Why we Ditched Spelling

For years I stuck with spelling lists.  Even while using the Heart of Dakota curriculum, I kept using spelling lists.  Or I would use Ace Paces’ Word Building (etymology).  My older daughters completed the full spectrum of Word Building books. 

I always wanted to use the Dictation plans included in Heart of Dakota.  I tried it with my older daughter.  She hated dictation.  She had come from public school and spelling was what she knew.  She asked for the spelling lists.  She likes the Word Building compared to the dictation.  So, I let her continue with it.

But then came my youngest.  She is the one that has never attended public school.  She tried the Word Building paces and began to dread them.  (She wasn’t a big fan of workbook curriculum.). With her, I thought, I could start her with dictation and see if it was truly something that I could trust to give my child a good spelling foundation.

She likes dictation.  Even when we wandered through a couple years of delight directed studies, we stayed with dictation. Occasionally we got our dictation out of McGuffey Readers.  Mostly, we used the dictation provided in the Heart of Dakota guides.  

I love the seamless, steady progress of the passages.  I love that my daughter is putting words into writing, not just memorizing lists.  I love that we can take the time for her to study the passage so she can learn it in her own way. 

Her spelling is good.  Occasionally she misses a word and must redo the passage.  She’s a bit of a perfectionist and gets easily frustrated when she misses, but I just keep encouraging her and we progress slowly forward.  

The spelling and grammar carry over to her other schoolwork, also.  Spelling errors are infrequent.  I believe this is because when you are reading quality literature and writing often, you naturally pick up how words are spelled by seeing and writing them correctly in context often.  With that comes vocabulary, grammar, sentence structure, and a host of good writing habits.

We will continue dictation through high school.  I love to read blog posts from the Heart of Dakota sisters (Carrie and Julie) about how dictation skills carried over into other areas of schoolwork and into college.  

Here are a few posts they have written about dictation:

https://www.heartofdakota.com/blog/2020/09/09/not-just-a-spelling-list/

https://www.heartofdakota.com/blog/2019/11/07/dictation-skills-help-many-areas-of-childs-education/

https://www.heartofdakota.com/blog/2019/02/13/a-breakthrough-in-spelling-charlotte-masons-method-of-studied-dictation/

https://www.heartofdakota.com/blog/2018/11/06/charlotte-masons-method-of-studied-dictation/

https://www.heartofdakota.com/blog/2018/05/01/is-dictation-good-for-struggling-spellers/

As you can see, using dictation instead of spelling has many benefits.

The dictation passages chosen by Heart of Dakota come from an older book set used in schools long ago.  They were published in the early 1900s.  The books are called Dictation Day by Day by Kate Van Wagenen.  With each level, new words are in bold.  Many of the passages are from quality literature or are quotes from famous men and writers.  These writers consist of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Shakespeare, and Daniel Webster... to name a few.  They come from quality works like The Bible or other great works of literature. Not only are the students learning spelling, grammar, and sentence structure, they are exposed to great snippets of writing and the thoughts of great men and women in history. 

In our home, we have developed a system or routine for dictation.  Dictation is part of our morning time studies, which also include Bible time, Writing, Language Arts, math, and Drawn Into the Heart of Reading (Literature) assignments.  

We keep dictation simple.  On day 1 of a new passage, it is used as copywork.  We do this because I think it is a good practice to write to learn.  By copying the passage exactly, my daughter is cementing the spelling of new words, seeing which words are capitalized, and where punctuation goes.  

On day 2, the passage is dictated to her, phrase by phrase.  She has to write it perfectly again.  The Heart of Dakota guide books say that, if there is a mistake, she corrects the error, again cementing the correct spelling in her brain, and then redoes the passage the next day.  Most of the time that is what we do.  Occasionally the mistake is simple and she corrects it as soon as she sees it.  In that case, we will often just move on to the next passage. However, many times the error is one where I insist the passage be redone.  The next day she will redo the entire passage through me restating it, phrase by phrase.  She rarely has to repeat a passage more than once.  

Having used this method now for several years, I am impressed with the simplicity of this Charlotte Mason method. It takes only a few minutes a day, but the slow, steady, incremental growth is apparent when we see how far we progress from the beginning of a year to the end.  Often we cover more than one level in a school year.  And while a small snippet may not seem like much in the day to day, it adds up to a quality education. 

Spelling is one of those subjects that, coming from a public school mentality, is the most difficult to release.  Dictation is a natural way to learn not just spelling, but writing and grammar.  And while we do separate writing and grammar programs, trusting dictation to be enough for spelling is scary at first.  It has been ingrained that we need those lists and rules.  Heart of Dakota asks that parents give dictation at least a year before trying to measure progress because it is a different way to learn from the way we all grew up with in the schools. 

The early years of dictation actually do begin with lists.  As a child is beginning to learn the write, each word in a list follows a spelling pattern, such as: grow, show, tow, throw, stow, etc.  After a year or so of the lists, the first dictation passages are introduced. Spelling patterns are repeated with extra words added that match the dictation.  For instance, the very first dictation passage is:

Sue has a bird.

It can call and sing.

king ring wing

This begins the gentle, incremental climb that continues through graduation.  

I can attest that I have seen the growth and it more than covers the lists.  Each week, with just three different dictation passages, there are fifteen to twenty new words (at my daughter’s current level.).  The upper levels of dictation are quite challenging, with longer paragraphs being included of top quality works that hold a depth of sentence structure and a rich vocabulary that makes those lists a sad substitute.   So while the earlier dictation passages are simple, through the years they advance to impressive levels. 

I encourage other homeschool moms to try dictation for a year.   If you hate it, the lists will always be there.  There is no shortage of spelling programs, both free and expensive, available.  Dictation is different.  I believe it is better than the lists.  I wish I would have stuck with it with my older daughters.  While they are good spellers, using a dictation program teaches so much more than how to spell. 

Writing to Spur the Imagination

My daughter loves to write.  I wanted to add more writing to her day, but I wanted it to be fun and imaginative writing.  My goal is to work up to an hour of writing a day.  Currently, I want to focus on letting her create her own stories before we add in a more official "writing" program.

Last year my girl filled up a composition notebook with her own "book," including chapters and illustrations.  It is super cute.  I thought about doing the same thing this year, but I didn't want her to feel like her special project was "schoolish."  I decided to make her writing time more light. 

I had received a copy of the Fun-School journal, "The Secret World of Talking Animals."   I saved it for this year, knowing it would be a great way to let my daughter's stories become part of our school day.  Every couple of days, I have her working in her Secret World journal.

My daughter does other writing.  She writes for grammar, does copywork and narration work for McGuffey, and has journal entries for her Beautiful Girlhood study.  In this way, she covers many different aspects of writing, all while reading quality stories and literature.  She tends to write a lot when she is delving into her own interests also.

Writing is one of the ways I learn.  I retain better when I write.  I sometimes don't know what I feel or think about something until I write about it.  It's like the process of writing helps to sort out my thoughts.  Writing can be powerful.  I want my daughter to receive the same benefit.

Since she has a natural love for writing, adding in a journal where she gets to make up stories about pictures she gets to color is fun.  I don't think she realized how much she is learning when she writes.  Mostly, I am trying to get her in the habit of writing creatively a couple times a week, building up to longer periods of writing as she gets older.

The Secret World of Talking Animals is perfect for her.  We have spent weeks living with the Borrowers, shared adventures with Aslan in Narnia, and even discovered an amazing secret on the Colorado prairie in Prairie Thief.  It is not unusual for us to imagine that animals can talk.  What would be unusual is to have read all this delicious literature over the years and not find a way to express the ways it grew our own imaginations.

Studied Dictation

Dictation with a touch of art.

 When this semester began, I knew I wanted my fifth grader to get some more writing practice.  Her handwriting isn't the best, but I was more concerned that she get more practice in actual writing.  She is a girl that is very creative, until it is time to retell what she has read or learned in her own words.  Ironically, this only happens with school work.  Most of the time she has no problem being, as her older sister calls her, a "walking Google."  She can spout off all sorts of facts about subjects that have captured her interest.  But, writing this information down seems to be more difficult for her. 

Even though we have taken a semester off of Heart of Dakota, I kept up with the dictation.  My ten year old has advanced through fifty-two dictation passages in the 77 days of school we have completed.  While she usually has to repeat a passage once a week or so due to an error, she is progressing well.  Every day, after she completes the dictation passage, she draws a picture to go with the passage.  I find it cute, and she loves being artistic. 

Dictation is a unique and old-fashioned way of teaching spelling, grammar, and sentence structure.  Truthfully, dictation made me very nervous.  My older daughter despised dictation.  She was happy with her spelling lists.  She is a good speller, so I let her choose.  If the lists worked for her, we went with it.

My ten year old gets sick of lists and workbooks.  She enjoys dictation.  It's fast.  It's effective. She has a passage a day.  They get progressively more challenging as time goes on.  She studies the passage for a few minutes, spelling the words to herself, taking note of punctuation and the general sentence structure, as well as learning the meaning of the words as they are used in the context of the passage.  After a few minutes of study, I "dictate" the passage to her, usually phrase by phrase, and she has to write it perfectly.  She can't misspell words.  The punctuation must be correct.  I even expect it to be neat, with decent handwriting.  

The passages are taken from the Heart of Dakota guides.  Heart of Dakota took the passages from an old spelling program entitled Dictation Day by Day by Kate Van Wagenen.   These passages were published in the early 1900s, and are not available for free in the public domain.  The passages are sorted into levels, with a student moving forward at their own pace, mastering the passages of one level before advancing to the next.  This is how I love teaching... in a mastery based way

My ten year old is doing well in dictation.  I wasn't very consistent at first, and would do dictation as well as a spelling program.  However, I can see the genius behind the choice as we progress.  Words are learned in context.  Further in the dictation levels, quotes and passages from classic literature are added. 

"The whole secret of spelling lies in the habit of visualizing words from memory, and children must be trained to visualize in the course of their reading".  Charlotte Mason

The passages begin as short ones.  Eventually they will be long passages of beautiful literature.  Dictation continues into High School for Heart of Dakota, giving the child exposure to incredible literature passages in writing, not just in reading.  As the child advances, he or she will gain incredible writing and spelling skills by examining great works of literature and seeing the words in context, not simply by getting a new word list every week or completing vocabulary worksheets.

Dictation is more challenging than spelling individual word lists because you have to hold the sentence in your head.  This means that you can't just learn the word, place it in short-term memory,  pass the test, and then forget.  The words in one passage will be reused in different sentences in a later passage, repeating until the words are part of the student's vocabulary and spelling them is natural.

When my daughter misses a passage, that means she has an error or errors.  Perhaps she misspelled a word. Perhaps she forgot punctuation.  There isn't a big deal made about it.  She didn't "fail."  She simply repeats the passage the next day.  She studies what she missed and reviews what she got correct.  The point is for her to succeed, even if it takes multiple attempts.  She is to be challenged, not overwhelmed or feeling like she failed in some way.  Slowly, as she progresses through the passages, she will improve her writing, spelling, and vocabulary.  Studying literary passages will also help her reading and speaking.

Imagine, if you will, year after year of slow progress through high quality passages, writing and mastering them, advancing until you reach graduation.  These are students that will be well-spoken and write extremely well.  Spelling.... writing is so much more than spelling. Writing well begins with having the ability to think clearly.  Using studied dictation helps achieve that aim.  Some of the quotes come from Tennyson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, William E. Channing, Benjamin Franklin, Wordsworth, Abraham Lincoln, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Longfellow, Shakespeare, and more.

To show a bit of the progression of work, here are some samples of the dictation passages at different levels:


Level 2:


I am going out to pick the corn.  It is ripe now.  Two women will help me.  born  horn

Level 3:
Nearly every day the rose's pretty face was washed by the dew.  Was the dear little flower happy when it felt the drops of dew?

Level 4:
Robin Hood was captain of the band.  Little John was second in command.  Friar Tuck was another one of Robin Hood's men.  Maid Marian also lived in the forest and cheered them all with her sweet music.

Level 5:
Her brain soon became very active, and she was taught grammar, and arithmetic through fractions.  She gained a knowledge of geography from a raised map.  She was fond of sewing and knitting and never spent an idle moment.

Level 6:
Grown people do not always like to see the snow whirling about.  They know it means more coal for the furnace.  Boys cannot use their bicycles and must often shovel snow, and yet most of them prefer this season. 

Level 7:
There are some Eastern countries where many unhappy missionaries have been attacked by soldiers who resented the introduction of Western ideas.  Those who escaped death were often separated from their friends, kidnapped, and conducted across the frontier.  There they received instructions never to return.

Level 8:
In accordance with an old custom, the hereditary kings of France were always crowned with their standards raised in the cathedral at Rheims.  Charles, the Dauphin, felt confident that, if he could be crowned as the rightful sovereign, his claim would then be absolute and unquestioned.

As you can see, studied dictation is so much more than a list of words. 

Dual Blogs

Since May of this year I have been posting over at Unconventional Catherine.  I wanted a new beginning, as life has changed so much over the last few years.  I wanted to blog about other issues than homeschooling and my children.  I wanted to blog about matters of faith and culture.  So, I began posting there and enjoyed the new format.

However, I still love homeschooling.  I still love documenting our journey.  I was posting more and more about homeschooling on Unconventional Catherine.  Then I began to look back over this humble little homeschool blog.  I was researching what I had done with one daughter for a blog post about the upcoming year.  I went though all the blog posts from that school year, and I relived the events of that year.  I saw how I struggled with one of my daughter's leaving.  I saw the fun activities we had done and how I got through that year.  I was reminded how much I love homeschooling and how it sustained me during the tough times.

 My Mission Field is still my home, even though many of my children have grown and I am taking college classes.  I still want to write about the education I am giving the children still left at home.  I still believe homeschooling is important and God led me in this direction.  In fact, taking college classes has been my dream for years, but I have not felt like myself because I haven't been able to dedicate myself to homeschooling.  That may be because a call from God on my life doesn't just disappear.

Circumstances in life have made it so that I must lower my class load to part-time for a bit.  I was a bit sad about this for a few days, but now I feel relief.  In fact, I keep telling myself to get through the next three weeks in my college semester. My stress level has been high, and I realize that I miss blogging about homeschooling.  I miss homeschooling in the manner in which I have done for the last decade.  I miss reading to my child and going through the work to see how my high school student is doing in her studies.  I have felt that my time was no longer my own.  I wanted to go to college, to follow my dreams, but everything got complicated over this last semester.

I gave myself a new challenge when I began blogging about faith and culture.  I love writing.  I love taking a topic and breaking it down and exploring it from a position that is not necessarily the standard one.  That is why I called the blog Unconventional Catherine, because I am not very "conventional" by today's cultural standards.  I take my faith seriously at a time when Christianity is mocked and ridiculed.  I homeschool, and while homeschooling is a growing movement, it is still only a small percent of the population.  I'm a bookworm, when television and movies are the norm.  I'm more introverted when extroversion is what gets noticed.  I went back to college when most women are settled.

However, I miss my blog home here.  I miss being home.  I have had this blog since October 9, 2008.  I started blogging when I started homeschooling.  And while I have gone down some crazy paths, I have always stuck to blogging.  This blog contains a history of our family.  It contains times of difficulty that I thought would never end, such as when we faced unemployment, the ups and downs of our children's health issues, and gaining custody of my step-daughter and homeschooling her.  It contains the story of leaving our home because it was full of mold, and moving to a small apartment.  It contains our journey to simplicity and minimalism... a journey that continues to this day.

So, I have decided to keep both blogs.  Some posts will be on one or the other.  Some posts will be on both.  Mostly, this blog will be about homeschooling because that is where the Lord has us. I will continue to post about our family, living on one income, and my faith.  However, I will also post about my faith and other issues on Unconventional Catherine.  I don't want to be redundant, but I feel at this time that two blogs best suit the differing aspects of my life and writing. 

Feel free to follow either blog.  My heart is here, at Home Mission Field, but my adventurous spirit wants to try new ways to branch out.

Journaling Your Faith Your Way

I remember being a young single mother. I wasn't a Christian yet.  I had never heard of Littleton, Colorado. But when the news came on and showed the shooting at Columbine High School, I hugged my little daughters a little longer.

Samples of Rachel Scott's Journal Pages

Years later, when I became a Christian, I was immensely touched by reading The Journals of Rachel Scott.  Rachel was a strong Christian girl that was the first victim at Columbine.  After being wounded, the killer asked her is she still believed in her God.  She responded, "You know I do."  He then told her, "Then go be with Him."  He shot her in the head. 

She was the first modern day martyr for Christ that I had ever heard of on American soil (along with Cassie Bernall, also a Christian martyr at Columbine). Rachel's journals were discovered soon after.  Her family published many of them as an example of a regular teenage girl that loves the Lord.

I have kept journals off and on my entire life.  I'm not very artistic, but I enjoy writing.  Rachel wrote her journal in the form of letters to God.  I LOVE that.  It's a 

prayer that continues throughout experiences and growth.  

I used to scrapbook.  It didn't take a huge amount of artistic talent to scrapbook.  I created book after book with pictures and memorabilia for my children documenting their lives. No stopped when I had my last daughter.  I tell myself I'll get back to it one day.

I love the G2 pens!

Recently Bible journaling has become popular.  I love seeing all the Pinterest pictures with beautiful artwork adorning Bibles.  However, I'm not very artistic.  

Poetry by Brian Johnson, performed live during Kari Jobe's Forever.

Also popular is the concept of a smash book, which is really just a messy scrapbook.  Again, I love the ideas. 

A portion of my journal from a couple months ago.

For me, my journal works.  I can include aspects of Bible journaling and smashbooks.  Mostly, I write letters to Jesus.  I write about my struggles, my prayers for others, what is happening in my world and in my heart.  I share song lyrics and poetry.  I'll copy letters from devotionals written as from God to me, like Sheri Rose Shepherd's His Princess. I'll occasionally include drawings, though I admit I'm not an artist. I'll include other memorabilia, such as notes from my husband or ticket stubs.  

Sheri Rose Shepherd's His Princess Letter.

This is very personal.  Some things are written when I am emotional.  They can be raw, between just me and my Lord.  Some things are confessions of sin or pouring out my hurts.  Just the catharsis of writing and sharing what is inside me with Jesus puts action to my faith.  

I'll include Bible study and sermon notes.  Why?  Because it is part of my life and my relationship with Him.  Will this become a legacy for others after I am gone?  It doesn't matter.  If I wrote, worried that one day someone would read my intimate prayers to my King, I would hesitate to share all of me.  I would never write all my sins and failings. I write for me, to grow closer to the Lord.  What He does with it when I am with Him in eternity is up to Him. 

Ticket Stub from Faith of Our Fathers

Doing this has drawn me closer to the Lord.  Writing out a part of Scripture and finding ways to expand on it; whether through journaling about it or drawing a picture of it or finding other verses, is an incredible way to meditate on God's Word!  I encourage everyone to find ways to make their faith tangible, to document how God is leading them.

My journals have expanded and grown over the years.  No longer is my journal just a letter written telling about my day.  I still do that occasionally.  It's fun to look back and see what I was dealing with.  Most of the time, my journal is about what is in me, what God is teaching me, and the encouragement I have found.  I will even include articles and parts of books.  There doesn't have to be rules.  It's about me and Jesus. 

My limited artistic talent with Lauren Daigle lyrics

Don't look at the Pinterest perfect Bible journaling or crazy cluttered smashbooks and think that you can't do that because you lack the artistic talent or the time.  Those things need to be looked at as inspiration only.  Maybe you are artistic, and those things suit you perfectly.  Awesome!  But if you are like me, go into creating a Bible journal by doing what is you.  If you love to write, write. If you don't feel artistic, buy some stickers and scrapbook stuff. If you are a photographer, put in some of your photos.  If you love being generous, put in copies of your tithe checks and thank God for providing.  If you love music, put in quotes and lyrics.  If you love the Word of God, put Scripture and Bible study notes.  If you are a prayer warrior, write some of those those prayers out.  If you love adventure, put in pictures of places God is taking you or has taken you.  Write about that short-term missions trip and what God taught you. Make the book yours.  

And when the book is full, begin another. Put your journal away. Keep it private if necessary. Pull it out in a few years and look at all the Lord has done. 

Language Lessons for the Very Young

My seven year old is progressing quickly in her reading.  I bought her a traditional English program for this year, which included spelling and grammar.  After a week, I put it up.  She was in tears from all the workbooks.

I decided to take a more Charlotte Mason approach to school.  The short, focused lessons are perfect for my ADD children.  I bought Language Lessons for the Very Young from Queen's Homeschool.
 

Queen's Homeschool Language Lessons

I actually downloaded the entire year's worth of curriculum and was able to print out the book.  I figure printing costs were about what shipping would have been, and I didn't have to wait a week for the mail to deliver.

Queen's Website has the following description of this level of Language Lessons for the Very Young:

 This delightful introduction to the language arts is the answer to what our Charlotte Mason style customers have been asking for! Introduces a student who has mastered the art of learning to read to the skills of picture study, narration, copywork, poetry, grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and more - all with a gentle, twaddle free approach. Full-color fine art throughout makes this consumable book for grades 2 - 3 a delight for the eyes as well as the ears.

 A varied approach gives the student something different each day, alleviating the boredom that often comes with those repetitive, dry grammar books you'll find elsewhere. Perfect-bound paperback workbook offers 180 daily lessons - one for each day of the school year.

Megan loves the work, and has been doing so wonderfully!  The last couple of days she has been reviewing capitalization rules.  Her assignment today was to write the names of her family members with correct capitalization.  What a great way to personalize her lesson!  She added her four sisters and parents.  Then she wanted to add her aunts and cousins.   She would have added a lot more if she would have had the lines.  Needless to say, the concept has been learned. 

(Blurred last names for safety)

Over the next few lessons she'll learn about capitalizing in paragraphs, capitalizing the days of the week and months of the year, and learn a poem. 

Later in the year she'll learn about subjects and predicates, whether a sentence is complete, singular and plurals, vowels, using 'A' or 'An', nouns, verbs, and punctuation.  Instead of traditional formats, she'll learn all this while practicing copywork, doing narrations, picture studies, and creative writing.  It's all gentle and yet so comprehensive!

No longer are there tears.  My daughter is doing some amazing work and enjoying it immensely!

I compared this program to the traditional English that I had purchased.  This covers the same grammatical concepts, but without the endless workbook pages and the drill and kill lessons.  Plus, it adds so much more depth with the Charlotte Mason extras.  

The Lost Art of Writing

Writing... It's apparent to me and many others that we are short-changing our children by neglecting the teaching of this skill.  The very act of putting pen or pencil to paper activates the brain in a way that just can't be duplicated by typing notes with a keyboard.

Megan's Poetry page

http://www.sott.net/article/284961-Writing-by-hand-benefits-the-brain-The-lowdown-on-longhand

I came across this article (above), though I have seen a few over the years. I am amazed at how simple things that are  time-tested work amazingly and efficiently in helping children learn.  We are utilizing more copywork, narrations, drawing, and notebooking in our homeschool. I can't even describe how much the children retain from using these methods.  Even the high school girls are loving these methods.  They easily tire of the same ole read the chapter, answer the questions take a test, repeat.  This is not true education.  My children stash the information in their short-term memory then quickly forget it all once the test is completed.  Writing things out, keeping notebooks or journals of work, boosts learning.

And yet, in public school, these skills are being lost.  Instead of keeping notebooks or writing, children type their notes.  Everything is transitioning from paper and books to iPads and computers. And while I enjoy technology, I keep reading articles about how the older methods work successfully, activating the brain in ways science never fully realized until, ironically, technology developed to such a degree as to measure the activation.  We now can run tests that show which areas of the brain light up after writing in cursive, that lay dormant after typing the same thing.  The act of writing stimulates the brain.  

I have no plans to switch methods of teaching.  We use our computer for a couple subjects.  Math is computer-based for my older girls, but they also fill up paper figuring their answers by hand. 

If your child is struggling in school, try going back to some of the older methods is learning.  They weren't replaced by better... Just newer.

Frozen-Themed Cursive Printables

My Megan has been asking to learn cursive. I decided to let her, gently. I didn't want to spend a bunch of money on a cursive book simply because she doesn't HAVE to learn cursive yet. I scoured the internet for some nice, cursive handwriting pages that will gently introduce my seven year old and build her motor skills. I was excited to find that Frugal Homeschool Family has a downloadable Frozen-themed booklet for beginning cursive writing.

An example of some pages

Megan will love these as she has been obsessed with Frozen since she first saw the movie. I could go on and on about the endless singing of the songs from the movie, but I know my pain is shared by many. I printed out about half of the printables to see if my daughter will enjoy them. If she complains or struggles too much, I'll know she isn't ready and will wait until she is older.

Old Methods versus Modern Methods

Megan shows off a notebooking page

Handwriting sparked a controversy on my Facebook the other day.  I had posted that my seven year old wants to try cursive at a time when most school systems are not teaching it any longer, or are barely covering the concepts.  With computers, learning and practicing cursive seems outdated.  A college friend of my daughter agreed with this, stating that he never uses it.  My daughter, who has always written out everything from class assignments to music lyrics by hand, disagreed.  I actually tried to lighten up the conversation because it was getting a little heated.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/06/03/science/whats-lost-as-handwriting-fades.html?referrer=

Today I ran across an article (above) that I believe brings some clarity to the issue.  We live in a technological age.  There is a push to get rid of older methods of learning, as if those ways don't work any longer.  Sadly,  the test scores over the years have declined to the point where the only way to raise them is to dumb down the tests and make them easier.  We look with disdain at learning methods from the past  as if, because we are more technologically advanced, we are somehow more intelligent and more educated. 

Laura and Jasmine do a basic Chemistry experiment

I disagree. We are technologically where we are because of the learning methods of the past.   Those older methods encouraged investigation and inquiry.  The educators of the past didn't have knowledge of which areas of the brain light up on an MRI after various learning methods. They only knew that certain things, such as notebooking and exploring and writing things out that they were teaching (narrating) work! 

Laura investigating a one-room schoolhouse

How else were farmers with only a few years in school able to read books such as The Last of the Mohicans, a grade 12+ reading level, with ease when the best sellers today have an average grade 5 or 6 or lower reading level?  Why else would illiteracy rates actually be higher since compulsory education?  Why else would test scores for Americans compared to the rest of the industrialized world keep dropping lower and lower as we institute "new methods" and start school at younger and younger ages?

We aren't smarter.  Just more advanced. Intelligence and advancement aren't mutually exclusive. 

As a homeschool, I don't have to use the "modern" methods.  I believe skills are important, such as computer training and keyboarding, but they are simply skills to utilize modern technology, not ways to create more intelligent students.  Knowing these skills, with a background of freedom to explore, be creative, and having curiosity is what will lead to more advancement.  It won't be because kids have passed some standardized test or have an iPad issued by their school.  

Is Cursive Dead?

Is cursive writing a skill that is necessary in this digital age?  Recently the State of Indiana has stopped requiring students to learn how to write in cursive.  Whether it is up to the individual schools or not, the trend seems to be moving in the direction of teaching children typing skills at an earlier age, and not teaching how to write in cursive.

"Neuroimaging scans of children who wrote versus those who looked at text showed brain activity in the writing group akin to an adult's. The writing group also showed better memory and letter recognition."

I am not surprised at the new move of public schools.  I have read where some homeschoolers feel the same way.  In fact, I am sure that I am quite old fashioned in my belief that learning cursive has a lot of merit.  I believe it is important... even if it is old-fashioned or unpopular.

I haven't told my daughter that the public schools aren't requiring her to write in cursive.  In our home, we plan to learn and continue to practice the skill.  Laura does dictation.  She will be learning to type, as that is also a necessary skill, but I don't believe that typing has the same power in the brain as writing something out by hand.  This has been proven to me in our schooling through the use of dictation.  In dictation, Laura studies a few sentences or a paragraph from a piece of quality literature.  Then, it is dictated to her.  She must write the piece perfectly or redo it.  In a few short months I have watched her writing, spelling, vocabulary, and memory recall all improve drastically.  I don't think I would have seen the improvement if Laura had been typing the same material.

In these modern times children will be required to learn how to use a computer and maintain the necessary skills to do their work efficiently on that computer.  Typing is much faster and legible than handwriting.  When a person types, they can keep up with their thoughts much quicker than if they were writing.  I wonder, though, if what we are losing is as beneficial as what we are gaining.

Hands-on work is so helpful to many students.  When I am studying, I love to take notes.  I do this by writing down what I want to remember and the thoughts I have about the subject.  The act and process of writing, whether it is copying or even my own material, stays with me much longer than if I was typing the material.

There was a time where possessing beautiful handwriting was a sign of a quality education.  Does that mean that someone who has not so neat handwriting is less educated or less intelligent?  Well... not if the cliche about doctors' handwriting has any truth to it.  Beautiful handwriting is just that... a skill.  However, it also plays such an important part in learning that it shouldn't be easily cast aside for typing.  Yes, it is a skill that is harder for some than for others.  As a mother of two left-handed children, I have seen their left hands covered with pencil or pen as they struggle to learn this skill.  Even now, my 18 year old leftie has an odd mixture of cursive and print as her writing.  However, she did learn both and can type quite successfully.

There was a time when cursive was taught even before printing.  Some homeschool curricula even still leave that option open.  A Beka Book offers a print and cursive selection for 4 year olds.  In an article on the A Beka website concerning learning cursive in Kindergarten, the following reasoning was offered:

"Before the 1940s, schools across the nation took this approach and, as a result, most American school children developed beautiful handwriting. Ball-and-stick manuscript came about as part of progressive education reforms in the 1940s. The change was made primarily to help children recognize the letters in the “Dick and Jane” look-say readers. By starting with cursive writing rather than manuscript printing, we help the child develop good writing habits from the very beginning. This means that habits acquired from manuscript printing do not need to be unlearned."   - A Beka Book Cursive Writing in Kindergarten

The argument against cursive is that is just isn't used as much today.  Schools have tough curriculum choices to make with limited time and budgets.  Learning cursive takes a lot of time.  Typing uses a different sort of motor skills.  Teaching a child typing instead of typing and cursive saves a lot of time.  Typing can be taught with less one on one instruction, using computer programs.  Cursive writing takes a lot more individual attention to a child.

I think we are replacing foundational skills for easier ones.  After all, we don't need to teach children to write because they can just type.  But, if we take that further, we can find that this could lead to other areas of compromise.  We don't need to teach children how to spell because computers have spell check.  We don't need to teach children how to read because we have computers and machines that will read stories to them.  We don't need to teach children math skills, we only need to teach them how to use computers and calculators.  We don't need to teach children how to think for themselves, we can tell them what to believe.

I am exaggerating in an effort to make a point.  I love to write in cursive.  A couple of my daughters would rather print.  However, they know how to do both.  They also type quickly.  They can also read the original Declaration of Independence, in the original cursive.  The 11 year old might not understand every concept, but she can read it and look up the meanings.  Without cursive, she would have to read a copy that was typed out.  Doesn't that mean the allure of the time is gone?

I have read some of the writings of those from as little as 100 years ago.  Much of their correspondence and writings were done by hand... in cursive.  Not only is it beautiful, but I read the words of those that went through a whole different time in their original writing, and I feel connected to them somehow.  A type-written version may be more legible, but the idea of knowing someone's hand put those words to paper during a time in the past brings about a connection to that person and time.  Like a picture, I can see that person a little more clearly.  Handwriting is personal.  It isn't cold like type.  It is full of personality, like a person.  It is a part of them, a legacy.

I don't want that lost for my children.  Not only do I want them to have the ability to read the past, but also to have their own legacy.  In the scrapbooks I have for my children are yearly samples of their writing.  I can see how they grew and changed by their writing just as much as by their pictures.  I can see the rough scrawl of Kindergarten, so uncertain and uneven, as it matures into the beautiful, individual writing of a young adult.  I can tell you which of my children have similar writing to me or their father, and which ones have their own style.  To see that lost for typewritten pages or only block lettering means losing something that my child could have possessed and passed down.

My Own Domain

I always wanted my own domain.  I put it off for a long time because it was something I thought it would be difficult.  Then I actually looked into it.  Now, we are officially www.homemissionfield.com!  No more ".blogspot".   It was so easy too! 

I don't know much about codes and computer programming.  What I have learned has been mostly by accident or trying this or that.   I just love to write about our journeys and my Savior and King.  I enjoy taking pictures, though I am far from a professional.  I love sharing what we are doing in homeschool, and what I am learning in my walk with Jesus. 

Thank you to those of you that enjoy my posts.  Thank you also for the encouraging comments.  Sometimes when I hit that publish button, I have a moment of panic wondering if my feelings or thoughts have come across in the way I wanted them to.  Sometimes I wonder if I should take on some of the subjects I have been taking on lately in the blogosphere.  Yet, I have felt led there by God, and I hope He has been uplifted and blessed. 

Creating a Book List

Last night I sat down with some of Laura's school books that have come in and began to schedule.  This year she is going to have a light science year, doing both science and health.  Her history is also going to be light, using a short history text.  We will supplement the history with books, both for reading and read aloud, but only to a certain point.  I do plan to do some map work, adding some US Geography to the History.

My main focus this year is math and language arts.  I feel these areas haven't been up to par the last year or so.  I got so caught up in living books for history and trying different things that I let those two subjects slide a bit.  Working independently is nice, but Laura is just not ready for that in most areas.  I want to prepare her to work more independently over this next year.  After this, she'll be hitting the middle grades and tougher work.

Laura has done a lot of reading since the day we began homeschooling.  That won't change.  The difference is that we are using a couple different methods this year.  Laura is going to use a reading book.  I know, I know, that has been said to be death to joy in reading.  However, we sort of did the same thing last year with ACE Literature and Creative Writing.  They use books, but some of those books are story collections.  We've also used Abeka readers, which have collections of stories.  This year I am using a used Bob Jones reading set.  It came with a worktext that is like brand new.   I suppose if I was homeschooling a larger group of children, this method wouldn't work.  However, with the ages of the three that I have, this method works just fine.  For Laura, there is something exciting about having a new story every day or two.  We'll do plenty of books, but short stories for a year add some light fun.

There are still books we are going to read, however; Lots of them, just waiting to open and have an adventure.  I am trying to come up with lists of books that I want Laura to read, and a list of books I want to read to her.  Since I am still slowly buying the books, and because I haven't made the final library selections yet, that list isn't completed.  Truthfully, it keeps growing and I know I'll never get to them all at this rate.

We are using a lot of Christian literature this year.  Looking through catalogs and websites of different publishers, I've been able to come up with many appropriate selections.  Some will coincide with the study of US History.  Others are just fun stories.  Some of the books we have, especially with our history selections, aren't Christian.  Most are Sonlight selections.  Stories like Caddie Woodlawn and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and Miracles on Maple Hill.  These are all read aloud selections.  Laura could handle them on her own, but I want to share them with her.

Slowly our school year is taking shape.  The only things truly left that are required that I haven't purchased are Laura's math, bible, grammar, and spelling.  I'm still debating between a few things for her.  Math is the hardest, because she struggles.  Finances are limited, but I am determined to find something that we can work on together to boost her to where she needs to be.  I'm also looking at supplements that might help her like Hooked on Math and TimesTales.  These things add a little fun to the subject using other methods of teaching.

For Grammar, unless God changes my direction, I think we will use Bob Jones.  The gentle approach to grammar just isn't what I want this year, but I don't want anything heavy either.  We've used Abeka, and it seems to move very fast.  I was going to use Learning Language Arts Through Literature, but after looking it over and praying about it, I decided that might not work for us at this time.  The Bob Jones Grammar and Writing has a focused grammar section and then a writing section then a different grammar topic.  Some companies sell two separate programs to concentrate on both.  It's nice they are combined.  ACE didn't focus much on writing, and I felt Laura wasn't getting what she needed.

There is still some time before we officially begin school.  The public school here begins August 17th.  My college girl starts August 23rd.  When we will begin a full course load will probably be in the same time frame.  Laura likes having her summer off with her public schooled friends.  At this age, as long as we are reviewing through the summer, I don't have a problem with taking a break.

Why I Blog

When I first was researching homeschooling, I did a lot of research online.  One of the top sources of information was homeschool blogs.   The more time I spent on various blogs, the more time I felt like I could homeschool my child.

Some of the blogs were very personable.  They showed the ups and downs of being a homeschooling family.  They showed the struggles, the triumphs, the fun days, and the boring ones.  Most of all they showed me how families that homeschooled were able to bring their faith to their child's education and how the whole family was often very close.

When the decision was made to homeschool for certain and we had set a begin date, I used the blogs to help me find out information on curriculum.  Eventually, my learning went from what was recommended to learning about learning styles.  However, in the beginning, all I wanted was a curriculum that would give me the assurance that I wasn't going to mess up my child for life.  The blogs helped me there too.

I decided that I was going to keep a blog too.  Various people have had such a profound effect on me through their blogs.  They encouraged me and educated me through sharing their lives.  I don't know that I wanted to do the same, though I hope I do one day.

Keeping a blog seemed like an easy way to keep records.  I keep some stuff, like samples of work and lesson plans.  A blog is an ongoing record of what we do... nearly day to day.  I've tried keeping weekly reports, but lack consistently.  I do have lists of books we've read on the blog.  I have reports of various curriculum we've tried and different subjects we've studies.  It may not be a long, drawn-out record, but it is a record nonetheless.

It's also become a way for me to write what we are going through or what God is doing in my life. I get to share this crazy journey God has placed us on.   Some days are up, like when something just clicks.  Some days (or weeks) are down, like when we experienced unemployment and or illness.  This blog inspires me to keep positive, or just to let out my frustrations and doubt.  It keeps me accountable.  I wanted to blog daily for a year, but that became difficult.  Instead, I just blog as often as I can about our lives and our homeschool.

Since this blog began, I have added one student and am going to be adding a preschooler.  Yet, this blog has become just as much about my life and my family as my homeschool.  As our lives are changed and challenged, I am stretched to find out what God wants from me and how he wants me to handle things.  Other blogs have helped me with this.  It was through blogs that I discovered home made laundry soap.  It was through a blog that I read about Unit Studies.  It was through many blogs that I have learned so much about the kind of homeschool and home I want to have.

Of course the main reasons I blog is because it is fun.  I have always enjoyed writing.  On this blog, writing comes easy most of the time.  Oh, my grammar probably needs work.  My spell check works overtime some days.  My typing has improved greatly.  For me, blogging can be addicting.  It is fun to do.  I could never keep a journal or diary for long, even though I would start and stop over and over.  I scrapbooked for years,  but quit when I had a fifth child.  This combines the best of both worlds for me.  I can put on pictures.  I can type out what we did.  I can retell the events of a day I want to remember.  See?  Fun.  Okay, maybe it isn't for everyone.  For me, it's been... really awesome.

Last summer I didn't have internet for a couple months due to finances.  I thought I was going to go crazy.  I missed blogging.  I tried to mobile blog, but it didn't work.  I would blog at my friend's house.  I would go to the library.  I missed blogging in my home.  When I could blog again, it was like being reunited with a friend. Now, I hope I don't have to quit for a long while.

Weekly Wrap-Up 12-11-09

This week went quickly.  Unlike last week where we got every single thing on the list accomplished, this week was progressive, but not everything was completed.  Laura worked hard and got nearly everything completed.  I gave up spelling for the second half of the week so Laura could focus on math.  Other than that, we got nearly everything done.

Math - Laura ran into a bit of trouble, but she seems to have gotten over it quickly.  She redid her work that she had gotten wrong and seemed to have no trouble after that.  She completed four lessons.

Science - We finished the unit we were working on about the water cycle, clouds, and the states of matter.  Since we are finished with matter, our next unit will be on Energy.  It looks like we will be studying sound and hearing and lots of related topics.

History - We studied this week just a bit on Julius Caesar and Augustus Caesar.  We even touched on Antony and Cleopatra.  This is all leading up to next week, when we will study the birth of Christ. We did make a Denarius coin.

We got the project out of our Heart Of Dakota book.  Laura used bread, glue and coffee to make the coin.  It turned out okay, but I think I should have used white bread instead of wheat.  The coin didn't turn out as white as I would have liked.  Then, after the project was started I discovered we had no waxed paper.  I tried to use freezer paper, but it didn't work as well.

Language Arts - Laura finished the ACE English that I had.  We started the Abeka Language book.  So far, she hasn't had any problems.

Writing - Laura did a writing assignment every day of some sort.  She seems to like some of these assignments.

Reading - Laura is reading her Salute to Courage Abeka reader.  Some of the stories she enjoys and some she thinks are just okay.  We will be in this reader until the New Year when we will switch to The Song of the Brook.  Laura is doing well with her Reading Skills books and her Adventures in Other Lands book.  We are over half way finished with the book The School Story that we are using as a read aloud.  I'm anxious to finish it so we can begin reading the Elsie Dinsmore books.  I've read the first one on my own, and they are precious.

Bible - Laura didn't have a memory verse this week for Stars, but she did continue her New Testament reading.

One week left and then we will be breaking for the Holiday.  I plan to use that time to plan the next semester.  I am not sure why, but I feel a bit antsy about our lessons.  I feel kind of tired, and if I'm tired I worry that Laura is not getting the best from me.  We are covering a lot of ground, but I just feel like we are doing stuff some days and not really working the way I think we should.  Laura's kind of negative about stuff, and I feel like that is my fault.  I've been dealing with so many other issues that I'm afraid it is rubbing off on my daughter.  Maybe the holidays will bring about some answers to prayers and some more concrete direction for our little homeschool.

Weekly Wrap-Up 12-04-09

I haven't done a weekly wrap-up post in a long time.  I always intend to, but then I get side tracked.  This week went smoothly.  Laura made good progress in all her subjects.

Math - Laura is working steadily here.  She really likes the multiplication this year.  She likes it better than the more advanced addition and subtraction.  She sees to enjoy the challenge of multiplication.  I am just grateful that she has found a math program where she is learning and retaining.  Math is not her strong point, but I'm determined to use discipline and have her master the concepts as much as possible.

Bible - Laura worked on her New Testament reading.  She has been reading John 7 and 8.

English - Laura has been working on letters this week.  She has learned about addressing envelopes, writing a friendly letter, writing an invitation, writing thank you letters, and even  what polite words to use in letter writing.  Laura is still using ACE English.  However, she is almost done with what we have.  Since we are cutting our expenses as much as possible, she is going to switch back to the Abeka English.  The ACE was fine for getting her back on track, but I think she will do fine with the Abeka  if we take things slow.  Abeka is a little advanced, but I plan to use the book a page or two a day until she is done... even if it takes us into fifth grade.  I would rather her master the skills than to try to keep up with some insane list of grammar rules.  Thank You Ruth Beechick for teaching me that Grammar isn't a life or death issue.  We aren't going to drop it completely.  We're just going to take things slow.

Writing - I've also implemented a daily writing assignment.  Some of this writing Laura has already been doing.  However, I've made it a priority to keep track of her writing and to make sure she is doing something daily.  On Monday, Laura wrote what she did for Thanksgiving.  On Tuesday, she wrote a short story based on a question in Secret in the Maple Tree.  On Wednesday, she wrote her book report for Secret in the Maple Tree.  On Thursday and Friday she worked on writing paragraphs that dealt with time order.  She had to write about something in sequence.  This lesson came from her Reading Skills workbook.

History - This week Laura has been reading about the Greece and Alexander the Great.  We found a book at the library about Alexander the Great that complemented the lesson very well.

Science - We read this week about Air, Air Pressure, and a little bit of weather.  Today we touched on wind and how it works and why it is necessary.  Every few days she also learns about another state bird.

Reading - For reading, Laura finished Secret in the Maple Tree.   She began reading the Abeka reader, Salute to Courage.  She's doing very well.  We finished our read aloud, George Muller.  I wanted to read a Christmas book as our next read aloud, but the one I wanted was checked out.  I decided to read The School Story by Andrew Clements instead.  I'm glad I did.  From the start of the story, Laura has been enthralled with the two girls that are the main characters.  We've easily read two or three chapters per day.

Spelling - Our new spelling program is working, even though it is totally made up by me with the help of  SpellingCity.com .  Laura has eight words she focuses on for two days.  She writes the words, plays games, and practices the words in sentences.  On the second day we test.  Laura will see each word at least three times throughout a few weeks, more if she misses the word on a test.  It's working wonderfully.  She's getting so much practice with words that she isn't learning them just for a list.  She is actually retaining how to spell the words long term.  The only word that will just not go away for her is February.  She has fought with this word for two weeks.  But I have faith that she will get it before long.

This week was a full one academically.  Laura got everything done... and that doesn't always happen.  We began getting up earlier and having a good breakfast.  It means mom is kind of tired, but I've seen major improvement in my daughter's academic motivation and progress.  Never underestimate the progress of a good breakfast.

Stop and Take A Break

I took some time over this holiday to think and pray about our homeschooling direction.  I also just needed to STOP stressing about things and take a break. 

Finally, I feel a bit refreshed. The challenges of this year have been numerous.  Taking the time to relax with family and friends has helped me enormously.  I spent a lot of time not thinking about homeschooling.

And then I spent some time just reading some blogs, some books, and some encouraging homeschool devotionals and articles.  It has taken some time, but I feel like I have some focus again.

Ironically, it isn't much different from the focus I had when I first started.  When I first began homeschooling I had spent quite a bit of time reading and praying and researching.  I knew what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it.  However, I then got sidetracked so easily by my doubts that I wasn't good enough to teach my children.  I began searching curriculum, thinking that if I could find the perfect one than everything would be alright.  Sadly, I wanted A  CURRICULUM - an all in one, fix all my problems and be perfect for me and my kid curriculum.

I've learned that, as much as I wish there was a magic curriculum company, one doesn't exist.  And, poor Laura,  has been my guinea pig.  As much as I wish there was one style that fit me and Laura, I have learned that, while we have similarities, we can be different.  For instance, I love copywork.  I think it is a wonderful way to learn.  I will use it here and there with Laura, even though she doesn't like it much.

Schedules, in the traditional sense, don't work for us.  I've tried to use one all year.  What works is a list of what I want to accomplish each year, broken down into daily assignments, with lots of room for flexibility.   I can't schedule my days so full that both Laura and I are frustrated. (That has happened a LOT.)  Instead I make a list of assignments for each subject and then just check them off every day.  Most of the time we will do one per day.  If life happens and we miss a day or a subject here or there, It won't mess up my planning calendar.  If I see we are getting behind, I can double up on whatever subject needs it.  For me, it works.  This way if one subject takes longer than I thought, I won't be pressuring me and Laura to play catch up.  It's a much more relaxing way to live.   Right now Laura is only doing spelling four days a week.  She's doing well and we get one day off a week.  If we miss spelling one day through the week, like we did a couple weeks ago when we were battling illness, we still have Friday to make up what we missed.

I plan to focus on the basics...Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic.  For reading, we will read... A Lot.  We will read stories, but also lots of stuff that coordinates with history and science.   Laura will read to herself.  I will continue to find living books to supplement what we are learning.  I will read to her.  Read aloud time is not only a favorite of ours, the benefits are so great that I can't overstate them.  Laura's oral reading is good, but I think I will have her read to me a little more, even if it is just a poem here and there.

For writing, I plan on developing a daily writing assignment.  Whether it be copywork, something to coordinate with grammar (like letter writing practice), or an assignment where Laura gets to use her imagination to make up a story.  Ruth Beechick urges parents to have their children write, write, write.  I agree with her.  How can a child get better at something they don't practice.

For math, we will continue with what we are doing right now.  We are using ACE math.  It drills like crazy.  I know some kids get bored or don't like or need that much drill.  Laura needs it.  She does well with a mastery program where she can drill like crazy.  She retains it so much more than she did last year with a mastery program.  Her lessons and concepts are beginning to get more difficult and I want her to practice so much it just becomes second nature.  For now, it is working.  I will probably have her work on a few pages over school breaks and a page or two a day over the summer so that she can maintain her skills.  Laura also does well with the workbook format for math, and right now I don't want to change things if it is working for her.

It feels amazing to be refreshed and recharged.  One of the things I felt was that I have to stop comparing my daughter to other students in public school.  It's so easy to do that when we are surrounded by them.  I know that I can give my daughter a wonderful, God-based, awesome education.  I just have to stop having doubts about my ability and let God lead me.