Wednesday, November 10, 2010

The Write Foundation

TWFlogo.jpg image by homeschoolcrew

My MainMost has the heart and soul of a writer.  He has a passion for the written word and has a GOD-given talent.  When we first met, it was his lifelong dream to be a great American novelist.  I see GOD molding him and that dream in the neatest ways.

I enjoy writing myself--although the words do not flow as easily for me as they do for him.  I had the privilege of serving as editor of our college literary magazine and loved every minute of it--and my MainMost was one of the major contributors to it's success.

All that said, I have desired to instill the love of writing that he and I share in our children.   The oldest girls have kept notebooks to write and draw in for many years and the musician daughter has developed a love of journals (with textured papers) to rival my own.  The artist daughter has been heavily involved in writing an original fictional series as well.

It is wonderful to see them write and explore their feelings about the world we live in, but for schooling purposes we needed a more formal writing experience.  I have spent some time recently working with and editing several papers for a friend in college, and it reminded me that my children need to feel confident in writing and editing their own formal work.  As their parent and teacher, it is my job to make sure they have that confidence.

Imagine my delight when we were given an opportunity to use and review an Essay Writing curriculum by The Write Foundation.   Originally created by home educator Rebecca Celsor as a curriculum for her homeschool co-op,  The Write Foundation offers three levels of writing curriculum for use in the homeschool environment.  My oldest daughters are both in high school, so I chose Level 3, Essay Writing for our review.

We received a spiral-bound Teacher's Instruction Manual and notebook-ready Student Worksheets along with additional resources that explained the Grading System, Writing Checklists, Weekly Assignments and Reading Lists.  I provided a 3-ring binder, dividers, lined paper and a multi-colored pack of highlighters for each daughter.  MindBenders puzzle books were also recommended for use with the curriculum, but we chose to use logic puzzles found on the internet.  They worked just as well for us.

The girls enjoyed our "writing class time" and were intrigued by the more formal writing style being taught.  They enjoyed setting up the required class notebook and loved using the different colored highlighters to dissect both essays and outlines.  We noted that the practice sentences expressed strong opinions and the entire curriculum was written from a Christian perspective.  The girls especially loved writing the different types of poetry required throughout the lessons and used the logic exercises as personal contests between them.??  (The younger siblings even sat with us for that portion of the lesson!)



There are three different levels of writing curriculum available from The Write Foundation.

Each level contains 30 lessons and can be used in a one- or two-year format.  The complete syllabus with a detailed scope and sequence can be found on the website for each level--as well as sample lesson plans and sample worksheets.  I would encourage you to study over each level and consider which might be best-suited for your home.  If you have any questions at all concerning where to place your child(ren) in the curriculum, Mrs. Celsor welcomes your email or phone calls to discuss this with you.

Level 3, Essay Writing is available from The Write Foundation in its entirety for $100 plus tax/shipping and can be purchased here.   If you are looking to strengthen your child's writing skills and really teach them how to fall in love with writing, place your order today.  We plan to continue using Level 3, Essay Writing for the remainder of our school year.  My girls are gaining confidence in their writing abilities with each lesson.

~~I was given the opportunity to use and review Essay Writing, Level 3 by The Write Foundation. The opinions stated are mine and mine alone.  I was not paid to share my thoughts and feelings with you.  You can check out the Crew Review and see what other members of the TOS Homeschool Crew thought of Essay Writing here.~~ Pin It Now!

1 comment:

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your heart with me!