Suggestions for Summer Lesson Plans - Summer Homeschool

Go to half price bookstore and get writing books that you can read first. Then teach him. I had a list from online first then went to the store and looked through their English research section. My 5th grade niece has never done a research paper so we will work on that in the summer. Library is where to start. Choose a topic he is interested in then have him research it. Students do everything on line but get them started with books then add online research.

I'm not a homeschool parent, but the way you learn to write (including grammar) is by writing. Along with anything else you do with him this summer, just have him write! Have him write stories, serious or silly. He can write poems. He can write application letters for jobs on Mars. He can write about the places he goes this summer, and the places where he'd like to go, and the places where he wishes he were instead of where he is. He can write snail mail letters to his grandparents!! Make some sort of deal in which the writing process is rewarded, but you reserve the right to point out three features in each bit of writing which he needs to be aware of and work on. When he reads something someone else has written, ask him to check the grammar and spelling for mistakes. Kids love to catch other people at mistakes. Just thoughts... you can take it from there.

yeah, the tons of curriculum choices can really make your mind whirl. i'm with tracy. keep it tied into what he's doing and having fun with. pick a grammatical skill to hone each week and have him write a daily paragraph spotlighting that skill and build on it.
there may well be a writing workshop at your local community college. check it out! that might be a fun way to get his writing chops up and running too.
another thing could be to get a writing group going with him and some other kids who are focused on this. i know some pre-teens who are all about ghosts right now, so they're going to all the local haunted spots and ghost tours, then writing a round-robin type story where they each take turns contributing a chapter. it's WONDERFUL. and they can proof-read each other and do peer-instituted corrections (with an adult double-checking) rather than submitting each piece of work to their own dreary parents<G>.
good luck!
edited to add...
oh, i see what you're saying. okay, try something like this....
http://www.homeschoolreviews.com/reviews/curriculum/revie...
or this.....
http://www.homeschoolreviews.com/reviews/curriculum/revie...
i can't offer personal testimonials but these look pretty good. i especially like the hake, but it ain't cheap.
:) khairete
S.

I would throw workbooks and lesson plans to the wind. I would try a real world approach.
When he asks to go to the pool with his friends - ok sure. Write me a 100 word essay about going to the pool with your friends. When he wants you to rent him a video game at Game Stop - ok sure, write me a 200 word descriptive essay about the game you want to rent. Make it real. Otherwise this kid is going to drag his feet through all these endless worksheets never getting anything lasting out of it. It's summer! Let him have a summer, but use it to keep him engaged and honing his skills.

Tracy's real-world idea is great. Be sure to offer a system of rewards to motivate him to write these brief essays she suggests.

Also, check at local colleges and universities now to see if any of them offer kids' writing programs for students his age. One university near us has a "writing workshop" that offers a one- or two-week "summer institute" where kids from 4th grade through 12th grade go for four hours a day and get great lessons in writing. I don't know how much grammar-polishing this particular program does, but I'm sure there are other programs out there at other universities that focus more on grammar and other basic writing skills. You may be surprised at what colleges and universities will have for younger kids. And he may end up really liking the idea of being on a college campus for a few hours a day, or even just a few hours a week if the program is structured that way. Check it out and ask about sliding scale fees or prorated fees if you can't make the whole session -- my daughter is doing just one week of a two-week writing camp (due to a conflict we have with the second week) and the university prorated the amount so she's only paying half the total fee!

My advice is to keep it as loose and un-constructed as possible and stay away from workbooks and actual lessons over the summer. If he doesn't realize he's learning or supposed to be he may get more out of it.

1) Have him write in a journal daily, about what he is going to do or did that day. Have him write at the same time (or times) each day, and consider having him keep it up in the fall. When my daughter did this I was amazed at how much she would write, sometimes page after page after page on a day I hadn't thought there had been much going on ; )

2) And, have him read books and write book reports on them, reading helps in learning proper grammar and sentence structuring, so it will actually be instructing and helping him in those areas. If there's a summer reading incentive program in your area, (many public libraries offer them, ours offers one for students through 8th grade,) it will make it a fun goal to encourage him to read more, too.

Try a bookstore like Barnes and Noble, or a teacher supply store. You'll find a ton of resources and workbooks for any grade and for any level ("beginner math for the 7th grader" or "advanced math for the 7th grader") on any subject. Good luck.

We get most of our summer material from Barnes & Noble. They have a great selection of workbooks and stuff. Also, can you ask the school for a summer reading list?