Silver Moon, thank you for your list. I had only heard of one of your suggestions for the older kids but didn't know anything about it. It seems to be the closest fit for what I am looking for. Thank you for your suggestions!

One Step at a Time, their printing is nice when they TRY. Unfortunately, it is not a priority for them. In addition, I have health issues that keep me from directly supervising their work much of the time, so neatness drops to the bottom of the priority pile too often. I think they hate it because it is difficult, but also because they know the public school kids do not have to use it and I am not, as a result, requiring their older sisters to use it, though they DID have to learn it.

Hello. I am investigating composition/writing programs for next year for my upcoming 9th and 7th graders. I have been using WordSmith, and I am not satisfied with it. I am only just beginning to be aware of other programs and was wondering if people would be willing to just LIST the programs they use for middle school and high school. If you want to comment on what you think of your choice(s) feel free, but I am mainly looking for a list of programs to research. Once I get a grasp of what is out there, I will likely come back with more targeted questions. FYI -- I have 4 girls (currently 8th, 6th, 4th, and 1st) and writing instruction has been hit or miss. The older two have spent a few years in public school and are currently dual enrolled, so anything I chose has to be easy to implement and not take TONS of time because history is our time-consuming priority. Also, I am really looking for JUST writing curriculum. . . I, at this point, am planning to use Biblioplan's lit recommendations for my literature. Thanks!

I have a 4th and 1st grader using A Reason for Handwriting. The 4th grader and my older two girls have all loathed cursive. They all have also been in public school for part of their school career, where cursive is taught but not required to be used. I am seriously considering ditching cursive instruction because I don't know if it's worth dying on a hill over. Any thoughts?

Hi, I'm new here, and I have an 8th grader as my eldest. She has a pretty strong vocabulary, because we have read aloud to her and her sisters since they were very little. However, she has also been in PS 3 years in the middle of our homeschooling journey, and I will tell you that much of what kids read voluntarily is poorly written with simple sentence structure and limited vocabulary. It's really appalling. We have had some regression in my dd's language abilities thanks to those three years, and it makes me crazy. I am convinced reading aloud to young children from longer novels with complex, beautiful prose, and stopping to explain difficult words and concepts, even when children are very small, is a HUGE factor in developing strong language skills.

Lori, she will be a freshman taking Geometry, Choir/PE (alternate days, same period), and possibly Spanish, at school. I am nervous about Spanish due to the time it will take her at home for other subjects, so we will see. Home will be history, English, and biology. I wanted to add informal logic with materials we purchased and ended up not using this last year, but I know there will be no way if I intend to really work on writing.

Lori, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH! You understood exactly what my concerns were, though I was having immense difficulty putting them down in any coherent fashion. You have given me MUCH to chew on, and it is incredibly helpful. The missing piece is that my dd is enrolled part time in PS and will be next year also, for 2 or 3 classes and cross-country. So your suggestion to back off on how much we do is one I need to listen to. It was part of my concern about overwhelming her with too much writing .. . time will be a huge factor. The Girls' Mom, thank you, also. It just feels so very overwhelming, and your encouragement is something I need to hear. THank you both so much!

Hello, all. I'm new here and have a concern as I plan for next year. I'm sure this topic has been visited many times so forgive me for redundancy if it's an old tune. I have 4 girls who are currently in 8th, 6th, 4th and 1st. I am starting to plan for next year and am getting very nervous about a few things, especially writing. My eldest spent grades 4 - 6 in PS, where everything came very easy for her, and she did not have much intentional instrucion in grammar or writing. I have not been as successful in writing instruction at home as I'd like the last 2 years, and my dd has not really ever had to write a real paper. We are using a writing curriculum that I do not think is rigorous enough, and I am beginning to look at Writing with Skill, and Power in Your Hands for next year. My fear is that my dd is very behind in writing skill development. She is a very bright student, but her work ethic is very lacking, largely due to her experience in PS, and I have health issues that keep me from being as diligent on follow-through as I need. THe combo has left me feeling like I am really hurting my dd's (and the others, too!) academic development. We are switching to Biblioplan for history next year (Ancients) and had planned to use their lit sources as my dd's lit course. But I learned about 2 programs yesterday that seem really good and seem to focus on writing instruction as part of their program: Lightning LIterature and Excellence in Literature. ANd after looking at THOSE, I'm all confused again about how best to help my dd develop her writing, and thinking skills without putting too much burden on her with too many different separate subjects. One of my concerns is TOO MUCH writing if I use BP's writing assignments, and a writing curriculum, in addition to trying to develop the ability to write a paper on a piece of literature. . . I know all of that will not happen, and I want to give her the most bang for her buck in terms of instruction and integration. Thank you in advance for any thoughts you may have!

I am brand new to this site, and boy did I need to read this particular post today! I homeschool 4 girls from 8th grade down to 1st, and my 8th grader spent grades 4 - 6 in PS. She is very bright but is unwilling to work as hard as I know she is capapble of. Her work ethic is a constant battle for us. . . and writing has taken a back seat. I use a writing curriculum I am not thrilled with and am seriously concerned. She has not had to write more than a few 5-paragraph essays in her school career, and we are still struggling to get to them now. It was incredibly encouraging to me to read through this thread to see we are not alone, and that there is hope. So thank you!