High School Writing with So Verbose
As we entered Songbird’s Junior year, I struggled to find a good writing program for my homeschooled high schooler. For her Freshman and Sophomore years, we went with a full English package from a homeschool vendor that was supposed to hit everything that she would need to succeed in college; however, I felt they fell short of what Songbird needed. So, as we entered her Junior year, I was in serious search of a program that would prepare her for the writing she will need to do in college.
I tutored English in college, but that was AGES ago! I didn’t trust myself to be able to get up-to-date enough with the current research paper writing and current citation styles. Songbird needs to have someone or a program that is up-to-date in all the requirements of current writing styles. You know… I still double space after my ending punctuation, but I hear that is not common practice anymore. I can’t stop, though.
In my search, the name So Verbose came up a couple of times, so I headed over to their website to take a look. I was impressed with the progression of the upper-level writing courses. I decided that in order to get Songbird up to speed with research papers by college, I would start her with the Essay I-IV for this year. Since the Essay classes would also include some grammar as needed to complete writing assignments correctly, I felt that combining these classes with a Literature class I already planned on would be adequate for what she needed.
Songbird is just a couple of weeks away from finishing her Essay I course (provided free of charge for the purpose of this review). The last few weeks have flown by as Songbird completed writing assignments that I didn’t have to grade. Her teacher sends Songbird a new lesson every Wednesday, and Songbird has to send in her completed assignment the following Wednesday. I looked over Songbird’s lesson and found it to describe the assignment and the basis behind it for each week. Songbird’s teacher grades each assignment and sends it back to Songbird with the grading rubric, grade, strengths of Songbird’s work, and areas that Songbird needs to work on. Did I mention I don’t have to grade the paper?
I think Songbird has also enjoyed her Essay I class! She has shown an increased amount of independence with this course, and I think that will help prepare her for college classes.
If you are looking for a writing course for your homeschooler, make sure to check out the So Verbose website for their list of classes and prices!
Disclosure: My daughter took this last class free of charge for the purpose of this review. We liked it so much that I have already signed her up for the next class! All opinions are mine.
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