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aussieannie
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| Posted: July 09 2007 at 10:29pm | IP Logged
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I would very much appreciate some advice or sharing of approach with how often to approach the following subjects in a week:
Spelling
Narration oral
Narration written
Dictation
Reading & Comprehension
English
Copywork
I am just trying to re-adjust my new term and quite truthfully, I am not sure which ones should have greater focus/emphasis and how often should each subject be done in a week.
If anyone could offer advice, would you be able to tell me how often you would do each per week and why?
Thank you so much in advance!
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melanie
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| Posted: July 09 2007 at 10:49pm | IP Logged
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How old are your children? That will make a big difference! Here's some off the top of my head thoughts on the items you listed to show you what I mean---
spelling- I think kids should have been reading for a couple of years before a formal spelling program is started. That's just my opinion, but I think they pick up on a lot of spelling by reading/copywork and the spelling will "stick" better when they have more exposure to print. We start it in third grade and do spelling four days a week.
oral narration- Gosh, we start this right away, informally at least. It's great to get them in the habit of discussing what you have read aloud to them as soon as they are verbal enough. Now once they are reading a lot, you won't be able to do this for everything they read! But at least once a school day I have them narrate something to me orally and I write it down for them until they are old enough to do the writing themselves.
written narration--this takes the place of oral narration for us as they get older. We use Mother of Divine Grace, and narration is a big part of the curriculum. They start out by narrating it to you while you write it down. They they narrate it to you, you write it down, and they copy it. Finally, they write it themselves. It's a process. My 4th grader was still in the second stage at the end of this school year, but I think she will move to doing it on her own in 5th grade.
Copywork and dictation- We do copywork of some kind at least a couple of times a week for the 7yo. He has some motor skill issues so the passages are very short. They gradually move onto the dictation instead of copy work. My 4th grader did all dictation,,,her only copywork was copying her own narrations.
English- I'm assuming this means grammar? We use Primary Language Lessons and then Intermediate Language Lessons all the way through 5th grade. I highly recommend these books. I think we used Primary in 2nd and 3rd, and we've used INtermediate for 4th and will for 5th. They look easy, but they are little gems and will work in a lot of this copywork/dictation/narration for you. Can't recommend them enough. We will move onto a heavier grammar book in 6th grade.
Reading and comprehension- Well, the narrations check for comprehension. I detest little readers with questions to answer at the end...lol. We sometimes use certain readers, but I don't use the questions. As far as how often to have your kids read, every day! Once they can handle easy readers, start them out with a couple of 5-10 minute sessions, not enough to stress them out, and gradually build up. Laura Berquist recommends an hour a day on top of any reading for school. I push my 10yo to do half an hour a day on top of any reading for school. She was a late/reluctant reader and that's plenty for her for now.
Anyway, those are my thoughts. Hope they helped some! 
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homeschooling Maria (13yo), Kain (10yo), Jack (5yo), Tess (2yo), and our newest blessing, Henry Robert, born 4/23!
slightlycrunchycatholic.blogspot.com
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aussieannie
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| Posted: July 09 2007 at 10:56pm | IP Logged
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Thank you so much for your thoughts Melanie - Oh yes, ages - very important. At present a 12, 10 & 7year old. Next year my next in line will be 5 and starting..
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Elizabeth
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| Posted: July 10 2007 at 6:44am | IP Logged
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Anne,
I pretty much agree with with Melanie.  (And Welcome, Melanie--we're glad to have you!)
I think she's spot on with spelling! Don't start too early. We use AVKO primarily and we do it every day once we begin it around 3rd or 4th grade.
The only difference with narration in our house is that I don't have my children copy the narrations I have recorded in writing for them. Usually, my children are able to narrate very long essays orally even when they're little and they'd be totally overwhelmed if I asked them to copy them. I think they'd learn pretty quickly to keep their narrations brief; I don't want that!
We continue copywork forever. Even mom has a book of copied quotations, etc. I keep it short and I don't particularly use it to teach grammar. Often, my copywork comes from the collect or from quotes of the saints.
I'm not into readers with comprehension questions, either. I do listen to my children read aloud to me periodically even after they are supposedly old enough to read alone. My eldest was happy to read on his own as often as he could and so is my 10yodd, but the other boys must be told to read independently. In a perfect world, it would be at least an hour a day. This is not a perfect world 
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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aussieannie
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| Posted: July 10 2007 at 2:24pm | IP Logged
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Thank you Melanie and Elizabeth, this advice is helping greatly - I seem to have inordinate focus on Reading&Comp and it is driving me batty!
I am craving more of the dictation, copywork & narration I wanted it to feature more strongly.
Can I ask one more question, what from that list would you say should be done daily? As I am trying to work out what can be done once or twice a week and what should receive more focus and time.
I forgot to say that what I call English is what you call grammar...
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melanie
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| Posted: July 10 2007 at 2:49pm | IP Logged
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We do reading, narrations, copywork or dictation (depending on the age/ability of the child), spelling for the oldest and grammar for the oldest pretty much every school day. Other than the reading though, these things don't need to take a lot of time. Grammar with Primary or Intermediate Language Lessons only takes about 10 minutes. Spelling takes 10-15 minutes a day. Really, of these subjects, reading is the only one that takes longer than 10 or 15 minutes a day right now. Grammar will probably take more as my oldest moves into 6th-7th grades.
We do poetry, religion, and math every day, and the oldest also does spelling, grammar, and Latin every day. Copywork/dictation/writing/narration is usually done every day, but as part of another subject,,,such as narrating Bible stories, dictating sentences for grammar, copying a poem for the poetry notebook... The subjects we rotate and do a once a twice a week are history, science, art, and music. If this sounds like a lot, it's really not. :) Like I said, we follow a curriculum, and the fourth grader's work took about 3 hours a day including reading time. It was very do-able.
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homeschooling Maria (13yo), Kain (10yo), Jack (5yo), Tess (2yo), and our newest blessing, Henry Robert, born 4/23!
slightlycrunchycatholic.blogspot.com
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aussieannie
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| Posted: July 10 2007 at 3:05pm | IP Logged
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Thank you Melanie, I'm printing this up for closer perusal as I re-design my daily schedule..
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4Real Forums : Language Arts Come Alive
Topic: I very much need some help & wisdom!
