Early in my homeschooling ex- perience, I recall a very well- known English curriculum ask- ing young children to write a
cute;assignment;about;a;pink;polka-dot-
ted;octopus.;Why,;then,;did;I;shudder?
Perhaps;it;was;because;I;was;not;strong;in
creative;writing;like;the;young;boys;I;was
teaching.;However,;as;I;thought;about;it,
I;realized;anyone,;old;or;young,;master
writer;or;struggling;writer,;writes;better
about;what;he;or;she;knows;firsthand.
Who;had;ever;seen;a;non-existent;pink
polka-dotted;octopus?;Until;my;kids;and
I watched divers at the Monterey Bay
Aquarium;in;California;catch;octopi;in
glass;cola;bottles,;because;as;the;docent
explained, “octopi love tight quarters,”
we;didn’t;have;the;slightest;understand-
ing;of;the;ocean;creature.;Right;then;I
decided;to;have;my;children;write;about
whatever;they;had;experienced;firsthand
in;their;units.
Use Hands-on Learning to Teach
Writing Concepts
I;loved;English;as;a;young;student;but
was;baffled;as;to;what;an;actual;para-
graph;was,;though;I;knew;its;definition
and had seen many examples. I sim-
ply;wrote;on;a;topic;and;then;indented
when;my;writing;seemed;too;lengthy.;I
perceived;my;boys;had;the;same;lack;of
understanding,;so;to;teach;them;as;well
as;myself,;I;resorted;to;hands-on;learn-
ing.;(The;following;is;an;excerpt;from;the
writing;lesson;in KONOS Character Cur-
riculum: Orderliness)
Go to the kitchen. Remember when
you first moved into your home,
there was nothing in the cabinets or
pantry. All the kitchen junk was in
moving boxes. Your mom had to sort
through all the pots, pans, spices,
The
Unit;Study
Homeschooler
Jessica Hulcy
Hands-on;Writing;in;Units
is Unforgettable
(Illustrations Copyright KONOS, Inc. 1998)
The;key;to;writing;is;hands-on;learning.
