Topic : School Issues

Any advice on how to teach an 8 year old boy some writing skills?  We planned to write a story as part of a cub scout project, and my son cried all the way to the meeting.  We were just writing a simple four-square story sheet...he just couldn't think of anything.  I gave him some starter sentences, and he finally did get a really cute story written, but I would like to see him enjoy writing.  His other learning skills are so much ahead, it is frustrating, as a mom, and for him too, I'm sure, that he has such a hard time with this.

First, it sounds as though your son & my daughter have both been taught in school the same way - "bass ackwards," IMO. They are given little or no concept of grammar, what makes a sentence (i.e., the simple stuff), but then they're expected to crank out paragraphs and more at the drop of a hat. My daughter is still struggling as a 5th grader (3rd grade was a disaster, we have an IEP for this area as "catch-up"); much of her problem seems to revolve around selecting what she wants to do & how she wants to do it, then she can go to town. She really despises the task, however.

Can he organize his thoughts in a conversation (verbally)? If so, so much the better. Maybe you could start out with those starter sentences and build on what he knows about basic sentence structure, and then work up to paragraphs. I still go back & forth on even this stuff with my daughter on occasion.

Sigh.

BTW, three cheers on the scores! Looks like all kinds of good things are happening up there.

Do you read, does he read, reading is the best thing, and by reading he will learn how to write, My 7 y/o son reads for a min. of 10 min every night, he was able to finish a 68 page book, with no pictures!!!!! in 3 nights. 

when he has a writting project he remembers his books and refrences them.

we do homework every day, even if he doesn't have too.  we practice his spelling 3 times a week instead of 1, like it is said, so he get almost alway's 100%!!

even if he has no writting project, find one you can both do together and make it fun!! after, you can maybe reenact the story written as a play for the familly!!!

The secret is to make it fun, kids learn with fun, not by obligations and boring stuff.

good luck

My son loves to read.  He is in third grade and reading at 8.8 grade level.  He is currently reading the #2 Harry Potter book, at least a chapter a day...he wants to read all evening, and we have to make him put it away at bedtime. He excells in reading, math, and science, and the teacher is giving him advanced work to keep his brain challenged.  His problem is finding the right words and deciding on what to write.  His manner of speaking and vocabulary are far beyond third grade.  Spelling is never a problem...usually 100% on the spelling tests.

We did a fun story at cub scouts.  I gave him some starter sentences, and he expanded from there.  He came up with a really cute 4-paragraph story.  Short, but we have to start somewhere. 

He was all stressed out today because he has only 5 minutes to write a story re-tell of a book the kids are reading at school.  I have to remind him that the obvious stuff is what he should write down.  Verbally, he re-tells the story very well...getting that info to the page is another story.  We are working on getting him to write down what he would say verbally.  His older brother is supposed to use a tape recorder for this purpose, but he is embarrassed to use it at school.

Our oldest son had trouble writing when he was in elementary school, and even up to 9th grade.  Now, he is working on a novel...has been working on it for 2 years, and it is getting pretty thick...he works on it at every opportunity.

I hope our younger 2 sons can develop the same passion for writing, as writing skills are essential in all aspects of life.

On a different subject, timed math tests are the bane of our existence.  Our youngest son is doing timings on his multiplication facts.  When not timed, he doesn't feel pressured, and he can finish the page much quicker.  When he gets a timer set to his work, the answers seem to fly right out of his head.  His older brothers had the same trouble, as did I, when I was in grade school.  I have told the teacher about this, but there are 30 kids in our son's third grade class, so it is hard to tailor the math timings to one student.  We just continue to practice the math facts at home.

Our middle son is the one that loves the drama.  Ever since he was a toddler, he has loved to act out stories that were read to him.  He loves to do movie lines too.  Currently, he is in 8th grade drama class, and he is loving it.  His imagination is boundless.

Our oldest son has trouble having any enthusiasm for the mundane and boring assignments at school.  He excells at the exciting large projects.  We are trying to reform him intime to college this fall.

Thanks for the info.

We have a six year old boy who has trouble at school, especially when sitting in class, with keeping his hands to himself.  We have spoken with him multiple times and taken privileges away without much long term success.  When other children have bothered him he doesn't like it and when we remind him of this he agrees.  Yet, the problem continues.  Just yesterday, his teacher informed me he was touching again in class.  When I ask him WHY he is doing this he cannot tell me a reason which only adds to my frustration.  It's gotten to a point where some of the other students don't want to sit next to him and I feel this is precisely what he doesn't want; I think he wants attention but I just don't know what to do.

Thanks for the help and suggestions.

It sounds like your child is easily distracted by the other kids.  Have you ever considered having him evaluated by a psychiatrist.  There could be something going on that makes him so distractable.  It may be attention-seeking behavior, but an evaluation by a professional seems to be in order.

Good Luck, Becky

I have two sons who have trouble with written assignments. We have IEPs for both. The oldest has dyslexia, so most of his middle school years were spent with learning reading skills. For high school, his written assignments are pared down and adapted. The youngest has ADHD and so naturally, his brain goes faster than his hand can write. On top of that, he has Graphomotor problems. He loves to read and has great verbal skills. His memory is his strength; only he is a forest learner and misses many of the trees. Which means his strength is the big picture and his weakness is getting the details. 

What we, (school and I) have found works is a program called "Inspiration or kidspiration,” a visual learning software program, which uses graphic images to help children organize, brainstorm and research information. You can use Venn diagrams or outline forms. They switch back and forth. I like the idea that they can just type down quick fast thoughts and then come back to expand on them.

Also with my youngest, we found using a special grip on his pencil helps him with his handwriting and he is allowed to use a laptop for long projects, such as book reports. 

Both boys are allowed extra time for written assignments and if needed quiet time away from distractions.

My youngest also complains about mundane and repetition assignments and has problems with math facts, but he is skilled enough to work around it. If the fact is 9x8 and he knows 7x8 than he just adds the extra eights. However, if you ask him to rattle them off, he cannot do it. Luckily, in the real world no one has to rattle them off.

I don’t mean to be so long, I almost forgot the website allkindsofminds.org has helped me tremulously with understanding and working with my children’s weaknesses and to recognize their strength. Hope this helps.

I found the website schwablearning.org is a great site for advice and understanding of children with learning disabilities and behavior problems. You might try that. My youngest son who has ADHD had problems with touching and poking in elementary school. He did not understand the concept of personal space. He just wanted to get their attention and did not know a different way to accomplish this. What I did was explain at his age appropriate level what that meant and then, I role played with him on how to appropriately get someone’s attention. It took time, as by then, the other kids were avoiding him. The teacher helped by holding a class talk on tolerance. 

I also found the reward system worked better with my son, rather than taking privileges away. In addition, I gave him lots of praise when he had a good day.  Good luck, I hope this helps.

That is some great info.  My older two boys have ADHD and have IEPs.

My 8 year old does not have the ADHD, but he does have dysgraphia, and a vision problem called esophoria, where the eyes don't work together to focus on things close up.  He is doing home vision therapy for that.

Where can I get the computer program you mentioned?

I will also pass this info on to my son's third grade teacher...she is really interested in keeping my son challenged, as he is so much ahead of the class in many ways.  She is having him research and write reports, but I haven't seen much in the creative writing aspect.