I hate to throw another writing question into the mix, but...

[DIY-DY]

Imitation in Writing, available via Logos School... how does it compare with CW? They look very similar, and I find myself leaning toward the one from Logos. Would *love* input from someone who has looked at both!

[Cadam]

You can print free samples from the site. When I was choosing between imitations, WT and CW I printed samples of each and then ds and I did them. It was nice to see them all side by side for comparison. I really liked the samples I saw and I actually ended up purchasing one of the books.

[cajun.classical]

I've used Imitation in Writing: Fable and IW: Fairy Tales with my 3rd grader. I think that these are good introductions to the progymnasmata and would prepare a student for CW: Homer--which I use with my 5th grader. I do tweak the program and add in some other writing elements, such as including dialogue and description, strong verbs, descriptive adjectives, etc. I have a link somewhere where the authors of CW (before writing the program) explain how to introduce these elements. I'll try to dig it up for you.

[cajun.classical]

Here's the link: http://home.att.net/~mikejaqua/may-june-00.html

[DIY-DY]

Here's the link: http://home.att.net/~mikejaqua/may-june-00.html

I appreciate the link and the feedback. :)

[DIY-DY]

You can print free samples from the site. When I was choosing between imitations, WT and CW I printed samples of each and then ds and I did them. It was nice to see them all side by side for comparison. I really liked the samples I saw and I actually ended up purchasing one of the books.

DS came in while I was browsing, debating (talking to myself! LOL!) I told him what I was looking at, and he grew a little pale (pencil allergy), but then I showed him the sample pages and he asked if I'd print one out. We did that together this afternoon. Or, rather, he did it at the breakfast bar while I fixed supper. He thoroughly enjoyed it. I'll have to find the CW samples so we could try those, as well, and perhaps I'll let him pick. It seems like either program would be good, and CW-Homer is on my definite short-list pick for the future, so it's good to know the IIW would prepare him well for that. Writing is one of our weak spots, and I'd like to correct that this term. :)

Thanks so much!
Dy

[Alana in Canada]

Thank you so much for putting me on to IW--it looks like a great place for us to start. I've had CW Aesop on the shelf forever--I just couldn't get my head around it at all!

IW has everything laid out step by step (and the sentences are even numbered--I love that! A professor had me do that in graduate school so we could locate particular passages/sentences easily and pick them apart.)

Looking at IW, I now realise that it was "making the outline" which was the "gap" for me--and we already do spelling and grammar separately, so those things seemed like time consuming activities.....but perhaps with a bit of IW, we can take advantage of CW much better!

Thanks so much!

[Verena]

Hi Dy,

is this for your oldest? I, too, am thinking about writing programs these days...I had forgotten about IW- gosh, something else to look at now.

Have a great day!

[Beth in Central TX]

Hi Alana,

We started out with Imitation in Writing before moving on to Classical Writing. At that time, the workbooks for the CW series were not available, and I found the core books too intimidating to tackle without more guidance.

We started with IW-Aesop & Fairy Tales. I found that my boys really liked Writing Trails in American History and Men of Science, both are part of the IW series at Logos School.

We have transitioned well from IW to CW. My boys are taking off on their writing. I couldn't be more pleased with their progress. This year we are doing Homer A and Poetry for Beginners A.

[Beth in Central TX]

Hi Verena,

I started IW when my oldest was in 3rd grade. My middle son did a little of the Writing Trails in American History at the end of his 2nd grade year; however, he's not as pencil phobic as my oldest... I didn't care for the IW series past the Fairy Tales book. We transitioned to CW last year when they were in 5th & 4th grade.

[Verena]

Hi Verena,

I started IW when my oldest was in 3rd grade. My middle son did a little of the Writing Trails in American History at the end of his 2nd grade year; however, he's not as pencil phobic as my oldest... I didn't care for the IW series past the Fairy Tales book. We transitioned to CW last year when they were in 5th & 4th grade.


Did you go through both books in one year (fables/fairy tales)? Is there a TM- I didn't see anything on their website. I'm going to print out samples- as one poster suggested- and will let ds try a lesson. Fortunately, I don't have to make a decision until this summer :D

Have a great day!

[one l michele]

this summer, one is Fables, Aesops, and Myths for 3rd-5th grades. From what I hear these are more like IEW's actual program then the Imitation series are.

[DIY-DY]

Hi Dy,

is this for your oldest? I, too, am thinking about writing programs these days...I had forgotten about IW- gosh, something else to look at now.

Have a great day!

For simplicity's sake, (not so much to simplify the scheduling, but to help alleviate any sense of competition, which, erm, seems to be ravaging my loving hamlet), I think I am going to do IW:Aesop w/ James and IW:Fairy Tales w/ John this coming year.

James is 9, finishing up 4th grade this spring, and he's doing really well in everything *but* writing. He figured out how to convert A/C to D/C and explained it to DH last night :confused: (NO clue how he figured it out! LOL!)... but, well, he can't write a coherent sentence to save his sweet little life. I've worked hard to get him up to speed this year, but realized the past few days that I had to figure it out on my own over the years, and I'm not sure how I got here from there. I don't want to put that onus on him. I want him to start out w/ a firm foundation, and the way I was trying to help him get there simply wasn't working, for either of us. Even though he'll be entering 5th this year, he is nowhere near ready for CW-Homer.

John is 7, finishing up 2nd. His retention and recall are excellent, so I feel like this coming year would be a fantastic time to start him in IW. But, like I said, I'd like to avoid having them both use the same materials for re-writing and assignments. (Plus, I think the Fairy Tales would appeal to him more than Aesop at this point, whereas James just isn't interested in fairy tales much at all, but he loves Aesop's Fables, Jakata Tales, etc.)

Do print out the sample .pdf! Wow. I think you might like it. IW does have what you need, in the book, to guide you along. For me, that was valuable. Plus, it does look like a more cost-efficient program. (IW is $20 for a reproducible text that includes 40 lessons and direction, whereas CW is $25 for the TM, $17 for each student text - A and B of Aesop. So for one child, that's almost $60 -, and only 36 lessons between the two student texts. I was willing to pay it, and I am not trying to be El Cheapo, but the IW looks like it will meet our needs beautifully, for a small fraction of the cost, and that does help.)

So, unless I'm missing something crucial, here, I think the plan is to go w/ IW for this coming year, with the aim of transitioning to CW-Homer in the future. (Clear as mud? lol!)

[Verena]

Hi Verena,

I started IW when my oldest was in 3rd grade. My middle son did a little of the Writing Trails in American History at the end of his 2nd grade year; however, he's not as pencil phobic as my oldest... I didn't care for the IW series past the Fairy Tales book. We transitioned to CW last year when they were in 5th & 4th grade.

Looking at the samples on the website, I can't tell.
What did you use in addition to IW?

Thanks!

[Verena]

this summer, one is Fables, Aesops, and Myths for 3rd-5th grades. From what I hear these are more like IEW's actual program then the Imitation series are.

This is getting more and more overwhelming (all those choices I mean). Time for some coffee, lol.

[Verena]

.
Do print out the sample .pdf! Wow. I think you might like it. IW does have what you need, in the book, to guide you along. For me, that was valuable. Plus, it does look like a more cost-efficient program. (IW is $20 for a reproducible text that includes 40 lessons and direction, whereas CW is $25 for the TM, $17 for each student text - A and B of Aesop. So for one child, that's almost $60 -, and only 36 lessons between the two student texts. I was willing to pay it, and I am not trying to be El Cheapo, but the IW looks like it will meet our needs beautifully, for a small fraction of the cost, and that does help.)

So, unless I'm missing something crucial, here, I think the plan is to go w/ IW for this coming year, with the aim of transitioning to CW-Homer in the future. (Clear as mud? lol!)

Are you going to do additional grammar? I know you guys are already doing Latin, so you can probably skip it.
I'm going to get some coffee now and start printing! I also have my eye on WT, then the new writing book that SWB is authoring, IEW, FLL 4... I'm really drawn to CW, though. I figure even if we switch to something else in a few years, it would give us a good foundation now.

[Beth in Central TX]

Hi Verena,

I did IW Aesop along with Men of Science as a supplement to LLB Chemistry in 3rd grade. I did IW Fairy Tales along with Writing Trails in American History as a supplement to SOTW IV in 4th grade.

I think the only IW product that has a teacher guide is their poetry books. Yes, you need a separate grammar program with IW. I use R&S Grammar (even with CW). I've found R&S to be very solid in the programs that they offer. I've learned a lot from their grammar series, and it has built a strong foundation for our Latin and Greek studies.

HTH!

[cajun.classical]

FYI, Someone just posted on the Sale/Swap Board both the IW Fables and the IW Fairy Tales for a good price. Hope this helps the budget.

[DIY-DY]

Are you going to do additional grammar? I know you guys are already doing Latin, so you can probably skip it.
We try to incorporate our English grammar with our Latin grammar, and so far, it seems to be working. They've got the theory down. Now we just need to write more often, and I think using IW we could easily fill in any grammar gaps that might otherwise sneak up on us.

I also have my eye on WT, then the new writing book that SWB is authoring, IEW, FLL 4... I'm really drawn to CW, though. I figure even if we switch to something else in a few years, it would give us a good foundation now.

SWB is writing a new book? How cool!

I was thinking the same thing, regarding the foundation. I want something solid that we can build on, no matter what direction we go in a few years.

(It's so much fun to discuss this! :))