Hi Ladies,
I am planning on doing only the first 2 units of Y2 next year...that's 19 weeks of writing assignments. I don't really think I need to spread these assignments over 36 weeks, so I was wondering if anyone has come up w/a plan to supplement the off weeks. Of course, we could do notebooking pages for writing, or dictation. Just wanted some of your ideas. Thanks!

How old are your children?

7,8 and 10. Thanks!

I am thinking of using two units a year as well. I have one LG student and we love to go all out with the units and do lots of the hands on activities. Unfortunately this causes two problems for me. One problems is it's very exhausting and when we have completed one unit I feel like I need a break before going to the next. The second problem is that I am not focusing on the important basics like learning to read, math, and other foundational skills. So I have our homeschool split into 4 quarters. 2 quarters will be Tapestry and the basics like math and reading the other 2 quarters will be science and MORE emphasis on the basics. I am thinking of using Rod and Staff English. I have heard great things over the years about their English program. So I figure the weeks we are doing Tapestry I will go very lightly on this program. People have talked about doing it orally and skipping the writing assignments to use Tapestry assignments. Than on the weeks we are not doing Tapestry I will delve more heavily into it. It seems flexible enough to do this but I am not really sure.

I have another thread about Rod and Staff English and I have asked on other homeschool sites. It seems like it would work! We will see.

Another option for you is to try Wordsmith for your older child. Than you can pick up a writing workbook from the teacher supply store or Barnes and Noble for your youngers.

I have also heard good things about Drawn Into The Heart of Reading. It does not teach writing skills but it will give lots of writing practice.

If you are going to use something like Wordsmith, a Barnes and Noble workbook like Spectrum or Drawn Into the Heart of Reading you will still need to continue the grammar program.I am not sure what you are using right now for that. This is why I was thinking of just going with Rod and Staff English. It has the grammar and it will also include writing skills for the weeks we are not using Tapestry.

You could also read up on Charlotte Mason and emphasize her approach.

There is a book called Any Child Can Write, by Harvey S Wiener. It does not teach writing skills but will give lots of ideas for writing assignments. Your local library may have it, ours had it.