It's been a long while since we've posted to Wonder World Classroom, largely because of a phenomenon we experienced as soon as we joined the charter school we were part of for two years. We joined as unschoolers, a philosophy the school happily told us they embraced. Insofar as was possible for a charter whose funding depends on adhering to common core standards. 
And then I remembered what unschooling was all about for us. Living=learning. We didn't stop the past two years. Bri has learned a great deal, even if the specific concepts the school said she "should" have been learning were not mastered. We learned a valuable lesson about the importance of unschooling at our house. It's not only the best course for Bri. At this point, it's the only course.Part of the "If Your Kid Hates..." series...
So we hit on this idea to have Bri make a holiday video for my husband's business. Thing is, people have trouble understanding some of her 7-year-old speak. While we have adapted to her speech it's tough for us at times, too. Stopping several times to have her repeat things, or re-pronouncing them until she gets it right has proven quite frustrating for her. While she doesn't hate speaking per se, she is not wild about us pestering her over enunciation.
All this considered, the video idea might sound like a pipe dream. If fact, it wound up serving our needs well. Since she was excited about the idea of going on camera (in front of a green screen, no less), she was eager to rehearse her lines and work on speaking clearly for the audience. Thus, a perfect "teachable moment" was born. Rehearsing was done from the perspective of all actors needing to practice their lines over and over, and pronounce them clearly, so the microphone can pick up the words.
After days of practice and several "takes" she still had some trouble with the more difficult words--which was fine, since we weren't expecting her to transform overnight--but she did improve her speaking clarity. More important, she enjoyed the process. Also, the video gives her the opportunity to hear how she sounds to others, which is a good tool for her without my having to pester about it. This was successful enough that she wants to do more, so we are planning other short videos for her to tackle in the near future.
Here's the video:
Brianna has discovered her first strong school-type dislike: writing. Writing drives her crazy--the mechanics, forming the letters, copying sentences...all of it. Sit her down with a pencil and she yawns incessantly, kicks the chair, groans/whines/moans, and sometimes bursts into tears.
Back in my series about "Teachable Moments," I cited just this scenario and mentioned waiting until the child was ready to tackle a subject naturally rather than foisting it on them hatred-be-darned. Now that we've signed up for a home-based charter program, however, (which requires samples of progress in state standards and a school-wide essay assignment), this isn't a viable option. Time for Plan B.
In my quest to make writing "fun," I've tried several different games, writing with food (including Skittles Spelling and tracing letters into pink lemonade drink powder), as well as a workbook series titled Draw Write Now. (I considered Handwriting Without Tears, but heard mixed reviews as to just how tear-free the lessons were.) In Draw Write Now, each writing assignment includes a lesson in how to draw a picture based on the subject. I figured this fun art component would soften the blow of having to jot down all those pesky words. Still, she balks. Skittles and Lemonade spelling quickly because Skittles/Lemonade artwork/drawing, as she lost interest in forming letters. I had minor success with a game of "Guess What I'm Writing?" and taking turns with the magic slate, but she gives up on it in short order.
An assignment from Draw Write Now: Farm Animals
So now that I've succeeded in seeing my child come to hate writing enough to be happy never to see another word, what now? Enter my latest crazy scheme--I signed us up for the Young Writer's Program in the National Novel Writing Month (November 1-30), which challenges folks to write an entire novel in thirty days. 
You might be thinking, "Have you gone mental? A 7-year-old writing a NOVEL--when they hate to write? You'll drive her over the edge!!" Well, I'm hoping to pull my daughter back from the abyss by bringing the fun connotation back into the word "writing." No longer will the term conjure nightmare images of x's that won't slant and hand cramps. Once again it will whip up pictures of magical stories, tales of wonder where she can be anyone, go anywhere, and do anything. In short, we're going back to formula on theory, rather than practical execution. She will dictate her story, and I will dutifully type it and wait for the sunshine and rainbows to return (we hope).
For those of you who haven't heard of this challenge, I highly recommend it. I've participated five years running, and this will be Bri's first time. Young writers can learn a great deal about Language Arts by participating, and the official site (http://ywp.nanowrimo.org) offers lesson plans by grade as well as a forum. A fabulous home school lesson plan idea for kid novel writing can be found at Little Blue School's blog. I hope some of you will find the fun in writing this November!
I'll be charting our progress here on the blog, as well as the end impact on her current Anti-Writing campaign. Wish us luck!
