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Erin
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| Posted: May 09 2007 at 12:59am | IP Logged
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Would you think that Lingua Mater would be too advanced for a twelve year old boy(grade 6)? He of all my children is switched on and interested in the written word. he frequently writes poetry and starts stories (never finishes).
His sister is not keen on doing it so I was thinking that they may enjoy doing it together. Any thoughts?
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Erin
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Lisbet
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My oldest was 11 most of this year and he just completed half of LM, he did a very good job too. He wrote alot of thoughtful and interesting stories. We also had a great many narrations sparked from this too. How old is his sister? I am always hesitant to have my two oldest (boy and girl) do things like this together, simply because they are SO competetive.
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Erin
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Lisa
Dd is 13.9yr and ds turns 12 this Saturday. My dc can be competitive, but more so the boys. Ds for example would hate it if his brother caught up to him in maths (likely to happen at the rate he is going  )
I discussed the option of doing LM together with the dc and dd is thinking about it. I even suggested I do it too  she is thinking about it. Options: do LM on own, do with brother or do with mum.
I think ds would really enjoy it. Is your son particulary language arts inclined?
A confession, dd really hated LM when I introduced it last year so I am now being sneaky. I have photocopied a week's worth of LM which she did, then I copied the 2nd week's worth. I told her it was something I found on the net, which is true  I can't keep doing this for too long so I am going to have to confess soon. Hopefully she will like it soon, don't know how she will take it  I can't believe I am being so sneaky
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Erin
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Sarah
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| Posted: June 17 2007 at 3:42pm | IP Logged
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Erin wrote:
A confession, dd really hated LM when I introduced it last year so I am now being sneaky. |
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I am bumping this thread because I have an upcoming 6th grade boy, but he is only 11 this summer. He is not at all excited about writing, but he is good at it. He is rather unmotivated (I don't want to use the word "lazy"). He is an excellent reader and very smart, but can be very stubborn when he dislikes something.
I wonder if this might be a good program for him. Not that we have to cater perfectly to our children, but would this entice a good, but reluctant writer? And a BOY?
Erin, what did dd dislike about the program?
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hylabrook1
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I am planning to save Lingua Mater for dd to do in 7th grade, when she will be 12 and turn 13 in November. It just feels
a little too abstract for next year (6th grade). But then this is the child who wants to do a language arts textbook next year - her request, to my semi-shock!The message I have been getting from her this year is that she wants structure. I'm not sure whether this is a developmental thing (she's just not ready for too much that is abstract) or a personality thing (she just personally loves structure). Not that LM isn't structured, but some of the writing topics I saw in the sample essays look like she might appreciate them more if she were a bit older when she gets to them.
Maybe Margot has input on this topic?
Peace,
Nancy
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Erin
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| Posted: June 18 2007 at 8:44pm | IP Logged
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Sarah wrote:
| Erin, what did dd dislike about the program? |
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Sarah,
Her first introduction to LM didn't do well as the first 'Day' asks about what you 'feel' and that was not a good question for dd's personality
I left it for a year because I could see it wasn't going to work, this year we have gone back and given it another go. She is still not too keen and I think it really comes down to discipline. LM is a writing course and it takes discipline like any course and in dd's case she hasn't really done anything too disciplined in her schoolwork before Other than her maths which to her way of thinking is fun! For the first time in her life dd is finding her work hard and she doens't like it. But it is time.
What we are doing to help the process is I am being a student too. She just loves it that mum is working along with her and I have to say it is hard. Dh is marking the work and my first assignment I got low marks  I do think he was being nitpicky and I told him so However dd got top marks, she did do a good job.  But she refuses to go ahead in her work unless I have caught up to her I am hoping as the year progresses she will move past this.
As for ds12 I have decided to leave him for another year yet or maybe two. After all dd is in year 8. Time enough with him before he has a more formal approach.
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Meredith
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For those of you transitioning to Lingua Mater this year, what did you use prior? We are most of the way through Intermediate Language Lessons, but my dd is finding these lessons a bit tedious (not difficult) just not as inspiring/motivating as she would like them to be for learning grammar. I LOVE the format of Lingua Mater and want to go ahead and use it for 6th/7th, but also want to make sure she will enter into it without difficulty.
Thanks for any perspective or advice here, Blessings!
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margot helene
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Erin wrote:
What we are doing to help the process is I am being a student too. She just loves it that mum is working along with her and I have to say it is hard. |
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That is a great approach, Erin! When I was teaching writing in a classroom setting, I always did the writing assignments with the students (some of my "teaching writing" courses recommended this). I liked it because
#1 I could experience first hand what they were experiencing and tweak the lesson if needed based on what I found out;
#2 So they could see that writing is what people do, even the teacher does it. I also always wrote during their silent free-writing time;
#3 (as part of #2) they loved hearing and seeing what I came up with. It wasn't always perfect and that was good for them to see, that I was willing to share what I wrote even if it wasn't A+ material. Sometimes my writing would give them ideas. They loved to critique my writing! I guess that's part of the learning, too. As they learn to critique another's work, they learn to look more critically at their own; and
#4 We were a community of writers. I know that sounds new-agey or schoolish, but it is important to create an atmosphere where students are writing and sharing their writing, and commenting on each other's writing. Everyone's skills go up in that environment . . . and it can happen in a homeschooling setting.
You can download grading rubrics from several places on the net and score each other's papers. Final drafts only, though!!
As far as an 11 year old starting Lingua Mater, I think it really does depend on the child. One of my kids has never done it because it didn't fit his style. I do think that some of the analysis later in the book is better done by a child who has a little more reasoning ability. And waiting until 8th grade is fine!
Sorry for the "feel" parts. You could say instead, how does this strike you, what does it make you think of. I use the word "feel" because I am not talking about strict analysis of the piece, just a first reaction. For many, our first reaction to something is emotional, or like or dislike. After we get past that, we can take it apart and see what what meaning lies beneath our first impressions. (Guided Reponse Day 2)
Thanks
Margot
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Erin
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Meredith,
Prior to LM we have never done any formal approach to writing or grammar other than Emma Serl's book and even that is haphazard and done orally. This I think is part of why LM has been a bit of a shock to dd, IMO it has a very high standard, which is good but it is something new. It takes discipline 
margot helene wrote:
As far as an 11 year old starting Lingua Mater, I think it really does depend on the child. One of my kids has never done it because it didn't fit his style. I do think that some of the analysis later in the book is better done by a child who has a little more reasoning ability. And waiting until 8th grade is fine!
Sorry for the "feel" parts. You could say instead, how does this strike you, what does it make you think of. I use the word "feel" because I am not talking about strict analysis of the piece, just a first reaction. For many, our first reaction to something is emotional, or like or dislike. After we get past that, we can take it apart and see what what meaning lies beneath our first impressions. (Guided Reponse Day 2)
Thanks
Margot |
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Margot,
Having gone back and waited an extra year I believe has been a very god thing for dd. Besides moaning a little she has a much better attitude this year.
When she first threw her 'hissy fit' last year over the feel thing, dh felt that was the reason behind it. And to an extent I still agree but I really feel now that it was more than that, for the first time she was really stretched and she didn't react well at first. And the discipline which my dc haven't had to a huge extent. She is now settling into a groove and provided 'I' keep up she is happy enough.
One thing we did have an arguement over here was; dh marked 'my' first assignment really tough because he felt that I didn't answer the questions properly, I felt that they were a open to more interpretation than he did. My girlfriend thought he was being picky, and he was a little I think in retrospect that it is hard going back to working in a formal manner and maybe I never was good at reading the questions anyway. See what an interest we are taking in LM here
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margot helene
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Erin wrote:
One thing we did have an arguement over here was; dh marked 'my' first assignment really tough because he felt that I didn't answer the questions properly, I felt that they were a open to more interpretation than he did. My girlfriend thought he was being picky, and he was a little I think in retrospect that it is hard going back to working in a formal manner and maybe I never was good at reading the questions anyway. See what an interest we are taking in LM here |
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 Oh - I am loving hearing about this! I think the questions are definitely interpretive. I hate writing answer keys because I want the ideas of the person to inform their responses . . . but many people have to have answer keys. Many places in the teacher's guide I have written "answers will vary," and I mean it! The teacher (the one doing the "marking") just needs to see that a reasonable answer was given, one that makes sense and is not too shallow,(such as saying: "It was good, I like it." That's not good enough.) Also, be sure to download the Errata sheet from the website because depending on the age of your book, the answer key will have some errors (to my horror).
Also, I would love to see any papers that you think were well done and possibly post them on the website. Although I advertise this, not many people have taken me up on it.
Margot
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Sarah
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Intermediate LL didn't go well for us. I don't think ds was ready to whip out a "composition" as some of the assignments stated. Also, he didn't find many of the topics interesting so it didn't go over well.
Its hard for me to find that balance. . .making a child do something if its good for them or just letting them pursue what they like. Someday in college or the workforce they will encounter projects/assignments that may not interest them and I'd like them to know how to plug away and get it done WELL because its required.
For now, I've done very little forcing reluctant writing because it means serious head butting between ds11 and me. I'm afraid to start something and quit because I think that has ill effects. BUT I know we need something more now for writing. . .but what????????
Honesty, too, I'm just fried emotionally and physically with all my little ones and I need something this year that is put together for me and ready to go. I'm done (this year) with thinking of things on my own.
I think I need to ask around locally and see if someone has a copy of LM and take a peek. . .
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Meredith
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Thank you Sarah for your honest input here, I'm feeling like I just don't want another year with ILL even though we didn't complete the book. LM just seems so much more directed and focused and *real* in the sense of seeing some reason for writing!! Thanks again!
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Kristie 4
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Hi Sarah,
I struggle with that balance too! When my ds was 11 it was the same with ILL. We did a few out loud and then left it. It was actually all the copywork we did that finally paved the way. All the sudden in his 11th year he began to enjoy writing- I read alot of Bravewriter stuff that year and decided to still back off and it paid off. He loves to write now (it is still his own ideas mostly), and will write some nice written narrations when I ask. For a while I had worried that relying on copywork wasn't enough, but it worked here.
(At 10 or 11 we also journalled every week or so to get the original work flowing- then we tried some simple narrations of tales etc. and moved onto some freewrites!!)
Sorry, you weren't really asking maybe?? But wanted to let you know we were there too.
Bless you today with your little ones,
Krisite
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Kristie,
That does help, actually. Thank you!
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helene
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I just want to say that LM is so thoughtfully put together. The grammar lessons are beautifully intertwined with the study of each piece (whether it be a poem, a story, a hymn, a work of art) and are never overbearing. The student learns how to write, sure, but also how to study and analyze classic pieces of literature and art. There is plenty of guidance for the reluctant would-be author and the tone is always gentle. The whole thing is noble and so very intelligent. God is glorified by every page. If any of you are on the fence about using this book, let me knock you off....it's magnificent!
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My just-turned 12 yr. old ds (he has a birthday in June) will be using this in the Fall. He will be in 7th Grade, and I believe that is the "target" age group for this book. Ds also used the Serl books, and Lingua Mater is really similar to them. I think for most 12 year olds - unless they really struggle with Language Arts - Lingua Mater should be fine.
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4Real Forums : Language Arts Come Alive
Topic: Is Lingua Mater suitable for a 12yr old?
