One of hardest subjects for me to teach is writing, especially creative writing. As a long time homeschooling mom, I appreciate that I don’t know everything about everything. Two of my children are gifted writers and it has always been a challenge to offer them interesting writing programs, stimulating them to tap into their creative juices. Finding a resource that meets my high expectations is like finding a treasure!
I received Take Five! for Language Arts as an electronic download to review. I knew immediately upon opening the file that I was going to be able to use this with my high school age son AND he was going to enjoy the simple but imaginative assignments.
- The assignments are actually written for practice in critical thinking and just happen to include creative thinking and writing as well. These are not your usual hum-drum writing assignments. Some of the prompts have you make a list or chart, sometimes you actually do a quick sketch before writing, or some of the prompts build on each other from day to day.
- Each activity is intended to be done in five minutes so they are easily worked into an otherwise busy high school schedule.
- The price is a little high at $23.95 but since the target age group for this book is grades 6 – 12. I could have used this as a resource making it a part of a larger language arts program in middle and high school making it a good investment.
- This book would complement many styles of homeschooling including classical, Charlotte Mason, eclectic, or even unschooling.
- There is just enough variety to make it interesting, leaving the writer wondering what tomorrow’s assignment will be. Yes, anticipation for the next assignment!
Things to note:
- Sometimes you need more than pencil and paper to complete an activity but never anything you wouldn’t already have in a well-stocked homeschool.
- I found that Take Five! for Language Arts was really something I needed to be involved in, reading the narrative, prompt, and extensions together with my son. This way we could adapt the assignment if needed or go a little farther if we found it was a “bell ringer” of a topic.
- I do not assign a score or grade with these assignments. The task is always to complete the prompt, share it, and receive feedback. I think this gives my son a little more freedom to write or create in a way that fits him.
- There is an index at the back of the book categorizing the prompts by language arts skills involved and I found that to be very helpful. For example, if I was looking for a prompt that used persuasive writing, I could scroll to that section and read down the list of prompts working on that genre of writing.
- You can download the Table of Contents and a Sample Activity from the publishers website: Maupin House.
My teenage creative writer and I give this program a big thumbs up!
Written by Barb-Harmony Art Mom. I blog at Harmony Art Mom and am the creator of Harmony Fine Arts. I would love for you to join us for the Outdoor Hour Challenges at the Handbook of Nature Study.
Barb McCoy- Harmony Art Mom writes about homeschooling their teens on her blog Harmony Art Mom. and taking family outdoor adventures on her other blog, Handbook of Nature Study. She is the author and host for the Outdoor Hour Challenge and a series of ebooks helping families get started with simple nature study. Barb also founded Harmony Fine Arts which helps homeschoolers with their art and music appreciation.
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