Writers In Residence ~ Review

My children have never liked writing papers or reports. We have used a curriculum in the past that has introduced writing as early as the 3rd grade. It's not that they don't know how to write a story, it's that the curriculum said to do it this way and not any other way. I have also tried several other writing programs for my children and some have helped, while others were not helpful at all or boring to them. Over the last couple of months, my daughter, who is 10 and in 5th grade, has been reviewing the newest language arts curriculum from Apologia Educational Ministries, Writers in Residence.

What is Writers in Residence?
Writers in Residence, written by Debra Bell, is a program that will guide your child as they find their love for writing. Writers in Residence is geared for children in grades 4-8. It is a writing focused language arts writing curriculum that incorporates grammar, punctuation, and capitalization. It is very easy to use since it comes with a detailed suggested daily schedule. It is suggested to use the curriculum four days of each week. Not only will your child be writing more, they will also be learning about sentence structure, parts of speech, and how each part functions in a sentence. Not only does the curriculum include the writing and language portion, it also includes Christian writer spotlights through the book, such as Bill Myers, Amy Parker, and Phil Vischer, Each module is set up the same: writer's questions, sneak peek, the assignments, and a checklist.

How did we use Writers in Residence?

I had my daughter use this for three days each week. We were able to completely finish two modules and have started on module three. The first four modules focus on the child writing about "When I Was Young (I Remember)." Each day, I had my daughter complete the sections that are listed on the suggested daily schedule. The first two days of the program are introductory days, which includes an introduction to the course, a spotlight on Christian writers, six traits writing model, and an introduction to the writing process. My daughter worked on each section, which also helped build her story. Most days she worked on this by herself, but there were some days she needed my help. Below is a sample of her memory sentences from module one:

When I was young in K------, I had the greatest time going fishing with my family. When I was young in K------, I loved the smell of the flowers blooming every spring. When I was young in K------, I remember when the snow and ice glistened on the trees.

She enjoyed doing these modules and bringing up the memories of when she was younger.

What we thought of Writers in Residence.
When the book first arrived, my daughter was a little intimidated by the size of it. It is very thick because it is the text and workbook all in one. I reminded her that it was that size because it is suppose to take a full school year to get through to the end. Other than that, she enjoyed going through the modules. I have noticed that it has helped her with her writing skills. We give this four stars.