IEW - Convince Me

[Jackie]

I was given an older copy of TWS&S for free. Yay for free things!

 

Now, without trying to sound whiny, I never really considered IEW. What I know of it seems to be that it gives the very step-by-step, rule-following, "this is the correct way to write" lessons that drove all interest in writing out of me as a child. I still hate writing because of that instruction. My daughter is currently in kindergarten and I hate to think of taking away her current love of storytelling. We do BraveWriter style activities now and she loves it.

 

Yet, I can't seem to bring myself to sell it because it seems I should watch the DVDs now that they're in my house. I don't like to have things around I don't use, so it's either sell it or use it. It's a lot of hours watching videos... Convince me that I should watch them. Or convince me to skip it and just sell them.

[OneStepAtATime]

My suggestion?  If you can bring yourself to do it, wait.  Let it sit. She is very young.  Let her work through Bravewriter, have fun with fun writing, etc.  Then, as she progresses, if you run into struggles with more formalized writing, pull that sucker out and watch the videos.  See if it might be a good fit.  :)

 

 

[MerryAtHope]

My suggestion?  If you can bring yourself to do it, wait.  Let it sit. She is very young.  Let her work through Bravewriter, have fun with fun writing, etc.  Then, as she progresses, if you run into struggles with more formalized writing, pull that sucker out and watch the videos.  See if it might be a good fit.   :)

 

Absolutely. I wouldn't even worry about these for now--she's in K, and what you are doing is fun for her and working! Don't mess with that!

 

The IEW stuff can wait quite awhile. Consider loaning it to friends if it makes you feel better--maybe someone else would love to see the videos for their older student. 

[OneStepAtATime]

Absolutely. I wouldn't even worry about these for now--she's in K, and what you are doing is fun for her and working! Don't mess with that!

 

The IEW stuff can wait quite awhile. Consider loaning it to friends if it makes you feel better--maybe someone else would love to see the videos for their older student. 

What she said... and FWIW MerryAtHope is a smart cookie.   :laugh:

[Minerva]

Wait, if you can.

 

It is an expensive program, certainly isn't for everyone, but depending on your child can be very useful. If someone had showed me IEW when my daughter was in Kindergarten I would have poo pooed it for the same reasons you have an aversion to it. I have since discovered that my dd is dyslexic and dysgraphic and needs a very systematic approach to writing (and just about everything).  It sort of makes me cringe when I watch it, but has been just the thing that my dd needs to get her thoughts on paper. 

 

 

[OneStepAtATime]

Wait, if you can.

 

It is an expensive program, certainly isn't for everyone, but depending on your child can be very useful. If someone had showed me IEW when my daughter was in Kindergarten I would have poo pooed it for the same reasons you have an aversion to it. I have since discovered that my dd is dyslexic and dysgraphic and needs a very systematic approach to writing (and just about everything).  It sort of makes me cringe when I watch it, but has been just the thing that my dd needs to get her thoughts on paper. 

:iagree:

[Garga]

Wait. Keep them until she's old enough to use them, then decide.

[Jackie]

We're going to move at least once between now and when they may be more useful. I declutter/purge regularly as it is, but just about everything not being actively used gets tossed/sold/donated in a move. So while I understand the advice to hold on to it, it completely doesn't fit my preference for a small, decluttered house.

 

However, it sounds like people use it mostly with older kids? That makes selling it on ebay now and buying a used copy later if I want it an attractive option.

[OneStepAtATime]

Yes I think it works better with a bit older child.

[matrips]

There is a section or two in there I think that talks about doing IEW with younger children. Done orally, and to help them focus on a few key words to retell a story in their words.

 

I love IEW for my kids. They can actually write instead of just rambling or droning on with something, or worse, going blank at the idea of writing. It has created defined guidelines on how to find a topic, narrow a topic, what to include, and how to make the story/report interesting to read. We are now on 5 paragraph essays. Huge difference from two years ago.

[MerryAtHope]

We're going to move at least once between now and when they may be more useful. I declutter/purge regularly as it is, but just about everything not being actively used gets tossed/sold/donated in a move. So while I understand the advice to hold on to it, it completely doesn't fit my preference for a small, decluttered house.

 

However, it sounds like people use it mostly with older kids? That makes selling it on ebay now and buying a used copy later if I want it an attractive option.

 

I'd probably sell it in that case. I really don't see you using them for years (and if you do decide to use IEW later, you may even be somewhere that you could borrow the teacher videos, or that does IEW classes...)

[Lori D.]

While I didn't ever use IEW's programs, I found it helpful to hear Andrew Pudewa's tips (in 2 sessions at a homeschool convention) on how to do keyword outlines, and how to break up the process of writing over a week's time for young or struggling writers. You really can't put those techniques into practice until about 3rd/4th grade, but it was quite worthwhile (for me) to hear him run through the technique.

 

So, you might just run through the DVDs now (watch a little each night for 1-2 weeks) and then re-sell. That will give you some more tricks to store in your mental bag of teaching tricks for down the line…  ;) I also viewed the first 90 minutes of the DVD set with a friend, and that alone might be plenty for you for now.

 

 

[MEmama]

Gently, writing programs aren't for kindergarten. You have years before you'll need one, and there is no way to know now what she will require at that point. Have fun playing with Bravewriter now and don't worry about possible future needs. :)

 

(this is coming from a recent IEW convert. I could never have imagined 7 years ago using something so scaffolded, but it's been perfect for DS. It's also very flexible so it doesn't need to be dry or stifling *at all*. That wouldn't fly for us. I also couldn't have imagined having a reluctant writer and waiting until the 6th grade for formal writing, but there you go. Thankfully I have learned that waiting until your child is ready makes all the difference; when they are motivated they can learn a tremendous amount in a very short time--all without any of the tears and frustration that come from trying to push something too soon (not saying you are, OP).)

[eternallytired]

My perspective may be a little different because I know your daughter isn't a typical kindergartener...BUT I also haven't gone out and purchased TWSS yet, so take this with a grain of salt.

 

The good folks at IEW told me that if I have a child who is reading and writing solidly, there is no reason I couldn't start their material.  They recommended that I do Bible Heroes, but if that option didn't appeal they also suggested All Things Fun and Fascinating OR watching the TWSS and implementing the program slowly on my own.  (Saying your child is in kindergarten will automatically evoke a stop sign in most people's minds, but when your kid's abilities are several years ahead of their age, obviously you're not going to limit them to kindy material.)

 

There are some things that I love about IEW.  The Key Word Outline does help them to keep sentences from rambling on and on, as they are wont to do, and the story sequence chart is a great tool for planning a story that makes sense and is interesting to read.  Practicing dress-ups, I find, really does help them to internalize them and add interest to their writing.  Those dress-ups are explained in grammatical terms (clause, strong adverb), which I also like.  In general, IEW does a good job of teaching the basics of how to structure your writing and also make it sound nice.

 

Some elements of IEW I don't love.  Parts of it--like the story-writing section--seem to drag on eternally.  (I think we were supposed to spend something like 12 weeks working on four stories, doing a paragraph a week.  My oldest kept saying, "Are we doing the same story AGAIN?"  So I sped it up a bit.)  As far as the theme books go, if the writing selection doesn't grab your child, they are WAY unmotivated.  DD enjoyed the first couple Bible stories, but then she really wanted to choose her own topic.  She asked if she could work on Cinderella instead, so she worked on retelling small parts of Cinderella using KWOs and dress-ups while DS did Bible stories. 

 

Perhaps if I spent the money to get the TWSS, I would be head-over-heels.  (I really hesitate to pay for the new, but I don't dare buy used because who knows whether the DVDs will be all scratched up, and I may not find out until six months later when I finally finish watching them all.)  While I'm not generally a fan of rigidity, I do see value in copying a solid technique and practicing it until you are strong enough to make it your own.  (It works for writing, art, cooking...)  I plan to do more IEW programs in the future (maybe I should really buy TWSS...), but I don't plan to use IEW as my only writing program.  I'd vote that you watch the DVDs and take what you find useful to use in your own writing lessons (introduced more informally).  Or watch a few of Andrew Pudewa's videos online and see if you think it's worth seeing more.

[bethben]

I start IEW in 2nd grades with just simple paragraphs and key word outlines. I add more units in 3rd and by 4th, we're doing the whole program. I like IEW to teach skills, but don't continue it past 7th grade. I like it because it gives my math brain a formula to follow. I know what they need to write a paper and I know how to help them make it better. English is not my strong point and this gives me a systematic way of teaching writing.

 

Another reason I like it is because writing is a bunch of skills smushed together-- spelling, handwriting, punctuation, grammar, and what to write about. IEW takes out the "what to write about" so the child can concentrate on just the skill of writing paragraphs. I think it just makes things simpler.