelling words are better learned in the context of a text rather than in isolation. Whenever they misspell words in copywork, I have them correct them and rewrite them 3-4 times. I also use random resources to teach them phonics and spelling rules (usually all together in Morning Time.) So far, copywork has worked really well to teach them spelling. If I had had a child who struggled with spelling, I would probably have found a specific spelling curriculum to use, but so far that has not been our experience. Have you tried transcribing a passage a few times a week? Read a passage for him to write as you read it aloud-no copying. Maybe you could use a book he is reading or a previous copywork. After he finishes, circle the misspelled words and discuss spelling rules, etc. This is something I have tried occasionally. It's worth trying! Sometimes, for kids that breeze through, it helps to just bring attention to that fact that they are misspelling a lot of words and they need to be more careful. I hope these might help you!
This was very helpful. Thank you! I have to also mention that I loved the clip where you were reading with your son so peacefully and then your toddler came up. That is my life right now! It's a beautiful way to live. ❤
Aww, yes, it's very sweet to be able to enjoy these special times with them. I love having my kids all with me. It's exhausting, but at the same time wonderful. Glad you enjoyed this!
Thank you so much for confirming to me the great value of both copywork and narration. It has re-motivated me to implement much more in our homeschool. Also, I have never thought about daily typing practice of copywork before. Thank you so much for these excellent ideas!
Yes, thank you for sharing I will be getting some good books to write though that I would love for my kids to write some copy work and will be doing this. Thank you! My Son does not love it but If I have him just do 5 because is is in 5th.
@@redeemedmama6768 We do not do paper checklists, I have them on a whiteboard with wet earace markers so they will not wipe off with the dry earace markers (we check with dry) at the end of the day wipe off. We do the best we can to make it simple.
@@redeemedmama6768 Hi there! Here is a post I did where you can see some samples of checklists along with ideas of how I put our kids' checklists together. I hope this helps you! ourlifehomeschooling.com/2022/08/22/how-to-make-a-workable-homeschool-checklist/
I'm glad to hear that this has helped you! I don't use a curriculum. I use a cheap dollar store manuscript tablet (with the dotted lines.) I teach them one letter at a time, starting with the letters in their name. Also, I remind them that most print letters start at the top, but cursive letters start at the bottom.
Thank you for taking time to make this! It was so clear. Just making rules like "1st grader copies 1 sentence" and so on makes a clear goal that can be sustained. I used AO in the past, but felt that I didn't know what I was aiming for each year and switched to a more structured curriculum through Memoria Press. But I feel the pull back to a more organic approach. Do you start your 4th grader right into Abeka grade 4 grammar?
You are so welcome! I'm glad it was helpful for you! Yes, in 4th grade we start formal grammar lessons. I feel like by that age, they have had plenty of practice writing and have heard a lot of good books, but need a little more structure and understanding of basic capitalization, punctuation, types of sentences, parts of speech, etc. We start with Abeka Workbook Level C, which might technically be a 3rd grade curriculum? Not sure on that, but it is a very level for them to start out with. Plus, at this age, I have found that they are pretty much able to read and understand the new lesson at the top of each page and complete the lesson for the most part on their own.
