Go to peacehillpress.com. Hope that helps answer some questions...

Debbie, I'd just do Levels 5, 6, 7, and then finish up with Writing Exposition. And don't forget that both Writing Strands and IEW have incredibly helpful elements...and also annoying elements that won't help your particular situation. You should always feel free to skip, adapt, and change. SWB

:D Seriously, folks. Of COURSE you're supposed to adapt it. Of course you're supposed to take what you find valuable and then adjust for your family. Why else are you home schooling? Listen, even within my own family, all four kids are pursuing somewhat different academic and vocational paths, and if someone were going to get really picky, I could probably rank them in order from "more classical" (oldest son) to "least classical" (that would be Ben). But that's why I don't plop them all into the nearest classical school, which would probably give them more stringent overall academic training than I can all by myself. I don't WANT them to get a one-model-fits-all classical education. I want each one of them to get a tailored, hand-made neoclassical education. I've been saying for year now that arguing about which model is "more" or "less" classical is totally pointless. You should be thinking: Which model will meet my goals for my family, and within my family, for each individual child? Which brings me to the REAL value, for me, of (neo)classical education. IT TELLS YOU WHERE YOU'RE GOING. The goal of a classical education is this: at the end of the twelve (or however many) years you educate, the child can gather information, evaluate it, and express an opinion about it. There are many paths to that goal. I think that the paths we outline in TWTM have helped many parents design a journey towards that goal. And I have to say that most of the nasty attacks I've seen on us and on the book, over the past ten years, come from people who have totally misunderstood our intention: To equip you to get YOURSELF there. We're trying to strengthen and equip, not oppress. So kudos to all of you who are trying to reach that goal. You'll make wrong moves, back up, try again, hit dead ends, turn around, re-evaluate...constantly, every single year. You'll never "get it." You'll be in process until that child walks out the door...to continue the process on their own. Unless you lose sight of that goal, you're not going to ruin that child's education. Those of you who aren't doing grammar are the exception. You're beyond help. :) SWB (P.S. That was a JOKE.) (P.P.S. Kind of.)

Debbie, Sorry it took me a couple of days to get back to this...the weekend happened.:) Neither one of your kids needs to do any creative writing--it's absolutely NOT necessary for an educated person to write creatively. You either enjoy it, or you don't, and forcing a child who doesn't have a bent for creative writing to do creative assignments can result in a child who loathes ALL kinds of writing. If I were you (and if you can swing it), I'd put the tenth grader into the IEW Student Classes on DVD series--starting with the writing intensive, then doing the continuation course, and aiming to finish up the high school essay at least by twelfth grade. I'd start the seventh grader on Writing Strands, Book 5, finish the Writing Strands series, and then move her into the IEW student classes as well. A word about IEW...I like the structure taught, but I personally dislike the dress-ups very much. "Style" should be a result of clear communication. Artificially teaching style can result in very awkward writing. So do the assignments...but I'd skip the dress-ups if I were you. Let me know if you have more questions and I'll do my best to get back to you a little more promptly.

I'll see if we can get some samples of the workbook up early in the week so that you can see how it complements the text.

How did IEW go when you worked on it? Did they hate it, not mind it, struggle with it?

Can you give me some idea of what programs you've tried? It's OK if the answer is "none"...just put me into the picture. Also: are the children slow readers, average readers, voracious readers? Do they resist writing creatively? Have they had any experience in writing different sorts of papers: research papers, for example, or response papers?

and I can't make promises...there's this whole History of the World I'm supposed to be writing....but I'll keep you posted just as SOON as I have some idea as to when it'll be finished! Fortunately you have better options available for middle grades and high school than for elementary writing...IMO it's the early training that's absolutely missing from writing programs.

Rhonda....I don't think your son is struggling; he's not having trouble getting words down on paper, he just hasn't quite mastered the mechanics yet. Sounds to me like he could benefit from some direct instruction in proofreading...have you checked out Editor in Chief? (And if I were you, I'd either watch him write and correct him as he goes, or else correct his work right after he writes it and have him erase and rewrite the problem spots IMMEDIATELY. IMO, when he writes incorrectly he is reinforcing his tendency to ignore mechanics, and if you don't correct it until the next day, the corrections do nothing to change his habit.) Pster...There are three FLL books: FLL Levels 1 & 2 (combined into one book), FLL 3, and FLL 4. They cover the first four years of school. The Writing With Ease main text covers all four of those years. Workbook 1 and Workbook 2 are a supplement that make teaching the first two years earlier (you would use them in the same years that you use the FLL 1 & 2 book). Workbooks 3 and 4 will cover grades 3 and 4, the years you would be using FLL 3 and FLL 4...those workbooks are not yet available, but you can still use the Writing With Ease main text without the supplements. Jules in MI: Sounds to me like your son could benefit from doing the Level 2 workbook. It would give him some extra practice in the mechanics of writing, which he probably needs before going on to do original composition. Heather in OK...that's exactly right! by george, she's got it!!! Going to have a hot bath now, SWB

the instructions for preK and K work are all in the book itself. The first workbook is for grade 1/year 1, the second is for grade 2/year 2 and so on.

In answer to the questions... it's DESIGNED to be used without the workbook, the workbook just reduces your prep time. And yes, IMO it would be perfect for a struggling fifth grader. SWB

young children progress at very different rates through acquiring the skills. The levels are roughly equivalent to grades, but reluctant writers may need to start at a lower level. Essentially: if your child can do copywork well, but struggles a bit with one to two sentence dictations, start with Level 2, if your child struggles with three to four sentence dictation and/or has difficulty with coherent, brief summaries, start with Level 3, if your (slightly older) child can think of what to write but can't get it on paper, start with Level 4. There are diagnostic tests in the Writing With Ease text to help you place your student.

In answer to how they work together...we'll be putting this up on the website. You can now read samples at peacehillpress.com, too! HOW FLL AND WWE WORK TOGETHER First Language Lessons and Writing With Ease are designed to be used together. First Language Lessons covers grammar, punctuation, and mechanics; Writing With Ease covers actual writing skills. The two books are structured so that the exercises in Writing With Ease help to reinforce the concepts learned in First Language Lessons. First Language Lessons does include dictation and narration exercises with some lessons. If you are using Writing With Ease, you may choose to skip these exercises in First Language Lessons (especially for a child whose fine motor skills are still developing). However, if your student needs additional practice in dictation or narration, the exercises in First Language Lessons can act as a supplement to Writing With Ease.

I actually have this problem all the time with a variety of websites. Reloading almost always solves it. I think it's a Safari/wireless thing.... although I could be wrong. It might also have to do with your provider...do you have WildBlue by any chance?

OK, I don't spend as much time on the boards as I should (I'm trying to do better with this new format!) but every time I've seen Hive Mind used, it's been in the sense of collective wisdom. All of us together are greater than the sum of our parts. Hey, I've learned so much from this board that my mother and I acknowledge the WTM boards and their help in the second edition of TWTM. There's no insult here. Just trying to acknowledge how much all of you together are contributing to the total store of knowledge on this site. And just FYI, anyone can be a queen bee. There's not just one. :)

AND the birthday child gets to pick the meals for the day. Which can be interesting. SWB

which I offer tentatively--because Heather obviously is handling the issue well, and I don't want her to feel that she needs to change. However...my opinion is that you ought to keep up with the English grammar. You can certainly do less of it; if you're doing Latin, do the English grammar only on alternate days, and you'll probably need to do fewer repetitions. But while Latin is good for English grammar skills, it doesn't replace them, even in the earlier grades. There are many English grammar concepts which aren't covered at all in Latin. (Like punctuation, for example.) Others are different. (In Latin, the indirect object [dative] can be translated either as the object of a preposition, or as a "regular" indirect object. In English, though, it makes a big difference grammatically as to whether you say "I threw Jim the ball" or "I threw the ball to Jim.") So that's my $.02. Now, Heather, carry on. :)

Let me discuss it with the West Coast Powers that Be. SWB

When my oldest son hit twelve or thirteen, he asked me not to do it any more. So I didn't. But last year he lifted the ban and none of the other kids seem to mind. I'll let you know when it's up. :)

thanks!!! Did you know that my mother once had three children under the age of four? And although I can't claim to have ever been quite THAT stressed, I did have four children under the age of nine once upon a time. I know how it feels. And I'm so glad if we can reduce a little bit of the inevitable chaos back down to manageable levels. S

Sandy in Indy, Yeah. That's exactly how it feels. SWB

Alias Grace, by Margaret Atwood. I like Atwood, but this was VERY disappointing. :( SWB

:) There are 14 ranks. Queen Bee is on there, but it isn't the top. You get to find out the rest as we go. (Giggling quietly at home. Bear with me. I don't get to be silly all that often.)

Would it help if I told you I do a craft every three or four months? I'm not a craft person. My idea of fun is, "Let's read another book." If the kids want crafts done, I enlist my husband or my mother. The crafts are there for families who find that a good way to learn. Not everyone does. SWB

Karen and others, I know this is a big adjustment, and I'm sorry. We had intended to keep the old forums up a little longer. But activity on both of the forums was causing all sorts of technical troubles; and if we kept the old boards open, we'd still be dealing with the ongoing problem of how vulnerable they are to hackers, spammers, and trolls. The reason the TWTM forums stuck with the old format LONG after most other boards switched over was just because of this. But it's time for us to join the rest of the world. Mourn the old boards. (I miss them too!) But give these a try. Stick with it for a little bit. I think you'll find ultimately that we'll have a greater sense of community than we did before. SWB