Intro and need advice re: LA with my 9th grader

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  • October 24, 2011 at 2:27 pm
    chris4Christ
    Member

    Hello,

    (I’ve cross-posted this hoping I would get responses from those with HSers)

    A brief intro….I am Christy and have hsed our two dc off/on since Pre-K. My dd is almost 15(9th gr), and my ds is 10(4th gr) and we are six weeks into school. Ds spent all of 1st gr. in school, while dd spent all of 6th and most of 7th. I never planned on hsing to 12th grade, but this is what dd wants and needs. I’ve used an eclectic approach to schooling, with poor dd being my guinea pig. The common denominator has always been good literature and zero workbooks(though the use of workbooks may change a little with dd to some extent).

    I joined here hoping I could get some advice regarding dd and LA. I have had a difficult time getting her to write-since she was around 8yo. She’s always read well, but is extremely sensitive about writing. I have approached this area from many ways, dropping a load of money along the way. Ha-I just bought another writing curriculum last week!

    This AM I was searching online for reviews on LA books for my ds. While reading reviews about PLL and ILL, I realized I now have questions that only a CM community could answer.

    Enough rambling and to my point. Ds has never had any formal LA. Dd’s LA has been largely scattered. Her writing is way below grade level. I own ILL and am thinking about ordering PLL for ds(unless he is too old?) and using ILL with dd- or, is she just too old? She is currently using Total Language Plus(which I love!) and Easy Grammar Plus. The writing curriculm I ordered is Write Shop. Dd is an avid and fast reader-perhaps too fast as her comprehension is also weak. With both dc I have been inconsistent with narration and dictation-especially with dd.

    While I haven’t read the works of CM, I am somewhat familiar with the CM approach.

    Thanks for any help!

    chris

    December 7, 2011 at 9:56 pm
    jenni33
    Participant

    Hi!

    Sorry you haven’t had any replies.  I myself don’t get on real often.  But I have sort of have the same situation with my son.  Avid reader, though he does have good comprehension, his critical thinking skills are not sharp.  His writing is coming along though.  Here’s what I did for this year, 9th gr.:

    Abeka Grammar and Composition I

    Jensen’s Format Writing

    Beautiful Feet Books for History/Literature

    I chose Jensen’s Format Writing on the advice of a friend, and I have to say it is great.  It starts right at the beginning and tells them exactly what to do.  My son is writing more this year than ever before, and a lot of it he can do on his own without me teaching it which is nice, since I have a 7 year old as well.  It starts out with basic paragraphs, and takes them all the way to research and essay papers.

    For grammar, I would stick with what you have- EG plus.  Keep your Total Language Plus, and try WriteShop with it.  Those are all great programs.  I’m not sure about using ILL with her, because I haven’t used it myself.  But I know that it’s probably not going to teach her a lot of grammar.  But, on the other hand, it may help her develop some good LA skills. 

    I would say try as best as you can to do oral narration and dictation with her 2-3 times a week.  I’m sure that you’ll see results.  SCM has a list of creative narration ideas-

    http://simplycharlottemason.com/timesavers/narration/

    I hope that gives you a little help.  I sort of did the same thing with my son and the eclectic approach.   Switching around is definitely a detriment to their LA development, so I would say find something and just stick with it.  Even if it feels like it’s not working, you may just need to work through a rough patch, and then you and your kids will have a breakthrough. 

    Good luck!

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