How to Make Writing for K-3rd Grade Painless & Efficient!

I totally just requisitioned the little whiteboards someone gave my kids and use them for school days. Yep, shameless. But efficient. They can have them back when I’m done, OK?

So here’s the thing.

I have a lot of kids. And not a lot of space.  

There are currently six children in varying grades homeschooling here, not counting the two toddlers who are doing their own thing. (Mostly flooding the bathroom or dumping out beads or decorating the window sills with markers they unlawfully swiped, or teasing each other till they both scream. But I digress.)

So we do most of our homeschool on the kitchen table, all clumped together, because it’s the best place with a flat surface that’s moderately clean. The toddlers often join us, with coloring books and crayons.

Although, as I write this, it occurs to me that actually the majority of my true teaching time is spent next to a child on the floor… hmm.

Anyway.

Because of these two things (lots of kids, not lots of space), the most streamlined and efficient way for me to teach is to try to get the most kids I can learning from the same textbook AT THE SAME TIME, and adjust the lesson as needed for varying ages/grades/abilities. 

Sort of like a one-room schoolhouse approach.  Or “Clump and Conquer”, as I like to think. (It’s the large-family better half of divide and conquer!)

Here’s how it works for writing in my house:

I take this wonderful writing workbook by Susan Wise Bauer:

and I use it as a source text for several different kids at the same time, because it’s so easily adaptable! It can be found on Amazon for a little over $25 dollars new, or less if you purchase used (see here for Amazon purchasing options).

Each week is broken up into only four different work days, alternating copy work and narration. This is great if you need a break day, or if you need a day to catch up.

For copy work days, I first copy out the two sentences given in the workbook on a small whiteboard. We briefly go over the point of the lesson for that day – for example, capitalizing proper nouns – and then I have the kids tell me where examples of those are in the sentences.

Once it’s clear that each child grasps the concept taught that day, they copy one or both of the sentences in a notebook (I use the composition-type notebooks). I check for letter form and spelling, encouraging or correcting as needed, and then they’re done for the day. 

Narration days include reading a short selection in the workbook, usually from a classic children’s book, and then I ask a series of questions (also in the workbook), to train the children to listen carefully and thoughtfully.  They must answer in complete sentences (there are example answers given in the workbook), and then at the end, they each answer the question, “What is something you remember from the passage?” I write down the (complete sentence) answer from each child on the white board.  Each child can copy their own sentence (or everyone’s, if they want!). 

It’s amazing how much more fun and interesting writing can be if you’re writing down your own created sentence! My kids surprise me often by how interesting, long, and varied their sentences are. Then they cheerily write them down in their notebooks.

Quick side note: My older children write in cursive, my youngers in print.I provide handwriting/penmanship workbooks to each of my children to supplement their schooling. I think training them in cursive is a great discipline for hand-eye coordination as well as helping increase patience, control, dexterity, and memory/increased retention in learning. For more info, check out this article here.

The lessons are simple, short, and completely achievable, usually less than 15 minutes.

The reading selections are usually quite interesting and have stimulated my children’s curiosity and interest in many other books (requiring more trips to the library, or great birthday/Christmas gift ideas!). 

I love that they are getting a dose of Language Arts, grammar, penmanship, spelling, reading comprehension, and exposure to great classic literature all at the same time, across varying grade levels, while all together at the table.

This model is so simple that after using the workbook (it is designed for use by one child, with blank lined spaces for the writing corresponding to each lesson in the back, but I obviously put my own spin on it based on my family’s needs), you could easily design your own simple daily “writing class” using material taken from your family’s favorite stories and classic books. 

Efficient, comprehensive, painless – just how I wish all the rest of homeschooling was more often!

Did you enjoy writing as a child? What about now?

You’re doing an amazing work in teaching your children, and you should be proud of yourself!

Cheering you on!

– Maria

If this post was helpful or encouraging to you, please share it on your social media, and let me know – I’ll be delighted and pleased! (Thank you!)

How I Home School K-3rd Grade Now: Simple MATHEMATICS

Barefoot, in the kitchen, on the floor, teaching my son 1st Grade Math. What this picture doesn’t show is the dishes in the sink, the piled laundry waiting to be folded, and the toddler wailing in the background while she clomps around the hall in my shoes. Welcome to my home school life.

(PART 2)

In my last article (found here:), I wrote about keeping the focus big and bright on only four basics:  

Mathematics, Reading, Writing, and Character Development.

Let’s talk Math!

At this early age, Math is pretty straightforward. (Even if Math scares you a little, like it does for me.) I try to keep it as one of the first subjects we do each day so that their minds are fresh and ready to tackle it well!

Depending on your child’s learning style, there are many options that could work.

I tend to keep it pretty simple and use A Beka workbooks. They are repetitive but very thorough, so I know my child will be solidly grounded in the math facts by the end of the grade. They usually cost around $22-25, and are widely available.

I also don’t get the answer keys since the math is so basic I figure I don’t need them at this level.  (Don’t tell A Beka.) 

I have a small bin of plastic “counting bears” as a visual aid for addition and subtraction for my earliest learners, and to explain lower-level multiplication/division. Anything small will work – buttons, beans, toy cars, crayons, Cheerios… (just don’t be surprised if the Cheerios start disappearing mysteriously).

Other moms I know have kids who do better with other math curriculum, like Math-U-See or Singapore Math. It really comes down to how your child learns best.  

Try not to get too bogged down in research before you just start. It can become so overwhelming that decision-paralysis sets in. 

If your child is genuinely struggling, pray about it first. The God who created your child’s mind and heart will help bring you the wisdom and resources you need.  It’s remarkable how suddenly the connections and information you’re looking for will gently become clear in the upcoming days.  It’s another way God shows His loving care and concern for every aspect of our lives.

The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.

Psalm 37:23, NLT

Sometimes He’ll bring along another mom with a kid who learns remarkably similarly to yours, and you can get help and advice along with friendly support!

You know your child.

Trust your gut and trust that you are the best person to figure out how to help them learn in the way that most fits them.

If your child is a slow and deliberate math student (I have at least one of these), it might be a good idea to set a timer, and take a break from whatever else you are doing to sit with them and patiently explain and help. Kind voice, no judgement, just pretend you’re a tutor with nothing else to do but patiently help this child have a pleasant interaction with math for a brief time.

Start with 15 mins (or less), if they’re struggling. Then slowly work up to 30 mins.  When the timer rings, math is done for the day.  Even if they’ve only got through half a page. Or less.  At the start it should be more about teaching consistency and familiarity with concepts. And avoiding tears. (For them and you!) 

Then, as they get a bit older and more confident, another helpful idea is to plan something fun or different that they enjoy immediately following math (if math is more of a challenge for them). Have a coloring or LEGO-time for 20 mins afterwards, or a fun snack, or let them run outside and blow bubbles or build a fort in the living room, or have a read-aloud time with an enjoyable book, cuddling together.

If your child is more like a streak of light able to rush and get through math quickly (I’ve got a few of these), require a minimum amount per day – for me it’s one lesson (2 pages), and I check in often to make sure they understand what they’re doing. 

But for the most part, these lightning-learners only need my help with explaining a new concept – and then they’re off again.  Sometimes I have to slow them down and encourage them to breathe – my young daughter flew through seven lessons without stopping the other morning, and I wanted to make sure she was grasping the new material.

Home school is wonderful in that if your child wants to fly and feels confident shooting through the material in a subject, they can!

They are not being held back by the lowest common denominator, but can move quickly on to something that actually challenges them more, even if it is beyond their peer-group grade level.

Home school is phenomenal in that if your child needs extra time and nurturing in a subject so that they achieve mastery before moving on, they have that opportunity!

They are able to receive the attention and tailored approach they need to thrive and learn. This relieves the stress, fear, and the feelings of inadequacy and insecurity that can easily develop in a forced group-learning style when something is more of a challenge for them. 

One day I sat at the table and helped one child with two things: how to write a number eight (my child was stumped) and what the ten’s place value was. For thirty minutes we did nothing else except practice swooping 8’s, and discussing and practicing place value.

Guess what? While we did not get through even a fraction of the workbook that day, by the end there was an encouraged smile in place of tears, a new pride in the smoothly-written 8’s on the page, and a secure grasp of place value for two-digit numbers.

This was serious math success because of the way my child had experienced math in a positive, confident way. This is when home schooling seriously rocks!

What a precious gift this kind of learning can be – for their heart and yours.

So take a deep breath, mama. You got this! I’m cheering you on.

– Maria

If you’ve found this article helpful, please share it on your social media pages, and send me a message to let me know it was valuable! (I’ll be so pleased and thrilled I’ll probably cry. I tend to do that.)

If you have any questions or want to know more about what I use and how I homeschool, send me your question in the comments and I will get back to you!

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Next up! Part 3- How I Home School K-3rd Grade Now: READING! Woohoo! (Can you tell I’m excited?)

Mama Was a Preacher: (A Simple Mindset Check for Parents)

Hey there, Friend!

Quick question for you today:

If you were a swim coach, told that you had four weeks to teach a class of newbies how to survive being thrown in the deep end of the pool, what would you do? 

You would design a strategic plan to teach those people the essential skills they would need to pass the test!  You would review the plan daily, making sure you covered and carefully taught all that they needed to know!  

All along, you would know you had a time limit to complete your task, so you wouldn’t waste class time on showing them the best way to spread out their towels, or how to match their swim cap to their bathing suit. You would get them in the pool and get cracking on the important things!  

So in the arena of parenting, what is your deepest hoped-for outcome in parenting your kids? 

What, in your mind, is equal to the deep end of the pool?

  • Being a good and kind person?
  • Is it getting (and keeping) a successful job? 
  • Paying for their own college degree, car, or mortgage? 
  • Marrying someone who loves them?  
  • Finally learning how to do their own laundry and cooking? 

What is it that you would consider to be your benchmark goal of “success” in parenting? 

Does it have anything to do with knowing, loving, and pursuing God?

If you have any children, you have been given the calling of parenthood.  This means that far beyond just ensuring they survive to adulthood, you are also called to be someone who speaks into their lives with intention and purpose, teaching them diligently how to follow God and obey His Word.

Sounds like “Preacher” is part of the job description that falls under “Parent”… doesn’t it?

We have been given the task of influencing, directing, wisely counseling, and deliberately discipling our children, whether we have one or twenty-one of the punks.

Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it,” Scripture says (Proverbs 22:6, NLT). 

“We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the LORD, about his power and his mighty wonders,” Psalm 78:4 (NLT) declares.

The protégé of the Apostle Paul, Timothy, was reminded: “You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus,” (2 Timothy 3:15, NLT).  That is the essential aim of parenting as a believer – that our children would whole-heartedly trust in Christ Jesus and receive His salvation. Beyond this, all else is secondary.

Do we live like this is true?  Do we parent like our to-do list each day includes: “And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These words I am commanding you today are to be upon your hearts. And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.…”? (Deuteronomy 6:5-7)

Like the hypothetical swim coach, we have been given a time limit for achieving our goals for our children, whatever they may be. Our children will not be at home with us indefinitely. 

So are we shaping our time with our littles in a way that demonstrates our commitment to our goal of teaching them diligently? Are we speaking about the commands and righteous living outlined in the Scriptures as passionately and frequently as the passage above directs?

We are called to be preachers of God’s word in our own homes, not only to our children but to our own hearts as well.  “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength,” the Scripture states, as a directly personal command. 

The truth of God’s Word is to be upon our own hearts – or else how can we presume to pour it out into the hearts of our children?

The way to gain our children’s respect in teaching them this love for God is if we are first modeling it ourselves in integrity and truth. This means daily intentional pursuit and committed, persistent choices to turn our hearts and thoughts to Him.

Let’s decide to deliberately plan out and actively teach what our children will need in order to effectively pursue and love God on their own – letting our parenting goals be shaped by the truth of His Word, not our world.

Let’s decide to seek Him fiercely and fervently for ourselves and our own often- feeble hearts. He gives strength to the weary, and increases the power of the weak (Isaiah 40:29), and He also generously gives wisdom to those who ask for it (James 1:5). Jesus Himself prayed for us, that we would have the same love for God that God had for Jesus (John 17:25), so we can have no fear of repeating such an audacious request to Him. (I do, often!)

Let’s choose today to be the intentional, faithful, and sincere preachers of the Word to our children that we have been called and chosen to be.

Go get ’em, Mama. Your congregation awaits.