Hi, I was wondering if IEW's Structure and Style high school program would be sufficient preparation for college-level writing? Our son is behind somewhat on writing. We are considering either IEW *or* WWS 1-3 for freshman, sophomore, and junior years, then following up with New Oxford Guide for senior year (as recommended in TWTM 4th edition). He will be entering 9th grade this fall. Thank you in advance!

This helps a great deal. It's good to know that we can skip over some chapters if we are pressed for time. I really appreciate you taking the time to list out the chapters! Thank you so much.

Hi everyone, We have signed our son up for Expository Writing II with Amy Samuelson. He is in going into 8th grade this fall and needs a lot of help with his writing. I did see the pre-req of having completed Writing with Skill Level 1, and we are working our way through that, currently. I believe we are doing Week 13 this week so even working through most of the summer (which we plan to do), he won't finish the whole book. I have a couple of questions: 1) Has anyone's kid taken Expository Writing II, or has experience with Amy Samuelson as a teacher? This will be our first time using the WTM Academy so we are unsure of what to expect. Our main goal this coming year for our son is to get his writing up to speed in order to prepare him for the rigors of high school level writing. 2) Will it be OK if we do not complete the Writing with Skill Level 1 book before the class begins? Any advice or suggestions would be very appreciated. Thanks so much!

Thank you, Roadrunner! I have not heard of CLRC and will look into them. 🙂

Thanks so much for the warm welcome and all the replies and help! We are fairly new homeschoolers, having pulled our eldest out of public school halfway through his 7th grade year. Now we have the other three at home. There is a lot I don't know about, so thanks so much for the recs for WTM Academy, Homeschool Connections, and Schole. I will look into them! Also, thanks so much to BookwormTo2 - I'm glad that that Kolbe has online clubs and other ways for students to interact online. And good to know that we wouldn't need to do all his classes online (which would certainly add up).

Hi, I am a homeschooling mom of four children. Our eldest is in 8th grade this year and we are beginning to explore different high school options for him. He has expressed an interest in attending a traditional high school, so we are looking at the two local Catholic high schools. (We are Catholic.) However, I am also very interested in Kolbe Academy online. His father and I would like a Catholic, academically rigorous program that will prepare our kid for a quality four year university. We also want a school that uses secular science texts (albeit taught alongside our faith, of course). Has anyone used Kolbe online? We like the idea of online classes because of the student interaction (not as much as traditional school, of course, but a bit more), and the idea of our son having different teachers with varied knowledge bases. I also like that they will grade his work. It is expensive, though way cheaper than the brick-and-mortar Catholic high schools we are considering. We can afford Kolbe online if it is really worth it - in other words, if our son receives a quality education that thoroughly prepares him for the rigors of a good university, with some peer social interaction in a "virtual" class setting. I would love to hear from others who have used this program. Did you feel it was rigorous enough? Did your child enjoy the peer interactions?