The Power in Your Hands:
Writing Nonfiction in High
School
Sharon Watson
Writing with Sharon Watson
www.WritingwithSharonWatson.com
My husband and I both agree that writing well is one of our top priorities with
preparing our children for their future
careers. I have spent many hours researching writing programs in the past
ten years. I can honestly say that Wri-ting;with;Sharon;Watson;is;a;keeper.
Not;many;writing;programs;get;a;five
star;rating;here;at;Homeschooling6.
My 9th grade son Josh was very
blessed to use The Power in Your Hands:
Writing Nonfiction in High School. For
this review I received The Power in Your
Hands Student Workbook;($39.98);and
the;Teacher’s;Guide;($14.98).;I;had;my
Teacher Guide spiral bound.
The Power in Your Hands is perfect
for a beginner or experienced writer.
Through the course of the year your
child will complete twenty-two essays
and;reports.;Josh;just;took;off;with;this
program; he was able to complete assignments on his own. Of course as a
parent;I;do;go;over;his;work.;We;have
a meeting time, and this is when I will
look;at;his;writing;and;go;over;any-thing he doesn’t understand. What I
absolutely love about this program (yes
we;both;loved;it!);is;that;the;Teacher’s
Guide;gives;examples;of;an;A+;all;the
way;down;to;what;an;F;paper;looks;like.
The first sixty-five pages of the
Teacher Guide includes an overview of
the program, samples of real students
writing, grading, what to expect from
the student, and so much more. It may
sound;like;a;lot;but;it;is;not;overwhelm-
ing at all. As a busy mom of six I really
appreciated this part of the Guide. Hav-
ing Mrs. Watson show me what an A,
B,;C,;D,;or;F;paper;looks;like;was;very
helpful. (. . .)
I;thought;I’d;be;more;involved;but
like;I;mentioned;Joshua;was;able;to;do
a;lot;on;his;own.;He;worked;through
the;program;about;four;days;a;week.;I
would meet with him sometime during
the day or every other day. At the time
of this review he is writing a persuasive
essay;and;is;doing;very;well.;It’s;chal-lenging. His persuasive essay has to
have;three-hundred;words;but;it’s;good
for him. He has spent hours researching and writing. Thank the Lord he
likes;a;good;challenge.;(.;.;.)
Quote;from;Joshua,;9th;grade:;“Writ-
ing with Sharon Watson is great because it has taught me how to write a
knowledgeable essay within the first
couple;of;weeks.”
—Product review by Linda Beltran
blogging for the Crew at
training6hearts4him.blogspot.com
america the beautiful
Curriculum Package
Charlene Notgrass
Notgrass Company
www.Notgrass.com
1.800.211.8793
This;past;school;year,;the;kids;asked;if
we could dig deeper in American His-
tory. I was all for it as I enjoy being able
to follow their interests but I had no clue
whether I wanted to piece together our
own lessons or use a laid out curricu-
lum;source.;So;I;was;tickled;to;have;the
chance to review America the Beautiful
from Notgrass Company. I had actually
never heard of them until this review
but;at;first;glance,;I;was;intrigued!
America the Beautiful is a one-year
American;history;program;with;a;Bib-
lical worldview that also includes ge-
ography and literature studies. It was
created by a Christian homeschooling
family;and;contains;six;books,;created
for;kids;in;grades;5-8;(ages;10-14).;It
includes:
america the beautiful Part 1: This
is a hardcover book with 452 pages,
seventy-five;lessons,;that;starts;with;life
in America before the Europeans came.
There;are;both;black;and;white;and;col-
ored pictures throughout.
america the beautiful Part 2: This is
a;hardcover;book;with;572;pages,;sev-
enty-five;lessons,;that;picks;up;where
book;one;left;off;and;continues;until
current time. It also contains many
black;and;white;and;colored;pictures.
We the People: This is a hardcover
book;that;has;220;pages;with150;vary-
ing collections of newspaper articles,
poems, letters, speeches, and docu-
ments from the time period.
maps of america the beautiful: This
book;ties;in;with;each;lesson;assign-
ment given in the America the Beautiful
books.;There;are;thirty;different;maps
with instructions on how to complete
each map.
Timeline of America the Beautiful:
This is a timeline that ties in with most
lessons;starting;with;AD;1000;to;pres-
ent;time.;Some;facts;are;already;filled;in
but;the;students;fill;in;most;facts,;with
directions given from each lesson.
America the Beautiful Answer Key:
This contains answers for the timeline,
student;workbooks,;and;lesson;review
and has vocabulary assignments as
well. (. . .)
I;know;this;seems;overwhelming;but
it;isn’t!;In;fact,;we;truly;are;enjoying
this curriculum. The main selling point
to me is that I can use it with all four
older;kids;together;as;it;fits;right;with
their grades. Not only that, but everything is laid out and there is no prep
work;for;me,;a;double;plus!;(.;.;.)
We felt that the quality of this curric-ulum;was;great!;The;kids;really;appre-ciated seeing the many pictures shown
in each lesson, helping to bring to life
what they were reading. I also felt that
We the People brought an added depth
as;well.;Each;lesson;took;us;about;45
