elliotterae Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 I had all the details typed out, and when I looked back it was like a four page essay, so I deleted it since I figured no one would read it all anyway. Basically, after nearly 2 years of Rod and Staff grammar, both girls are not retaining anything. They get the problems right but then can't do the review a couple weeks later. It is not improving. Also, the girls didn't have formal writing in public school so last year I started them in WWE 1, it was too simple but didnt seem to work when we jumped ahead. So this year we used CAP Writing and Rhetoric and just don't care for it for some reason. We finished it but don't really care to go forward with it. I like the look of the samples of IEW I have seen but to get started for 2 levels would be around $400. OUCH. So then I am thinking Brave Writer but I cant tell if it is just for creative style writing or will it help with the technical stuff too? Any feedback from people who have tried all of the above or just loved or disliked one of them would be welcomed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 If you were going to use IEW, couldn't you get just one level and use it with both kids? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 IEW and Bravewriter are on totally opposite sides of the spectrum and cater to very different learners. IEW is very scaffolded, incremental and gentle. It's great for kids who don't know how to get started or how to get the words out of their brain and onto paper. We LOVE it. I agree you could get just one level, and this might be a good time to see if you can find it used. Bravewriter focuses on the creative and finding your "voice". I love it in theory and for more natural writers I think it looks fun. It's playful and loose and presupposes that kids will learn through process, without the direct "boxes" that IEW uses. I found the Writers Jungle to be a good read, even though the program itself didn't work out for us. There's a lot to learn there. HTH 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyLittleBears Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Are you looking at the Student Writing Intensive? I had kids similar ages when we started a few years back and I was told by IEW that I could purchase just Level B and their website has different source material on their website for level A. It is basically the same program just different writing sources. I believe it may be under their resources page. I would call them and ask. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliotterae Posted March 9, 2015 Author Share Posted March 9, 2015 Looking at their website it appears I need to buy the teachers guide, Teaching with Structure and Style, and also the student intensive. I was figuring A and B. Would the teacher's guide really be necessary. Even with just one level of student intensive we were looking at nearly $300 which is a lot for us to spend right now. I could do it but would want to be really sure. Where do you guys suggest looking for used curriculum? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 The Teacher's guide version was updated.this year so the older version may be available somewhere for a lot cheaper. I don't know of a specific place to look but you might do an internet search. The student version has not been updated, I don't believe. If you got both used, that would probably work well. Have you checked the site here on the WTM for selling materials? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 We did not use or need the teachers guide (TWSS)--the SWI teaches to your child, and you can sit in and follow to better assist using the right lingo. ;) I was able to find a used copy on this board; it's a good place to start. Otherwise, you might try eBay and amazon. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnMomof7 Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Your title mentions CLE, but your post doesn't? If you are happy with basic, practical writing, CLE does get the job done without a complicated supplementary program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 I've done both IEW and Brave Writer. IEW - formulaic; helps teach the structure; I would highly recommend the teacher material alongside anything you buy. It does have very good resale value if that helps. Many people like to say that Brave Writer is better for more "natural" writers, but I'm not sure that I agree. I think it's great for natural writers, but it has been awesome for my dyslexic, dysgraphic, STEM, math-loving kid. "I" as a STEM inclined mom can not do justice to teaching the Writer's Jungle myself because writing is not natural to me. It has been fantastic to take many of the family classes and my high schooler (who started with IEW and did well) has done great with Brave Writer. It has helped him find his "voice". His writing is unmistakeably HIS. The teachers at Brave Writer have helped him pull out personal experience and better details without telling him how or what to write. As far as grammar is concerned, I've used many programs including Fix-It, but I've come full-circle to thinking that the Brave Writer/Charlotte Mason way of copywork/dictation is the best for my family. I teach grammar specifics as we get to it in copywork (and in their writing). My oldest did tons of copywork to work on letter formation and handwriting since he's severely dysgraphic. It is amazing how much grammar he learned naturally as I did copywork with him for the purpose of teaching handwriting.l Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyLittleBears Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 I agree. We own both the TWSS and SWI. You don't really *need* TWSS because SWI teaches to the child and you can join in w/ your dc. SWI also comes with a teacher binder and schedule for how to break up the lessons. We had a SWI teacher at coop one year and she had never watched TWSS. She did a great job teaching. TWSS does give you the "teacher training" but I wouldn't call it absolutely essential to SWI. You could just get SWI and put TWSS on your wish list. ETA: homeschool classifieds and the classified section here are good places to look. I think I saw SWI here recently? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 I combine CLE LA and IEW. We did IEW in a co-op setting the last 2.5 years. This year I am doing some writing in CLE and some IEW. As far as CLE, it has really helped ds retain things well. The gentle approach and spiral review are perfect. It has helped me understand grammar. I love IEW. I'm a math/science girl, so language arts seemed like a daunting area. I borrowed TWSS from a friend and bought my own notebook. It made me feel so comfortable teaching writing that I've taught the classes at our co-op. You could teach IEW straight from TWSS and never need anything else. You could find your own sources to use. They have some ebooks which give you sources as well. I think I could have learned the program from SWI, but TWSS is what made me feel comfortable teaching it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliotterae Posted March 10, 2015 Author Share Posted March 10, 2015 Your title mentions CLE, but your post doesn't? If you are happy with basic, practical writing, CLE does get the job done without a complicated supplementary program. I was thinking CLE LA or Fix it Grammar would replace the Rod and Staff Grammar. BW or IEW to replace writing. We need to replace both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 CLE LA and Fix-It Grammar are very different. What are you looking for in a program? Fix-It is more whole to parts and CLE is more parts to whole. FWIW, if you were going with Fix-It I would definitely use the newest version. I think you can look at samples of CLE LA. Maybe do the placement test for CLE (in fact, I would always do a placement test with the CLE materials) and just get a couple of light units to start out with, see if they might be a good fit? Cheap to do. I could even see pairing these two together, although it would probably be overkill. What I am saying, though, is if you decide to go with Fix-It but realize the kids need more spiral review and some diagramming then doing some of the CLE lessons mixed in with Fix-It might be the best of both worlds. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliotterae Posted March 10, 2015 Author Share Posted March 10, 2015 CLE LA and Fix-It Grammar are very different. What are you looking for in a program? Fix-It is more whole to parts and CLE is more parts to whole. FWIW, if you were going with Fix-It I would definitely use the newest version. I think you can look at samples of CLE LA. Maybe do the placement test for CLE (in fact, I would always do a placement test with the CLE materials) and just get a couple of light units to start out with, see if they might be a good fit? Cheap to do. I could even see pairing these two together, although it would probably be overkill. What I am saying, though, is if you decide to go with Fix-It but realize the kids need more spiral review and some diagramming then doing some of the CLE lessons mixed in with Fix-It might be the best of both worlds. I was just thinking that both might be best myself. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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