My DS5-almost 6 loves creative writing and is extremely talented. (He is also PG and a YS.) We are homeschooling through a fabulous charter, but it's hard to find really interesting substantive LA/writing materials for him.

I'm thinking about signing him up for Stanford's online EPGY 3-month "Language Arts and Writing" and "Reading/Writing about Literature" courses. Does anybody have any experience with this? I'm brand new to the world of EPGY/online education.

Thank you!

PS I talked with someone from the program, and there are no qualification issues.

Our DS5 has been doing LAW for nearly a year. He really likes the class (it begins at a 2nd grade level). He's solidly in the 4th grade level now. The program reviews a lot of grammer-type content -verb tenses, identifying different types of writing, etc. It doesn't give any opportunity for free writing or creative writing that we've encountered.

We just began the RWL and so far all of his questions have been multiple choice content questions about the book he read. DS has only done two twenty minute sessions but I'm not wow'ed by it yet. Some of the questions seemed really vague and weren't teasing out information that I considered to be important. We'll see more as he continues. DS has needed a lot of help from me for RWL so far. (I even had to read the book to assist)

Let me know if you need more details or have more specific questions.

I'm so glad for this information! I was really hoping for more w/ the free writing, since he gets plenty of the other through portals and other LA materials in our charter, but I'd love to hear what your son enjoys about it. The RWL sounds more like the lexile "reading counts" comp. quizzes he used to do in the public school. Do you feel like he gets more from it than he can from other curriculum?

Have you found any other programs where they encounter more on the creative writing side?

I'd also like to PM you. I think we may have a lot in common, based on your signature.

Just found this in my e-mail inbox. I haven't tried it but it seems like the price may be just right.

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Recommended Website:
Writing Fix
Age Range: 5-18 (Grades: K-12)
This website, sponsored by the Northern Nevada Writing Project, provides all kinds of free, interactive writing prompts, lessons, and resources designed to inspire a passion for writing. As explained at the site, it "aims to 'fix' those teachers who don't believe that writing instruction can be the most enjoyable part of their teaching day."
It was designed for classroom teachers and students, but can be easily adapted for use in the homeschool environment. There is so much content at this site, that a brief review can hardly do it justice. So, I'll focus on a few aspects, and leave it to you to explore the rest on your own.
The first thing you should know is that there is a lot going on at this site - so much so, that it can be a little overwhelming. My advice is to visit the site when you really have some time to sort through what's available. There is both "free content" and some "fee content" on the site.
When you get to the site, you'll see an introduction and some featured items. Place your cursor over the menu on the left to see the drop-down list of options for each menu item that includes:
*Writing Prompts - Get a variety of quick and easy prompts for kids that will inspire daily writing. Most are interactive that require you to fill in blanks or click on buttons to generate some ideas.
*Mentor Text Lessons - Get free writing lessons for grades K-12 themed around picture books, chapter books, literature excerpts, poetry, short stories, and even popular song lyrics!
*The Writing Process - Find innovative ideas and activities to encourage writing along with helpful tools and tips.
*Genres and Modes - Discover ways to help students learn narrative, informative, expository, persuasive, and creative writing.

As I mentioned, there is much more available for you to review on your own. It may be easier to just sign up to have the FREE Quality Writing Lesson emailed to you each month. To do that, click on the "Writing Lesson of the Month" in the right margin of the homepage.
Enjoy!

Diane Flynn Keith
for ClickSchooling

P.S. If you enjoy recommendations for outstanding resources, such as the ones above, you'll love my book, Carschooling . Get your copy today!