bnwhitaker Posted March 15, 2019 Share Posted March 15, 2019 My boys are in 8th grade. Im looking for a writing program for this next 2-3 months and into next year, 9th. My goal is to get them into Bravewriter's Essay Prep online courses. Background info. *They did IEW in 4th, 5th, 6th (classical conversations). - they did okay *7th we tried WWS (fail- I realized I needed to outsource) this program was not for us at all. Took anything fun out of it for us and it overwhelmed me. NO CLASSICAL CONVERSATIONS this year. *8th we did Challenge B Classical Conversations - We were a year behind in Lost Tools of writing since all the other children had already done it in Challenge A. So I signed them up for an online course of LTW through Circe Institute ($$$$ for the year) which we found out was WAY over their heads. The amount of work they wanted them to each week was way overwhelming for my 2 boys. It was over and above what their regular workbook required. They began to hate writing. We dropped it. bye bye money since Circe would not refund any of it after 6 weeks (pd for the whole year) :( Very disappointed in them. I later on found out this program was more for a HS level age range. But CC just loves to do things that are above level LOL. Anyway.... (fail- again) *second semester 8th - they moved on to short stories through CC which we are doing now. They really like it BUT...………… Even though they are doing what CC asks them there really is NO TEACHING on how to write well or anyone to look over their work. They are enjoying it for now. I pulled them from CC for other reasons (IM so over it after 6 years) and they STILL WANTED TO FINISH their short story :) That makes me happy and shows me they enjoy writing more than they were thinking. So I was going to put them right in to Essay Prep with Bravewriter next year 9th. But after seeing how much they have never really learned or need more help in Im thinking they might need to do a year of just a good overview writing program. I need something that is easy for ME too :( Im not a good writer and personally can not help them to gain strength Love your thoughts please * I will be doing Analytical Grammar with them. They have a decent grasp on grammar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted March 15, 2019 Share Posted March 15, 2019 I’ve used Jump In with two children. It’s straight forward and works well. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 (edited) 🙂 Edited October 18, 2023 by SilverMoon 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another Lynn Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 Also, you might check with Bravewriter..... do they really need prep for Essay prep? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bnwhitaker Posted March 22, 2019 Author Share Posted March 22, 2019 On 3/20/2019 at 4:36 AM, Another Lynn said: Also, you might check with Bravewriter..... do they really need prep for Essay prep? I guess I don't know. I figured it was the step before the Expository Essay so they would need it. But that is a good question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another Lynn Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 (edited) 2 hours ago, bnwhitaker said: I guess I don't know. I figured it was the step before the Expository Essay so they would need it. But that is a good question. Sorry, I didn't say it well. I understand that the Essay Prep classes will prepare them for Expository Essay, but do they need to complete something else (Jump In, etc.) before they're ready for Essay Prep? I kind of thought the Essay Prep classes were good entry level classes based on their descriptions. Edited March 23, 2019 by Another Lynn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bnwhitaker Posted March 25, 2019 Author Share Posted March 25, 2019 On 3/22/2019 at 5:43 PM, Another Lynn said: Sorry, I didn't say it well. I understand that the Essay Prep classes will prepare them for Expository Essay, but do they need to complete something else (Jump In, etc.) before they're ready for Essay Prep? I kind of thought the Essay Prep classes were good entry level classes based on their descriptions. Sorry I misunderstood that. I do see what you are saying now 🙂 I think possibly the problem is I don't know what they need to know..... I'm embarrassed to admit that. I felt to scared to jump into bravewriters essay prep classes thinking that I don't want to leave anything out they should be learning from Jr. High. I looked over those other curriculums and things like poetry, short story, book reports, and all the others are things they have never really been taught. Do they need them? I'm not sure? Would skipping them be a bad thing for any reason? I don't feel like they remember much from IEW in elementary. Even though they were doing it... did they really even know what they were doing, we were going so fast in CC and blowing right through it all. Probably only the first level or bottom foundation is what they understood. Right now they are writing a "short story", on their own from when they were doing CC. They are just going for it. They are thinking through parts like the characters and story line. THEY think they know what they are doing and I have shut my mouth and let them write because they are pretty into it. BUT I do know there actual ways to write better and IM sure a ton they are not doing so "right" 🙂 I think Im just confused on what they should do next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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