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Ok, we r not loving "Write with the best". Maybe I am speaking too soon. But Any body else not love it and dropped it/went with another writing program? Or should we just give it a chance and continue a few more weeks/months?. We r only on unit 2. If u chose something else, what did u choose? TIA!

I was really struggling with this book as well. Below is a link to my thread that I had previously created and has some wonderful help with:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=15686

I ended up sticking it out. I did look at using Igniting Your Writing. HOD used to sell it but I don't know if they sell it anymore. I do think it is still in their catalog though. When I reviewed that book and compared it with WWTB, I ended up picking WWTB because of the diversity and I liked that my kids were creating pictures in their minds and then using words to describe what they saw. I felt like WWTB might not have been quite my teaching style but it has pushed me and stretched me as the parent. I do like the idea of the book as a whole and I like that my dd can be creative in her writing. I also like that if you have a child who is great a writing, it will make them better. If you have a child that isn't, it will help them grow. We have finished the 3rd unit. And while I didn't particularly like the end result of my dd's paper on describing an individual (not her fault, I just didn't care for what she chose to describe), I did like the activities in the book that helped her think about how you would describe an individual. And the other think I like about this particular book is how the work load is spread out. I feel like we accomplish a lot of thought on why would write what we write and I like the outline activities that the book has you complete. All in all, I guess the book has grown on me and I am glad for sticking it out. It seems like with HOD that they choose a good variety of resources for writing. I must admin that I personally like that my kids aren't always learning from the same author each year. That way my kids have a variety of styles to try out and a variety of lenses to tackle their writing from.

In the thread Daneale referenced I talked about making sure you aren't trying to find all the adjectives, vivid nouns etc. I see people who don't like WWTB complaining about this activity all the time and it is usually because they are spending way too much time on it and making their dc find all the words that are in the teachers guide. Spend a short time on it and have them find as many as they can and move on. My ds really grew in his writing ability by using Write with the Best. The wonderful thing about HOD is that you get different writing programs each year. So the dc are exposed to many different styles of teaching writing. Some may click more with a certain child, but they will learn different things from each one. My ds is now in 9th grade and I am really starting to see the fruit of the different writing programs. His writing has grown by leaps and bounds this year and I truly thing it is due to all the different approaches and the way each program emphasizes different things.

In general I don't ever make any judgements about any curriculum until I have used it for 2 months, because then you start to hit your groove and you can start to see the why for certain things because the how becomes easier.

We used it for about half the guide. It was pulling teeth every time, and was tears of frustration. She would try really hard, and just couldn't do it. So I put it away the rest of the year. She loves the writing in Res to Ref though. So I think just whatever it was about WWTB just didn't work for her.

Thanks guys! I feel much more motivated and encouraged now to stick it out longer and give it a chance!