I just love when something actually works. Where you have an idea, and the kids not only love it, they are excited! And all the while they are learning...
After having some bumps in the road this week {who doesn't in January...right?} today was so much better.
It's a beautiful and unusually warm day here. So after lunch we took a walk around the neighborhood. I gave the kids some time to play in the yard, and then told them we are instilling a new activity in our homeschool-
"Writing Workshops." {for some reason just giving it a name, makes it exciting for the kids!}
Nope, I didn't buy a new
curriculum. Nope, I didn't implement a
fancy idea. I just based it on their need to practice writing, and practice it in "real life." And I based it on what they would find fun!
So, the first thing we did was
take out our journals. I told them to sit for a bit and soak in the warmth of the day, and take notice of what they saw, heard, and smelled around them. After a few minutes they were to write about it.
Once everyone had finished, they got up and each took turns reading what they wrote.
Next we played "mail." Each child was given another child to write a letter to. I set up a "mailbox" {flowerpot} in the yard where they could "mail" their letter. When everyone was finished, they took turns checking the mailbox for their letter. Then they read it aloud.
Next, they wrote a letter back to the person that had written them a letter. We did this until each person had written to everyone else.
Then we played a mystery game. Each child wrote out clues to an object. We placed them in a container and each child took a turn choosing. They read the clues aloud and had to guess what it was.
{They literally played this for over an hour}
All the while they were practicing
writing skills, reading skills, and communication.
I plan to do these
"Writing Workshops" a few times per week in our school. I am trying focus on writing for the rest of the year. I feel if my kids can be proficient readers and writers, they can learn anything they want to and will be
independent learners.
A few activities I have planned for future
"Writing Workshops" are:
Poetry- taking turns writing poems
Short stories
Design a
newspaper or magazine and work together to publish it-one writes, one edits, one illustrates,etc.
Reports- Choosing what interests them and researching and presenting their report to the family, in the evening
I am grateful for these fun little successes-they encourage me to keep on in my homeschool, and it makes it all worthwhile!
And here is a photo just for fun- Why boys love homeschooling:
They can write from up in a tree!
I am linking this up with
Holy Spirit-Led Homeschooling. Go check it out!
I have been wanting to read the book, 
