more about CW

[luna]

I've been reading all the past posts about CW and finally decided to go ahead and buy it. I have 2 dd, 8 and 11. After getting everything I would need, it was pretty pricey. Is it REALLY worth the money? I don't mind spending it if it's worthwhile and I will use it for both. So, all you CW users, please share your thoughts! Thank you so much!

[Another Lynn]

I haven't used it yet... hope to this fall. I was able to find it used which helped a lot.

 

Maybe some others will reply!

[HollyDay]

Well. . . . . . maybe.

 

I used CW this past year and will use it again next year. I did both Aesop and HOmer and bought the 3 books for each: Core, Student text, and TM.

 

CW is excellent and really struck a cord with my oldest, who has always hated writing up until CW. It was a perfect fit for her, so it was really, really worth it.

 

My youngest enjoys writing and has always just "clicked" with writing. I was not going to use CW with her as she was doing so well with other things. But, she really liked what big sister was doing. She kept pestering me about it so we started Aesop with her. She has also done very well with it, but like I said, she would probably do well with any wriitng program.

 

CW is difficult for me to learn. I am still intimidated by it. I still get stressed thinking about teaching it. I still get uncomfortable when we pull the books out. But, seeing "the light bulb come on" for my oldest and hearing her joy in writing now, makes it worth it to me. Once I start into the lesson, it begins to come together and we relax and work it. But, it is NOT plug and play. It will take some committment from you to make learn the program.

 

The best advice anyone gave me actually came from some dear lady here. She said to go through The Core and write down what each day/lesson will look like. Write down what we will do each day. That was the best advice!! The program began to come together.

 

Now, Aesop is not very "deep dish". It is pretty easy to teach. Homer is much tougher in my opinion (would love to read what others think).

 

I would look at my goals for writing.

 

If you want the standard fare of book reports, friendly letters, business letters (someone please tell me why my 2nd grader was supposed to write a business letter in BJU?), opinion essays, etc., then look elsewhere. This program is not worth the money because it doesnt teach those things. You would have to supplement.

 

But, if you are looking long term and want a writing program that teaches logical progression and higher level or reasoning, then you cant go wrong with CW. I am not being "snooty" here. Not everyone wants or needs a classical writing program that climbs into the classics. Not everyone wants to teach the origins of words and the complex parsing and diagramming that CW incorporates. Thats okay. My oldest happens to love it. She loves to diagram sentences (go figure). She wants to know where words come from in antiquity. Again, it is a great fit.

 

But, another friend of ours will not use it. She wants a basic, no frills, straightforward approach to basic writing. CW would drive her and her dc nuts. She chose WriteShop - which drove us nuts by the way. Dd hated it!

 

So, to bring a long, drawn out response to a close. . . . . Look at your teacher style and your dc learning style. Will they want to parse and diagram? Will they enjoy rewriting the lessons? Do you want a long term committment to a program? Can you take the time in your daily schedule to teach it - again - it is teacher intensive and not a short lesson?

 

HTH!!

[Kay in Cal]

I bought CW for next year, all the books, but I think I'm just going to use the core, as it turns out. We're doing GWG4 and SWO (which are working very well), so I see no need to have an additional set of those subjects. We'll basically be doing just the writing part of the program, but I have high hopes! I was one of the weird ones--I liked the core book itself, but the teacher's guide and student guide didn't do much for me. Next year I'll just buy that, at least to start...

 

Let's compare notes next year and see how it's going!

[Suzannah]

We used Aesop B this past year. I purchased the Core initially and then decided the student workbook would make my life a little easier. I did not purchase the IG to go with the workbook. For the most part we haven't needed it. Occasionally we do have to puzzle over some grammar definitions. Not because we don't know what the definitions are, but because the definitions we've learned in Abeka grammar don't match up exactly with the blanks provided. Other than that, no complaints.

 

We have enjoyed the stories and the regular, planned routine for going though each one is nice. We know what to expect with each new lesson. We'll begin Homer next year which I understand is meatier, but DS recently informed me that he wants to be a writer when he grows up so the program can't be all bad. :)

[elegantlion]

We are using Aesop B next year. I found the core, IG, and student book used here. You could certainly use the core and IG without writing in them and then resell.

 

I have spent some time trying to figure out the program. I like the thoroughness of it. I thrive on details and they all seem to be in this program.

[mom2att]

I did Aesop A with dd in 4th. That was my first mistake--it was too easy and we just breezed right through it. I should have started in B and then moved to Homer. Instead, after breezing through Aesop A, we skipped to Homer A, and since Aesop A was so easy, I didn't order the IG for Homer A. That was my second mistake--we floundered through Homer A with way too many "I don't knows" from ME! Because I don't like to admit I've failed, I bought everything for Homer B, and every time I even looked at the materials I got this feeling of dread. Rather than make a third mistake and continue with something I knew I couldn't do, I sold everything without getting any farther than one lesson in Homer B. My dd, who started writing spontaneous stories when she was 4 years old, HATED CW, and hasn't gotten over it yet. We dabbled in Writing Strands after dropping CW, but have recently gone to doing nothing at all--she says she hates writing now.

 

That said, I still think CW is a GREAT program. I love the goals and the very gradual way they are implemented. However, it's not where we are, and it's not what we need. I am sorry I couldn't make it work for us, and I am envious of those of you who are successful with it!

[Susan in SoCal]

First huge caveat : everybody's mileage varies with every writing program out there. CW, especially, has proponants who love it and just as many people who hate it. And some of us both love and hate it all at the same time ;-)

 

I'm copying a post I wrote back in October that includes the elements that drive me a little batty about CW and the elements that I truly love. I'll include an update after the copy...

 

**copy post **

 

Thrilled and not-so-thrilled with CW

(in answer to WTM query, who’s not thrilled with CW?)

In the not-so-thrilled category for me: there's a steep learning curve to this program from a teaching perspective (not so much for Aesop, but for Homer & beyond). It's an incredibly teacher intensive program, and in general, I'm a not-so-teacher-intensive kind of teacher ;-}. I never ever learned to write or apply grammar like CW has a student learn to write and apply, so I spend a lot of time feeling really really stupid. And that never feels good, ya know?

 

So, given the above gripes, why do I stick with CW? Because I'm completely THRILLED with the results of CW.

 

My son, who is not yet 11, can write competently and well. And he can READ and UNDERSTAND and OBSERVE subtle nuances of narratives. He's an incredibly literal child, and thus, being able to read "between the lines" is not his strong suit. CW Homer has given him the skills to really comprehend not only the literal words but also the implied happenings/emotions/etc. I can't even begin to explain how discussing Theon's components (essentially the who/what/where/when/why/how of any scene) and actively seeking the author's emphasis has given my son "wings to fly" in understanding a text.

 

And the copia and applied grammar exercises? Oh my. My son can take any sentence and rewrite it a gazillion different ways to achieve different emphases. He can expand it, condense it, give it stronger words, change around all ordering of the phrases, change the nouns to all the different cases (what an awesome exercise to complement his Latin studies - woohoo!), and he can reflect upon how his different re-writes have different effects upon the reader.

 

Grammar for him is NOT just mere theory. The kid know how to APPLY it. Warning: Brag alert. Here is the sentence that my son today parsed & diagrammed ALL ON HIS OWN without any input from me (in order to minimize frustration, we have an agreement in place that he can "black box" any part of any sentence he doesn't *get*. since he's freed from "obligation", I think he's tries harder than he would otherwise to surprise me with how much he *gets*). Anyway, here's the sentence from Tom Sawyer:

 

He compared the insignificant whitewashed streak with the far-reaching continent of unwhitewashed fence, and sat down on a tree-box discouraged.

 

It's a *real* sentence from a *real* book, not just a sentence written to fit a grammar exercise from a grammar text. And my son can parse it, diagram it and rewrite it.

 

CW has given me gray hairs (at least I'm pretty sure it's the source of at least some of them!!) and has been the cause of much personal frustration, BUT ... I can honestly say it's been worth it.

 

**end copy **

 

We've now almost completed Homer B. We did drop our CW studies a few months ago to clear more time to allow my son to finish writing a book he's working on (btw, I should add that this son of mine was incredibly writing averse clear up until we started using CW. I credit this series for instilling a love of narrative in my son.) Tho we're currently on a CW "sabbatical", we have been using elements of CW especially in the editing of my son's novel. There's a quote by Quintilian near the end of the Homer Core:

 

"The [narration] will be credible, if in the first place we take care to say nothing contrary to nature, secondly if we assign reasons and motives for the facts on which the inquiry turns ... and if we make the characters of the actors in keeping with the facts we desire to be believed: we shall for instance, represent a person accused of theft as covetous, accused of adultery as lustful, accused of homicide as rash, or attribute the opposite qualities to these persons if we are defending them: further we must do the same with place, time and the like." (Institutio Oratorio Book II, 79)

 

Simply put, we are scrutinizing my son's setting, the characters and their motives and their consistency and determining whether or not everything is "credible." This has been soooo helpful. After he completes the novel, at that point, we'll incorporate the last section of Homer (concision) as we go back and look closely at the beginning chapters with an eye towards eliminating unimportant items (events, details, people, etc.), those things that ultimately don't end up moving the story forward in any way.

 

So the long and the short of it for us? CW has been an amazing, wonderful, perfectly practical, tho gray-hair-inducing journey.

[luna]

To everyone who replied with such insight, thank you for all your help. While I am a little nervous about it being "teacher intensive," I think it will be the right fit for both my girls, especially my oldest. She, too, is a literal thinker and has trouble "reading between the lines." She read very young, but her comprehension hasn't kept pace with her reading ability as she has grown. I am excited to hear that CW has helped with that. We use A Beka right now and need something more. Thanks again!

Katherine

[Beth in Central TX]

Yes, I definitely think this program is worth the money. The writing instruction in CW is excellent. The authors are knowledgeable and provide a thorough writing program based on the progymnasmata.

 

I have been using CW for 2 years now. My older boys did CW Aesop B last year, and this year they did CW Homer A and Poetry for Beginners A. They have made great improvements in their writing, not only in CW, but in our other subjects as well.

 

After 2 years of teaching CW, I'm now confident in what I'm doing. I lacked the skills to not only write myself, but also to teach writing, so I was behind the curve when I started. The progymnasmata was a new writing approach for me too. However, I've learned a lot about writing as we've worked through the program, and I think it has been very beneficial to us all.

 

My oldest son took a standarized test this past winter for college readiness. He scored exceptionally well on the English portion which covered Usage/Mechanics—punctuation, grammar & usage, and sentence structure and Rhetorical Skill—understanding the use of strategy, organization, and style in writing. I firmly believe that the high score he received in this area is due to our continued use of Rod & Staff grammar along with Classical Writing. Both programs are a lot of work, but well worth the effort in my opinion.

 

HTH!