HeatherM Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 Have you used the Excellence in Writing course? Was it helpful in teaching your child to write paragraphs, reports, and short stories? We are currently using Susan Wise Bauer's Writing With Ease books, but am wondering what to do next. Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelli in TN Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 Yes, I think the writing formula it uses is very good, especially for writers who lack confidence. If they can just follow the formula for a few years then they can let go and write naturally. My now 18 year old struggled terribly with writing. She would stare at the computer screen for hours, type a few paragraphs and then delete the whole thing. I think IEW helped her and while she still had self doubts when she started her first dual credit class, she quickly overcame them and now she churns out papers at college and is making good grades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeatherM Posted October 17, 2009 Author Share Posted October 17, 2009 Thanks so much for your reply. What is a good age to begin? I have a nine year old. I was looking for something to begin at age 10. Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelli in TN Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 I think 9 or 10 is pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meet me in paris Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 I think 9 or 10 is pretty good. :iagree: I think 10 is the perfect age. A little younger than that, they can do the keyword outlines (that's what my 8yo is doing) but 10 is good for the full writing portion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amtmcm Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 We used IEW SWI-B last year and thought it was excellent. I've said many times it was the best $99 I spent last year. It does an outstanding job at teaching structure and organization for a variety of types of papers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calandalsmom Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 We are using All Things Fun and Fascinating and I have watched the TWSS video course. I have a 9 yo boy and a 12 yo boy using this program. We are enjoying it. They still groan when I pull it out but Im not sure why because it sure sounds to me like they are hving fun once we get going! Thus far we have rewritten fables from our key word outlines. Pudewa mentioned allowing kids to change characters and settings if they liked so I let my kids do things like that and the results have been great. My oldest ds tends to write 3 short sentences and sum it all up quickly so the KWO have helped him expand his written work. The younger student requires me to scribe for him to get his best efforts. Using the checklist has shown me that my boys make excellent word choices naturally but they do need to use the dress up techniques to make more complicated sentences! We are just really finding this to be a worthwhile part of our school week. Each week we work on an assignment and at the end of the week type it up and put it in our folder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mesa Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 I am new to IEW (TWSS and SWI-A). I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! This is exactly what my reluctant 9 yr old needed. I will move my son to the continuation courses in another 2 weeks, but so far it's working. IEW has my best homeschool purchase ever! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renaissance Mom Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 I agree with Tired Mama ... IEW ranks up there as one of the best homeschool purchases I've ever made. I love the themed courses they offer. It makes my job so much easier as I don't have to plan out lessons or find appropriate vocabulary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plimsoll Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 We started at 9, using SWI-A and after completing CW Aesop. We do grammar and vocabulary separately, so our use of CW was only for rewriting the stories. My son liked the SWI-A dvds and we have found that the methodology works very well for us. After completing SWI-A, we have been using the Ancient History based lessons. We like these as well, and will proceed to Medieval when we're done. Finances permitting, we may do SICC-A before we move on to Medieval. Be sure to download the Student Resource Notebook ebook which is included in many product purchases. It has much useful information and can be used as an IEW reference. There is also a lot of useful info on the IEWFamilies Yahoo group. I think you could easily start at 9 or 10 with SWI-A. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweetbabe Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 Hi I'm new to homeschool and expat living overseas. I'm planning to get IEW for my oldest (9yrs)? I went to the website but not too sure what to order. Is Teaching writing/student writing intensive combo pack level A sufficient. What else will you consider buying? Please advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.