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I'm a part-time clinical psychology researcher and full-time mother to Alex (4/05) and Colin (2/09). We are secular homeschoolers following a modified neoclassical curriculum.
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Current Read-Aloud
The Borrowers Aloft
Mary Norton-
Category Archives: writing
All cursive, all the time.
Alex is obsessed with cursive. She’s been tearing through the basic book that’s languished on the shelf all year (I don’t value cursive, so it’s always been optional) and writing her spelling and dictation assignments in a hybrid of cursive … Continue reading
Posted in writing
7 Comments
Cursive and the perfectionist.
Let me tell you, when a perfectionist starts to learn cursive it is fun times. “Augh! Look at this y! It’s horrible! Look at how messed up it is!” “No, Alex. I’m not going to look at your messed up … Continue reading
Posted in writing
4 Comments
Looking ahead to third grade.
Our new school year starts on June 1st. One of my goals for third grade is that Alex start to take a little more ownership of her education, so I asked her what she would like to accomplish this year. … Continue reading
Posted in art, five in a row, math, policy & planning, writing
7 Comments
First steps to reading.
For a few months now, Colin has been thinking a lot about words. “Hey Mom, did you know that ‘bridge’ starts with /b/, B?” “Do you know what’s cool? When Buzz Lightyear says ‘To infinity and beyond!’ it has FIN … Continue reading
Posted in reading, writing
6 Comments
Alex writes an “essay.”
With our new study of earth science, Michael and I decided that it was time to start requiring Alex to do some independent writing. Once a week, we’re asking her to write a few sentences explaining something she’s learned about … Continue reading
Posted in earth science, writing
4 Comments
Completing sentences.
In Sentence Island, the writing component of Michael Clay Thompson’s language arts, our latest topic is sentence fragments. In particular, we’ve been grappling with the idea that a sentence can have all the parts Alex has learned that a sentence … Continue reading
Posted in language arts, Michael Clay Thompson, writing
3 Comments
Alex the playwright.
We got into a little discussion of immigration at dinner tonight. After dinner, Alex was on fire to dictate this play to me. She started out assigning roles to family members, but quickly the dramatis personae got out of hand. … Continue reading
Posted in language arts, writing
4 Comments
Grammar/writing: action vs. linking.
Assignment: Write two short descriptions of the same thing. One description should use only action verbs. The other should use only linking verbs. I am Luna Lovegood. I am good at beliveing. I am brave, and I was with Harry … Continue reading
Posted in language arts, Michael Clay Thompson, writing
9 Comments
Soccer!
Alex started soccer last week, in a friendly neighborhood under-8 league. They practice for an hour and then play a game. I like her coaches, who are kind and easygoing. Her team seems to have a lot of other beginners. … Continue reading
Posted in field trips, writing
1 Comment
Formerly reluctant writer.
Last night, I opened up a composition book I recently bought for Alex’s Language Arts work and found that she had gotten started without me. Sunset Sunset was a little girl, her Parents said she was a perl, Sunset loved … Continue reading
Posted in language arts, writing
2 Comments
“My favorite element: Ununoctium.”
I love this kid: The scan cut off some of her answers, which wobbled into and down the margin: Why is it your favorite element? Becuse it will be namd after me.[1] Write down four facts you learned about your … Continue reading
Posted in chemistry (RSO), science, writing
2 Comments
“First-grade writing.”
[We moved! Oh my gosh. We're never doing that again. Hopefully this blog will soon be returning to regular levels of Tinderboxy goodness.] I had a little crisis of confidence after I made my last post about Alex’s hilarious notes. … Continue reading
Posted in writing
16 Comments
The many notes of Alex.
Alex continues to write notes with great diligence. She handwrites her requests for takeout food: Waht abowt Chineese She furthers the plots of her pretend games: Your invited to a feast at Redwall She issues obscure, and not-so-obscure, threats: You … Continue reading
Posted in writing
5 Comments
So much writing progress!
“What do you want to do first – math or spelling?” I asked Alex on Friday. “How about Writing With Ease?” “Hey, you know, that’s not the first time you’ve suggested that we do writing first. Alex… do you like … Continue reading
Posted in writing
4 Comments
Amber on the Mountain.
There’s been a lot going on lately chez Tinderbox (I initially mistyped that as “cheez Tinderbox,” which gives an entirely different mental picture) – we came home from vacation and immediately put in an offer on a house, which led … Continue reading
Alex wrote a book!
Our read-alouds for the past few weeks have been a pair of children’s mysteries written in the 1950s and set in Ancient Rome: Detectives in Togas and Mystery of the Roman Ransom. We finished the second one this afternoon, and … Continue reading
Posted in language arts, sotw vol. 1, writing
6 Comments
Some writing progress. Maybe.
We had a pretty relaxed Language Arts day with Down Down the Mountain today. I just had a few snippets of lesson in mind. There are two places where the book breaks into rhyme for a few lines, and then … Continue reading
The lost city of Mohenjo-Daro.
Fortuitously, a Story of the World chapter on the earliest civilizations in India came up just as we were studying India in Five in a Row. I read her the story of Mohenjo-Daro, a technologically advanced city in the Indus … Continue reading
Posted in social studies, sotw vol. 1, writing
2 Comments
Tornadoes and similes. Sometimes together.
Three Names doesn’t exactly have a plot – it’s more a rambling series of episodes strung together – but one of the more dramatic elements is a prairie tornado. Yesterday Michael and Alex explored the topic of tornadoes together. The … Continue reading
Contrast and POV.
Today we covered two Language Arts lessons for Night of the Moonjellies. First, I introduced the concept of first-person vs. third-person point of view. We discussed the fact that Night of the Moonjellies is told as if the author is … Continue reading
