Best Writing Curriculum for Homeschool — From First Sentences to Essays

The best writing curriculum for most homeschool families is Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW). It provides a systematic, repeatable method for teaching composition that works from elementary through high school, includes video-based instruction so parents don't need to be expert writers, and produces measurable progress in students' writing ability. For younger children not yet ready for formal composition, Writing With Ease by Susan Wise Bauer is the best starting point, building foundational skills through copywork, narration, and dictation. Below, we review seven of the most popular homeschool writing programs so you can find the right fit for your family's style and your child's developmental stage.

Why Writing Curriculum Matters More Than You Think

Writing is the subject that sends more homeschool parents into a panic than any other. Math has clear right answers. Reading follows a fairly predictable progression. But writing? Writing is messy, subjective, and deeply personal — and most of us were never taught how to teach it.

Here's the good news: you don't have to figure it out on your own. The right curriculum gives you a framework, a scope and sequence, and the confidence to guide your child from scribbled first sentences all the way to structured essays.

Here's the less good news: there's no single "best" writing program for every child. A curriculum that produces beautiful results for one family may be a daily battle for another. That's why we've tested and reviewed seven popular options, organized by teaching philosophy and age range.

What to Look For in a Writing Curriculum

Before we dive into individual programs, here are the key factors we considered:

• Developmental appropriateness — Does it match what children at each age can actually do?
• Teacher support — How much do you need to know about writing to use this program?
• Balance of structure and creativity — Does it teach skills without killing the love of writing?
• Incremental progression — Does it build skills step by step, or expect too much too fast?
• Independent vs. teacher-led — How much of your time does each lesson require?

Best Writing Curricula for Beginners (Ages 5-8)

Writing With Ease by Susan Wise Bauer

Writing With Ease (WWE) is our top recommendation for the early years. Based on the classical model from The Well-Trained Mind, it breaks writing instruction into four foundational skills: copywork, narration, dictation, and eventually summarization.

What we love:

• Gentle, developmentally appropriate progression
• Uses high-quality literature as the basis for every lesson
• Lessons take only 10-15 minutes
• Requires almost no teacher preparation
• Builds skills that transfer beautifully into formal composition later

What to consider:

• No creative writing component — it's purely mechanical skill-building
• Some children find copywork tedious (though it's brief)
• You'll eventually need a separate program for composition

Best for: Families who want a no-stress start to writing instruction, especially those following a classical or Charlotte Mason approach. Pairs beautifully with handwriting practice.

Ages: 5-9 (Levels 1-4) Cost: About $25-30 per level (workbook format) Time commitment: 10-15 minutes per day, 4 days per week

Brave Writer: Jot It Down and Partnership Writing

Julie Bogart's Brave Writer philosophy treats writing as a natural extension of conversation and living. The early products — Jot It Down (ages 5-7) and Partnership Writing (ages 7-9) — focus on removing the fear of the blank page through freewriting, dictation, and what Bogart calls "movie-making on paper."

What we love:

• Celebrates the child's voice from day one
• Incorporates poetry tea time and other lifestyle elements
• Builds positive associations with writing
• The online community is incredibly supportive

What to consider:

• Very unstructured — some parents feel lost without a clear daily plan
• Progression can be hard to measure
• The philosophy works better if you embrace the whole Brave Writer lifestyle
• Can feel insufficient if your child needs more explicit instruction

Best for: Creative, sensitive children who resist structured academics. Also excellent for families following a relaxed or unschooling approach.

Ages: 5-9 (early products) Cost: $25-40 per manual; online classes are additional ($50-200 each) Time commitment: Varies widely; formal lessons might be 15-20 minutes, but the approach encourages writing throughout daily life

Best Writing Curricula for Elementary (Ages 8-12)

Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW)

IEW is the heavyweight of homeschool writing instruction, and for good reason. Andrew Pudewa's Structure and Style method gives students a concrete, repeatable process for writing. The core technique — the Key Word Outline — teaches children to extract main ideas from source material and rewrite them in their own words, gradually building toward original composition.

What we love:

• Extremely clear method that even reluctant writers can follow
• Video instruction means parents don't need to be writing experts
• Dress-ups, decorations, and sentence openers make grammar instruction purposeful
• Works across all subject areas (history narrations, science reports, literature responses)
• Strong results — students genuinely improve

What to consider:

• The formulaic approach can feel restrictive for naturally creative writers
• Expensive upfront (the Teaching Writing: Structure and Style video seminar is around $170)
• Lessons can run long (30-45 minutes)
• Some children resist the stylistic requirements (banned words, required dress-ups)

Best for: Families who want a systematic, proven method — especially if a parent feels unqualified to teach writing. Works beautifully alongside a classical education or a secular curriculum.

Ages: 8-18 (Theme-based and Student Writing Intensive levels) Cost: $170 for the core seminar; student materials $30-80 per level Time commitment: 30-45 minutes per lesson, 2-3 days per week

WriteShop

WriteShop uses a step-by-step, guided approach where parents walk children through the writing process one skill at a time. The teacher's manual is essentially a script, making it one of the most parent-friendly options available.

What we love:

• Highly scripted — truly open-and-go
• Breaks every assignment into tiny, manageable steps
• Includes brainstorming activities that make pre-writing fun
• The revision process teaches children to self-edit

What to consider:

• Very teacher-intensive (you're working alongside your child for most activities)
• The primary edition (ages 7-9) can feel slow for advanced writers
• Not as widely used as IEW, so there are fewer community resources
• Print-heavy — lots of worksheets

Best for: Parents who want a scripted, step-by-step approach and don't mind being hands-on. Particularly good for children who need each skill broken down into small pieces.

Ages: 7-15 (Primary through WriteShop II) Cost: $45-65 per level Time commitment: 30-40 minutes per lesson, 2 days per week

Brave Writer: The Writer's Jungle and Arrow/Boomerang

For upper elementary, Brave Writer offers The Writer's Jungle (the parent guide to the philosophy) along with the Arrow (ages 7-11) and Boomerang (ages 12+) subscription programs. These use published books as mentor texts, teaching grammar, mechanics, and literary analysis through copywork, dictation, and discussion.

What we love:

• Literature-based approach connects reading and writing naturally
• Arrow/Boomerang make language arts planning effortless
• Respects children's developmental stages
• Grammar and mechanics are taught in context, not in isolation

What to consider:

• Still less structured than IEW or WriteShop
• Doesn't provide as much direct composition instruction as structure-based programs
• The philosophy requires a parent mindset shift
• Arrow/Boomerang are subscription-based ($12/month or $120/year)

Best for: Families who want a literature-rich, whole-language approach. Pairs beautifully with a reading curriculum and works well for kids who love books but resist formal writing assignments.

Ages: 7-14 (Arrow and Boomerang) Cost: $120/year for Arrow or Boomerang; The Writer's Jungle is about $40 Time commitment: 15-30 minutes per day, 4 days per week

Best Writing Curricula for Middle School and Beyond (Ages 12+)

Windows to the World (IEW) and Elegant Essay

For families already using IEW, Windows to the World introduces literary analysis and essay writing for students in grades 7-9, while The Elegant Essay teaches formal essay structure. These are natural continuations of the Structure and Style method.

Writing With Skill by Susan Wise Bauer

The sequel to Writing With Ease, Writing With Skill (Levels 1-4) covers grades 5-12 and teaches outlining, summarizing, and academic writing across multiple genres. It's rigorous, thorough, and prepares students well for college-level writing.

Best for: Families who started with Writing With Ease and want to continue the classical approach.

Cover Story by Brave Writer

Brave Writer's high school program, Cover Story, guides students through the college application essay and other real-world writing tasks, along with traditional essay forms.

How to Choose: A Decision Framework

Still feeling overwhelmed? Here's a quick guide:

Choose Writing With Ease if...

• Your child is under 8
• You want a gentle start
• You follow a classical or Charlotte Mason method
• You have 10-15 minutes per day

Choose IEW if...

• Your child is 8 or older
• You want clear, measurable progress
• You don't feel confident teaching writing yourself
• Your child needs structure to produce work

Choose Brave Writer if...

• Your child is creative but resists formal assignments
• You want writing to feel natural and enjoyable
• You prefer a literature-based, lifestyle approach
• You're comfortable with less structure

Choose WriteShop if...

• You want a scripted, step-by-step program
• You're willing to work alongside your child
• Your child benefits from very small, incremental steps
• You want a balance of structure and creativity

Tips for Teaching Writing Successfully

No matter which curriculum you choose, these principles will serve you well:

1. Separate the Mechanical from the Creative

Never ask a beginning writer to come up with ideas AND spell correctly AND use proper grammar AND form neat letters all at once. Good curricula separate these demands. When your child is brainstorming, don't correct spelling. When they're working on handwriting, don't critique content.

2. Read Aloud — A Lot

The single best thing you can do to improve your child's writing is to read excellent literature aloud. Children absorb sentence structure, vocabulary, and voice through their ears long before they can produce it with their pens. This is why Brave Writer and Charlotte Mason approaches put reading at the center of writing instruction.

3. Use Oral Narration Before Written Narration

If your child can't tell you about something coherently out loud, they're not ready to write about it. Oral narration — simply retelling what they've read or experienced — builds the mental muscles of organization and expression. Writing With Ease builds this in explicitly, but you can add it to any program.

4. Don't Skip Copywork

Copying excellent sentences by hand teaches punctuation, capitalization, sentence structure, spelling, and style simultaneously — all without the cognitive load of composition. Even older students benefit from copying passages they admire.

5. Write Alongside Your Children

When you pick up a pen and write too — whether it's a journal entry, a letter, or a grocery list with flair — you show your children that writing is something real people do, not just a school assignment to endure.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Starting formal composition too early. Most children under 8 are not developmentally ready to compose original paragraphs. Focus on copywork, narration, and dictation first.
• Correcting everything at once. Pick one or two skills to focus on per assignment. A paper covered in red marks teaches nothing but discouragement.
• Skipping the pre-writing stage. Brainstorming, outlining, and talking through ideas should take at least as long as the actual writing.
• Comparing siblings. Writing ability varies enormously among children. A child who reads voraciously may still struggle with composition, and that's normal.
• Giving up too soon. Writing improvement is slow and non-linear. Stick with a curriculum for at least a full semester before deciding it doesn't work.

What About Grammar?

Writing and grammar are closely related but separate skills. Some writing curricula (like IEW's dress-ups or Brave Writer's Arrow) incorporate grammar instruction; others assume you're teaching grammar separately. If your chosen writing program doesn't cover grammar, consider pairing it with a dedicated grammar curriculum like First Language Lessons or Grammar Island.

Our Bottom Line

For the early years (ages 5-8), start with Writing With Ease. It builds the foundational skills your child needs without the tears.

For elementary and beyond (ages 8+), IEW is our top recommendation for most families. The method works, the video instruction makes it accessible, and the results speak for themselves.

For creative, sensitive children who resist structure, Brave Writer offers a beautiful alternative that keeps the love of writing alive.

And remember: the best writing curriculum is the one you'll actually use consistently. A "B+" program done faithfully will always outperform an "A+" program gathering dust on the shelf.