Does this exist? Writing class for middle schooler question.

[Alice]

I'm looking for a writing class for my rising 7th grader. She LOVES writing, which is a new thing in our house (her two older brothers are not fans). She's a good natural writer and the one thing she wants to do more of next year is write. I can obviously give her writing assignments myself, and I'm fairly comfortable doing that. However, she also LOVES the few online classes she has taken and really thrives on feedback. (Because of that I've asked her if she would prefer to try public school next year and she wants to homeschool.) So I'd like to find an online class for her. 

I know what I'm not looking for more than what I am looking for: I'm not looking for something IEW like. We took one class using a local provider (who now runs an online very popular site) and it was horrible and about killed the small amount of tolerance for writing my oldest had. We have used a few Bravewriter classes and I like the idea but they have seemed very pricey for what you get. It's hard for me to justify it, and since they are so short it's hard to really have that be something where she gets to interact with a class/teacher. I've also thought about Lukeion. We used them for four years with my oldest and it was a great fit so I'm familiar with them. But she's both creative and a perfectionist. I worry that Lukeion will stress her out. But maybe they are different for the non-Latin classes? 

I am looking for something ideally year long, or at least a semester. Live would be better. A mix of creative writing and essays would be fabulous, but not essential. It would be fine to combine with literature, she's a strong reader. Mostly something where she can write a lot and get feedback from a teacher and also have a bit of interaction with a class. She's a kid who longs to have assignments to put in her planner and loves classes where she gets to chat with the other students a bit. 

[Farrar]

Some of the middle school writing classes at Aim Academy might be a good fit. Have you looked at Lantern? They're not live or the length you want (though you can just do more of them), but the feedback aspect might be about right.

[Alice]

Thanks, Farrar. Those are good thoughts. I’ll check them out. 

[kristin0713]

Have you looked at Bravewriter courses? They are expensive but sound like it might be the style you want. There is interaction with the instructor and other kids message-board style. My DD did the Write For Fun class a couple of years ago and enjoyed it.  We use Lantern now and it is just what we need, but that is correspondence style with the instructor and no interaction with other kids. 

[Alice]

Yes, we have done a couple. My daughter loves them because she likes the chat board and the interactions. But I have just found them a bit light for what you pay for. I love Bravewriter and we use a lot of the other materials, it’s just hard to justify the classes in the budget. I might end up letting her do one a semester and then supplement with other things. 

[kristin0713]

9 hours ago, Alice said:

But I have just found them a bit light for what you pay for.

I totally know what you are saying!  

I saw this company at a convention one year and spent a lot of time talking to the owner.  I have never used it, but it might be closer to what you are looking for. 

https://writefromtheheart.org 

[kristin0713]

I totally missed in your OP the you had already tried BW 🤦‍♀️

[Alice]

12 hours ago, kristin0713 said:

I totally missed in your OP the you had already tried BW 🤦‍♀️

No worries! I appreciate the suggestions, I’ll check out the one in your last post. 😃

[Random]

Have you tried Blue Tent?  They have a semester long creative writing course.

[Haanz]

WTMA also has a one semester creative writing class. And Athena’s has an 8-week WriteNOW Workshop.

[Emily ZL]

This is probably a stupid thing to mention, but where are you roughly located? I'm sure you've looked all around at your local options, but you mentioned that live would be best. Sometimes there are places IRL that offer extension classes for kids, like through companies that serve homeschoolers but also through local universities, or through tutoring companies. That might be an avenue to revisit.

[royspeed]

On 3/5/2021 at 1:14 PM, Alice said:

I am looking for something ideally year long, or at least a semester. Live would be better. A mix of creative writing and essays would be fabulous, but not essential. It would be fine to combine with literature, she's a strong reader. Mostly something where she can write a lot and get feedback from a teacher and also have a bit of interaction with a class. She's a kid who longs to have assignments to put in her planner and loves classes where she gets to chat with the other students a bit. 

Alice:

Your daughter may be a bit young for my course, and perhaps we should speak by phone.

Please have a look at this course description—
https://hscollegebound.com/HSCB-Blend-Logical-Communication.htm
—and then let me know if you'd like to discuss.

All the best.