Super to see literally how you practically have used the transferable skills from IEW, -into various journals as well as other subjects. Great! Your daughter has done so well! Thank you so much for putting this video together! Yes it was inspiring thank you!
After 3 children, homeschooled, and then to traditional school, this program helped all of us through graduate school(one son UPenn Law). It is an incredible program! Do not look any further.
Thank you so much for sharing your insight and experience!! I think it's an excellent program as well, and love hearing that it worked for your family!!
I did iew as a kid and actually HATED it. All the dress-ups and sentence openers, especially in the latter grades, really annoyed and frustrated me. I always say, yes it made me a good writer and I did well in college. HOWEVER, the pain to get there wasn't worth with it in my opinion. BUT now I'm homeschooling a 12 year old and he has a hard time figuring out how to start writing. We're currently going through essentials in writing and I'm not a fan that until 8th grade the first half is only grammar. So I'm planning on finishing the book we're on (we haven't even gotten to the writing portion yet) and depending how well the writing goes we might just try iew to help him with structure
Sorry for the slow reply! If the sentence openers and all that get too frustrating, just skip those in some of the assignments, and only require them occasionally! That honestly what I do :)
I didn't when I initially started the program. I began by just watching the student videos with my daughter. I eventually did do the teacher training and enjoyed it, but I do feel like it's not required.
What level of IEW did you start with? I'm starting the program with my 11 year old daughter who is a great reader but struggles with writing. Your review was so helpful!! Thank you!
Sorry for the slow reply! You could start with All Things Fun and Fascinating if you want something lighter and do no want the video course. If you want the video instruction, I would do Structure and Style for Students Level A, Year 1. I would plan to do it over two years!
Thank you so much for this! I am looking into buying it now and your "pre-iew" describes what we are going through now. Your videos have also helped a ton with me figuring out what to buy in their kind-of-overwhelming website and plethora of products.
Have you ever used Writing & Rhetoric by Classical Academic Press? I keep going back and forth in my mind trying to decide between that one and IEW for my sons. I've looked at samples, but I'm still struggling with this decision.
I have peeked at W&R but haven't used it myself! Something to think about is if you would enjoy the video lessons (IEW) or prefer it all to be print based. IEW has print based materials too, but for jumping into the program, starting with the Structure and Style for Students, that has the video lessons, is really the best place to start and the video instruction is excellent!
Thanks for the follow up. Several years later, are you still using IEW? Has it continued to provide what you were looking for? And have you cycled back to Brave Writer to any degree?
If they are both new to IEW then I think Level A is a great place for both of them to start! You can modify the assignments so your 4th grader doesn't need to do as much writing as the 6th grader. You can either have the 4th grader just do less, or have them write half the assignment and then dictate half the assignment to you. You could even take turns writing the sentences, or however best suits your personalities, but I do think you can make it work for both children!
Thank you! I appreciate the comment and it makes me happy you found it useful! I will have a new video up next week about IEW's newest curriculum, Structure and Style for Students, which I'm excited to share!
I have the same issue of not feeling able to show my daughter how to funnel all the info into writing. IEW lives at a higher price point than I usually spend, but it sounds worthwhile after watching your review and one other. I especially appreciate your detailed explanation!
Thank you! It has worked really well for us. I would just recommend going through it very slowly! We really took our time and didn't rush. By doing that it made it very manageable and not overwhelming for us.
What does the teacher intensive include? Does it go through the steps as they do them, or how does the teacher intensive help as the parent? Thanks for this review!
The purpose of the teacher intensive is to teach you how to teach the units. There is a DVD lesson for each unit (1 and 2 combined), and it walks you through a lesson, while giving tips on how to teach it, and what things to pay attention to. I really liked it personally, but I like that kind of thing! You wouldn't have to watch all the dvds at once. You could do about one a month as that is how long you would plan to spend on each of the 9 units.
Karla this has been so helpful!!! My kids go to a hybrid home-school/charter school and one of them is all set up on IEW through the school, but my older one I was vacillating on which program to do, but you've really helped me to figure it out!!
This is exactly what I needed! Thank you for this review and especially after been using it for a while. I was worried that this might fizzle out for us like other curriculum. We have never tried a writing program before and I see this a growing weakness in my sons. This sounds great! Thank you so much for putting aside any reservations I had.
I'm so glad you found it helpful! I know all about being excited over a new curriculum, and then it fizzling out, but this one really has worked well for us! As my kids get older, they are becoming more and more independent with the assignments as well, which is a huge bonus!
I love all of the examples given on how you applied what you learned from IEW to other areas. I'm looking into purchasing this for my son because he struggles a lot to write anything. He's like a deer in headlights. A question about the curriculum: If I purchase this along with the DVDs, do I purchase the DVDs again for the next level or are they for all levels including HS? Thank you!
I think you are referring to the teacher DVDs (Teaching Writing with Style and Structure)? If that's the case, then you only purchase those once, and they equip you the parent to teach every level. I found them extremely helpful!
Thanks for your review! It has convinced me to try out IEW. I’m looking forward to doing the teacher training book so I can better understand how to help my children with their writing. 🥰
Hi! You’re videos have been so helpful! I’m starting our first year of homeschooling. My son is in fourth grade. Is IEW and Fix it Grammar combined enough for language arts? Do I need to add anything in? Thank u!!
Yes!! That is more than enough for language arts!! Depending what product you got, you may find that you do it and fix it over two years, and that would be perfectly great too!
If you use IEW and a solid math curriculum, you will find that you’re pretty set! You could do some studies on topics of interest that your child has, and swap back and forth between social and science themed things. For example, learn all about sharks for a couple weeks, then study Africa, or something like that using books from the library, Usborne books, etc. 😊
Cathy Duffy’s site seems to indicate that an advanced phonics program may also be helpful for some students- I decided to add on the IEW phonics / spelling program because my child doesn’t love to read. They have an option for $29 without the audio that helps to make it more affordable; the only difference is that an adult or older sibling will have to read the words to the student every school day.
Hi! Sorry for the slow reply! The concepts are the same, but the layout is MUCH more user friendly. I just received the new Structure and Style in the mail today, and it looks very impressive! I will work on getting a review out on it in a couple of weeks!
Yes! I have tons of experience with IEW! After trying different things over the years I think it is by far the best writing program out there. We love it! I would just encourage you to do your research, and maybe watch more of my reviews, to make sure you select the right product. It's an advanced program so I always find it's better to get easier than you think you will need.
@@favored4life Sorry! I flipped the letters in my mind! We used Essentials In Writing for one year. It's a solid program and easy to follow with fairly short lessons. Our biggest complaint was that it was dry, and I didn't like how the grammar and writing assignments were split up. I like combining elements. That being said, EIW is super easy to use, and if you are looking for something your child can do very independently, that could be a good fit. My daughter didn't mind it, but she didn't want to use it again the following year either.
The best IEW review I have ever watched and I have watched many. Thank you! 🌸We have IEW sitting on our shelf for almost two years for fear of using it. It looks intimidating but your video is a motivation. We will star the program in August for sure. Thank you again for a great video🌸
What kind words! Thank you!! If you just dive in, it's really not as scary as it looks! Do you have the Student Writing Intensive? My biggest piece of advice to to keep moving through it. Don't get stuck thinking that your child needs to have mastered each skill perfectly before you move on. If you continue with IEW's theme books (which are really fun!), they practice all the same things, so I think if you look at it as an introduction, it takes the pressure off! Also, we didn't do ANY of the Reinforcement Exercises listed in the lessons. We ONLY did the articles/projects that they went through on the DVDs, and this kept us feeling like we were making good progress!
Karla Canon Thank you.🌷Yes, we purchased everything including the Ancient History and Fairy Tales... theme books. I will follow your kind advice for sure. I loved the way you presented the real, final result. Thank you so much for the encouragement🌸🌸
I hope it goes well for you! We liked some of the lessons from the Fairy Tales and Myths, but we also skipped many of them too, so don't feel tied to doing every single thing, and hopefully that will keep it fun for all of you! :)
Thank you so much! This helps a lot. My son has Aspergers and writing has been difficult, but I think this program will work. He needs everything broken into small steps. Thanks again.
You bet!! I have heard success stories for children with Aspergers using IEW as it is very structured. You can also go as slowly as they need to feel comfortable, which is great too!
Please continue to share. The length of the video was irrelevant since the entire video was helpful. Thank you for sharing! 😁👍
Thank you!
Super to see literally how you practically have used the transferable skills from IEW, -into various journals as well as other subjects. Great! Your daughter has done so well! Thank you so much for putting this video together! Yes it was inspiring thank you!
I'm so glad it was helpful!! I have found what my kids learn in IEW is used in every aspect of real life writing!
After 3 children, homeschooled, and then to traditional school, this program helped all of us through graduate school(one son UPenn Law). It is an incredible program! Do not look any further.
Thank you so much for sharing your insight and experience!! I think it's an excellent program as well, and love hearing that it worked for your family!!
I did iew as a kid and actually HATED it. All the dress-ups and sentence openers, especially in the latter grades, really annoyed and frustrated me. I always say, yes it made me a good writer and I did well in college. HOWEVER, the pain to get there wasn't worth with it in my opinion. BUT now I'm homeschooling a 12 year old and he has a hard time figuring out how to start writing. We're currently going through essentials in writing and I'm not a fan that until 8th grade the first half is only grammar. So I'm planning on finishing the book we're on (we haven't even gotten to the writing portion yet) and depending how well the writing goes we might just try iew to help him with structure
Sorry for the slow reply! If the sentence openers and all that get too frustrating, just skip those in some of the assignments, and only require them occasionally! That honestly what I do :)
Excellent video. Thank you (from PEI). Did you take the teachers course? Apologies if I missed that.
I didn't when I initially started the program. I began by just watching the student videos with my daughter. I eventually did do the teacher training and enjoyed it, but I do feel like it's not required.
I literally wanted to cry watching this. Your review is telling me we've chosen the right curriculum for this year! Thanks!
I'm so happy you found it helpful! We have been using IEW for 3 years now, and it's the best thing we've ever added to our homeschool!
What level of IEW did you start with? I'm starting the program with my 11 year old daughter who is a great reader but struggles with writing. Your review was so helpful!! Thank you!
Sorry for the slow reply! You could start with All Things Fun and Fascinating if you want something lighter and do no want the video course. If you want the video instruction, I would do Structure and Style for Students Level A, Year 1. I would plan to do it over two years!
Thank you so much for this! I am looking into buying it now and your "pre-iew" describes what we are going through now. Your videos have also helped a ton with me figuring out what to buy in their kind-of-overwhelming website and plethora of products.
Have you ever used Writing & Rhetoric by Classical Academic Press? I keep going back and forth in my mind trying to decide between that one and IEW for my sons. I've looked at samples, but I'm still struggling with this decision.
I have peeked at W&R but haven't used it myself! Something to think about is if you would enjoy the video lessons (IEW) or prefer it all to be print based. IEW has print based materials too, but for jumping into the program, starting with the Structure and Style for Students, that has the video lessons, is really the best place to start and the video instruction is excellent!
do you also use Fix it Grammar from that company?
Yes! Not every year, but we LOVED the first book. The books after the first do get harder fairly quickly.
Thanks for the follow up. Several years later, are you still using IEW? Has it continued to provide what you were looking for? And have you cycled back to Brave Writer to any degree?
We are still using IEW all these years later and continue to love it!
Question Karla: would you recommend SSS 1A for a 4th and 6th to do together? or should I get level B for the 6h grader? Thanks
If they are both new to IEW then I think Level A is a great place for both of them to start! You can modify the assignments so your 4th grader doesn't need to do as much writing as the 6th grader. You can either have the 4th grader just do less, or have them write half the assignment and then dictate half the assignment to you. You could even take turns writing the sentences, or however best suits your personalities, but I do think you can make it work for both children!
Love this so much, thank you for the great ideas and for all of the awesome info on IEW. Truly appreciate it.
Thank you! I appreciate the comment and it makes me happy you found it useful! I will have a new video up next week about IEW's newest curriculum, Structure and Style for Students, which I'm excited to share!
I have the same issue of not feeling able to show my daughter how to funnel all the info into writing. IEW lives at a higher price point than I usually spend, but it sounds worthwhile after watching your review and one other. I especially appreciate your detailed explanation!
Thank you! It has worked really well for us. I would just recommend going through it very slowly! We really took our time and didn't rush. By doing that it made it very manageable and not overwhelming for us.
What does the teacher intensive include? Does it go through the steps as they do them, or how does the teacher intensive help as the parent? Thanks for this review!
The purpose of the teacher intensive is to teach you how to teach the units. There is a DVD lesson for each unit (1 and 2 combined), and it walks you through a lesson, while giving tips on how to teach it, and what things to pay attention to. I really liked it personally, but I like that kind of thing! You wouldn't have to watch all the dvds at once. You could do about one a month as that is how long you would plan to spend on each of the 9 units.
@@karlacanon2507 ok, thanks for sharing!
Karla this has been so helpful!!! My kids go to a hybrid home-school/charter school and one of them is all set up on IEW through the school, but my older one I was vacillating on which program to do, but you've really helped me to figure it out!!
This is exactly what I needed! Thank you for this review and especially after been using it for a while. I was worried that this might fizzle out for us like other curriculum. We have never tried a writing program before and I see this a growing weakness in my sons. This sounds great! Thank you so much for putting aside any reservations I had.
I'm so glad you found it helpful! I know all about being excited over a new curriculum, and then it fizzling out, but this one really has worked well for us! As my kids get older, they are becoming more and more independent with the assignments as well, which is a huge bonus!
I love all of the examples given on how you applied what you learned from IEW to other areas. I'm looking into purchasing this for my son because he struggles a lot to write anything. He's like a deer in headlights. A question about the curriculum: If I purchase this along with the DVDs, do I purchase the DVDs again for the next level or are they for all levels including HS? Thank you!
I think you are referring to the teacher DVDs (Teaching Writing with Style and Structure)? If that's the case, then you only purchase those once, and they equip you the parent to teach every level. I found them extremely helpful!
Thanks for your review! It has convinced me to try out IEW. I’m looking forward to doing the teacher training book so I can better understand how to help my children with their writing. 🥰
I'm so excited for you! I loved the teacher training and have learned so much! :)
Hi! You’re videos have been so helpful! I’m starting our first year of homeschooling. My son is in fourth grade. Is IEW and Fix it Grammar combined enough for language arts? Do I need to add anything in? Thank u!!
Amber, I am wondering the same. I would like to know what curriculum would coincide with IEW.
Yes!! That is more than enough for language arts!! Depending what product you got, you may find that you do it and fix it over two years, and that would be perfectly great too!
If you use IEW and a solid math curriculum, you will find that you’re pretty set! You could do some studies on topics of interest that your child has, and swap back and forth between social and science themed things. For example, learn all about sharks for a couple weeks, then study Africa, or something like that using books from the library, Usborne books, etc. 😊
Thank you!! 🥰
Cathy Duffy’s site seems to indicate that an advanced phonics program may also be helpful for some students- I decided to add on the IEW phonics / spelling program because my child doesn’t love to read. They have an option for $29 without the audio that helps to make it more affordable; the only difference is that an adult or older sibling will have to read the words to the student every school day.
What an amazing review! Thank you Karla.
Aaww, thank you!!
Great videos on IEW thank you! Do you know if the new structure and style is the same as the student writing intensive A old style?
Hi! Sorry for the slow reply! The concepts are the same, but the layout is MUCH more user friendly. I just received the new Structure and Style in the mail today, and it looks very impressive! I will work on getting a review out on it in a couple of weeks!
Thank you so much! This was very helpful. I feel like writing has been a weak area for us so I was looking for something else. 🤓
This is great. Do you have any experience with EIW? I'm trying to decide between the 2.
Yes! I have tons of experience with IEW! After trying different things over the years I think it is by far the best writing program out there. We love it! I would just encourage you to do your research, and maybe watch more of my reviews, to make sure you select the right product. It's an advanced program so I always find it's better to get easier than you think you will need.
@@karlacanon2507 thanks, I was asking about EIW?
@@favored4life Sorry! I flipped the letters in my mind! We used Essentials In Writing for one year. It's a solid program and easy to follow with fairly short lessons. Our biggest complaint was that it was dry, and I didn't like how the grammar and writing assignments were split up. I like combining elements. That being said, EIW is super easy to use, and if you are looking for something your child can do very independently, that could be a good fit. My daughter didn't mind it, but she didn't want to use it again the following year either.
The best IEW review I have ever watched and I have watched many. Thank you! 🌸We have IEW sitting on our shelf for almost two years for fear of using it. It looks intimidating but your video is a motivation. We will star the program in August for sure. Thank you again for a great video🌸
What kind words! Thank you!! If you just dive in, it's really not as scary as it looks! Do you have the Student Writing Intensive? My biggest piece of advice to to keep moving through it. Don't get stuck thinking that your child needs to have mastered each skill perfectly before you move on. If you continue with IEW's theme books (which are really fun!), they practice all the same things, so I think if you look at it as an introduction, it takes the pressure off! Also, we didn't do ANY of the Reinforcement Exercises listed in the lessons. We ONLY did the articles/projects that they went through on the DVDs, and this kept us feeling like we were making good progress!
Karla Canon Thank you.🌷Yes, we purchased everything including the Ancient History and Fairy Tales... theme books. I will follow your kind advice for sure. I loved the way you presented the real, final result. Thank you so much for the encouragement🌸🌸
I hope it goes well for you! We liked some of the lessons from the Fairy Tales and Myths, but we also skipped many of them too, so don't feel tied to doing every single thing, and hopefully that will keep it fun for all of you! :)
Thank you for the review
Thank you so much! This helps a lot. My son has Aspergers and writing has been difficult, but I think this program will work. He needs everything broken into small steps. Thanks again.
You bet!! I have heard success stories for children with Aspergers using IEW as it is very structured. You can also go as slowly as they need to feel comfortable, which is great too!
thank you!