IEW worth the investment?

[raganfamily]

I have five kids and heavily considering in the IEW program. I am planning on purchasing the Teaching Writing Structure and Style which is $169. However, I am curious if it is worth this investment. Would like input for anyone whom has purchased this dvd set w. syllabus. Did it help, do you think the student dvd's are necessary as well?

 

My younger kids use WWE and FLL and I really like it, but need something after we complete those.

 

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

:)

[Woodland_Mom]

I have the DVD set & syllabus. I have found it to be a HUGE help. I've listened to the entire 9 DVD set (some lessons more than once). The lessons have equipped me to teach this writing program effectively to my children. I learned SO much!

 

The big pay-off has been watching my 4th grader's writing improve dramatically this year. It is nice to feel like we're "on track" in this area.

 

I plan on watching many of the dvd's again this summer to further improve my skills/knowledge base. I highly recommend them.

[raganfamily]

Did you end up buying the A, B, or C set for your kids to watch?

 

Thanks for your input!

[Rhonda in TX]

Don't forget that IEW has a money-back guarantee. I always buy from them for this reason. They even refund your shipping costs. You do have to pay to ship it back, but you can use media mail and that's cheap.

 

I love, love IEW TWSS. We tried SWI, but my kids preferred me teaching them using TWSS. I returned SWI with absolutely no problems.

[rafiki]

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[angela in ohio]

I have five kids and heavily considering in the IEW program. I am planning on purchasing the Teaching Writing Structure and Style which is $169. However, I am curious if it is worth this investment. Would like input for anyone whom has purchased this dvd set w. syllabus. Did it help, do you think the student dvd's are necessary as well?

 

My younger kids use WWE and FLL and I really like it, but need something after we complete those.

 

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

:)

 

TWSS is all you need. If, after watching it, you feel the need for more hand-holding, you could order the SWI. The benefit of the TWSS alone is that you an integrate the assignments with their other subject areas. The benefit of the SWI is that it saves you planning time and is a great way to introduce the program that first time through when mom isn't quite sure how to yet.

 

With mutiple children, it is a smart investment. I always prefer spending the money on training myself rather than buying a lot of curriculum for dc to use each year.

 

I have seen the benefits of IEW with my own dc, as well as with multiple classes I have taught. It has worked well for struggling writers and strong writers alike. Parents just cannot believe how much their dc's writing improves, and the students gain an enormous amount of confidence in writing.

[Pam B]

Cadam,

Do you remember which lecture it is that she discusses IEW?

~Thanks!

[Woodland_Mom]

Did you end up buying the A, B, or C set for your kids to watch?

 

Thanks for your input!

 

I purchased the Teaching Writing Structure and Style. I watch the videos so I can teach my children. This puts me in the best possible place to help my children with their writing.

[StephanieZ]

The TWSS set has been well worth it for us. I think that if you will watch it and use it, then it pays off. Writing is so important, that I think investing in writing is a good use of $$.

 

For us, I have viewed & reviewed the TWSS (and referred to the notebook that comes with it) for my own education on how to use IEW. . . I have used a few mommy-invented IEW lessons using TWSS as my guide. . .But, mostly we've used the theme-based books for routine IEW lessons. It is just convenient for me that the theme-based books have sequential lessons all set up, with a logical sequence and all the materials/lists/etc we need right at hand.

 

I am sure there are many good ways to teach writing well, with IEW being one of many possible approaches. For our family, IEW has been a helpful part of our schooling. I don't see it as the end-all-be-all, but it has surely been a help to get the kids writing regularly and competently.

 

Personally, I wouldn't try to use a theme-based (or SWI, etc.) IEW book w/o viewing the TWSS, but I am a data-person and I really like to fully understand things before teaching them. I don't know how people manage to "get it" enough to use a theme based book w/o viewing the TWSS!

[StephanieZ]

I don't regret the money or time spent, but the Theme books are a much more user friendly introduction to test the water. We are really enjoying the All Things Fun and Fascinating, I just wish there were more theme books that had a variety of topics in them instead of writing about history for the entire year.

 

Don't forget the Fables, Myths. . . book. It' a nice one that is not history and should work for your kids' ages!

[afruitfulbranch]

If you use it is! Actually even if you don't use it, as someone else said, you can return it or you can sell it. It has a good resale value so, if you take good care of it.

 

Also, you can buy it used and then sell it when you are done.

 

Either way, the investment aspect is pretty good if you like the program. I liked it and the money I spent was worth many times over with several children. (I didn't spend as much as many people do. I only had to buy TWSS because I borrowed the videos back then and watched them over a few weeks to teach myself. Recently I bought the Beautiful Feet lesson plans via ebook download recently). I think you can still buy the old videos on clearance for a few dollars.

 

So, if you buy what you can afford, I think it's a good investment!

[raganfamily]

Wow thank you to everyone who posted to my question. I had not listened to the audio on the audio from SWB, but plan to. I like to get a full understanding before I go forward...I have found if I don't quite understand what they are doing than I am not as motivated.

 

Thanks again!:)

[Pam B]

I think it is the Rhetoric but I listened to both the Logic and Rhetoric lectures so far, so I could be wrong.

 

Thanks, Cadam.

I did buy the Logic stage, but haven't had time to listen to it yet. If it's not on that one, I'll be sure to get the Rhetoric one.

 

The problem I am having, is that we will be studying the middle ages (per WTM) in Fall. However, they've already gone through the IEW Middle Ages bk, as well as a few other ones from IEW. So, right now, I need to find something else.

[rafiki]

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[Jenny Piaaree]

You can look for a good deal on a used set of TWSS DVDs, and then sell it once you're done with it. I found one recently in perfect condition for $80. I know I can sell it for that much, so I didn't feel like it was taking a big risk. I think I'll keep it, though - it has been very helpful so far, even though I'm mostly still using the Ancient History theme book. I feel like even if I don't stick with IEW for the long haul, which I may not, it is teaching me a lot about structure and style and about teaching, which will be applicable to any other programs we may try down the road.

[helena]

This was a great thread, I got so much clarification.

Thanks everyone! :)