WWE or CW

[ajjkt]

I am tossing up between these two writing programs. I am thinking that WWE might be a gentler way to start? My kids claim to like writing, but when it comes to the crunch they don't like to do it. They have trouble thinking of a topic to write about, so I'd hate something along the lines of 'write about your weekend'.
We already do a daily dictation (just the first sentence that pops into my mind) and I make them give me a narration of the books we read. Would WWE just formalize what we already do rather than give us something new?
Can someone please compare these two for me? Help me decide which way to go. DD is 6, so I am not particularly fussed if she does it or not. That said, her language arts is at almost the same level as her brother's, so she will probably be dragged along. DS is 7 and in grade 3.

[DeeDeeMarie0]

I tried CW, but I felt a little lost. Writing is not my strength and I didn't feel comfortable using CW. I love WWE because you pick it up and do the next thing. My boys like it too because the lessons are not too long, and they know what to expect. It works for our style and they are learning and enjoying it.

[paulcindy]

I am glad someone asked this. I am too, undecided between WWE, CW, Writing Strands and Meaningful Composition.

I love WWE....... BUT, SWB has no idea when she will be releasing her second book, so if I start WWE, I would have to go into another writing program, and I really want to pick one program and stick with it for the long haul. My daughter is now in upper elementary/lower middle school so I really want to focus on writing this year.

[Alana in Canada]

Firstly, you don't want to start CW until about Grade three. Until then, do your narrations, copywork and dictations.

I think WWE is a terrific fit for younger children.

[Strawberry Queen]

I'm doing WWE with DD in 3rd and 1st. I really like it for both of my girls. It is short and to the point and especially easy for dd in 1st as we have the workbook.

That said, I decided to add in Writing Strands for dd in 3rd. I felt like she needed to have a little something else that she could do more independently. WS fits the bill for us. It talks to the student and while I ensure that she's understanding, I'm letting her try and follow the directions to finish the assignments. So basically, I alternate between the two depending on my mood and energy level. My dd is generally good at dictations, although she can still use more help. I just felt like it was too little. As bizarre as it sounds I felt like writing should take more than 10 min. in the second half of gr. 3.

HTH

[ajjkt]

Thanks for these responses. It seems WWE is easier than CW? Would it be reasonable to work through the currently available WWE and then move into CW?

[adrienne]

I would say 'yes'. IMO, your dc might find WWE a better fit initially, as they are 6 and 7 yrs; although, I'm sure some children age 7 are capable of CW work. After WWE (or at least part of it), you could then segway into CW, especially if trying to keep your dc somewhat together academically.

The two programs are quite different. CW has the children retelling narrations from the beginning. Grammar is included but is not scripted like FLL. It also requires more work on your part to teach.

I believe there are sample pages on the CW website, as well as a message board that may help answer questions you may have. Unless you have the 2 programs in your hands, it can be hard to differentiate.

hth,
Adrienne

[Friederike in Persia]

:iagree: CW is a push when they are that young. My dd8 is doing Aesop and she's all right, but I wouldn't have wanted to start her any sooner, it is quite hard work.
WWE (the first workbook this is) on the other hand is quite simple and my dd 6, who turned 6 last week, enjoys it a lot. As you might expect, it's not that different to what is in the WTM. You sound like you're doing quite a bit of it already. The WWE Workbook would eliminate any preparation time.
For CW you need to plan on spending a lot of your time initially and then as you hit certain points where you might struggle yourself (don't know what your grammar is like :)).
We plan to do WWE for as long as possible (depending on how fast SWB produces the workbooks) and then swop over to CW.

Hope that helped,