Follow Your Heart – Be a Boss

It goes without saying that every parent experiences moments of panic when it comes to raising our children. Perhaps they crawled behind a piece of furniture and we can’t find them, so we run to the bathroom praying they didn’t take a dive into the toilet. Or perhaps they became separated from us at the park or shopping mall, and our heart skips a few beats as we fight to take control of our thoughts so we can come up with a plan to find them. I remember that kind of panic! But there’s also the kind of panic that keeps us awake at night wondering:

• Am I loving my children enough?

• Am I disciplining them effectively?

• Am I playing with them and laughing with them enough?

• Am I cooking healthy food?

• Am I protecting them enough . . . or too much?

• Am I providing the best education?

I get it. The panic that comes from these questions (and so many more) is very real.

Now that I’ve really got your blood pressure soaring, let’s bring it down. As we begin this new year, I encourage you to remember that your children are a gift to YOU. That means YOU are the very best person to care for them. YOUR heart is your guide. Yes, we can find value in research and expert advice, but there is nothing like a mama’s heart to know what her little (and not so little) treasures need. YOU, not influencers, know when something is working and when it’s not. Trust YOUR heart. Friends and family may offer wise insights, but they don’t replace YOUR heart for your children and your deep longing to see them thrive.

Of course prayer and spiritual insight also enlighten YOU. Of course you will experience ups and downs, highs and lows, joys and sorrows, but that is simply real life. Learning to roll with reality is a challenge, and I think you’re up for that challenge. So let me encourage you to literally take a deep breath and let it out slowly as you remind yourself, “this will be a great year”, “eventually things will slow down and calm down”, “love will see us through”, “we will persevere”, “tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it” (Anne of Green Gables).

Finally, BE A BOSS. Take the lead. Make decisions. Speak life. Love well. Unplug and turn off. This IS going to be a great year! Believe it. Speak it.

Speaking life,

Kris

Finding “The Light”

Who looks forward to the holiday season each year!? Hmmm . . . I think it’s safe to say that most of us stay focused on the beauty and joy of the season, but sometimes the holiday season simply overwhelms us: the parties, the gifts, the food prep, the decorating, the shopping, the lines, and on and on. If we’re honest, it can be at least a bit overwhelming, right?

Wherever you find yourself on the spectrum from ecstatic about the holidays to dreading the holidays, I’d like to encourage you to focus on LIGHT. Where do you find LIGHT? After all, it’s winter: the days are colder, damper, and darker. So where do you find LIGHT? I imagine you, like me, find LIGHT in many places:

• Christmas lights – indoors and outdoors

• Holiday scented candles

• A warm crackling fire

• The stars and the moon

And we also find a different kind of LIGHT that brightens our hearts and homes:

• Laughter as we play games together

• Hot cocoa or cider on a chilly day

• GIVING gifts and seeing a loved one’s face LIGHT up

• Music that reminds us of the reason for this special season

• Cards and letters from friends and family

• Pj days and piles of blankets

• Christmas books and movies

• Sleeping in . . . and staying up late

Many opportunities show up each day to brighten our day and shine a little LIGHT on us. I pray that as you choose to look for the LIGHT in many creative ways during this holiday season, you also focus on “The LIGHT” who is a person: Jesus. Jesus is the reason we celebrate the season. This baby . . . born long ago . . . is still celebrated today, and HE IS THE ONE TRUE LIGHT that will always shine.

As you focus on The LIGHT, I hope you enjoy this new song by Awaken Music, titled “The Light”. “The darkness cannot hide the LIGHT”!!

On behalf of everyone here at The Write Journey, we hope you have a happy, healthy, and blessed month of December. We can’t wait to connect with you in the New Year!

Speaking Life,

Kris C.

Help! My Child Hates Writing

First, take a deep breath. We all have things in life we don’t like doing, but that we have to do, like making dinner E-V-E-R-Y SINGLE NIGHT. We can help it become less of a dreaded task when we:

1. Stay calm.

2. Find a genre of writing our children like: poetry, storytelling, journaling, etc.

3. Prepare ahead of time for the task. (Gather supplies and find a time to bounce around ideas for a brainstorm.)

4. Set a realistic time limit. (20 minutes)

5. Don’t correct anything about their writing; instead praise the things they did well.

6. Reward them for completing the task no matter how much or little they completed.

If your child hates every kind of writing, I would consider a few questions? Do they hate the “penmanship” part of writing or the “coming up with ideas” part of writing? If it’s the penmanship, try teaching them how to use the FREE Voice to text option on Google Docs. This will also help with self editing since it doesn’t put all the punctuation and capitalization that is needed in a final draft. If they hate coming up with ideas, I would play an “I See, You See” game where they have to describe to you what they see in their mind, and then you do the same. This helps children practice getting the information out of their brain by verbally communicating the information first to you, in a fun way.

If you need a list of December writing topics try some of the options below. (These are great discussion topics too!)

December Writing Prompts

• What is your favorite Christmas movie?

• What is your favorite Christmas tradition?

• What is your favorite Christmas food?

• Do you have a favorite Christmas book?

• What would you name a pet reindeer?

• What do you love/hate about school?

• What do you wish your teachers knew about you?

• What do you want to study next semester?

• What is the hardest part of your life?

• What is your favorite Christmas song that you dance to?

• Imagine you are in charge of your family’s holiday celebration. What supplies do you need? What are your plans? What do you want to do?

• How would you describe a snowflake?

• What helps you to settle down when you are upset about things?

• What are you grateful for?

• Who are you grateful for?

• What things in your life are important? Why?

• What do you want to accomplish with your hobby over your holiday break?

• If you could travel anywhere over Christmas vacation where would you go and why?

• Describe your favorite place to complete your schoolwork?

• Describe what makes a great treehouse or fort?

• How has the weather affected your mood?

• What activities do you get to do now that the weather has changed?

Educational Gift Ideas with Writing and Reading Focus

Here are some fun games/activity sets you can add to your home games cabinet. We love games that have a strong educational component. These activities are great for the entire family! Take a look. In fact, I’m getting a couple for my grandchildren!

Can Do! Writing Skills Game - Gr. 3-4 $22.99

Boost writing skills with a hands-on game students will love to play! Children just spin to select one of three categories—correct the sentence, supporting details or revising sentences. Next, children draw a card and answer the question…then collect tokens when they answer correctly! The game comes in a handy can that includes 60 game cards, 44 tokens, an answer card for convenient self-checking—and a game spinner built right into the lid! For 2-4 players.

Why We Love This! Develops skills in recognizing and correcting inappropriate fragments and run-ons, using linking words and phrases, and revising and editing.

Can Do! Reading Literature Game - Gr. 3-4 | $22.99

Boost literature reading skills with a hands-on game students will love to play! Children just spin to select one of three categories—character analysis, theme & key details or making inferences. Next, children draw a card and answer the question…then collect tokens when they answer correctly! The game comes in a handy can that includes 60 game cards, 44 tokens, an answer card for convenient self-checking—and a game spinner built right into the lid! For 2-4 players.

Why We Love This! Develops skills in describing characters in a story, describing the sequence of events, identifying details of a text, making inferences and determining a theme.

Hapinest Sentence Building Learning Game for Kids | $17.99

Grammar Reading and Speech Therapy Activities | Kindergarten 1st Grade Special Education Classroom Must Haves for Teachers and Homeschool

Recommended for children in kindergarten through 2nd grade. Special Education teachers will love using this game to help kids build fluency in the key components associated with this learning activity. Set includes 55 word cards, 27 photo cards, 4 punctuation cards, and instructions. Each card is color-coded into groups of adjectives, nouns, verbs, conjunctions, pronouns, prepositions, articles, and punctuation.

Why We Love This! A fun game to introduce in the classroom or at home to build communication skills, social skills, speech, problem-solving, grammar, early reading, and cognition.

Match & Sort Grammar & Writing Quickies - Gr. 4-5 | $29.99

Students sharpen grammar and writing skills in a flash—with our quick-to-play games! This set includes 8 game pouches covering topics like capitalization, punctuation and verb tense. Plus, each game has answer cards and simple instructions printed directly on the pouches—so students can play and learn independently! Set includes 145 cards for 8 games.

Why We Love This! Develops skills in using capitalization, punctuation and spelling.

Spring 2024 Classes

Click to view Spring 2024 class schedule

1/2 Grade Novel: Harper and the Scarlet Umbrella 

Wednesday 9:30-11:30 PST (12:30-2:30 pm EST)

Jan 31-May 1 *no class Feb. 21, and March 27

This fantasy tale introduces children to many musical vocabulary terms and explores the make believe world of enchantment. Children will learn about friendship, teamwork, and problem solving. They will also work on writing 3-4 complete sentences related to a topic. They will be taught how to identify some parts-of-speech, how to choose great words in sentence writing, and how to follow a story from the very beginning to the final resolutions.

3/4 Grade Novel: Medallion

Wednesdays 9:30-11:30 PST (12:30-2:30 pm EST)

Jan 31-May 1 *no class Feb. 21, and March 27

Medallion is a fantasy coming-of-age story reminiscent of medieval times. In it, our main character goes on a journey, initiated by his pride, and learns many character lessons along the way. Our class will focus on setting and mood, character qualities and character growth, conflict (internal and external), and what it means to be a good leader. These topics will be both discussed in class, and be the topic for their writing assignments. We'll start with the Basic Paragraph, and quickly move to the Expanded Paragraph, learning to add in some familiar stylistic elements toward the end of the semester.

5/6 Grade Novel: The Door in the Wall

Wednesdays 9:30-11:30 PST (12:30-2:30 pm EST)

Jan 31-May 1 *no class Feb. 21, and March 27

Or

Thursdays  9:30-11:30 PST (12:30-2:30 pm EST)

Feb 1-May 2 *no class Feb. 22, and March 28

Robin, child of Sir John de Bureford, has been told what is expected of him as the son of a nobleman. He must learn the ways of knighthood. But Robin’s destiny is changed suddenly when he falls ill and loses the use of his legs. Fearing a plague, his servants abandon him, and Robin is left alone. A monk named Brother Luke rescues Robin. When the great castle of Lindsay is in danger, Robin discovers that there is more than one way to serve his king. This class will focus on the themes of perseverance, kindness, friendship, and courage. Students will also continue learning and practicing the expanded paragraph writing process, specifically focusing on the editing and stylistic elements that make paragraphs excellent! 

7/8 Grade Novel: The Hobbit

Tuesdays 10:00 am- 12:00 pm PST (1:00-3:00 pm EST) 

Jan 30-Apr 30 *no class Feb. 20, and March 26

Or

Wednesdays 10:00 am- 12:00 pm PST (1:00-3:00 pm EST)

Jan 31-May 1 *no class Feb. 21, and March 27

This classic tale follows the story of an unlikely hero, warns of the dangers of greed, and discovers the wonders of exploration and adventures. Students will discuss loyalty, honor, and resourcefulness in class. Many students will discover the difference between a written tale and its movie! Hint: the book is not the same; it is better! Students will also continue to focus on multi-paragraph writing. They will delve deeper into the more advanced stylistic elements and grammatical layers that enhance writing at the middle school level. 

9-12 Grade Novel: The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood

Tuesdays 9:30-11:30 am PST (12:30-2:30 pm EST) 

Jan 30-Apr 30 *no class Feb. 20, and March 26

Or

Wednesdays 9:30-11:30 PST (12:30-2:30 pm EST)

Jan 31-May 1 *no class Feb. 21, and March 27

Join us for a romp in Sherwood Forest as we tag along with The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood! Howard Pyle adapts the timeless legends of England’s famed outlaw and not only provides exhilarating escapades, but also explores thoughtful themes of good vs. evil, legality vs. morality, and the bonds of friendship. Students will contemplate the challenge of sticking to their principles in the face of conflict while studying one of the most exciting models in English literature! Students will continue to write five-paragraph essays focused on literary response writing. They will hone their use of stylistic elements and perfect the advanced grammatical skills needed for high school writing.

College Prep Novel: The Count of Monte Cristo

Thursdays 9:30-11:30 PST (12:30-2:30 pm EST)

Feb 1-May 2 *no class Feb. 22, and March 28

For centuries, Alexandre Dumas’ classic, The Count of Monte Cristo, has defended its title as the pinnacle of revenge stories. While many people know of the name, students will dive deeper and study the surprisingly intimate exploration of the complex dynamics between revenge and justice. As they follow the exploits of the millionaire on a mission, they will also discover how the interplay between mercy, grace, and redemption affect the story of one man seeking justice in an unjust world. Students will continue to write more expansive five-paragraph essays focused on literary response writing. They will hone their use of stylistic elements and perfect the advanced grammatical skills needed for college level writing. They will also write in discussion-board posts to practice for their college class experiences.