Ugh…. I did not expect this to be so hard! As I have written previously, I hopped off of the fence and purchased IEW Student Intensive A. I thought this video class would make learning to write so much easier. But I am not an 8-year-old boy who doesn’t like to put pencil to paper. G is awesome orally, which is how we do most tasks. So these writing lessons are as much about the physical act of writing as the process of composition.
I do have to say; he is enjoying the lessons and would have no complaints if I would be his scribe. Because of this I have had to alter MY timeline from two compositions a week to one. This seems to be a good compromise.
I have to say that Pudewa has picked excellent topics for the kids to write about. And if you have ever heard him speak, he is definitely reaching for those kids who would rather be building forts. The initial video lesson and subsequent practices are on the topics: Sea Snakes, Desert Tarantulas, and Pillbugs.
Pudewa walks the students (yours and in studio) step by step through the process; reading of the text, picking three words from every sentence to form a keyword outline, testing the outline to see if you can create a sentence, and finally putting away the original story and writing an essay from your outline.
G enjoyed Pudewa’s humor and trying to come up with same keywords he suggested. It was almost a game. He also liked the “help” hand signals Pudewa used for classroom management… quite funny since G is my only. I also got my first “That’s not what he said”. giggle
We also took advantage of free admission, part of our KSC admission, to the Astronaut Hall of Fame. It is a wonderful, small museum. The exhibits are interesting and there are many hands on opportunities
Watching videos at a real mission control table
