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Just finishing Unit 4 day 5 where the kids are writing or dictating ( depending on skill level) statements. I'm wondering, when do children typically begin to write sentences on their own? My son does copy work just fine, we are finishing up The Reading Lesson, and he is getting better at writing his spelling words. We do the spelling words and then we copy the poetry. I write it on the 1st-2nd grade paper and he copies it. He doesn't copy the whole poem either, just a few lines. I don't think he could write a sentence on his own yet without help at this point. He's in 1st grade, turned 7 on Friday. Is this normal? He is REALLY good at math though. Lol

Your son is complete normal

My oldest and middle child didn't write sentences on their own until they were 8 and that was when they started to try it. My oldest was 9 when she was able to just sit and write fine with only asking for a few tough words to spell. My middle child turned 8 over the summer and he does attempt his sentences on his own now as well. I will still spell some words for him that he doesn't know and I will spell for him as much as he asks. By the end of this year though, I think he will be writing most stuff without any trouble or much help. My dd that is 6, she actually writes on her own too but I find her to be very advanced (we think she is gifted) and to not be comparable to her peers at all.

Thank you! All of my son 's peers are little girls who are advanced and so I often wonder if we are on track.

Funny story - my oldest dd struggled so much I was starting to think something was wrong with her because she was a girl LOL and not like any peers (turns out she had dyslexia but most girls don't act like are allergic to pencils that I know of which my dd did act like)

You guys sound just like us! My DS will turn 7 in Nov. and we area also doing Beyond. He is wonderful at math and decent at spelling, but dislikes handwriting and has no interest in writing sentences yet. I got him a little interested by showing him he could write secret messages to people...but that only lasted a day, lol. I figure it will come in time (it'll help when he can spell more than 4 letter words I think . He's really smart, but still has a lot of little boy wiggles in him. Prefers legos to table-time.

Most children can hopefully compose their own sentences and answers orally by the time they are in Beyond. But I think here is one place where HOD understands child development and makes things appropriate and many schools do not. I have heard/seen many first and second graders asked to write sentences and paragraphs for school and I think they are being asked to do this before they have been given the tools to do it. Copywork is how they learn proper writing, spelling, and composition of sentences and I love how the guides gradually work these skills until they are asked to write their own sentences. In the guides themselves, children are not asked to do their own writing (as in sit down and write sentences/responses on their own) until Preparing (and it gradually ramps up throughout that guide). DITHOR is a different story but you can also do that orally if your child is not ready to write answers on their own when you start it. So again, I think this is how HOD helps a child grow and guides them until they are ready.

MelInKansas wrote:...Copywork is how they learn proper writing, spelling, and composition of sentences and I love how the guides gradually work these skills until they are asked to write their own sentences. In the guides themselves, children are not asked to do their own writing (as in sit down and write sentences/responses on their own) until Preparing (and it gradually ramps up throughout that guide). DITHOR is a different story but you can also do that orally if your child is not ready to write answers on their own when you start it. So again, I think this is how HOD helps a child grow and guides them until they are ready.

I'd like to echo MelInKansas's thoughts here - they are right on track! Copywork is the intended form of writing for awhile. That being said, doing the copywork in Beyond consistently, at least 1 line every day, and working up to being able to copy the entire poem within a week by the end of Beyond is crucial preparation, IMO, to being able to do Bigger Hearts. Building those 'muscles' to write by writing each day and gradually increasing the amount is what it takes to be able to strengthen fine motor skills enough to be able to write more. So, even though it may be tough, keep encouraging those little ones to do their copy work each day, and to grow in the amount they are doing so they are ready for their next year of school! I have found stickers and me staying right by Emmett's side have helped. As well as the things I mentioned here in my last weekly check-in...
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=15673

Writing sentences on their own... THAT we have time on our hands... no need to worry about that just yet, in Beyond at least.

In Christ,
Julie