Is Writer's Jungle a necessity?

Tagged: , , ,

Viewing 11 posts - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • May 24, 2014 at 10:35 pm
    Alicia Hart
    Participant

    Do you use Writer’s Jungle?  I have been looking at this today, and it looks really great  BUT I am wondering if it is worth the money?  Do I really need to spend extra money on this?  Would this only be used if you had a reluctant writer? 

    Thanks all!

    May 25, 2014 at 12:06 am
    Tristan
    Participant

    Great question Lishie!  I have a few thoughts:

    • If you want the full theory behind the Brave Writer philosophy you need The Writer’s Jungle (TWJ).

    • It’s not for reluctant writers, it is for YOU to become the writing coach and partner to your children.  As such, it is packed full of ideas, samples, activities, and more.

    The Writer’s Jungle does NOT give you weekly or monthly projects.  It gives you the base to make your own fit to each individual child. 

    If you want writing assignments laid out for a year you would choose one of her other products based on child’s writing stage.  So Jot it Down or Parnership writing are out and have 10 monthly projects each.  She has other language arts products to coordinate copywork and discussion with a literature title (Arrow, Boomerang, etc).   She also has a book written to high schoolers that walks them through assignments. 

    Personally, I use The Writer’s Jungle and love it, and I have used some projects from Jot It Down and Partnership Writing for some of my children as well, with some projects I simply planned using what I had learned from TWJ.  My oldest (heading into 8th!) is the one I really used TWJ to help me with, so I could learn to be her coach/partner and support her as a writer. 

    What ages will you be working with, what are you wanting Brave Writer to do or help you do? 

    And in case you didn’t know, Homeschool Buyer’s CoOp usually offers Brave Writer products at a good discount (30-50% off usually). 

    Also, check out the Brave Writer blog (great posts and free podcasts), Brave Writer on Facebook (Julie will answer questions there regularly, just ask), and the Brave Writer Lifestyle Group on Facebook (where tons of BW families chat about writing with BW and Julie pops in occasionally too). 

     

    May 25, 2014 at 7:45 pm
    Krista
    Participant

    So I don’t mean to highjack your post but… I have been feeling like I am not doing enough with my fourth grader.  He does copywork with a focus on visualizing the word for spelling at this point and then dictation on the same lines that he has been copying for the week.  Thisis basically the only writing he does.  He will not choose to write on his own and I don’t think he knows how to spell enough words to write his own thoughts even if he wanted too.  

    i see my friends children doing what I would call creative writing and even Ruth Beechick’s book says they could be doing book reports at this age.  But I don’t remember any of that being in line with CM.  Yet I have this feeling he is behind somehow.  Can you help me get a perspective on this?  Am I over worrying?  Do I need a program like BW to incorporate some other type of writing into our day? 

    May 25, 2014 at 8:18 pm
    missceegee
    Participant

    Krista, no you do not need a program. Work to increase copy work, continue spelling, and begin written narration. You could start a journal of some kind, if desired – gratitude, prayer, memory. Really that’s all that is needed.

    May 25, 2014 at 9:49 pm
    Wings2fly
    Participant

    Tristan, do you recommend printing out the whole ebook or parts of it? I bought the download but have not read any of it. I feel like it is stuck in virtual world on the computer. How could I best manage printing and binding it? I have a B&W laser printer. Thanks.

    May 25, 2014 at 11:08 pm
    sheraz
    Participant

    @wingstofly – I actually printed my copy out so I could have the ease of carrying around a paper book that I could write my ideas in and not be tied to the computer or the tiny screen of my Kindle. I printed it front and back and spiral bound it. There is a letter that Julie included in it the download that allows you to take it to a professional printer for printing. 

    May 25, 2014 at 11:56 pm
    Tristan
    Participant

    I read on Kindle Fire a few times, printed and put in a 3 ring binder.  Now I read whichever is convenient.  For me that means Kindle a lot as much of my reading is in waiting rooms and up in the middle of the night with little boys.  I read with a different child in mind each time.

    May 26, 2014 at 1:44 am
    gcbsmommy
    Participant

    I echo missceegee’s comments…  I really don’t think you need a formal writing program.  Just yesterday, I was reading (or re-reading) a very encouraging blog post on this subject here:

    higherupandfurtherin.blogspot.com/2013/08/how-I-raised-professional-writer.html

    There are several other related entries on this subject found on this blog that I think would be so helpful in sorting this all out.

     

    Best wishes on the journey!

     

    Kristina

     

    May 26, 2014 at 3:32 am
    HiddenJewel
    Participant

    Look for a used copy of The Writer’s Jungle. The first edition is plenty to learn the concepts. It is writing theory though, not plans. 

    May 26, 2014 at 3:35 am
    cherylramirez
    Participant

    In case the above link doesn’t work for y’all, try this one:

    http://higherupandfurtherin.blogspot.com/search?q=writing

    I have a copy of this article and another one about writing in my teacher book.

    May 28, 2014 at 5:03 pm
    Alicia Hart
    Participant

    I think that I may have been confusing Writer’s Jungle with Jump In.  If you use Jump In, could you tell me how it fits in with your CM program?

    Thanks for the responses, everyone.

Viewing 11 posts - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
  • The topic ‘Is Writer's Jungle a necessity?’ is closed to new replies.