Teaching Writing on the Go
I have four little boys. Active little boys. Can’t-sit-still, and don’t-care-to-write little boys. My oldest son is just starting 2nd grade in his Language Arts curriculum, and the writing is becoming much more intense. This isn’t sitting so well with him. I’m learning, however, that teaching writing on the go is a great way to help remedy this! Keep reading to find out how.
“My hand hurts…” “This is taking FOREVER…” “Can’t I just type it on the iPad?!” Oh my. It seems like teaching writing and language arts to my boys is a true test of my patience. However, now that the steamy Texas summer is slowly coming to an end, we’ve been able to enjoy the fall weather and get out more. One day I took a basket of supplies with me so that we could work on writing and language arts assignments while in the car and the park. I’m happy to report there was less whining, and the new location did everyone some good. Now that I’ve realized how much we are on the go, I’ve kept our ‘writing box’ in the car permanently. Here’s how I make it work:
- *Keep the subjects/books/workbooks/supplies that you struggle to finish on a regular basis in the car.
- *Allow the ‘writing box’ or any other subject to be portable between your school room and your vehicle. You never know when you’ll need that workbook inside, and then you’re scrambling to get your supplies together.
- *Don’t over-pack. Avoid getting too excited and ending up bringing 5 bags of sharpies and an entire core of Sonlight to the park. Be strategic. Choose one subject and simplify.
- *Reserve this ‘learning on the go’ time for outings that are family only. The best way to ruin your ‘out of the ordinary’ learning time is to meet up with friends and have your child get distracted or upset because he has to finish his work.
We struggle with getting copy work and journaling done. Flashcards for math is another tough area. So, these are the things I keep in my car:
- *Flash cards
- *Phonics workbooks
- *Clipboards
- *Notebook paper
- *Pencils
- *Highlighters
- *Critical Thinking Workbooks
- *2-4 books at each child’s current reading level
- *Bible memorization CDs
- *Math Skip Counting CD (I highly recommend Math U See’s Skip Counting CD and Book)
We all have the best intentions of getting school done BEFORE we run errands, but once reality sets in, you often have to be more flexible. Keeping an organized system in my car has helped us to stay on task even when we’re not at home!
