Write First, Learn Grammar Later…seriously

I picked up the following comment from a forum related to a homeschool curriculum we use.

If you skip to the bottom (my response), you see a simple reason to start writing BEFORE studying grammar.

— In [email protected], “Debbie” <[email protected]…> wrote:

My son is almost 12, and was a reluctant writer until he did Fred Lybrand’s Writing Course.

He used to do anything to avoid putting pencil on paper.

We went through the Writing Course back in August/September.

It’s November, and my son just finished writing his first novel of 28 chapters.

He’s about to start the “Make it Better” step by going back over it, and putting it into the computer.

He’s also thinking about splitting the chapters right in the middle of the action,

so that his reader won’t be able to put it down (like so many of the books he’s read).

He spends about 20-30 minutes per day writing, without any coaxing or interference from me.

I can hardly believe it. Thanks to Dr. Lybrand.

At this point, I’m not pushing him to do any more than that 20-30 minutes because he is now doing it because he wants to. As he gains confidence in his writing ability, I may push him along, but I’m hopeful that he’ll do it of his own accord. I just don’t want him to

go back to hating to write, which could happen if I push.

Along with “The Writing Course”, we also received “The Essay Course”,

which Fred recommends that we do at age 13-14 I think. Until then, I feel that we’re on a good track for now, letting him write about whatever he wants for 20-30 minutes per day.

“The Essay Course” will get him ready for college, when that time comes.

I feel like I can relax, and just let him blossom as a writer on his own terms for the time being.

Thanks Fred & Jody!

😀

Deborah,

Thanks so much for all your kinds words. Your son is not an exception with our course, but he certainly is on the path to being exceptional!

The problem most of us have with writing and helping our kids write is that we have been taught by the schools to work backwards.

Far better to write and then learn grammar (if you must ;-)…just like we do with talking.

Recently, I was speaking with a friend who is a musician. It struck me in the conversation how foolish it would be to make children learn Music Theory before they ever pick up an instrument.

This is the exact mistake we make (and a few others)— We try to teach them Language (Grammar) Theory before we really let them just learn to make a little music first!

Again, thanks for sharing how we’ve helped a little.

God bless,

Fred (and Jody) Lybrand

Why I Figured Out a Better Way to Teach Writing

But what I really want to tell  you is why I am so interested in teaching writing. I mean today – I guess you’d call me a successful author; eight of my books have been published and many of them have done quite well. I’ve have five children who were homeschooled; three of them collectively have written eight books. And, even the two which haven’t written any books have had their essays used as models for other classes in while in college. That is today. BUT IT WASN’T ALWAYS LIKE THAT…

If you’re finding what I’m sharing to be helpful won’t you please share at facebook, twitter and other places to let others know? Thank you so much! 

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How to Get Your Child to Stop Crying and Start Writing

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Here we explain the process we used to grow our 5 homeschoolers into happy writers…they’re also pretty good at it too (if it’s OK with you for us to be proud parents). S. Forrest Lybrand makes a guest appearance.

Fred Ray & Jody Lybrand

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Homeschooling Advice to a Mom with Young Children

I recently received a note from a mom asking about

• reading comprehension

• writing

• vocabulary

• our daily schedule

As you know, we homeschooled our 5 children from birth-to-college with a focus on teaching them to LEARN HOW TO LEARN. I assure you what we did worked, and it will likely work for you as well. Here are a few basic thoughts—

THE WRITING COURSE THE READING COMPREHENSION COURSE

Why is It so Hard to Teach Children to Write?

It’s always nice to find out you are not alone 🙂 I ran across this article not too long ago and felt like I wasn’t alone for a moment. Of course, you are not alone either!

 

Writing requires a million different skills all at once.

We underestimate or are unaware of the mental demands that writing places on young learners.

 

I often told my kindergarteners and 1st grade students that I would rather read a juicy interesting story with a few spelling errors than a boring story with perfect spelling. Was I letting my students off the hook? Was I lowering my standards? No, because I contextualized my statements and explained that writing is a process. Read more… We Teach Children to Hate Writing | Barbershop Books

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It is exactly this very problem that hurts all kids in writing…but especially those with learning disabilities (LD). If we can get the million things out of a child’s head by encouraging her to write in 3 Steps…the first being the MOST important…she tends to change dramatically:

(1) WRITE SOMETHING JUST OK AT FIRST

There is little more for a child to practice than writing with this question in mind:

Can I write something OK about ______________ (pick a story idea , item to describe, event to tell about, etc.)?

 

If a child can write something and you can help him see it really is OK, then you are both on a new path. Focus grows from beginning with OK, and so the ‘million things’ can settle down into the distant background of a child’s mind.

Go give it a try by making the new writing rule
“We are only allowed to write something OK in this family at first.”

You can say that better, but it’s OK 😉

Off to learn,

Fred Ray Lybrand
We Cure Reluctant Writers

The 6 Rules of Writing Practice

One of the big challenges I face in teaching kids to write is getting mom and dad to chill out about writing well. Most of us lock up when too much is on the line! The Ugly Truth is that no one can learn much of anything without practice (especially writing)…AND…when there is too much of an emphasis on writing well during practice, then almost no learning can ever helpfully happen.

Writing needs practice in order for a student to tap into her own language instinct talent. My suggestion for homeschoolers (and others) is to allow your child a day of writing WITHOUT ANY CORRECTIONS by following Natalie Goldberg’s Rules—

The Six Basic Rules of Writing Practice

1. Keep your hand moving

Don’t take your fingers from your keyboard or put down your pen because you want to check email, attend to a chore or get something.

Instead, much like during meditation, you must stay present with whatever you are writing.

2. Don’t cross out

If you cross out while you write, you are editing your work. There’s a time for self-censorship and for removing what you didn’t mean; it’s after your writing practice is done.

3. Don’t worry about spelling, punctuation or grammar

Natalie adds that writers who use pen and paper should write between the lines and on the margins of their notepads.

Again, there’s a time for proof-reading and it’s not during first drafts.

4. Lose control

The purpose of writing practice is to free yourself, write on “waves of emotion”, and say things you hadn’t thought possible.

This loss of control is difficult to achieve, and I’ve found it only comes deep into a writing practice session.

5. Don’t think. Don’t get logical

Natalie practices Zen (a topic she relates to writing practice in her book), and she cautions against over-thinking the words that appear on the blank page.

6. Go for the jugular

Natalie says writers in the middle of writing practice shouldn’t back down from an idea that’s scary or an idea that makes us feel naked.

We should “dive in” because these ideas have “lots of energy”. In other words, if you feel uncomfortable writing about a topic, you need to write about it.

From: becomeawritertoday.com/writing-practice-can-help/

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What a powerful gift if your child begins to practice outside of ‘class time’ because he learned to see the power of learning. Practice is like running everyday, rather than making every run like a race. Daily writing doesn’t need to be perfect, but it does need to be done.

Like running, the more you do it, the better you get at it. Some days you don’t want to run and you resist every step of the three miles, but you do it anyway. You practice whether you want to or not. You don’t wait around for inspiration and a deep desire to run

Hope this helps.

Off to learn,

Dr. Fred Ray Lybrand

10 Minutes a Day – We Can Teach Your Kid to Write

18 Reasons to Add a Writing Course to Your Education

As a writer, the creator of The Writing Course, and the father of 5 children who write quite well, I can tell you that there are some really good reasons to work on writing. In fact, I can tell you that my own ability to write as been greatly enhance by courses and books.

And too...nothing quite helps like writing itself. Here are my 18 reasons you (or your kids) should add a writing course to your life-learning:​

1. If you can write well you are ahead of most of the people you’ll ever meet
2. The ability to write-on-demand (at will) can catapult a college or business career
3. Once reluctance to write is gone the skill can be learned…which turns out to be true as a great lesson for many areas in life.
4. Learning to write well usually means readiness for school and job applications, SAT, essay competitions, college applications, etc.
5. Once a student knows how to write, conflict leaves in this area so schooling and relationships can get a little better. I’d say it this way, “A child feels closer to a mother who isn’t seen as the source of his tears.”
6. Closeness and family friendship increases with the sharing of written stories
7. People often can share more honest, and intimate, thoughts in writing than in person
8. Writing is rightly known as thinking on paper…learning the skill of writing is also training in the skill of clear thought
9. Writing well tends to improve the ability to read well
10. Entire career choices (and college majors) can be considered as legitimate options by the one who can write effectively and easily
11. The skill of writing is actually essential to learning most subjects
12. Overcoming the fear of writing translates into how to overcome almost any fear
13. If you think about it, every year thousands of students flunk out of (or quit) school because of the lack of writing skill alone. In other words, if they could write well, they’d still be in school…
14. Winning your appeal of grades, insurance claims, tax issues, legal matters, etc., are very often dependent on the ability to write clearly and effectively
15. Writing for oneself (journaling-type activities) have been proved to be incredibly helpful in personal growth…which is what learning by writing is all about
16. The pen IS mightier than the sword…more power and more protection than learning a martial art
17. Writing is a great way to ‘good company’ when you are alone
18. Writers can impact the world by daring to write

Finally, practicing writing is the key. Of course, FEAR is the biggest reason we don't write (or practice). The Writing Course is a powerful study and how we conquered fear as a family in this area...including such things as others' opinions, grammar, spelling, punctuation, how to get ideas, and how to guarantee interestingness, etc.

​Check it out and tell me what you think.

Off to learn,

​

Dr. Fred Ray Lybrand

Click to Learn About the Writing Course

How to Overcome Fear in Writing

Here’s Why Perfection Isn’t Worth It

Nick Saban a perfectionist? Maybe, maybe not. Jody & I met while were were attending the University of Alabama and saw the Tide win two national championships back then.

Saban wins partly because he has standards that he holds his players to. If standards are high enough, then perfection is the end game. Now, I say all of this to tell you that if you have standards yourself that flirt with perfection, then you are probably making your self/spouse/kids/employees miserable.

There are three simple reasons perfection isn’t worth it:

1. SEEKING PERFECTION GUARANTEES DISCOURAGEMENT

Think about it. Perfection means you must compare where you are currently to where you can likely never get in this lifetime. It’s like trying to catch the horizon (good luck with that). When you compare your results with perfection you lose perspective. When you compare your results with the past you gain perspective. Back in the late 70’s there appeared a pop button ‘PBPGINFWMY’ which stood for, “Please be patient; God is not finished with me yet.” If you aren’t there and there is basically unachievable, then bummer.

2. SEEKING PERFECTION IS A TIME VAMPIRE

In the 1600s Bishop Joseph Hall noted that “Perfection is the child of Time.” That’s really the best shot we have…enough time with enough tweaking and maybe, just maybe, it can be perfect. As Sweet Brown put it, “Ain’t nobody got time for that.”

3. SEEKING PERFECTION DOESN’T MATTER ENOUGH TO MATTER AT ALL

98% is plenty good for almost everything (and the other 2% just ain’t worth it). Think about college— a 98 and a 100 are both still an A(+). Is the energy required for that extra 2% worth it? Rarely.

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I’m not saying we shouldn’t have standards, nor am I saying we shouldn’t strive to do our best (whatever that is?). Instead, I’m suggesting that on the extreme of having perfection as a standard simply doesn’t produce much practical good in any endeavor.

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In our writing training we encourage students to work from OK to GET HELP to MAKE IT GREAT. In this way people can get started. Frankly, you can’t start with perfect. I’m also pretty sure you can’t end there either!

I’d love your thoughts!​

Off to learn,Fred Ray Lybrand

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P.S. If you want the shortcut to ending perfectionism and the other mistaken ways we think about how to ‘do’ life…check out our course on MASTERING EMOTIONS

The Rules of Writing Practice (and the one Ugly Truth)

One of the big challenges I face in teaching kids to write is getting mom and dad to chill out about writing well. Most of us lock up when too much is on the line! The Ugly Truth is that no one can learn much of anything without practice (especially writing)…AND…when there is too much of an emphasis on writing well during practice, then almost no learning can ever helpfully happen.

Writing needs practice in order for a student to tap into her own language instinct talent. My suggestion for homeschoolers (and others) is to allow your child a day of writing WITHOUT ANY CORRECTIONS by following Natalie Goldberg’s Rules—

The Six Basic Rules of Writing Practice

1. Keep your hand moving

Don’t take your fingers from your keyboard or put down your pen because you want to check email, attend to a chore or get something.

Instead, much like during meditation, you must stay present with whatever you are writing.

2. Don’t cross out

If you cross out while you write, you are editing your work. There’s a time for self-censorship and for removing what you didn’t mean; it’s after your writing practice is done.

3. Don’t worry about spelling, punctuation or grammar

Natalie adds that writers who use pen and paper should write between the lines and on the margins of their notepads.

Again, there’s a time for proof-reading and it’s not during first drafts.

4. Lose control

The purpose of writing practice is to free yourself, write on “waves of emotion”, and say things you hadn’t thought possible.

This loss of control is difficult to achieve, and I’ve found it only comes deep into a writing practice session.

5. Don’t think. Don’t get logical

Natalie practices Zen (a topic she relates to writing practice in her book), and she cautions against over-thinking the words that appear on the blank page.

6. Go for the jugular

Natalie says writers in the middle of writing practice shouldn’t back down from an idea that’s scary or an idea that makes us feel naked.

We should “dive in” because these ideas have “lots of energy”. In other words, if you feel uncomfortable writing about a topic, you need to write about it.

From: becomeawritertoday.com/writing-practice-can-help/

…………………………

What a powerful gift if your child begins to practice outside of ‘class time’ because he learned to see the power of learning. Practice is like running everyday, rather than making every run like a race. Daily writing doesn’t need to be perfect, but it does need to be done.

Like running, the more you do it, the better you get at it. Some days you don’t want to run and you resist every step of the three miles, but you do it anyway. You practice whether you want to or not. You don’t wait around for inspiration and a deep desire to run

Hope this helps.

Off to learn,

Dr. Fred Ray Lybrand

10 Minutes a Day – We Can Teach Your Kid to Write