Since this is my blog, I’m allowed to brag once in a while, right?

I also post this as an encouragement to myself and other homeschooling mothers who worry about their children’s writing skills. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it in the past but Aisa was very resistant to formal writing classes/lessons. I tried so many books on her — The Latin Road to English Grammar, Voyages in English, Exercises in English, an online writing course, etc., etc. Finally around the 10th grade I gave up. I just continued to feed her good and great books, fueled by my own passion as well as hers, and just let her write, as she wished. Mostly on her blog. There was very little (emphasis on the VERY) in the way of formal writing in our homeschool. I did give her Format Writing to do on her own (because by that time I was frustrated with her non-cooperation and I frankly didn’t have time to go through her work and put up with the little annoyances of back-and-forth argument about what to do and how to do things. I don’t want to give the impression that she’s argumentative or stubborn. She’s very sweet, but I had to learn to strike a careful balance between giving her advice on her writing and basically just keeping my mouth SHUT. Most of the time I ended up doing the latter, just to avoid unpleasantness. Sometime before 12th grade I gave her The Elements of Grammar, figuring if she at least read that short book she’ll have the basics, even if we never did anything with it.

Well, she finished high school a year early and took several months off to relax and travel with us. She starts college in the fall. She’ll be in Honors English and asked a couple of people to write recommendation letters for her to submit to the committee. Yesterday, she got this from her Anglo-Saxon lit teacher, and needless to say we are mighty proud of her:

July 22, 2009

To Whom it may Concern:

I highly recommend Aurora (Aisa) P for entrance into your Honors Experience program. Her writing ability and critical thinking skills stand out in my memory as exemplary. I had the pleasure of teaching Aisa in the Fall 2008 semester of Virtue and Heroism: An Introduction to Anglo-Saxon Literature. This class is presented to junior and senior homeschool students as an honors-level writing and literature class. Its structure was based on the honors seminar classes I had in college and emphasized critical, text-based interpretation of literature and written analysis. Assignments included reading Anglo-Saxon works in translation, answering 3-4 analysis questions weekly, and writing a final paper incorporating elements of the semester-long study.

Aisaʼs writing throughout the semester was pointed and precise, supported with detail from the text. It was technically proficient, devoid of grammar errors and small mistakes, and submitted punctually. She followed directions precisely, except where combining answers to two questions on an assignment produced a more complete essay. She also far exceeded the minimum paper length, and yet her work was focused and didnʼt ramble. Her vocabulary is expansive, having been fed from a steady diet of great books.

In addition to writing competently, her thought was well-formed. The question on the final paper was to sum up the virtues of a good Anglo-Saxon man and woman. She drew connections between the class-assigned literature to works she had read in different courses, and to her contemporary faith and to her extra-curricular role leading a youth group. Chesterton was quoted alongside Bede, and Peter Kreeft, along with Beowulf. She was able to see the big picture, and often compared or contrasted one weekʼs assigned reading with that of a previous assignment. These skills are often found in upper-college level work; finding it in a younger student is a rare treasure.

Aisaʼs insights and academic ability would make her an excellent scholar in your honors program. I would be happy to answer any questions you have, and can be contacted by phone and e-mail. With my highest recommendation, I hope you accept her in your program, beginning her freshman year.

Sincerely,