WriteAtHome: Online Writing Courses for Homeschoolers

Whether you’re looking for yearlong online writing courses to cover the English curriculum for your homeschooler, or short, focused writing workshops, WriteAtHome has an online writing class tailored to your needs. My middle schooler took WriteAtHome’s 8-Week online Expository Writing Class for a test drive; here’s what we thought.

I received free access to a WriteAtHome 8-Week Workshop for review purposes and I was compensated for my time. All opinions are my own and I am not required to post a positive review. 

The Need for Homeschool Writing Courses

We can’t help it. In our home, we’re naturally drawn to creative writing activities. We’re a family of aspiring novelists and playwrights, and honestly, it shows. Give us creative writing assignment–a novel, a short story, a musical–and we will tackle it with vigour. But throw an essay project our way and we wince a little.

I didn’t mean to pass this tendency on to my homeschooled children. It just happened. I love creative writing, so I encouraged them to write creatively. And it worked.

But somewhere around grade four or five, I started trying to assign them more non-fiction writing project: essays, book reports, research papers. I gave them templates and explained–in what I thought were the clearest of terms–the process and structure behind whatever format of writing we were learning.

Unfortunately, it kind of flopped. They did the projects. They even did decently, most of the time.

But I realized their heart wasn’t in it as much as it was in the creative projects. And what’s worse, I didn’t know how to fix that which, in turn, meant I struggled to get them excited about developing their non-fiction writing skills.

Over the past few years, we’ve leaned more heavily into dense writing curricula, trying to find programs that will help them exercise this weaker muscle. We have had some success, but it’s still an area in which they struggle.

WriteAtHome Offer Online Writing Courses for Grades 6-12

So, when we got the opportunity to try out WriteAtHome, I jumped at the chance to sign my daughter (grade 8) up for their 8-week expository writing workshop. She’s just wrapped up the course this week and had only positive things to report about it.

WriteAtHome offers a number of short-term online writing classes for middle school and high school students. Their online courses include:

Online Middle School Writing Classes:

• Narrative Writing
• Descriptive Writing
• Expository Writing
• Persuasive Writing
• Middle School Research Paper

Online High School Writing Classes:

• Creative Writing 1
• Creative Writing 2
• Short Story Writing
• Expository Writing 1
• Expository Writing 2
• Essay 1
• Essay 2
• Literary Analysis
• High School Research Paper
• College Prep Research Paper (New)

Additionally, they offer yearlong and semester-long courses for grades six and up that cover all of the above topics within a comprehensive curriculum. While the short-term classes are perfect for those who are dabbling in homeschooling or keeping their kids home temporarily, the longer programs are best for those seeking a complete online writing course for their full-time homeschooler.

Here’s a quick course comparison:

The Benefits of Learning Writing with WriteAtHome

The lessons in the WriteAtHome program were clear and easy to understand. The teachers answer questions quickly and help students understand their mistakes.

They have designed writing assignments that center on each student’s areas of interest, which helps to engage learners and spark that interest in writing that may otherwise remain dormant. In the expository writing class, my daughter learned to write a well-structured essay on a topic that she cared about deeply.

Over the course of the eight-week program, she completed three assignments. Each week students turn in one assignment as well as receive feedback on their previous assignment. The first assignment helps the teachers gauge the student’s writing style and ability; the second and third assignments help them refine those skills.

The assignments typically have three drafts, which allow the students to develop the crucial skills of editing and revision. For the expository writing workshop, the assignments included an essay, a eulogy for a fantasy character, and a book report.

My daughter found the feedback to be helpful, and if she didn’t understand something, she was able to email her teacher and receive an explanation. The instructors provided prompt responses. My daughter also appreciated that there was no live commitment with the writing workshop. All the lessons were text-based, so she could take her time learning the material.

The expository writing workshop helped her understand the different parts of an essay and what to do and avoid in expository writing. Some of the lessons talked about how to write for different audiences, which words you should try not to use, and the structure of an essay. Each lesson was written in a way that was easy to understand.

My daughter also appreciated WriteAtHome‘s grading methodology. The grades aren’t solely determined by the quality of the writing assignment. The instructors also reward students’ ability to accept and apply feedback, placing the emphasis of achievement more on the rate of improvement and growth than on the work itself.

WriteAtHome offers a wide variety of online writing courses for homeschoolers, so it’s advisable that you and your child complete their course recommendation survey to find the best writing course for you. If you are looking for an affordable, accessible, kid-approved program for improving your kids to write better, we recommend checking out WriteAtHome’s offerings.