Anyone use Writing Trails or Imitations in Writing (Logos School)?

[CactusPair]

Can you tell me what you think of either of these programs and whether your dc enjoyed and benefitted from them?

 

If you are familiar with Classical Writing Aesop or Writing Tales could you compare the above programs with either of these?

 

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences! Any input is greatly appreciated.:001_smile:

[Julesnpebbles@suddenlink.]

I hope someone answers because I just bought imitation in Writing to replace Writing Tales. We didn't use the Writing Tales last year. :blushing:

[Margo out of lurking]

Can you tell me what you think of either of these programs and whether your dc enjoyed and benefitted from them?

 

If you are familiar with Classical Writing Aesop or Writing Tales could you compare the above programs with either of these?

 

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences! Any input is greatly appreciated.:001_smile:

 

I consider Writing Trails to be IEW-lite, and I mean this in a good way. It was a great intro for my kids to learn keyword notes, to read their notes outloud into complete sentences (as in public speaking), to write a decent paragraph based on their notes. Both of my kids used WT, one in 4th grade, one in 2nd. I liked that I could easily use it with both kids at different levels (different years, I didn't do it simultaneously with both).

 

My dd used Imitations in Writing - Fairy Tales as part of her curriculum in 6th grade. She did it independently, and it worked well. She's a very talented creative writer, but it was challenging for her to write about something NOT of her choosing.

 

I have IEW, but I've never been able to pull it together to actually use consistently as a curriculum. While my kids can follow certain points of it, they learned to follow the points by using Writing Trails.

 

Did my kids enjoy it? To the extent that they would enjoy schoolwork, it was fine. I thought it was successful. I have many of the books (bought used) and am not yet willing to part with them, because I think they're good.

[CactusPair]

Thanks very much!:001_smile: I am pleased to hear about the "lite" aspect of Trails. That's a good thing, imo, too. Great info.

[DIY-DY]

Can you tell me what you think of either of these programs and whether your dc enjoyed and benefitted from them?

 

If you are familiar with Classical Writing Aesop or Writing Tales could you compare the above programs with either of these?

 

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences! Any input is greatly appreciated.:001_smile:

 

The boys haven't done a lot of writing up to this point (8yo starting 3rd, and nearly-10yo starting 5th). At least on the part of the 5th grader, it wasn't a lack of ability, but it was like pulling teeth. I jokingly told DH, after getting one decent piece out of DS last year that I was applying for a DDS by claiming "experiential education credit" :tongue_smilie:

 

DS8 just didn't grasp how, exactly, the process of writing progresses. (And I've always been an intuitive writer, with little formal training or background, so I was not doing a good job of explaining it to him - IW does make that easier for the instructor. Or, at least for *this* instructor.)

 

I'd decided that writing would be my focus for this year.

 

I liked what I read about CW, but when I compared the two programs, IW was the better choice for our family. They're very similar, but IW seemed to offer a bit more guidance for the instructor, and a bit more clarity without all the trappings. I liked that. I do also like the difference in price (won't lie to you, there!)

 

So I printed out the example lesson for my Reluctant Writer (5th grader) - and he enjoyed it! (Shocker, and bonus points, all wrapped up in one!) I talked with the 3rd grader about it, showed him the examples, and he, too, was up for trying it.

 

I couldn't find anything IW lacked - it met all the criteria I'd set for us to achieve our writing goals this year. Nor could I find anything that CW offered that would justify the additional cost for us, at this point. (Although it is still on the table for the future, perhaps.)

 

We're just finishing week 2, and both boys have produced nice pieces with relatively little bloodshed. They "get" what they're doing. They have concrete examples to emulate. The process is gentle, thorough, and consistent. We've all been quite pleased, and I think they'll enjoy writing more as the year progresses.

 

Here's a story from this week's work. DS8 did the vocabulary work and definitions, outlined the story, then re-worked and wrote the story in his own words. We sat down together to edit it, using the objectives set forth (plot outline, handwriting, vocab. usage, sentence structure, spell/cap/punct., story line). He knew going into it what was expected, and so he knew what to look for. About halfway through, he said, "I think I need to work on my spelling." (He's right - kid can't spell his way out of a bag at the moment.) But I liked that he wasn't discouraged by that - he saw that he'd done the rest of it quite well, saw what he needs to work on, and was able to call it. WOOHOO! He does his final re-write tomorrow morning, and he cannot WAIT to show DH tomorrow evening. That, alone, was worth it for me.

 

HTH,

Dy