Browse through our articles, written by our professional teachers, to get loads of tips and resources for a happy and productive homeschool.
We also share sample essays from our online writing program in our student showcase posts and occasionally share resources from our homeschool writing curriculum.
Happy reading!
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And guess what? Anybody can become a competent writer. It’s a skill set that you and your child can learn together. You don’t have to be the expert with your kids all the time. In fact, it's nice for everyone when you change up the teacher student relationship occasionally. Learning to write together can be a great bonding experience. When you read daily with your children, you’re all well on your way to learning to write. Reading makes you see how other writers creatively combine their words to form their stories, and you gain insights on how to do that for yourself. Outings to the library or the book store can become a family activity. Better yet, read aloud to one another. Summarize, discuss, and compare the stories you're reading. That's a great way to slip in a little critical thinking skill work before you even put pen to paper! Daily journaling is also excellent writing practice. In a journal, you don’t worry about spelling and grammar, so let go of all those grammar rules that often cause stress and writing paralysis. You can journal about anything. Simply focus on giving a clear explanation and add the thoughts and emotions that surround it. To start, set ground rules for ten to fifteen minutes of journaling a day. If everyone agrees, share your entries with each other. This way not only does everyone’s confidence grows, as you support each other. Sooner or later, grammar and formal writing technique has to enter the picture. After all, a writer has to know the rules of their language for formal written communication. You can't put it off forever. The good news is that writing and grammar rules almost never change, so once you learn it, there's no unlearning it. Two tried and true textbooks I've used for grammar and writing lessons over the years are Write Source 2000 and English Grammar by David and Barbara Daniels. Also, if you're fluent in English, you'll catch many of your grammar errors if you read your writing aloud. Remember, writing can be fun!
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