Brave Writer and The Arrow

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  • May 9, 2014 at 8:07 pm
    pangit
    Participant

    I am looking at Brave Writer’s “The Writer’s Jungle” to use next year with my 5th grader – she will turn 11 in the fall.  My youngest, 3rd grade, turning 9 in the fall, usually wants to do whatever her sister is doing, so I’m sure she will probably do it also.  It was recommended to me as good for those who are right-brained.  I know that I have heard Brave Writer mentioned on here.  Any thoughts on the program?  How long does it typically take to finish?  What do you do once you are done with “The Writer’s Jungle” if the kids are not ready for “Help for High School”?  What do I buy to start?  I am supposed to buy one of the silver, gold or platinum packages or the home school package?

    Have any of you used “The Arrow” by Brave Writer?  Here is part of their description of it:

    “It is the indispensable tool for Brave Writer parents who want to teach language arts in a natural, literature-bathed context, using copywork and dictation. It is a language arts resource that equips you, the homeschooling parent, to fulfill your best intentions related to:

    • Spelling

    • Punctuation

    • Grammar

    • Literary elements

    • Quality living literature”

    Any thoughs on “The Arrow”?  Pro’s or Con’s?

    May 9, 2014 at 8:28 pm
    Monica
    Participant

    I haven’t done The Writer’s Jungle, but we’ve used the Arrow and Boomerang for the past year.  Before that we had always done Spelling Wisdom, which I really liked  My DS didn’t enjoy doing dictation lessons taken from books he wasn’t familiar with, though.  Arrow/Boomerang has been very good.  I buy a 10-pack of back issues from Homeschool Buyer’s Co-op (so that I can have some choice over the books).  Every month my DS picks a book from the issues of Arrow/Boomerang I have, and he spends the month reading the book and doing one dictation passage each week.  It has worked out very well and we plan to continue with that for next year.

    I would recommend buying back issues rather than doing the current year, because I frequently find books on their list that I’d rather not have my 6th grader read (The Hunger Games comes to mind).  Besides, to buy the 10 issues for the year is $79 on the Bravewriter site and 10 issues of your choice is only $50 on Homeschool Buyer’s Co-op.

    May 10, 2014 at 1:04 am
    nebby
    Participant

    We used the Arrow and the Wand. I liked that it was based on books we had read but sometimes found the grammar in the passages wasn’t great.

    Nebby

    May 10, 2014 at 2:53 pm
    HSMAMA
    Participant

    We use and love the Bravewriter. It’s not a start here and finish there kind of thing though. It’s described as a “lifestyle” and this is probably most accurate. You would take the Bravewriter philosophy and apply it over the course of all of the school years.

    The Arrow, I wasn’t in love with, but I’ve heard that some issues are better than others. I just didn’t feel like I got much for what I paid.

    Jot it Down & Partnership Writing are like the implementation plan for TWJ. We are using PW this year with a 10 and an 8 year old. I find it easy to use with multiple levels and the kids really enjoy it. I wasn’t as in love with Jot it Down, only because we’d covered a lot of the ideas already and my 8 year old wants to do more orginal writing, so PW was a better fit for her.

    You can get a free issue of The Arrow & The Boomerang. I’d download these and see what you think before purchasing those. From there you’d want TWJ and possibly Jot it Down or Partnership Writing. Definitely buy through HSBC. You save a good chunk! 🙂

    May 10, 2014 at 3:59 pm
    Tristan
    Participant

    I’ve shared a post about Brave Writer on my blog.

    We do not generally use The Arrow or the other levels (Boomerang, Wand) but I do have a few I’ve gotten as freebies.  The Arrow uses a book you would ideally be reading during the month as a jumping off point for copywork/dictation (it gives you passages or sentences from the book), as well as a literary element that is found in the book and a writing tip or exercise, also often related to the literary element.

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