Breaking into a sweat! IEW

[DarcyM]

So, I've listened to every audio of Andrew Pudewa I can get my hands on. I've watched his YouTube videos (he cracks me up!). I went to his online conference via HOTM Online Conference and got to ask him some questions.

 

I've googled. I've searched this forum and read everything I can think of. I've stalked WTM members and bloggers like Michele and Beth that use IEW successfully.

 

Yet, I'm still breaking into a mild sweat.

 

I have buyers remorse and I have even clicked the order button.

 

That price tag is just - well... I have to work lots of hours to pay for it. (Thanks to my GD clients! Love yas)

 

And I'm still not sure I can do it.

 

But he sure is funny. I want him to come live at Mill Creek Academy and teach my boybarians (who are off making forts right now).

 

Okay... I feel better having gotten that out. I'm still sweating though...

 

off...

to....

 

push...

 

ORDER.

 

*gulp*

[Jennefer@SSA]

I got to hear Andrew at our local homeschool conference in June. I didn't know if I was going to enjoy what he had to say since I am not planning on using IEW. He actually is the single best speaker I have ever heard on the subject of homeschooling. I certainly didn't agree with 100% of what he had to say but he was engaging, thought-provoking and challenged the socks off this mom! :)

 

I'll be excited to see how your journey with IEW goes. Who knows, maybe we'll switch to the IEW camp!!!

 

Enjoy!

[rafiki]

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[Pongo]

It's funny, I use IEW, and I am wondering why some find it so difficult to implement:confused:. I really don't understand the "looking for sources" issue. I begin with them in K and my dd is now in 5th, she can easily write a research and a basic critique as well as outline. I don't hunt for sources I use whatever they are learning from science or history. It would take forever to plan if I tried to find sources outside or what they are learning.

 

It started like this:

 

Ker-I write on the white board a small paragraph 5 sentences about whatever we are studying, currently Ancient Egypt.

Day 1- I read the paragraph of the board, I ask her to find nouns and verbs, she circles them in different colors, I ask the same for adjectives and adverbs. Then in Black I ask her to underline 3 words she thinks will help her remember this fact. She does that for every sentence.

 

Day 2- She writes the underlined words for her KWO (key word outline)

She narrates it back to me while looking at her outline.

 

Day 3- I erase the model from the board and ask her to Narrate to me carefully making complete sentences. I write EXACTLY what she says. We go over and edit. We talk about proper sentence structure, and grammar rules if needed.

 

Day 4- She does her "copywork" by looking at the finished copy on the board and in her neatest handwriting, she writes it on her paper.

 

Day-4 Illustrate it-Done!

 

This is only unit 1- DVD1

 

As they get older, I move through the units, ALWAYS using what they are studying, and not some random material. We start at the beginning and because their reading level increases each year as well as vocabulary it's a natural progression to different sources.

 

My 1st grader is doing KWO, Summarizing From Notes & Story Sequence this year, that's it. (Unit 1,2,3)

 

My 3rd grader is doing KWO, Summarizing From Notes, Story Sequence, Writing from Pictures,Summarizing from references & Creative Writing (Unit 1,2,3,5,4,6- in that order)

 

My oldest (5th) is KWO, Summarizing From Notes, Story Sequence, Writing from Pictures & Summarizing from References,Library Reports,Creative Writing & Essay Writing (Unit 1,2,3,5,4,6,7 in that order) She wanted so badly to do Poetry so after we finish Unit 7 (in March) we will spend April-Jun doing Classical Poetry.

 

I think IEW is a great and an easy program to implement, mind you I tend to use things like SWR, TOG, Singapore and other stuff some may find teacher intensive. I find it so easy to have a writing program dovetailed into your studies, this allows for further research and deeper understanding of the subject matter. But thats JMHO:)

[rafiki]

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[Rhonda in TX]

It's funny, I use IEW, and I am wondering why some find it so difficult to implement:confused:. I really don't understand the "looking for sources" issue. I begin with them in K and my dd is now in 5th, she can easily write a research and a basic critique as well as outline. I don't hunt for sources I use whatever they are learning from science or history. It would take forever to plan if I tried to find sources outside or what they are learning.

 

 

I really don't see the difficulty either. I even sent back SWI-A because I prefer to teach it myself.

 

We are starting up our year with Unit I/II and plan to get through Unit VII. I feels that's appropriate for their ages and lack of writing experience. Right now, I'm pulling sources from our computer encyclopedia. I just copy and paste. I've also pulled things from Usborne books. That seems adequate for now. We'll add library books when we get to units that require multiple sources.

 

For dress-ups, I go in the order of the TWSS syllabus notebook. I add a new dress-up each week that we are not starting a new unit.

 

I am NOT a natural writer. Teaching writing has been a major stress point for me until now. I love IEW.

[Pongo]

Michelle I hope I didn't offend you in any way:blushing:

 

As far as dress up's and decorations, I just added them and took cues from them, they got them a lot easier than I thought they would. I found the kids were able to use them quite naturally, maybe because they were introduced to them so young.

I did notice as their reading level went up so did their writing ability, complex sentence structure and vocabulary. I never did think the dress-up's had any grade/age time to be introduced. That might have actually been a good thing, I didn't know any better.;)

[FloridaLisa]

That price tag is just - well... I have to work lots of hours to pay for it. (Thanks to my GD clients! Love yas).

 

Well, if it helps any, consider that:

 

1) IEW has a great re-sale value;

 

2) you can use it for all 3 boys; and

 

3) it's probably less expensive than outsourcing on-line or with a tutor!

 

HTH! You won't regret it. You can implement it. It should be a great year of writing.

Lisa

[Academy of Jedi Arts]

IEW takes a lot of getting used to- especially if you have not been exposed to a lot of different methods of writing instruction before. Having seen the techniques in IEW before, and just having to learn the terminology made it possible for me to start up faster.

 

This has totally transformed my dd's writing. Miss reluctant writer is now writing 3 page papers on a regular basis. If you would have told me 3 months ago she would be doing this, I would have laughed you off the planet.

 

We still haven't finished the SWI. We watch the lesson one day, do a KWO, and start writing it up. The next day dd finishes writing it up and edits. We take additional days for editing and typing as needed.

 

Sources are really easy to find, or like a pp said, I can write up my own if I have to. I love how adaptable this is- to anything. Dd loves Mr. Pudewa and loves being able to pause and start the DVD when she needs to so she controls the pace of the lesson.

 

This is seriously the best homeschooling $ I've ever spent.

[Pensguys]

After only ONE lesson yesterday (our first day with the SWI B) my older son said he likes writing now! Just minutes before, he was saying he hates writing.

[Mom2boys]

I have buyers remorse and I have even clicked the order button.

 

That price tag is just - well... I have to work lots of hours to pay for it. (Thanks to my GD clients! Love yas)

 

*

 

Doesn't IEW offer a money back guarantee, if you try it and don't like it?

[Rhonda in TX]

Doesn't IEW offer a money back guarantee, if you try it and don't like it?

 

There's no time limit, and you don't have to return it in perfect condition. When I returned SWI-A, I couldn't find all the sheets that went with the notebook. I asked them what to do about that and they said, "Don't worry about it. Send it back." I did, and within a few weeks, had a full refund (including shipping!). They have an awesome guarantee.

[rafiki]

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[Mosaicmind]

So, tell me....I have 3 kids I would like to use this with: DS/14, DD/12, & DS/10. I guess I could probably put DS/8 in there too. Anyway which level should I use? I was thinking "A" since we are all new to this, but I am not for sure.

[rafiki]

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[Mosaicmind]

 

 

Questions I pondered:

How much structure is really needed for elementary level writing?

Shouldn't an elementary student be able to write a basic summary independently without an outline?

 

I would say no. At the elementary level I think just getting them to write and like it is good enough. I have written and published a few things and will probably start writing a book soon. I was never pushed into writing and didn't get any formal instruction until middle school. My kids are the same. Maybe I don't really need IEW.....I could probably teach them myself. :glare:

[DarcyM]

I thank you all for your responses, for your honesty.

 

I did make the purchase.

 

And it's not that I have given up on Writing Tales 1. I own that (gee, shocker, right? ;) ) too, but it's a little (read, LOT) too complicated for my boys right now. They are math geeks and I so love them for that. Numbers are so uncomplicated.

 

I was hoping this could give us some elementary tools we can use until we're ready for WT1.

 

I ordered the teacher DVDs, the student DVDs A, and I ordered the one with fairy tales, fables and myths. I like knowing that if they don't fit us, we'll be able to send them back.

 

I also realize that I'm feeling a little intimidated. For my guys, it might just be maturity. They are having a hard time with the lessons in PLL. And those are Charlotte Mason-style, meant to be done in under 15 min. Well, I promise those are NOT 15 min lessons around here. It takes my oldest 15 min to pull himself out of a puddle when he sees the length of the copywork in PLL. *sigh* Those ar meant for 7 yos - 2nd graders. He's 8. I have to undo that before any program can be successful. Doing the copy work from Lesson 2 of PLL was enough for him to become unglued. It took him 2.5 hours.

 

No, not in a single sitting. We broke it up.

 

So, hopefully this will offer me some direction. Right now anything that is LA that is above and beyond the workload of, say ETC, sends him into despair. It's a mental block. I'm trying to figure out how to undo it.

 

Being a teacher AND mom is hard some days. Isn't it? Sometimes those roles conflict.

[Tarheel Heather]

After only ONE lesson yesterday (our first day with the SWI B) my older son said he likes writing now! Just minutes before, he was saying he hates writing.

 

My 10 ds keeps asking if he can watch another lesson! He loves it!

[DarcyM]

My 10 ds keeps asking if he can watch another lesson! He loves it!

 

That post ^above^ gives me great hope! :)

[amys]

I am currently using SWI-B with my two boys, who are 13 and 11. I think SWI-B would be the appropriate starting spot for the ages you're talking about. It might be a bit much for your 8 year old, depending on his abilities, but you could probably modify the activities, or even have him watch the "B" videos but work on the "A" lessons (which can be downloaded as an e-book for $10.)

 

So, tell me....I have 3 kids I would like to use this with: DS/14, DD/12, & DS/10. I guess I could probably put DS/8 in there too. Anyway which level should I use? I was thinking "A" since we are all new to this, but I am not for sure.

[amys]

Geesh, I just saw the date on the post I replied to. Never mind. :) I forgot that this post came up in a search; didn't think to see when it was posted!

 

Oopsie. :)

[Free Indeed]

That's ok, I enjoyed reading this thread. ;)

[Beth in SW WA]

Geesh, I just saw the date on the post I replied to. Never mind. :) I forgot that this post came up in a search; didn't think to see when it was posted!

 

Oopsie. :)

 

Thanks for bringing this up again! I hadn't read it yet.

 

Dd 8th used a bit of IEW in middle school. I never implemented the whole program but I do require strong verbs, adjectives & adverbs and NO to-be verbs (or maybe 1 per para).

 

Here is a little paper dd 8th just wrote for an online English class using IEW's 'Portable Walls' as a reference. This might help if someone wanted to see an IEW-style paper in-real-life.

 

I am now using SWI-A gently with dd7. This thread gives me a new vision for this program.

 

Thank you Pongo & gang!

[AudreyTN]

Yes! Thank you for bringing it back to the top! :)

[bethben]

Could you "cheat" on the expense and just get the following?

Structure and Style Overview DVD

Tips & Tricks for Teaching through the Nine Units

 

I am also thinking again (love/hate relationship with IEW) about IEW and am wondering if you could get away with just buying the above dvds. I am a short, sweet, and to the point kind of gal and I don't need someone going over an example. Just tell me how to do it and get on with life!

Beth