Hearthside Homeschool Reviews...and More

Each November, for the last four years, I have participated in the National Novel Writing Month challenge. The goal is to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days and the purpose is to get all of us to stop talking about writing a novel and just do it. Having a really raw first draft is better than never writing anything at all. Making the effort also sparks creativity and improves skill.

This year, my five youngest children asked to join me. They signed up with the National Novel Writing Month Young Writers Program and were able to set their own goals, according to their age and skill level. My 7 year old is attempting to write a 2,000 word story, my 9 year old is working towards 8,000 words, my 10 year old is going for 10,000 words, and my 12 year old is shooting for 15,000. I have been amazed at how much they have enjoyed this! Yes, we have taken time during school hours to work on this (it is our sole language arts "curriculum" for this month) but they have also been writing during their free time.

We challenge each other to "Word Wars". We set the timer, usually for 30 minutes, and write as much as we possibly can in that amount of time. The one with the most words written, wins. This frees us up to not worry about typos and spelling for the moment, but to just create. The story is able to spill from our minds, through our fingertips, and onto the computer screen. It's been a wonderful tool and one we may continue to use after November ends.

My 14 year old is joining me for the full 50,000 word challenge. He broke his arm in a Go-Kart accident this past Sunday and one of his first thoughts was, "How will I finish my NaNo novel?" I'm happy to report that the one armed typer was averaging 1,000 words in 30 minutes at Wednesday's Write-In. That's commitment and perseverance. And it means he's enjoying this challenge.

The Young Writer's Program provides free downloadable workbooks that take your child through the pre-writing process. These are available for Elementary through High School age and I was very impressed with their quality. My kids decided to join NaNoWriMo towards the end of October, so we were only able to use a few of the sheets the week prior to novel writing. If things continue as they are, I plan to spend next October working through the worksheets with them and then focus on novel writing in November.

This is a great resource for homeschoolers. I know, I shared this a little too late but it may be something to look into for next year. For our family, it's been a wonderful addition to our year. Hopefully it will become a tradition!