Well I did a search for Writing Strands on the forum..didn't like what I saw, so if you scroll down the list of old posts that search will bring up you will see search w/ google at the bottom of the page. This is where it is very nice...old posts will appear that has the keywords you typed in!
I read a few before I got to this post. Then I just replied to it! I don't even know if I explained that well enough!?????

Sorry, I just realized that I responded to a year old post! Well, I am very grateful, 2flowerboys, that you bumped it.

How do you bump an older post anyway?

Ditto to all these comments! This is a FABULOUS thread. Has someone been reading my mind? I have been trying to get answers to these questions as well!

A million thanks to Bookworm and everyone else!

Can't tell you how excited I am to apply all this. What a blessing.

Bumping this one up..cause I am searching for a writing program too! Thanks for the input Michelle (Bookworm)! Thought more could benefit from this post!! :)

We're getting ready for a move.  To simplify the process, I'm doing a huge shelf clearing, children getting older curriculum clean-out.  Some of the items are the old/new McGuffey eclectic readers, a complete CM original set, almost all of the Apologia elementary science books and all the Moody videos.  PM me for a complete list with prices please.  

Yes, isn't this thread lovely?  I think it got lost in the data mix-up the other day.

I was panicking a few days ago about NEEDING a writing program.  I was looking through the forum archives and found this...and it spoke peace to my heart.  

Thanks for bumping this.  Four months ago I was mired in a "not-such-a-good-idea" curriculum, so I missed this and am finding it very helpful now.  Thanks for all who took the time to write in this thread!

I found this thread very useful, so I'm bumping...

Bookworm - Thank you!  I totally forgot that suggestion about using the white boards.  Great, useful idea for capturing the names in our readings.

Written narrations ARE composition at these ages!  Aha! 

Thank you too for the insight on copywork.  I do see better where that falls in the weekly scheme of things.  I might make myself a little visual cheat sheet on an index card to keep in my planner .... copywork / composition & written narration / dictation ... I need to "see" to remember!

I am thinking I will stay with the one polishing per week for my 10 yo for now.  We can build up to more or to polishing longer and longer pieces.  I don't want to overwhelm at this point since things are moving along nicely and she's starting to draw her own connections on beautiful writing, style, structure. 

So an occasional written narration for the 8 yo during the week?  More copywork for the handwriting and exposure?  He's my reluctant writer ... or was ... he's now thrilled with his progress and has enjoyed this past week writing a few narrations.  I might just play this by ear keeping in mind all these great points.

This forum is pure sunshine!

Claire,

You may  jot critical names down on a whiteboard before beginning.

I myself would find it tedious to "polish" seven narrations a week at ten years old.  Not sure *I* would have the patience for that!  Written narrations ARE your composition at this age.  I myself prefer to use other material--lovely material, graceful in expression--as copywork, just for its exemplary quality.  Copywork is handwriting practice in which you sneak in a little good exposure to good style.  So there's no real CRITICAL reason for doing a selection from a book or poem or Scripture or quote instead of eight-year-old narration, EXCEPT in the fact that most eight-year-olds don't write anything like, say, E.B. White or the Psalmist or Kipling.  I"d rather have the additional reinforcement of the beautiful writing, which my kids do NOT produce at this age.    Beside the fact, since copywork is primarily for handwriting, and since it is HARD to get quick-moving thoughts down onto paper mechanically at this age, most children do NOT do their best handwriting when doing written narrations, especially at first.  In fact my 11yo can be nearly illegible when trying to capture a written narration, lol.  So I make him do copywork separately to work on that, and have him do a couple written narrations a week for composition practice.  If there is an issue of what to do with the written narration, and especially if it is nearly illegible, I usually opt to have him type it, as this also gets in typing practice. 

I am always curious if I am doing narration right! Could you comment ...  I'd really like the feedback!

Sample - 1. I read our History section, 2. They take turns telling me what I've read in as much detail as possible, 3. I don't correct them, (I let the youngest go first then the oldest), then we might openly talk about something in the reading in a discussion format if anyone wants to. 

Between to the two of them, and usually from both, I get the reading back.  Names are an issue!  They will have the first letter and everything else in the reading but the major name.  This doesn't happen as much with the 10 year old as with the 8 year old. 

I've just now started to have the 10 year old write narrations which I keep, look over and ask her to "polish" (thanks for the cool word Christie) one narration one day a week. Should she polish all her written narrations each week? Do written narrations count for any other lesson in your days?  Penmanship, composition or copywork?

I know the answer on copywork I think .... the purpose of it is to sharpen attention, spelling and grammar structures.  Right?  So regardless of the other writing during the day they should also separately be doing copywork?  And this is an area where perfection is required?  I'm still sharpening my Charlotte skills on sorting out all these things!  Help me with your "how to" everyone!

Is it ok to have the younger one doing written narrations as his composition/penmanship?  Writing has been a tough area and now that he is happily doing it and getting better and better I hate to discourage it.  He also loves to follow closely in his sisters footsteps.

I couldn't agree more, and I'm fairly new to this!  We're reading Missionary Stories with the Millers and I don't usually ask for narrations, well, this morning I did.  Both of my two older boys shared similar parts, but then again, a little different.  They both got the main characters first name wrong but I attributed that to how early in the morning it was.  Overall, they both got the gist of the story and were able to go from the beginning to the end, which is something I've been working with my 9yo on.  I was pleased with what they remembered and refrained (zipped my lip!) from adding my .02.

My goal is to help them enjoy this process and not feel that mom is only going to criticize what they remembered or forgot. When I start out saying, "Tell me all you remember about...." then later tell them that that wasn't what they should've remembered but that they should've remembered "such and such", I'm being a bit hypocritical :(  I know my kids will begin to NOT enjoy to narrate out of fear of criticism.  My heart was in the right place for my kids, but my approach (in the past) had left alot to be desired.  I truly am working on that.  I think my oldest boy would come to me ready but was more worried about what I thought about what he remembered, sad.  We're headed in a much better direction as I see that that was NOT productive!

Thanks for the help, bookworm/Michelle, it is becoming clearer and clearer each day, yeah!

Yes, sometimes children are going to come away from a chapter or book with VERY different ideas than I thought.  It is a difficult thing for many of us to get over.  Remember when WE were in school and if we didn't provide the answer the teacher wanted she kept asking us?  Until finally we figured out what SHE thought we ought to think?  Then we just did that.  Charlotte would have hated that.  There are maybe a few times when Mom would also want to add her narration--once I had a boy narrate a chapter on the Civil War and ONLY mentioned the weapons.  Really.  Didn't even tell me who had won the battle.  I did kind of redirect with a "mommy" narration.  Then he narrated some more and remembered other things.  But most of the time, I remember to zip my lip and listen to what THEY found important.  It can not only be just as valid, but even gives me a little window into their hearts and how their minds work.  Which I can always use!  So if you really can't bear to leave it the way it was left, it may sometimes be OK to add a little of your own narration anyway.  My kids used to ask me why I didn't have to narrate, anyway, and so occasionally, I did.  But most of the time, sit back and marvel at how different we all are, and how rich good readings are.  I mean, there are passages in some books that only have a tiny bit of idea in them at all.  How wonderful to read books with children rich enough that everyone in the room can narrate something themselves. 

I agree!  This has been a very helpful discussion!  Thank you, everyone, for helping me (and others) to understand the process of narration better.  I am really excited and very hopeful that with a little consistency (me!) using this approach is going to be a wonderful addition to our homeschool.  Thank you, all!

Michelle

I'll ask my kids the same question, "Was that in the book/passage/chapter?" I can always tell if they're being truthful (I've yet to have them out right lie). Plus, they know that I can pick up any given book at any given time to preread/skim if I want to, so there's no reason to be untruthful.  I have wondered how much detail has been left out, but to solve that, I'm starting to say, "Then what happened?" and be more patient.  If I hadn't read the book I make sure they know that and that I want to feel as if I have through their narrations.  They're usually pretty good at it, if I keep up with it. 

I do have one question:

Let's say your child does leave out a chunk of some chapter/passage that you feel pieced most of the passage together, you don't say that do you??  It still falls under the, "Tell me what YOU remember?" Right??  I do want my my kids to listen for detail, etc., but I don't want them to feel as if they should've remember what I felt was important. I'm not suggesting that a one sentence narration would be acceptable, especially from a 12yo, but he may not see what I see in the passage, and that has to be okay, right??  I'm supposing this question is different from inaccuracies, since that would be bringing in something that really didn't happen (which I have had to curb my middle boy from doing--huge imagination).

Great discussions...I love discussing narration (even though we're pretty new to it compared to others).