Hillary and her husband, Daniel, are native San Diegans raising four children ranging in ages from 6 to 13. She is in her tenth year of homeschooling classically, but has spent the last twenty years teaching in one capacity or another, both privately and professionally. No matter the subject, from spelling to Spanish and a hodgepodge of other subjects in between, her love for language and learning compels her to come alongside students and parents to encourage them as they willingly (and sometimes reluctantly) engage in grammar and writing studies. Five years ago, Hillary was introduced to the IEW program and she has used it ever since as a vital tool in her children’s education, one that can serve them their whole lives long. When not teaching or schooling, Hillary enjoys reading, quilting, and spending time with her family, and she’s trying to figure out if she has time to be an indoor rock climber again or not.
The Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) has, as its mission, the goal to ‘equip... teaching parents with methods and materials which will aid them in training their students to become confident and competent communicators and thinkers.’ Everything the folks at IEW do is in line with their goal to encourage you, the parent, as you tackle language arts with your children - no matter how much previous writing experience (and confidence) you have. Their programs begin at the beginning, helping families navigate the process of moving from the ‘terror of the blank page’ to polished essays and paragraphs to be proud of, as well as providing paradigms for ‘natural writers’ to follow, who may not be sure how to instruct others. The curriculum uses a unique outline structure to facilitate many kinds of writing, whether it’s a dreaded book report, an original story (also known as ‘creative writing’), a research paper, or a formal essay. User friendly units are paired with easy-to-implement stylistic techniques that can be added at the student’s pace. This session will offer a preview of IEW’s ‘source to outline to student paragraph’ process, a demonstration of the incredible results the application of stylistic techniques produces, and suggestions for embracing the support IEW offers through video lessons and podcasts.
