Here's What Other Homeschoolers Are Saying About The Writing Course

I discovered shortly after starting to homeschool
that I couldn't do 5th grade ABeka grammar.  Yet, somehow I've managed to get a post-graduate degree and communicate effectively.  We scaled down from that level, but still get bogged down in all those mechanics.  I have found your seminar both enjoyable and refreshing.  I look forward to going through the rest of it myself, and using it with my kids. Thank you.

Laura W.

Mr. Lybrand,

Thank you for your writing curriculum. My 12 year old daughter has begun to write without fear for the first time in her life. We are only on lesson 4 and she is applying what she has learned in all areas. Letters,
drawing illustrations, email...
Thank you,
Sharyn

Thanks so much! My almost 10 yr old daughter started yesterday and it went great. My 11 yr old son is in an IEW writing class right now. He has one more class meeting and then I'm going to start him on this, as well. I actually used that with him this morning as we were working on his final draft. I said, "Does this sound better? (what he wrote) or does this sound better? (my suggestion)?"

He said my suggestion did so we changed it. I'm excited about this!

- Mindy M.

From a homeschooling forum:

This is just what I needed to hear to prompt me to
purchase TWC. I say this because like you, I felt a
bit overwhelmed by IEW, though I couldn't put my
finger on why. I also have a 13 year old son who is a
reluctant writer and needs careful prompting
(though when he does write,  he's good at it!).
Probably why I've waited so long, seeing as he seems
to dread it and I didn't want to make matters worse
by choosing a bulky, mom-intensive program.

You have resolved this confusion for me... and I
can confidently purchase this program which I have
been looking at on and off for quite some time.
How good to hear someone confidently and with such
clarity explain their reason for purchasing this
program.

I was also thinking of Bravewriter, but it also appears
to be mom-intensive! Daily emails for reminders,
and on and on...  When you said this TWC program is
much like the RC philosophy of being a self-learning
approach, that was all I needed to hear.

-jocelyne

Taken from a homeschooling forum:

The Writing Course - Basic consists of 5 CDs; four contain the 21
lessons and the 5th contains the worksheets for printing,a transcript
of the lessons,and charts. Lybrand is a Robinson Curriculum Dad so
his process is developed to fit with the Robinson method and much of
that philosophy is obvious in his presentations. Each lesson consists
of listening to the CD, filling in the worksheet which serves as a
bare-bones outline of the talk, and doing an assignment. He talks
about secrets to writing which he states really are not secrets at
all. These ideas are simple but freeing for students who struggle
with writing. He covers grammar and punctuation very briefly---just
enough to eliminate the fear and get the student writing.

Some ideas covered:
Clears out the objections to writing and replaces them with simple
truth. Takes the perfectionism out of the writing process. Frees the
poor speller to note words he isn't sure of rather than stopping the
flow of thought because of spelling difficulty. Opens the door to the
mind that just can't think of anything to write. Gives tips on style--
personal style and how to make your writing interesting. Provides the
key to eliminating the "taking it personally" mentality about
feedback and correction.

Mr. Lybrand's voice is pleasant and his presentations are
interesting. We found the lessons to be simple and helpful. The
topic ideas were fun and usually relatable for the children (ages 11,
14, 16). The program is not consumable. You print as many worksheets as you need and repeat the lessons as often as necessary. Suitable for ages 9 or 10 and older.

The Essay Course consists of 4 CDs, 17 lessons. This course is best
suited for ages 12+ (my opinion). No print-outs except a template,
just talks to listen to and assignments (essay ideas) to provide
practice. He discusses various templates for essays and how to use
them and mentions methods to use on, and practice for, the SAT
writing section.

My opinion of these courses:
I found the ideas presented very helpful. I like his presentation
style, very conversational. This course did help 2 of my children
adjust their thinking about writing. It does closely follow the
Robinson philosophy while still providing help and clarifying the
writing thought process.

However, I would not consider this a complete curriculum for our
family. We need more. Though I can write myself, I find teaching
writing or helping my children think profitably about writing to be
daunting. We will couple this course with the Writing Strands we have
used and add the structure ideas that I have gleaned from conferences
and other sources.

I hope this has been helpful.
Grow in Grace,
Angela

Two of my boys, 14 and 12, are very reluctant writers. They really prefer copy work because it is "safe"...

Mr. Lybrand's way of talking them through the lessons is very reassuring and he makes it sound so easy. My boy's listened to what he said and then did it.  They started writing! I was impressed.

-Susan Seaton

Melissa Worcester
Practical Homeschooling Magazine

Since enrolling in Mr. Lybrand's class, she has submitted stories to nationally-distributed magazines with the hopes of being published (for fun!). She is also involved with other children from Mr. Lybrand's class in writing a weekly newspaper and distributing it around the neighborhood (for fun!) Most recently, while driving all day in the car, I asked my daughter what she was doing, and she replied "I'm writing another story" (for fun!)

- Gary Gould, Petroleum Engineer

“This approach eliminates writer's block"

- Carrie Minor
English Major, Texas A&M

One principle (from The Writing Course) I used with my 4th graders this past school year helped them tremendously in their writing, and made it easier for them to figure out how to punctuate their sentences

- Jennifer Thompson * Public School Teacher, San Antonio, Texas

"One would think that from a 5 CDS audio set about how to improve your writing, you would be looking at the writing as the final result. However, [and] moreover, it is [especially] in his inflection and tonality throughout the audio that Fred R. Lybrand [alludes] to a parallel BETWEEN revising how we do things in our everyday life AND revising the approaches we take to life [issues] until we get it right: Just as how involving others to read your writing [can make the difference], [Lybrand's] process [helps make] your life better [through] the involvement of others.

Four thumbs up for Fred R. Lybrand’s THE WRITING COURSE. As I only have two thumbs, God as my witness, I am certain His are way up too; as I am sure God had a hand or two in this one!”

Salvador SeBasco,
Literary Director and host of THE INSIDE VIEWTM broadcast,
book critic,
on staff with a CNN affiliate.

"My son did so well with the first course that I got carried away with getting the essay one with out reading your announcement. Thank you for the reimbursement.”

- Best regards, D.

[Said after purchasing the Writing Course early on, one of our customers purchased The Essay Course without reading the fact that it was a special bonus with his first course]