Has ANYONE done The Arrow from BW for a stand-alone literature and liked it/thought it was enough? Pam

Has anyone used Jot it Down? Would it be useful for an elementary level Writing Cub? Pam

For those who have used Brave Writer: - Does the online class include any video teaching? I tried looking at the online sample, but it appeared to be alot more simplistic than I expected. I was wondering whether I was missing something? If anyone has used BW - can you explain how it works? is it all written? What exactly does the teacher provide? Thanks in advance

I have two children with whom I'll be using Brave Writer this year. I just discovered it this past week and I'M IN LOVE! I have The Writer's Jungle on order, and I've downloaded: The Wand for my 1st grader to begin with (the reading involved will be too easy for him, but the writing component will be perfect), and several "back issues" of The Arrow for my 3rd grader. In addition, do I need Jot it Down? I'm unsure as to how much we need the "creative writing component" at this point, and of how it would work to do the projects with two kids. What do you think?

After abdandoing my plans to do AO (good riddance...this was a good move for me/us), I am planning out the year for my 1st and 3rd grader. We will be using SOTW as our history spine, and I have the activity books to refer to as well, for maps and such. We are also going to be using Brave Writer for each child (The Wand and The Arrow). With AO, everything was laid out and scheduled for me, down to page numbers, so I knew what to plan for a week, a month, etc. Now that I'm on my own, I'm freaking out a little bit! I have us down to do about a chapter (sometimes 2) from SOTW for each child. Yes,they will be in different cycles of history...I really want my 3rd grader to be "caught up" in regards to the cycle going forward, and she's a strong independent reader, so I can hand it off to her. Does this amount per week seem reasonable? I know it's not wise to try to get supplemental history books for each topic, but I have planned out at least one most weeks, titles I can get from the library or that we own. Should I do that, or make it simpler and just let SOTW stand on its own? How much supplemental reading do you do? Spelling/writing/grammar will be through Brave Writer, but I'd like to assign some other literature to my 3rd grader as well, in addition to the monthly BW book. The trouble is, I have no idea how quickly we'll move through them, and I don't know how to account for that on the schedule. Meaning, as I go though and map out each week, do I note down the book I want her to be reading? If she's not done with it , or already flew through it, then the subsequent weeks of schedules will be "off." I'm sure I'm making this more complicated than it needs to be, but now that I'm not following AO's pre-made schedule, I'm a bit of a loss. I won't be handing her a book and saying "read pages 20-25 and stop to narrate," and then dropping the book for another week. Its all much more fluid, and I don't know how to plan for that! Or is everything other than the BW book a "strongly suggested free read" for her to get to when she has reading time each day? More thoughts: we are doing RS for math. That's all fine. I am planning poetry/Shakespeare/art study/songs as part of morning time all together. That seems doable. That leaves me with science. I'd rather not make nature study the main part of our science...I just...don't love it, and it turns into play outside time, not categorize trees time. Lol. I have BFSU, but I find it baffling and so confusing. I don't have it in me to plan those lessons. Thoughts on another science approach? Kids would be combined on this one. I'd really appreciate some feedback and advice. We're starting in 2.5 weeks, and I just undid all my plans this weekend, so I'm scrambling and nervous to be going "on my own." Grateful for the help!

Hello, I am very interested Brave Writer's courses and curriculum. I've read some very favorable reviews of their approach to writing and philosophy. However I cannot tell from their website or other posts if one could use some combination of their offerings as a complete freshman composition course. ds13 has will have completed WWS 1 & 2. The courses I'm considering so far are: Kidswrite Intermediate Expository Essay I don't think those would be enough for a full year. So I could use these for the Fall semester and then use another writing curriculum for the Spring. Any thoughts, experiences or combos used with Brave Writer at the High School level appreciated. Thanks,

DS7 is not a fan of WWE1, mostly because he hates reading excerpts. I have been reading a lot on the Brave Writer blog and website, as well as all the rave reviews on here! I want to get started with the Brave Writer lifestyle, but due to budget restrictions, can only purchase one product right now. I'm wondering, which would be the best product for me to start with at this point? The Writer's Jungle or Jot It Down? I know the Writer's Jungle explains the basis of the whole philosophy and is usually recommended as the starting point. However, it says on the website that it is written for ages 8-18. My children are 5 and 7, and I would really like to get into the nitty gritty of how to implement her ideas. Should I just get Jot It Down first? Would that be the most practical? Thanks for any suggestions and advice!!

I'm looking to gently expand LA in our home. I have an almost 9 year old third grader who has had a hard time with handwriting, but he is beginning to take off. Also, I have a Ker boy. We have done CM narration from the beginning, but not much writing or grammar except writing letters and making up stories. I want to do copywork, copywork application, notebooking for science/history, and some writing practice/instruction/creative writing. Which of the Brave Writer products do you recommend? I've downloaded samples of The Arrow, Jot It Down!, and Partnership in Writing. The Arrow, while what I'm looking for, didn't seem worth the price. I think I can replicate that from our read-alouds. I'm looking for guidance in schedules; appropriate activities for grade levels; grammar or literary topics to discuss; ideas for projects, poems, etc. Would TWJ be a better investment than Jot It Down! or Partnership in Writing? What about No More "I'm Done!"? Something else? Thanks!

Hi, I've just stumbled across Brave Writer and I know it's on sale now at the HSBC until the end of May. My DD is a rising 1st grader. I'm wondering if anyone has used the Wand or Jot It Down? We plan on using MFW 1st as our core curric. We also supplement with ETC. Any advice would be super helpful! I'm not sure I want to use FLL and/or WWE with DD, who is very right-brained and creative, but also a reluctant writer.... is it worth getting TWJ right now, also? Thanks in advance!!! jane :hat:

This all started here, you know (so it's all your fault, hive members :tongue_smilie:). The thread for the freebie from HSBC for Mother's Day led to me reading most of the pages on the Bravewriter site. I looked at the samples in the freebie offer and THAT is more like what I want for literature. I like that it introduces literary elements using real books (vs. something written by textbook authors) and that it has the kids practice using that newly learned literary element in their writing. I liked the presentation, that it give a definition of what the literary element or device is (not assuming I already know it, like Figuratively Speaking sometimes does) and I don't have to go searching for books with good examples of that element in them. Of course, I need to look closely at Teaching the Classics and at various lit. guides yet to see how they stack up. BW is going on my list of things for consideration for the upcoming year. While I was at the BW site, I surprised myself by liking the writing philosophy for creative writing. Would it be confusing or too much for a child to do WTM writing for non-fiction and BW for creative writing?