homeschool writing program

Disclaimer: We received The Power in Your Hands: Writing Nonfiction in High School, 2nd Edition, from Writing with Sharon Watson in exchange for this fair and unbiased review.

I know, I know, I KNOW! I’m the lady that raised and educated a freelance writer without using writing curricula and even had a magazine article published on that exact topic, and here I am reviewing yet another curriculum to teach your students how to write. It’s ironic, isn’t it?

Not really. First of all, I’m a professional writer with a BA in English, so I know what I like to see in quality writing. Second, I’ve raised writers, so I know what works (with them, anyway). Third, I’m tired, so why not rely on curriculum now and then, eh? (We just left the North Woods of Wisconsin on our travels, so I’m throwing “eh” in at the end of my sentences. It’ll fade.)

The program that my fifteen-year-old daughter, Elisabeth, and I are reviewing is called The Power in Your Hands: Writing Nonfiction in High School. Because high school homeschool purchases seem to carry more weight with parents than the grade school decisions, I’m going to leave my cheesy sense of humor behind and give you a straightforward look at what this program entails.

You’re welcome.

Features of The Power in Your Hands:

1. What does Mom or Dad need to do?

The lessons are student-directed. It is written to the student, so Elisabeth can do the lesson with minimal involvement from me. I do have the job of “grading” her or at least checking over her work. Relax. There is a teacher’s guide that explains the entire grading process so you know what you’re looking for and how to help your student improve.

Ms. Watson also includes grading grids or rubrics at the end of each chapter in the teacher’s guide so you know very specifically what to look for in each assignment. This is particularly helpful in the case where your child is working independently. For example, you don’t want to be tearing a paper apart based on something they haven’t learned yet.

2. Who is this for?

While it is advertised for high schoolers, it could potentially be used with a very advanced 7th-8th grader. It’s the other end I’m interested in. I see many, many adult writers (hello blogging world) that really aren’t and truly can’t. This would be a great resource for them, whether to polish up their skills (I’m doing a little polishing myself) or prep for college level essays.

It would also be ideal for the high schooler or college prep student who needs to write essays for scholarships or who doesn’t feel adequately prepared for the required writing in college.

The sections offer dual-level instruction to meet the needs of the beginner to the advanced.

3. What does the program teach?

Part 1

The student begins at the very beginning with the thinking and planning process, which writers know often takes more time than the writing itself. Ms. Watson then works through the structure of an essay and helps students get over common writing hurdles.

Part 2

The student then moves on to persuasive writing in many, many, many forms.

Part 3

The next section discusses proofreading. If I were a poet, I would expound in epic verse on the value of a solid proofreader and woefully lament the hours I spent in my college years editing papers that had obviously not been proofread before they reached me in the writing center. My eyes are still burning. Don’t skip this section! I’m begging.

Part 4

Part 4 teaches a variety of expository writing styles for all the common genres, such as newspaper, as well as the less common writing assignments which most curricula don’t touch, such as devotional writing and emails.

Part 5

Part 5 is the descriptive section, which is small. I’m glad it’s small, because so many other programs we’ve looked at beat that section to death, and that’s annoying. How many ways can you describe your dog before you want to take it out to the back 40 and shoot it–the writing book, not the dog. (You thought I meant the dog didn’t you. You also thought I was serious when I said I was going to leave my cheesy sense of humor behind.)

Part 6

This section address narration. A pet peeve of mine is what Ms. Watson calls Christianese, and here she cautions against it. That means when we get to this section, I get to drag out the red pen and go to town on all the Christianese…except Elisabeth doesn’t write that way, so my red pen will remain untouched.

That brings up another aspect of this program that I really like. Sharon Watson encourages parents to find something positive about each piece of writing, no matter how lame it may be. I’m completely opposed to empty flattery and rewards for merely showing up, but I’m a firm believer in praising the effort (if it was real effort) and applauding the improvement.

Part 7

Here the author gives the students an entire reference section of the many writer’s tools she has helped them build through this program. Similarly, she gives parents their own toolbox in the parent’s guide. This is definitely helpful and saves Elisabeth and me from flipping back and hunting things down.

4. Is this a Christian program?

Yes. You won’t be held under the baptismal water until you confess, though. It does use examples of Christian writing and also includes pieces on tough issues, such as embryonic stem cell research. She asks you to focus on the writing, and not on whether or not you agree with the essay.

Additional Thoughts for my Fellow Roadschoolers:

If you need a writing curriculum for your high schoolers, particularly if they need to hone their essay skills, this is it. While the teacher’s guide isn’t all that enormous, the student book is pretty thick–sorry. You could go digital on this and get the ebook version. I’m not big on ebooks–you can’t smell them. Maybe you like that, though.

There’s no need to worry about internet connections or data usage for this baby, so we’re all good there.

Personally, I think this program is worth the space it takes up. I really do. And from me, that says a lot.

There are several other aspects of this program that I really enjoy as a writer. I won’t go into them all here, but feel free to drop me a question in the comment section below or read what other Schoolhouse Reviewers have to say by clicking right here or on the banner below:

You could also follow Writing with Sharon Watson on social media. Jump aboard:

Social Media Links:
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Notice: I was granted a free one-year membership to Here to Help Learning where I am currently using Paragraph Writing: Flight 1 of their Homeschool Writing Program with my first and fourth graders in exchange for this fair and unbiased review. Also, I am an affiliate of this program, so if you purchase through my links, I receive a commission which, honestly, I reinvest in homeschooling. Contrary to what I say, I don’t blow it all on cookie ingredients…but wouldn’t that be fun!

Those of you who read my article in the Texas Home School Coalition Review entitled “How a Family of Writing Class Slackers Raises Top-Notch Writers“ may be surprised to know that for the past several weeks I have been using a bonafide writing curriculum with two of my children (three if you count the little four-year-old tagalong…who can’t write, but has brilliant ideas about glass slippers and what kind of underwear penguins wear). It is called Here To Help Learning.

What kind of program would tempt us away from our slacker approach, you ask? I’m tempted to say, “Go try it yourself and stop bothering me,” because it’s that much fun and can’t really be described by mere mortals, of which I am one, but that’s rude, and I was raised better than that, thank you, Mom.

You are going to find numerous normal homeschoolers describing it to you at the Review Crew, and you can also head to the website for a full description and samples of the program, so I’m going to keep the technical description brief. What I really want to dwell on is my perception as 1) a professional writer, and 2) a roadschooler.

A brief description:

Here to Help Learning is a video program that teaches the writing process.
It incorporates workbook pages, games, and assignments to practice the new skills.
You the parent/administrator are involved in the process as a guide, but not as the instructor.
It’s a Christian program, but it won’t slap you in the face if you’re not a Christian.

Now, my thoughts as a writer who raises writers:

Thought one: Non-writers can “teach.”

Most people cannot write. Many are afraid of even trying. Others think they can, but they can’t. It’s painful…like when I croon off-key to my musician husband. As the head writing tutor at my college umpteen gazillion years ago (exaggeration is bad writing form), I and my team were required to read papers from every single freshman in the school, as well as students who were recommended to our center by other profs. I vividly recall the agony of reading paper after paper after paper from people who thought they were good enough to skate in and out of the center, but who stunk like skunk roadkill sandwiched between two rotting fish fermenting in the bottom of your diaper bag on a summer day. Really. Their writing stunk–there, I said it. There were three freshmen whose papers needed minimal help, if any; I married one of them. (Just so you know, I used to stink, too, and sometimes still do, so there’s hope.)

Here to Help Learning offers writing instruction on video, so you yourself don’t have to actually know how to be a writer. Isn’t that great?! Anything you need to know you learn right alongside your kids…although it is helpful if you can spell better than they can. Let me reiterate this, because it is very important: you do not need to be a writer to teach your children to write…although a princess crown always helps.

Thought two: You all learn the process.

The instructor, Mrs. Mora, teaches the entire paragraph and essay writing process in a logical progression from the start. She reviews the previously learned steps until it becomes second nature. As a writer, I no longer follow this writing process in a step-by-step manner, since it’s more mushed together like casserole, but it’s important to master the skills before going the casserole route.

In other words, the kids are learning how to write, not just how to get through an assignment.

(Please note that they are not, as far as I have discovered, learning how to write a sentence. This is for the paragraph and essay levels, or roughly anywhere within 1st through 6th grade (and I would say beyond as needed). I have had to do some technical explanation of a complete sentence to properly play the sentence game, and my tagalong still thinks anything that mentions princesses, cookies, or kittens is totally a complete thought and therefore a complete sentence. Don’t bother teaching four-year-olds the technical side of grammar. Now is a good time to mention that this is not a grammar program. Don’t get confused. They do, however, offer this language guide as a freebie, which you can get right now.)

Thought three: It’s fun!

This class isn’t boring or corny, like previous courses we’ve dabbled in. Okay, so maybe it’s potentially corny at times, but in an amusing way that doesn’t speak down to the kids. (My 19-year-old disagrees, but she’s 19 and not in the target learning audience.) I honestly thought the talking dog would register pretty high on the annoyance meter, but after the first 30 seconds, I was totally into him. Even most of my older kids thought he was a hoot, and they’re a tough crowd.

Mrs. Mora herself is hee-haw hilarious! I don’t know what it is about her quirky self, but she totally resonates with our quirky selves. We had to re-watch her flight prep videos just for fun. If you’re not quirky, you may disagree. Seriously, I wish I had a fourth grade teacher as engaging as she is. (No offense, Mr. Fett. You were great, and you taught me a mean game of Sheepshead.)

The course takes the “ugh” out of learning writing. The main reason I didn’t use a writing program for years is because I didn’t want my kids to hate writing. I wanted them to love it like I love it! Some of the writing programs we tried made my kids groan. The authors either tried too hard to be hip (and failed) or the programs were menial and pathetically boring…even for me. It’s not that I think everything in life needs to be fun–just clean the stinkin’ bathroom already–but it does help if something as intimidating as staring down a blank sheet of paper can be made exciting. (Personally, I think a blank piece of paper is an invitation to a feast, but apparently that’s just me.)

With Here to Help Learning’s Flight Lessons, my kids have been begging to do their writing. They’ve been begging for a decent internet connection so they can watch the next video. They’ve been begging me to print the papers (you have the highly desirable option of buying the workbook) and setting up binders for them…which I didn’t, because I’m a meanie…and because roadschoolers have space and weight limitations that you foundation schoolers only think you understand. The begging is annoying, but it’s great how much they enjoy their writing lessons and how enthusiastically they pull out paper and pencil to write.

Additional thoughts for my fellow roadschoolers:

Thought one: Internet connection versus DVDs

This is a program whose usefulness on the road depends on your situation and whether you opt for physical or digital products. We went the digital route. For us, being in a new spot every couple of days (and sometimes every day), we do not know what sort of internet connection we will have. Also, video streaming, as you know, uses up our limited data, so we have to wait for a freebie connection. This means lesson days are hit and miss, which is no biggie for us, since we’re adaptable. On the other hand, you don’t watch a video every day in this program, so you just have to exercise those amazing logistical skills full-timers acquire to make it work–also no biggie. Still, if you’ve paid for a one-year membership, you don’t want to miss so much that it isn’t worth it. Of course, at $6.99 a month for access to the entire six years worth of instruction, it isn’t too big a hit.

That said, most of you don’t move around as much as we do, so your connectability is less of an issue. Of course, if you buy the DVDs, you don’t have to worry about the internet connection.

Thought two: Printing versus buying workbooks

You can either purchase workbooks or download and print worksheets from the site. We did neither. RVers understand about weight and space limitations and the necessity to adjust to both. We managed to do this program with very little printing–okay, we didn’t print anything, but don’t tell Mrs. Mora! We may well have benefitted more if we had, and my son sure would have preferred that, but we work within our limitations–simplify, simplify.

How did we do it? We skipped some aspects, such as the rewards coupons (cookies are lighter and require no additional storage space–ahem). Also, instead of printing images and papers for them to write on, we looked at the images on the video while it was paused, and we wrote everything down on reg’lar ol’ paper. Not as exciting, but it’s cheaper, it saves space and weight, and it’s how we roll. Honestly, the amount of space required for the workbook is so negligible that it would have worked better for us having a workbook for each child or one workbook to look at and looseleaf papers to write on. I would do that if I were slightly more sane, which, sadly, I’m not.

Thought three: Time

I somehow thought that on the road I’d have all sorts of extra time for book-larnin’. Turns out I was oh-so-wrong. There’s too much life and road happening (don’t ask me how road happens). This program does not require prep work or teaching time. Do I get a cookie for sharing that vital information with you?

My final thought:

If you can handle the internet access and printing issues, or if you purchase the DVDs and workbooks instead of relying on online access, or if you are not as printer-phobic as I am, this will work beautifully for your roadschooling writing class needs. Those postcards to Grandma are going to get pretty exciting!

I have to say one more thing. We’ve been talking about pride quite a bit in our family, trying to differentiate between being proud of yourself and being proud of yourself. Beth Mora does that beautifully in the first video lesson. Right there I was sold.

Here’s what more normal homeschoolers have to say about Here to Help Learning:

Tag: homeschool writing program

Writing With Sharon Watson: High School Nonfiction Writing Course Review

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