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I've spent quite a bit of time on Skype lately, and my 7-year-old has gotten a bit jealous. She really wanted to 'chat' too. So I decided to let her do a little bit of chatting herself.
I started up Gmail chat on the schoolroom computer and logged in on my computer in the other room. Although I was only a few feet away in the living room, Joely had a blast sending chats to me, telling me what she was doing.
But her chats weren't just for fun. When she'd spell a word incorrectly, I'd chat back with the correct spelling, and she'd take note of it. It was fun for her, a novelty, and she thought of it as a game — but she still learned to spell the words correctly. And my homeschooling-mommy self rejoiced!
All told, she only spent about ten or fifteen minutes on chat today, but in that time she learned how to spell the word accident, how to use the word too properly, and how to punctuate a noun of direct address. It was definitely time well spent.
Joy is the wife of 
What a great idea.
.-= Rana´s last blog ..Do You Monkey Platter? =-.
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I love this idea! When I was tutoring a lot, I used a technique called "written conversation"- exactly what you are doing but with pencil and paper. I never even thought to take it electronic!
.-= Rebecca´s last blog ..Free Crochet Christmas Stocking Ornament Pattern =-.
[Reply]
Joy Reply:
December 8th, 2009 at 10:43 pm
@Rebecca, I have got to admit that the whole 'chat' thing didn't start out as an educational mission on my part.
Joely just wanted to chat. It just turned into an educational experience naturally.
But again, that's the joy of homeschooling!
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