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copywork problems/ need advice
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We have been doing copywork since the begining of the year. My kids HATE it. They moan and groan about having to do it. And I am extremely frustrated with their progress. They aren’t putting forth an effort so I don’t see how they are going to learn anything through this method. Their spelling stinks!! My two sons 13 and 12 are my main concerns. My dd9 does it and actually tries her best. She has handwriting issues but I see progress with her copying the passages. I’m concerned that She’s not learning how to spell the words and she doesn’t remember the correct way to write a paragraph… Same with the boys. Should I stick with this or should I find something differant for them to do as a spelling curriculum. Is copywork enough. I have a copy of All about spelling on my book shelf. I’m considering pulling that down. Maybe I’m jumping the gun here. Perhaps I’m doing something wrong.. Any wisdom from you seasoned CM homeschool parents out there??
Hi, I’m new here and this whole SCM method is brand new to me as of a couple of days ago- so I can’t say that I’m ‘seasoned’. The way I understand it is that copywork lays the groundwork for spelling and grammar and for some students, it can stand alone. Other students will still need spelling and grammar lessons on top of the copywork. I’ve researched All About Spelling and almost purchased it too… it looks like a fantastic program. Then I was given Spelling Power so we’re trying it out for now.
I wonder if your kid’s passages are too long? Could you keep them shorter and focus more on perfecting the letters? My dd7 really loves copywork. Hopefully the novelty doesn’t wear off… we only started this past week. I must say, I’ve never noticed such neat handwriting from her! Before we started with copywork her writing was pretty bad! Switching over to the SCM method has been the right choice for my daughter, she enjoys homeschooling so much more… like my user name- I’m an SCM convert now!
Best of luck to you as you figure things out!
First of all, how long are the passages you’re asking your kids to copy? And do you ask them to do it again if their writing is poor? It’s hard for me to say, “This is not your best effort; please do this again.” But when I do it their writing improves immensely and for long periods of time. They hate doing it over and if they know I’ll require ‘best effort’ that’s what I’ll get. When I slack off, their handwriting does too.
For my boys (aged 9) we’ve started a copywork jar. I took a bunch of copywork and cut it into strips. Some are one sentence long, some are 2 or 3 sentences. Some are only 5 or 6 words! We have 2 jars, one for scriptures and one for fun (sayings, quotes, etc). Each day they take one from each jar and copy that. They think it’s fun and exciting because they never know if they’ll get a short or long one and there might be a chance they get a Spiderman quote instead of Washington. Grumpy attitudes get another paper from the jar. I also have them do copywork on paper that has a blank space at the top and when the page is finished they get to illustrate it.
I absolutely LOVE All About Spelling. We started it this year. It was a good age for them to start. Your kids are probably ready for it too. I have them do copywork independently and we do spelling together as part of their individual teaching time (I work with them on spelling and reading).
Heather
Heather- I love the jars idea. I’ll have to keep that in mind for if and when the copywork novelty wears off for my dd. I like the illustrating idea too. Great ideas.
Their passages are very short. Only one sentance at the most. I think I’m doing this wrong.. I’ve been making them write the passage every single day and then I dictate it to them on Friday. And I’ve been making them write each word they misspell x amount of times. So some reform is in order. 🙂 We are starting all about spelling for my dd and spelling power for the my two sons after Christmas break.. Along with some other things. Exactly how do you all do your copy work..
For my 2 9-yr-olds – I’m not sure if it’s true CM but I have them choose 2 pieces of paper from the jar, 1 to 3 sentences long and they need to copy it using their “best effort” into their copywork notebook. I review it to make sure their letters are formed correctly with good spacing, etc. If there’s a problem I have them correct that part. If they did a really poor job they have to re-do the whole thing. And if they throw a fit about it they get extra copywork. I don’t worry about spelling because they usually get it right because they’re copying. If it is wrong I show them the correct word on the original piece of paper and they correct it in the notebook. They do new sentences every day. I have longer copywork passages that we’ll use as they get older.
For my almost 6 yr old – He writes 3 or 4 letters doing his best then I give him a short phrase or ‘special words’ he wants to learn. He’s really into Pokemon (much to my dismay) so lately he’s been writing the names of the Pokemon. He does handwriting lessons separately – the copywork is more to get him in the habit. Once he is writing lower-case letters I’ll have him do the copywork jar, with shorter phrases, and he’ll gradually work up to longer passages.
I don’t do dictation per se. The All About Spelling program has phrases and sentences for dictation so I just use those.
I had my boys write the same passage every day (I think CM says you’re supposed to?) and I got major kickback which is why I changed it. Maybe Sonya will pop in here with some words of wisdom!
Heather
This is my understanding….
Copywork is used to teach a LOT of things almost subconciously – good handwriting, spelling, grammar, writing skills – just basically how good writing is. The student copies the sentence or passage, looking at a word or phrase, and copying it in their best writing. The other things aren’t specifically taught – although the child should be matching the passage.
Dictation is totally seperate, and is used for older-elementary students (about year 4 and up). I haven’t studied this as much – but my understanding is that the student studies the passage, then it is put out of their view, and the parent / teacher says the passage at writing speed as the child writes it. This is more where the spelling is learned, as well as things like punctuation. I am not sure if the student is to have written the passage down while studying it before the dictation, or just reads and examines it….. and this is where some people have them write it each day for a week – but I don’t think that was CM’s recommendation.
I would keep copywork and dictation as totally different things (especially if doing it “combined” as you have so far has caused them to hate it.) If you are new to doing CM, I wouldn’t start dictation for your kids, even though they are older, until having done CM for a year, with a year of copywork.
That is my take on it – but there may be others with more experience and more wisdom to offer.
Well, I’d be happy to add my $0.02 worth.
mommix3, I wouldn’t have them do the same passage over and over. Since the goal of copywork is handwriting practice (and as suzukimom pointed out, many other things come along for the ride but are not the main focus), I usually allowed my children to select their own copywork passages. They could copy from a favorite living book, a favorite poem, a favorite hymn. The emphasis is on quality, not quantity. So you might try allowing your boys to select their own copywork within your boundaries. Just set the timer for 5-10 minutes and have them write in their best handwriting for that short time. When the timer dings, call it quits for that day. The next time they can pick up where they left off. For your boys’ ages, you could probably do copywork only once or twice a week, as long as they were giving it their best effort. Daily copywork is more important for young children who are still learning the mechanics of letter shapes and writing and such.
One thing I recently discovered for that age children is a Book of Mottoes. Charlotte talked about that book as being a blank journal in which the student can record favorite sayings or quotes from the books he is reading. I like that idea, and it could easily be married with copywork for the older students.
Dictation is a separate subject from copywork. Dictation’s goal is spelling correctly. Now, you could have the student copy the passage as part of his or her studying it, but again, I wouldn’t have him copy it over and over. You want to foster the habit of attention, so doing something once with best effort is what you want to emphasize.
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