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Martha
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| Posted: July 12 2006 at 1:23pm | IP Logged
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okie-dokie. my dh thinks we need a seperate writing program in addition to seton's english/reading. I think seton is pretty impressive and comprehensive, but... I think what he is saying is we need to focus more onthe actual writing than the grammar... anyhoo... 
I'd like something that is good for teaching multiple grades at once...
I had a rather instant and strong DISlike of IEW, can't pinpoint why - just my personal feeling, kwim? It was very hard for me to wrap my brain around the methodology and I like writing usually.
Has anyone used Write On: Kid Friendly.... ?? It's available from Rainbow Resource for grades 3 - 8 and looks interesting and simple.
thanks.
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Martha
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materdei7
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| Posted: July 12 2006 at 2:20pm | IP Logged
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Martha, have you looked at Bravewriter yet?
I know a few moms here that have really liked it!
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Kathleen, mother of five on earth, three in heaven.
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shartlesville
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We just started using Writing Strands. Have you looked into that one? So far the kids like it. It has a lot of humor so I think that helps. 
I look forwarding to reading other responses.
Blessings,
Krisann
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marihalojen
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| Posted: July 12 2006 at 3:40pm | IP Logged
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I second the Bravewriter recommendation. You can see more of Julie's offerings here, make sure you visit her blog as well and click around, everyone has a favorite section (check out the catagories on the right) we like Friday Freewrites and Tuesday Teatimes.
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Erin
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Martha,
I also second and third the recommendation of Bravewriter. I have just finished reading Writer's Jungle and can't rave about it enough.
Julia Bogart's approach just soo speaks to me. For some reason I just have not felt confident enough to 'teach' writing. Fortunatley I haven't done anything really so I haven't killed an interest. We're all geared up and ready to start implementing Julia's ideas next week.
The best thing I like about Bravewriter is that it inspires confidence in you as a parent to help your child write, it is just so doable.
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lapazfarm
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Bravewriter is awesome!!!!!!I cannot say enough good things about it. My son went from a very reluctant writer to a child that writing a novel in his spare time. And LOVING it! I think it would be ideal for multiple levels as well. I guess I will find out this year as my dd starts K!
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Martha
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| Posted: July 12 2006 at 10:16pm | IP Logged
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I'm feeling really dumb ...  what exactly is Bravewriter? I went to the site and now I'm just more confused? A magazine subscription? Software? A workbook? What exactly is it and how is it used? 
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Martha
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amyable
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To continue Martha's line of questioning- What age is good to start Bravewriter? My 8 yo old writes "chapter books" in her spare time (although only I can read them - the spelling is all invented!!  ). Her latest series is called "The Adventurers". Each chapter is very short but she has the idea.
I think Bravewriter would be great for her when it's time because she has the inclination to write - but when is it time?  I don't want to spend a goodly sum of money on something that will be mostly unusable or over her head at this age.
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Mary G
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Another one you might want to look at is WriteGuide -- I was a writing consultant for them last year and I really like their methodology. Each student is given a "consultant" who guides a writing project(s) for a set amount of time. I had students writing short stories, term papers, personal essays -- just about any kind of writing you can think of.
Let me know if you have any questions...
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marihalojen
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To me, there are many levels of Bravewriter, start small and slow and build. The Tuesday Teatimes were where we began, I felt it was something worthwhile I could fit into my day. So we began to have a snack and drink and read POETRY once a week! Dd loved it and soon we had classical music and candles and special folded napkins and (most important) she began to bring the poetry she wanted to share with me.
So then I added the Friday Freewrites. She has a special small notebook and a special place under the Tiki Hut she sits to write every Friday. Again the important part is the enthusiasim she has for this.
Julie has e-mail reminders that help you remember something you might want to do today - very CM too, Art Appreciation, Nature Walk, Copywork. If it doesn't work for you that day, delete it and try again next week.
I've not subscribed to the online magazines, or her classes yet, dd and I are still building up to it. But there is lots of online support for writing, it seems.
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Martha
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umm, still not sure what or how Bravewriter is actually used. Is it just a writing prompter/incentive kind of thing?
Either way, I really need something that is not electronics dependent. We have 1 computer with dial-up and already have math, spanish and typing on the computer for 3 of them. (2 - 3 hours a day 1 of them is on the computer) I don't think we can handle having another subject times 3 kids on the computer schedule.
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Katie
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I keep thinking I should subscribe to Bravewriter for ME! Maybe there's a novel in here somewhere??
Anyway, to answer your question: I alos felt that we needed something a bit more formal. Lots of writing gets done, but I always felt there wasn't much to show for it. Plus, if the kids did a lot of work on a lapbook or something, I didn't have the heart to require additional writing exercises. So this year I've ordered these journals from LovetoLearn. I'm hoping that they will provide me with the flexibility I need, but I hope we will have a nice record of writing and the progress made, too. If I want to skip a day I can, and I can mix it up with different journal starters or ideas if needed (Bravewriter?), or tie in to what we're studying if I want. If I decide we need to start spelling I can use it as a spelling book, too.
I haven't actually received this yet, so this is not a real recommendation!!
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TracyQ
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Martha,
Julie sells manuals as well, *The Writer's Jungle*, and *Help for High School* which explain how you implement her writing program. They're manuals which help you to teach your child the writing program, not consumable books. You can order those here:
The Writer's Jungle
We've also used Wordsmith books (Wordsmith Apprentice, Wordsmith, and Wordsmith Craftsman) by Janie B. Cheaney. Our oldest really loved the way she wrote to him directly, and found it very interesting, particularly Wordsmith Apprentice. And he's written a 130 page science fiction story, and is in the process of writing the sequel. So I figure it helped him to love writing!
You can see it here, and see sample pages: Wordsmith writing books
You can find her books sold in many different homeschool catalogs though. Hope this helps!
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Tracy Q.
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Martha
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Katie wrote:
| So this year I've ordered these journals from LovetoLearn. I'm hoping that they will provide me with the flexibility I need, but I hope we will have a nice record of writing and the progress made, too. |
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That does look interesting... can of like a year long lapbook of writing! 
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materdei7
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Martha,
If you go to julie's bravewriter page, and look under the Arrow order and info... you'll find a free sample
of her Farmer Boy....check it out
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Martha
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Thank you Kathleen, that helped a bit!
Now I have questions about that..
Is the "Arrow" an e-subscription or a text/worktext or teacher guide or is it meant to compliment certain literary works like a unit study? I see the sample is on Little House for example. What if we aren't reading little house?
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Natalia
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Martha,
The Arrow is a LA resource. It provides a source for Copywork, dictation and it also includes a writing exercise for the month. At the beginning of the school year she post a reading list. The copywork and dictation passages that she provides in the Arrow are taken from those books.
In the Arrow she discusses why she chose those particular passages and what to teach your students about them. The passages are not included in the Arrow in their entirety because of copyright issues. She provides the beginning and end of the passage and the page number. So to benefit from the Arrow you will need to have the books even if you are not actually reading them. If the book is one that you already have read, you can still use the copywork and dictation passages.
I have not been consistent using the Arrow, mostly because I still have to find the book and copy the passage to give to my dc to copy. i don't always do it in time. When I get pass that difficulty (It really was more convinient when she was able to copy the full text of the passage) I think the Arrow is a great resource. It exposes the kids to good writing and helps them to recognize what elements make good writing.
Natalia
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Martha
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Thank you Natalia that gives me a much better picture.
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MichelleW
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Martha,
The components of Bravewriter are:
The Writer's Jungle--A book. The philosophy and technique for teaching writing according to Julie Bogart. You can implement the program with just this manual if you choose to. The book includes ideas for pre-writing exercises, writing stages, revising/editing/mechanics and publishing. It is an inspirational book, sort of like "Real Learning" only for writing. It describes a method in theory and in practice.
The Arrow--a downloadable monthly help for tying literature to writing. Natalia described it well. The way I've used it is by going through her lists from past years and buying just the issues that tye-in with the books I know we will be reading this year. For example, I knew that ds would be reading "The Cricket in Times Square" and "Homer Price" last year, so I bought just those two issues. While it is an electronic resource, I don't consider us to be dependent on it as an electronic resource per se, because when I order it I download it, save it to a disk and then print it and put it in ds's reading file.
The Scratch Pad--a bonus help for those implenting the method as outlined in "The Writer's Jungle." This is what is so helpful. When ds writes something, I can post it here and get feedback on it. Haven't done this yet, but knowing it is available is really nice.
The blog--for specific writing prompts. I use this often for freewrite ideas. Not always. We do a lot on our own, but it is nice to have these available.
I'm sure I've forgotten something...
Michelle
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Martha
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Thank you Michelle!
That was a very descriptive over-view and helped me see it too!
I'm still not sure what I'm going to do, but I have time to think and dwell and ponder all the possiblities...
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Martha
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4Real Forums : Language Arts Come Alive
Topic: Writing programs
