I will have a 3rd and 5th grader next year. I am really torn between these 2 programs. IEW looks amazing but I don’t want to overwhelm my girls right out of the gate. I was thinking of doing BJU next year and then maybe IEW the next school year. Any thoughts or suggestions from people who have used these?
I have no experience with either of these curriculums. While you didn’t ask for any other recommendations, I highly recommend Voyages in English. In any event, regardless of what you choose, GOOD LUCK! 
I’ve only used IEW Writing program, so I can’t comment on their grammar, spelling, or reading programs. But I can say that I love the IEW writing! I use that in conjunction with BJU English for our grammar. I just skip the BJU Writing chapters and do the English/Grammar chapters since I don’t really like how BJU teaches writing.
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We are experienced IEW users here. I just used Bible heroes and all things fun and fascinating With my two younger boys. I have a lot more confidence after teaching my older children with SWI A/the DVDs. IEW now has lower-level riding lessons and they are wonderful. You can never help your kids too much and I wished I had started my 2 oldest at an earlier age. My boys didn’t find it overwhelming at all. They actually were very excited to do Bible heroes. Hope that helps. Kelly
I am just worried that I am picking to many teacher intensive curriculums for next year. I will be teaching 3 kids for the first time and I don’t want to overwhelm myself 
IEW’s SWI A (student writing intensive level student writing intensive level A) is a set of DVDs where Andrew Pudewa actually “teaches” the lessons. You come along Side and help them throughout the week. They also have a supplemental file that helps complement lower grade levels too so you could actually teach them both at the same time, but to their grade level.
Best wishes,
Kelly
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Kelly how many days a week do you do IEW? And do you do a separate grammar program?
Hi Lindsay!
I have four kids, ages: son 14, daughter 12, son nine,& son eight. We have been homeschooling since the beginning. I started out with the spelling program SWR it is teacher intensive, but there are several other great spelling/ phonics programs out there. I tried to buy things that I would be able to use all four of my kids. As they got older, we started using IEW with my two oldest. Then I realized that some of the concepts were very simple and I could implement them with my two youngest. Since then we have added in IEW’s fix it grammar and we love that.
To finally answer your question we do fix it grammar four days a week and that’s about 15 minutes a day. We do The other material five days a week. And that there is from day today we can be as short as a 15 minute we write a paper, to writing an outline, to watching a DVD. So those lessons range from 15 minutes to 45 minutes for those 5 days. I can share a more typical schedule with you if you would like. Let me know. Kelly
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@kelly. I would love your schedule. I have four kids. Son 13, daughter 11, daughter seven son three. We are going from connection academy to using our own curriculum next year. I know I want to use IEW. I’m just not sure which levels or how. My oldest son hates to write but my oldest daughter loves it. My seven year old doesn’t quite understand how to write. They are all very advanced but of course in their own ways. Thanks Jessica.
I would love to know too Kelly!
Sorry I somehow missed your reply. I’ll get a sample schedule ASAP.
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Soooooo here goes!
the bare bones look:
9:00 start school
12:00-1:00 lunch/break
1:00- ?? finish
We try to start school at 9am. The two oldest are done sometime in the afternoon depending on fast or slow they are going that day.
First let me say that we use My Father’s World (MFW) for history 1st thing in the morning. We start with Bible and do any history reading together. At this time they can draw something to do with history we are reading ( I may have a notebooking page and a sentence to go with it) or with MFW in the 5 year cycle they use God and the History of Art and so we may to an art page for that. We also use extramath- its a free online math review and they do that daily whenever the computer is available. We use workboxes and the kids can work through those throughout the day. When they are young they need to go in the order I have put the boxes, as they get older they can do them in the order they choose. We use Math U See (MUS) so they all watch their lesson and read the TM if needed. I always check the 1st page before they move on to catch any misunderstanding, etc. We use speel to write and read (SWR) for phonics/spelling. The two oldest have finished this and they all use IEW (institute for excellence in writing) at various levels. The two youngest to IEW with me as well as SWR. WE also uses Apologia science for the older kids.My main goal is to get any thing done with all 4 kids or even just the 2 youngest in the morning. They each have a sheet with their weekly schedule that I fill in saturday or sunday night. They have to cross off what they have finished and they know that by crossing it off they are saying that they have completed that work.
I have not always been this organized. When I first started homeschooling we were doing the alphabet, numbers, and the Beautiful Feet for American history books where I read the pages and they did a coloring page. Those coloring pages turned into lapbooks, and that turned into notebooking, etc. I started out on a shoestring budget and we have opted for more expensive curriculum that can be passed down to all 4 kids eventually. Our homeschooling has always begun in the planning stages with prayer so that when those tough days come I can stay anchored by the fact that I know we are doing exactly whet the Lord had planned for that year. =) I have included my youngest and oldest kids weekly schedule sheets. They are not filled in, but you get the idea how that would work. I do not fil in any thing for my youngest and he has the symbols as he is not quite reading yet. I just transitioned him from just symbols, to now he has a little bit of writing. Hope this helps. Let me know if you have questions, etc.
Kelly
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