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My ds is a reluctant writer that has always struggled to put his thoughts down on paper. Using HOD for the last 2 years has really helped this, but he still will sit and look at me sometimes and say "I don't know what to write." When he does write I have always had to really encourage him to go beyond very simple sentences. He often will get frustrated. Well after just 2 weeks I am already seeing huge gains in his writing. He wrote a very good paragraph off of a source document today in IEW with no help from me! He did a great job of putting in all the elements he was supposed to and using his own words. The fun thing was when he was finishing up he was so excited because he knew his paragraph sounded good and that he had done it himself. He actually shouted woo hoo at the end and was singing and dancing around. Not out of pride, but just so excited to have actually done it all on his own. The things he is learning there are then carrying over to other things. When he did his postcard for research he wasn't happy with simple sentences. He would read it and say, that isn't a good sentence, it is boring, and he would liven it up some.

Thank you for sharing this! Gives me hope for my "reluctant writer"!
Way to go!

I agree!
We are doing the IEW writing too and it is really pushing and stretching, but we are very pleased with what is being produced when it is all said and done. It is fantastic.

I am really pleased with this too. I have used IEW in the past, but I have been tickled about how easy Carrie breaks down the assignments. We have 2 completed writing assignments that are really well done by all three of the children using RTR. It was painless. Despite some trials (non-school related) this summer, our school year is off to a superb start. HOD is a big part of that. The kids are also loving their history and science folders. My daughter says at least a couple of times a week how beautiful the HOD RTR notebook pages are.

arstephia wrote:I agree!
We are doing the IEW writing too and it is really pushing and stretching, but we are very pleased with what is being produced when it is all said and done. It is fantastic.

DITTO!

And, I also love how Carrie breaks down the lessons into such nice, do-able pieces!

I can't figure out what IEW stands for. Is this part of HOD?

IEW stands for Institute for Excellence in Writing. It is the writing program used in RTR.

We love IEW Medieval Writing also. My dd has gained such confidence in writing beautiful paragraphs. I also like the way the lessons are broken down into just the right amount for each day. Thank you Carrie!

LynnH wrote:...He actually shouted woo hoo at the end and was singing and dancing around. Not out of pride, but just so excited to have actually done it all on his own. The things he is learning there are then carrying over to other things. When he did his postcard for research he wasn't happy with simple sentences. He would read it and say, that isn't a good sentence, it is boring, and he would liven it up some.

WOW did I love reading this, Lynn! Gotta love that boy, what a sweetheart! Woo hoo for you, Noah! I was hoping the format would appeal to him, and I'm so glad it has.

In Christ,
Julie