I’m pondering the book I read last night and trying to put it into words – ha, ironic, I know. 😉

This homeschooling thing – I’m such a work in progress.

Elements of language that in theory I’m suppose to teach my kids so they can one day be able to communicate well with the spoken & written word, as well as appreciate reading.

– handwriting: cursive or print? or typing??
– reading: phonics & eventually comprehension & narration (summary)
– spelling: so what they write can be understood & for reading
– grammar: again, so they can write coherently
– writing: the ability to write creatively (if they are so inclined) but to also research, summarize, write letters, outline, take notes, etc.

It’s a lot! At first you’re just trying to teach your child to write their letters properly and sound out words and then you realize THERE IS SO MUCH MORE to help ensure they aren’t the adult that uses improper punctuation and misspells horribly. I want my children to be confident in their ability to communicate through a variety of mediums (and later we’ll be adding a formal speech program, too, to work on that verbal part!) and that means I have to teach them. I want them to sit in a college lecture and be able to quickly and accurately note take and focus on the key points. I want them to write a well formed essay. I want them to feel comfortable expressing their thoughts and feelings in the written form… through letters or journaling or whatever they choose.

I think anytime I research & begin a new curriculum I feel a bit overwhelmed as I realize I’m adding more to the line up of what I must know so I can effectively teach it.

But I’m also realizing how much goes into writing and that it is something children just fall into. My kids learned to read so quickly and easily but their spelling skills are all over the place. One picked up cursive without a pause, it’s painstaking for another. One can narrate in detail, one gives a one sentence answer. Some of it’s developmental but some of it is personality and different learning styles.

I am trying to remember that each of these components can be taught but a child must be able to master all of them before they will be comfortable writing a story or paper. They need to spell well, be able to type or comfortably handwrite, have a basic grasp of grammar (punctuation, sentence structure, etc) and on top of all of that have some idea of writing (main point, composing a paragraph, etc.) That’s a LOT! I am seeing more of the argument that we should spend the first four years helping them learn what the tools are and how to use them before we ask them to begin creating a masterpiece. 🙂

I still agree that children should absolutely be encouraged to create stories (through oral or written methods) but it should not be demanded for their lessons until they are ready. We can give guidance as we read their fun/creative writing or letters but we shouldn’t turn their creative expression into an academic requirement until we’ve given them the tools to do so properly. Otherwise I can see the risk of them being discouraged if we expect perfection in grammar and spelling and handwriting and they’re trying to integrate so many of those areas all at the same time. “Fun” writing should be just that – fun, and not a handwriting or spelling lesson (though I do think if they ask our input it’s okay to make minor suggestions/corrections if the child is open to that.) Once I feel confident they’ve mastered cursive and the basics of grammar and are at an appropriate level of spelling then I can assign writing and know they have the foundation to do good work.