Brave Writer's The Arrow

Last month we added Brave Writer's The Arrow to our Language Arts studies and I've noticed the difference in our homeschool already.  We're having so much fun with "The Brave Writer lifestyle". Our own language as well as our awareness of language around us - written, spoken and performed  - is heightened.  Here are some examples of what we've done.

Two weeks ago, on Movie Wednesday, we watched Ferris Bueller's Day Off!  Beforehand, we discussed the meanings of plot, plot twists and climax.  I paused the movie as we went and we discussed who the good guy and bad guy should be according to the rules of right and wrong and who the good & bad guys were in B's eyes according to their personalities.  We discussed how important the script writing and each actor's portrayal of their rolls were in getting us to root for Ferris and relish Principal Rooney's mishaps.

I stopped it a number of times for B to tell me what the plot was, what he thought would happen next, his reaction to the "next" not being what he thought it was, etc.  When it was over, he excitedly told me when he thought climax began and when it ended.  We had this long, animated discussion about how people are not just black and white; we are all full of grays - good and evil, making right and wrong choices for the right and wrong reasons, etc..  It was so wonderful to see him expressing and discussing without just using the words, "Awesome" and "Amazing".

Yesterday, I asked him to write using descriptive language.  I wanted him to paint a picture with his words.  His writing in the past has been, "I played outside with my friends." I asked him to use words to describe the feel of the sun or the warmth of that Spring day.  Playing outside was just an example I gave him; he could write about whatever he wanted.

He chose to describe tasting a macadamia nut, which he did for the first time earlier that day.  I have to share his description with y'all.

"Today I tried a macadamia nut and it was awful!!(There was a frowny face with a tongue sticking out under the 2 exclamation points.)  It was so unbearable and repulsive I had to regurgitate it into the trash."

Now, he didn't try to describe what he thought it tasted like, an old gym sock, for example, but that's something to work on.  The fact that he wrote more than, "I hate macadamia nuts." or "Macadamia nuts are awful." and he wrote two sentences makes me very happy.  He took the assignment seriously and I can give more detailed direction in the future.

Most importantly, he's enjoying language and writing.  He's getting how important it is to his understanding and entertainment and we're (Julie Bogart and I) are stoking the desire in him to write like that for others.

The Flexibility of Homeschooling or Honoring My Child's Interests

I couldn't decide between the two titles for this post, so I used them both.  ;o)  After we spent a couple of weeks on the Knights and Samurai chapter of Story of the World, B decided to do something else for a bit.  He spent the next couple of weeks reading books he likes, drawing comics for the book he's decided to "publish" and sell and write some stories.  The freedom of homeschooling allows you to follow your child's lead and honor what he or she needs.  B only turned the TV on during breakfast to catch up on any Phineas and Ferb episodes that had taped while he slept and then he went off by himself the rest of the day.  He reread all of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, Captain Underpants books and Big Nate books he had.  He wrote fictional stories in the Write Your Own Story Book by Usborne Books.  He gathered together all the comics he'd drawn over the years, corrected the spelling, organized them and created a cover for the book he wants to publish.  There are so many articles and how-to's out there on how to get your children to read or how to instill a love of reading in children.  We've been blessed that our love and desire for books and the worlds they expose us to has been passed onto him organically.

There was no way I was going to deny him when he wanted to do nothing but read, write and create for a couple of weeks.  We honored his interests.  I love this boy and his appetite for learning and books and his endless creativity!  It's amazing how much my child yearns to learn and enjoys learning when he has a say in what we learn and how much of each topic he is ready to take in.  He's still a boy with impulses and self-control issues, who cries when he's frustrated, who wants his parents to tuck him in a night, who dissolves into fits of giggles when the words "pee", "poop" or "butt" are said.  But he is also mature enough to ask me if I need anything, says "yes, ma'am" and "no, sir", runs ahead and opens a door for someone with their arms full and appreciates the difference between a want and a need.  I am so lucky and blessed to be with him everyday, to learn along side of him and guide him to become the man he is meant to be.  Homeschooling was a gift we thought we were giving to B, but we have received so much from it, ourselves.

I Created My First Meme!

BTW, I'm also correcting B frequently on the use of the word "Pacific" instead of "specific".

End of Year Testing

B and I finished up his end of year test this week because our state requires proof of progress from homeschoolers each Summer.  Wednesday B had a meltdown during one section of his Math test because the problem did not look exactly like problems he'd done before.  The problem looked like this:

 104

+  7

He flipped out because the number of digits on the bottom were not the same as the number of digits on the top, i.e.,

   104          6          33
+456        +9       +88

*sigh*  His, I don't-know-how-to-do-it-so-I'm-sure-I-will-get-it-wrong-so-I'm-not-going-to-do-it's ugly head reared up.  We had to visit the safety corner, let it out, regroup, explain the situation and go over the inappropriate reaction to it.  For all his anxiety, he got 3 out of 40 Math questions wrong, a 93%, and none of those 3 were anything like the problem he flipped out over.  He got 5 out of 81 wrong in Language Arts, a 94%.  Two of those 5 he really knew the answer to; he accidentally filled in the wrong bubble.  But I wouldn't let him change his answers.  It is so hard to take the "mom" hat off and just be a teacher during testing!  He asks me questions and I want to help"guide" him to the correct answer or I'm at the table with him, heard him say the correct answer out loud and then watched him fill in the wrong bubble.  However, that defeats the purpose of testing, which is to see how much he actually retained and to teach him a lesson to be careful with each question.

One of the many things I love and admire about B is his common sense, his ability to reason himself to an answer even when he doesn't have the knowledge or isn't sure of something.  He talked his way through some questions he didn't know the answers to, connecting the dots like Six Degrees of Separation, until he came up with an answer that seemed logical enough to choose.  And he was right.  He continues to amaze us and make us proud.