Writing

IEW's The Elegant Essay is a wonderful program, but was not a good fit for Zach after all. He *hates* writing programs that break the writing process down into tiny little steps. This type of program is extremely helpful for many students, but is like a straight-jacket for other students.

After he talked to me about writing again, I took a longer look at the writing books that AO suggests for Years 9-11. Since Ambleside Online is working incredibly well for him in all other areas,  I've decided to fully follow their writing recommendations.

I immediately pulled Writer's Inc., which is recommended for Year 9 *lite*, off our bookshelf.  I also ordered The Book on Writing: the Ultimate Guide to Writing Well by Paula LaRocque, which is recommended in Year 10. Since I had Writer's Inc, I scheduled a few select readings while waiting on the book by LaRocque to arrive.

While on the topic of writing, I have to share how much progress Jake has made with writing just over the past few weeks while using IEW's All Things Fun and Fascinating. I tried the IEW method last year with him, but he didn't get past simply writing from a key word outline with no "dress-ups". When a student is ready to learn a new concept or skill, it takes so little time (usually:) for them to get it and get going. That's exactly what is happening with Jake and the IEW writing this year. Whoohoo!!:)