I really like to write. In a perfect world it would be one
of my favorite subjects to teach in our little homeschool. However (dum dum
dum), my beautiful and creative son does not like to write.
Of course, he is dyslexic... so there is that. But I know that
there are many kiddos out there without any learning issues (such as dyslexia)
who do not enjoy the writing process whatsoever.
And, perhaps neither does mama.
I recently had the opportunity to review Here to Help Learning. This is a COMPLETE homeschool writing program. I initially started
our review journey by taking a look at Flight 1 Essay Writing, but decided that
it would be better to go back and do some review with Flight 1 Paragraph
Writing.
As I mentioned above, Here to Help Learning is a FULL and
COMPLETE writing curriculum. The beauty of the whole thing is that it doesn’t
require a whole lot of heavy lifting from the teacher. You receive all the
tools you will ever need, including video instruction by the lovely Mrs. Mora.
You may purchase the video instruction via an online membership or the actual
physical sets. I received the online membership which meant I received access
to all of the levels…which wound up being absolutely perfect for us.
The writing program is intended for grades 1-6, but I think it will benefit a whole lot of kiddos like my Josiah, who is in 8th
grade but struggles with those pesky reading and writing issues.
It is recommended that you use Here to Help Learning two
days a week. We did our lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I had printed off all I needed for a whole
Projects worth of work and every week Josiah would add those sheets to his
notebook. Tuesdays were spent on the video lesson and activities and Thursdays
were used to do Josiah’s Flying Solo work…which is a writing project.
Josiah and I initially began our lessons with Flight 1 Essay
Writing.
I quickly decided (by reading the lost and bewildered look on my
handsome boy’s face) that it had been too long since he had constructed an
actual viable paragraph. I easily made the switch to Flight 1 Paragraph
Writing.
Now, don’t let me scare you off. There is nothing
intimidating about the Essay Writing course. In fact, it’s quite good. But
because it had been a bit since we had implemented an actual writing program
into our curriculum that he would benefit from a refresher. I felt like it was
time he moved from the following form of paragraph.
Peyton Manning is a quarterback. He plays for the Denver
Broncos. He is cool.
Our switch paid off even within the first few lessons.
One of my favorite memories of 8th grade English
(and there was many….I am a geek) was our writing exercises. In particular the “brainstorming”
exercise. I would quickly fill up my journal with all manner of random
thoughts.
Any brainstorming activities I’ve done with Josiah have not
been successful. He starts out by listing 1 or 2 things and then begins to
scribble random football statistics all over his page. Mrs. Mora began every writing Warm-Up with
a picture and the instructions to write down 6 words about that picture.
That was just right for my guy.
Another huge
benefit with Here to Help Learning is that he was able to see an actual group
of kids working through an exercise with Mrs. Mora during the first lesson.
He does so much better when he has a model. Hearing those
kids brainstorming, asking questions, etc. was such a big help to him.
I would like to encourage all you parents out there who
might need to move a little slower through the learning process. This program
is very gentle. The students are encouraged to do what they can do. I was heartened to see that Josiah was
engaged and felt like he could complete the task before him.
Another little note. This is a great program to use with a multi-aged
group. It is very flexible.
If you are interested in poking around the Here to Help
Learning site, I suggest you try their online membership with a FREE 1 day pass.
It will give you a good idea to see if this is something that will work for
your family.
If your child is older (like my Josiah) he might feel that
the lessons are a bit “corny”…. Josiah could really care less. I suppose he is
secure in his teenagedom, but there are those might feel a talking dog is a bit
much. I personally loved the talking dog. You can’t going wrong with a talking Basset
Hound.
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YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/HereToHelpLearning
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