I have a reluctant writer at home. My son, a fifth grader whom I homeschool, is very curious and very inquisitive in an understated way. When we take trips to the library, he immediately visits the animal books: dinosaurs, sharks, reptiles, all creatures that interest him most. Learning to appreciate reading, however, continues to be a battle. It isn’t something that comes naturally to all students. We thought early on as parents that if we read to our children, if we exposed him to books at an earlier age, if he sees me enjoying a good novel, or sees me writing my fiction, well, it is all a matter of genetics then which will kick the proclivity for language arts into high gear. But that was wishful thinking. We are not surprised that our reluctant reader would be a reluctant writer as well. We had to ask ourselves, How then are we to help our son enjoy reading while we help him overcome his apprehension for writing? When my husband and I began to explore language arts curricula over a year ago, we found the answer we believed would be fitting to our son’s interests while engaging him in the skill of writing. The language arts curriculum my son used last year in fourth grade had plenty of instruction on the topics of sea snakes, pill bugs, desert tarantulas, and starfish. It proceeded to teach about historical figures like George Washington, Andrew Jackson, and Genghis Khan. Eventually, he read fables—such as The Boy Who Cried Wolf, The Princess and the Pea, and the Lion and the Mouse. For his final research paper, he chose to study the Komodo dragon, which gave him a sense of relief because he was finally able to elect his favorite subject to write about. We found out not only through other homeschool parents that one of the main culprits of the reluctant writer is the unfounded interest in the subject matter. We truly favored the curriculum and are using it again this year because it continues to feed the hunger my son has for reading about these topics, and writing about them as well. His approach to his writing holds a focus that we thought we’d never see. Even though he will slowly get drawn into a book, he won’t pick up a story and read it for pleasure. What matters in this instance is that he isn’t as apprehensive about reading as he was before. We’ll change things up a bit, knowing the tools we have help him learn, but motivating him is another feat. What has helped is the participation in the library’s summer reading program, and the Cover to Cover Club by In-N-Out Burger. Rewards, incentives, payoffs remain the crucial motivator for the reluctant reader. It’s been a long enough road to see my son, who really struggled to read prior to being homeschooled—when he was attending a private school—look forward to reading chapter books with attentiveness. It is a season, it seems, when the embers are still hot and then they cool after burnout in the homeschool. In fact, to encourage my son further, we challenged him to write a short story. Earlier this year, a short story writing contest for homeschoolers had an open call for submissions. We thought it was a perfect exercise for my son. Being the sequential, logical mother that I am, I was relieved to have followed a systematic plan that guided me in the process. My son, on the other hand, being apprehensive about all things language arts, was stretched enough to have a chance at exploring creative writing. The fixed prompt of the contest, the deadline, and the toolbox from his curriculum were what helped him accomplish the assignment with minimal frustration. I don’t know if my son will win the contest in his age category, but I can say that the introduction to a challenge outside of the homeschool, a panel of judges that are lined up to judge his work, is reward enough. It is already a victory to know that he set his hand to the plough through every sentence, every sequence of events, every moment of tension, and every line of dialogue that was necessary to tighten his story, and to loosen the grimace on his face.
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
J.K. Rowling
We are fortunate that through the internet it is possible to keep in touch with living authors through their blogs, twitter feeds, and their websites. Use this resource to get deeper into an author’s works or, if you haven’t read book by the author, to discover someone whose work you’d like to follow. J.K. Rowling is so famous that there is almost too much information out there to choose from. Lots of people know about her characters from the Harry Potter movies, but we always say that reading is the best preparation for writing! So, we encourage you to explore her books, and hear her talking about how it all began, and how she thought of and developed a set of characters and stories that have captivated millions across the world. If you are already a fan of J. K. Rowling, then please add your feelings about her books in the comments below. How have you been influenced by her writing? What do you like best about her books? Which is your favorite? Which do you like least, and why? If there are online resources that you think we should add to this page, then let us know. Website Wikipedia Facebook Twitter Books Harry Potter Paperback Box Set (Books 1-7) Interviews
Hands Deep in Art
I never want to know ahead of time which kids are “those” kids. When I walk into a classroom, ready to teach a unit on art, I don’t want to know which kid is the one who falls off his chair to entertain his neighbors, which kid is a super-talented artist, or which kid is the mouse. It’s not that I want to walk blindly into a classroom, or that I have some airy-headed view that all kids are artists, and have equal “gifts.” I just know that it doesn’t matter how “talented” they are, it’s what is in their head and hands when they make art that is important. After teaching art as an itinerant “Artist in Residence” (which makes it sound like I lived at the school, but in fact simply means I am a working artist and am not required by the State to have teaching credentials) in a K-5 public school for several years, I noticed something interesting. I would walk into a classroom of 30 kids, not knowing them AT ALL . In the process of teaching a project I would see a student focus really hard, and come up with amazing and brilliant ideas, or use color in a way I would never have thought about. Later, the classroom teacher would come to me and say “You know, I really didn’t expect that kind of thing from that child.” And I would think, “I am so glad I didn’t know that before.” Oh don’t get me wrong, sometimes I walk into a classroom and instantly know which kid just cannot sit in their chair for more than three seconds, or which one is the super-motivated, future class president. And often that bright, motivated kid is very, very successful at working with the medium I am teaching. And sometimes the kid who is falling off the chair every time I look at them is a huge challenge to teach. But I seriously don’t want to hear from the teacher ahead of time which kids are “those” kids. Even if they normally display a prodigious talent for drawing horses or kittens or trains. Especially that. I could do a whole blog on the kids who have been told their whole life that they are terribly gifted at drawing, and how, by about third grade, they are so clenched about how they draw that they HAVE to draw the same thing over and over again, EXACTLY the same way. Not that I’m dissing natural talent, or a child who loves to draw. It’s just that every kid has a challenge of some kind. For some, it’s holding scissors correctly. For some, it’s learning that there is MUCH more to the world of art than drawing dogs realistically. So to the kid who says “I can’t draw” I say “Hallelujah! Neither can I. So let me show you how do do art.” Which brings me to my fifth grade tile project. Personally, I love my rock-star status as Art Teacher. I would not be a classroom teacher for all the money you could throw at me. The kids who come to me to work with clay do not have to be motivated. They come fully loaded and ready to go. We start by talking about the project. We go over what they need to know about the theme of the tiles, how to design in a four-inch square, and the basics of the clay process. I ask for a show of hands—who has worked with ceramic clay? A hand or two goes up. They’ve painted bisqueware at a local business. Not the same thing. How many love to get their hands into mud puddles? They look at me as if I’m daft. These are mostly farm kids. They know mud puddles. They don’t put their hands in them. “Imagine if you were drawing your design in the mud with a stick,” I tell them. Hmmm…well that sounds a little crazy, but they can kind of go there. I keep forgetting that these kids, even though they are almost all 12, have never made a pinch pot, or done a coil pot, or built a slab tray or even used air-dry clay. Most of them have never, ever been taught in the course of a regular school year to get their hands into real clay. In about a week, after they’ve worked on researching their individual subject, I “approve” their design. This year our theme is State Symbols, so they find birds, flowers, trees, bugs, and even firearms. That last one was quite the coup, since students are technically not allowed to draw weapons, but he found a way. Resourceful young man. It was also quite a challenge, being a muzzle-loader long gun, which does not fit well into a four-inch square. He got a wonderful dose of problem solving, thinking on his feet, working and adapting to the circumstances, patience and focus. Actually, ALL of the students got some mega-doses of all those skills and more. The student who wanted to do the Texas Bluebonnet drew a lovely pencil rendition of that complex flower. She got her wet square of clay to work on, and a slab of clay to cut out and build the relief of her design. When she cut the design out of the paper, it looked mostly like a lumpy bunch of…well, lumps. Problem solving, thinking on her feet, adapting to circumstances. I asked her, “How are you going to solve this?” She looked back at me. I said, “Pick up the clay, play with it. See what it will do.” She did, I turned my back to talk to another student, and next thing I know, she had an amazing relief of a Texas Bluebonnet she accomplished by cutting individual pieces out of her little flat patty of clay, and sticking them onto her wet tile. Her neighbor says, “Wow! That is so cool! How did you do that?” And we’re off.
