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knowloveserve
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| Posted: April 06 2015 at 6:36pm | IP Logged
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I bought IEW last summer and watched a couple of the DVDs to get myself started... telling myself that I'd watch the whole teacher series as we went along.
I did Units 1 & 2 with the boys. I think the technique is excellent and the program just about perfect in what you want for training up young writers.
Yet, we haven't been able to make it stick. 
And this isn't the program's fault, I don't think. My life just got to feeling so hectic and busy that we were gutting through our school day and never able to make time for the teacher intensive IEW.
So now it sits idle on my shelf. And I've regressed my 12 and 10 year olds back to copywork, dictation and occasional LOG busy work just to feel like we are doing something... anything.
I think my major struggle in teaching writing comes from the ironic fact that I have been a writer for as long as I remember. So it's hard for me to relate to boys who don't "get" it at all. I read Bravewriter and loved it but found it hard to actually implement into a systematic plan.
Was wondering... among all the rave reviews from most of you ladies on here... if anyone ever gave up on IEW and why?
I'm telling myself that I'm going to have an IEW-intensive summer. But now that may take a backseat to my other falling-off-the-truck subjects requiring a Latin-intensive summer or a Shakespeare-intensive summer. 
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Ellie
The Bleeding Pelican
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Aagot
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| Posted: April 06 2015 at 7:50pm | IP Logged
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No help on the quiting part. But I do understand gutting. What if you did a month of Shakespeare, a month of iew and a month of latin over the summer and call it good.
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pumpkinmom
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| Posted: April 06 2015 at 9:49pm | IP Logged
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Same here! I think our problem is that it's just not simple. It takes a lot of brain power to use that program. My boys are not a fan of Andrew Pudewa either and disliked the lessons. I don't understand that part at all as I could listen to him teach all day and not get bored.  The lessons were also longer than my son could sit through and when I split them up we were not consistent on doing the lessons everyday and therefore the lesson kept stretching out and forgotten in between.
I only used it with my oldest last year. He would love a lesson and then hate it the next day. This didn't help me to make sure that it got done.
Overall, I liked the program. I needed to spend more time teaching it to myself and that was the downfall. I needed to be more involved and I just didn't have the time to pull that off last year.
I went ahead and purchased the program that teaches you how to teach the writing program. I have a weekend coming up that I will be the only one home and I plan to go through it all during that time. I will then teach writing from that and not use the writing intensive program. I may purchase the theme writing books. This will allow me to be more consistent with lesson times. And my boys won't have to complain about the video lessons! (Acutally they dislike all video lessons, not just Andrew . . . they are a little weird that way!)
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Cassie
Homeschooling my little patch of Ds-14 and Ds-10
Tending the Pumpkin Patch
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Aagot
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| Posted: April 07 2015 at 12:19am | IP Logged
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Cassie reminded me; i did listen to all the twss dvds before begining to teach. I found that very helpful because I knew where I was headed. I have not used the student intensive but only the themed books. We have also not done it every year. In between years, i use what we have learned and adapted it to what we are studying.
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SeaStar
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| Posted: April 07 2015 at 6:46am | IP Logged
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I also watched all the TWSS dvds before teaching... I watched them over the summer. It was a huge time commitment, but I know I would not have squeezed them in during the school year.
It all does seem overwhelming at first, but once we got going, it was pretty easy to keep up.
Things that helped:
I set up a a notebook for each child during the summer (had copies of all that they needed ready to go for the year.)
My kids like watching dvds and learning from them; they also thought Mr. Pudewa was funny. Now, that is not to say they jump for joy every day at IEW time... they "love to hate him", lol. They groan as they get out their notebooks, but then they laugh during the dvd and often continue writing after the timer goes off.
I use a timer: 20 minutes daily. When the timer goes off, the dvd stops.
If they are writing and want to continue for a bit, that is fine.
When a lesson is done for the week, it's done. If we start a lesson on Monday of one week and finish it up on Wednesday of the next, then we don't start a new one until the next Monday.
Using that 20 minute timer has been key for us, I think. Twenty minutes is not that long, and yet you can do a lot with it if you are consistent.
We recently finished the Student Intensive B and now have gone onto a theme book, All Things Fun and Fascinating, that I picked up used.
We like both formats- the theme book and the dvds.
So this isn't really answering your question, Ellie, but if I didn't have my "I can do anything for twenty minutes" motto, I can see how it might have been tempting to feel all bogged down and quit. 
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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mamaslearning
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| Posted: April 07 2015 at 6:56am | IP Logged
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I have the teacher materials, but not the student dvds. We went with the themed materials All Things Fun and Fascinating, and the only reason it's getting done is because I'm teaching five other students in my home twice a month. I like what they've learned so far, and I'll incorporate the style into further writing, but for next year my oldest will do Beyond The Book Report.
It was definitely worth using, and my oldest (5th) has learned quite a bit, and is more confident as a writer.
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jawgee
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| Posted: April 07 2015 at 11:53am | IP Logged
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My 13YO is doing IEW as part of our co-op this year. For me personally, with all the different ages I am trying to accommodate, I find a co-op setting better for a program like this.
Next year my 10YO will begin IEW, too. We're planning to start with All Things Fun and Fascinating with about 6-8 kids total.
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Monica
C (12/2001), N (11/2005), M (5/2008), J (8/2009) and three angels
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folklaur
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| Posted: May 01 2015 at 5:59pm | IP Logged
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Last year, my then-11yo was doing it with our local co-op.
We hated it.
I really, really do not get why it is often considered the gold standard, but I know it is, but I feel it is a YMMV type of thing.
But, yes, we quit it and I do not regret that decision for a moment.
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: Has anyone ever quit IEW?
