• Apr. 23, 2009 - TOS Homeschool Crew Review~ Lampstand Press: Writing Aids
TOS Homeschool Crew Review~ Lampstand Press: Writing Aids
When Lampstand Press sent out Tapestry of Grace (TOG) to the Crew for review, each of the Crew Members was given not only a full TOG unit to review but a supplemental product to try along with it. When I asked the girls what their choice was, they both chose Writing Aids. They’d both been struggling with their writing program so they wanted a change. Only a limited number of Writing Aids handbooks were being given out to the Crew and we were among the lucky ones.
Writing Aids is a handbook written specifically for use with TOG curriculum but it can also be used alone. Used with Tapestry, it meshes beautifully with the weekly writing assignments as topics are drawn from what the student is studying in the main curriculum. Like everything else TOG produces, it builds on the topics already being studied in the curriculum. Used alone, the teacher would need to provide the topic the student will be writing on, or perhaps the student could be allowed to choose it themselves.
As usual, TOG tries to make life easier on mom (or the teacher) by presenting specific skills to more than one age group at a time. For example, Ninja and Tink both “oohed” when they spied the newspaper writing choice listed among the writing assignment pages. Since the newspaper project was available for levels 2, 4 and 7, it was very easy to offer both girls assignments at or at least near their grade levels. Ninja refused, however, to work with Tink and even though it would have been easier if they had worked collaboratively on their newspaper, I didn’t make them, yet I was still able to save time and stress since I only had to read up on and find one section on the Writing Aids CD to print worksheets from.
Writing Aids is not just a book, it also comes with a CD-ROM which contains Talking Points- a teaching guide which becomes a reference for the student after the initial instruction on the genre has been presented, Grading Strategies, and Supplements- worksheets or graphic organizers to aide in instruction.
This one book and CD-ROM set is used for all grade levels. So while the $50 may seem a bit steep at first, you’re saving money in the long run as you use it year after year and even more so when used with multiple children.
Even though Writing Aids is an optional, supplemental product, I think it would really be worthwhile for families using Tapestry as their main curriculum.
This is my family's journey through homeschooling, using My Father's World curriculum. We spent the majority of last school year reviewing curriculum for TOS Homeschool Crew so that's why many of my blog entries are product reviews. We're now back on track and diving into MFW once again.
My children are
Ninja- 15: teenage black belt extrordinaire. Using MFW's Ancient History and LIterature;
Tink- 11: sweet girl schooling with ADHD symptoms and dysgraphia (?). Using MFW's Exploring Countries and Cultures;
The Dude-5: handsome little man with language delays/probably on the autism spectrum. He's no longer in preschool for speech therapy and special ed. Now using MFW K; and
Baby Princess- 18 months: beautiful busy baby girl, possibly on the autism spectrum as well. Tagging along with The Dude and whatever else I think might interest her.
