Wordsmith Apprentice Review

My oldest daughter and I recently had the opportunity to review Wordsmith Apprentice, a self- directed writing program for grades 4-6 in the Wordsmith Series.

I had never heard of Wordsmith, but after researching it, it looked like it could be a good fit my daughter and I was really hoping she would enjoy it and that it wouldn't be to difficult for her!

Also, it's one of Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks for Curriculum!

I have to say that after actually receiving Wordsmith Apprentice, and looking through it myself, that I did have some concerns. While it looked like something I thought my daughter would enjoy, I wondered how much "hand holding" it would require. I also worried that my daughter would find it to be to much writing and maybe a bit advanced beyond her current level of writing.

Boy, was I wrong! When she started into the book, she would hardly put it down.   That was encouraging, especially from the daughter, who does not, and I mean does NOT, like writing. Well I should say, who didn't like writing, because now she has a new found confidence in her writing. 

My daughter enjoyed the fact that she got to be a reporter. This was a new concept to her and one that she surprisingly embraced. This curriculum brought to her attention, the importance of writing and a new found love for our local writers and newspapers. It started out with a pretty basic application for a newspaper position. This is what really caught her attention and made it fun. Here is an example of her application. 

The day she filled this out, was a happy day for her. I remember vividly, her dad returning home from work that evening. He was just through the door, when he was greeted with an overjoyed daughter. She told him, that she had a job, and it was an important job. She was a reporter for a newspaper and she was reporting the news!  His smile was enough to make anyone also smile. I remember him looking at me with a look of "What have you done to excite her into writing?" Well friends, I can honestly say it wasn't me. I secretly hoped that this wasn't short lived. That it would continue to excite her.
I think it did continue to excite her because Wordsmith Apprentice started out very gently and it was exciting to her. It covered basic sentences, and then covered all four types of writing -- descriptive, narrative, expository, and persuasive.  It didn't just ask my daughter to write 'such and such'. It taught my daughter the skills to be able to write and to do it independently. Not to forget, it has wonderful comic sections. My daughter, being more of the visual type learner, really enjoyed these sections.  My six year old also enjoyed being read to by her older sister and looking at the pictures. 

Would you like to give Wordsmith Apprentice a try? We have enjoyed it!

 I hope you find as much success with it as we have. 

Are you looking for Language Arts Curriculum for Homeschooling?

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Legal Disclosure:

As a member of Timberdoodle's Blogger Review Team I received a free copy of Wordsmith in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.