You may have noticed a few additions to our course list this year, like Grammar and Writing - Classical Academic Press. For years, Veritas Press has offered only Shurley and IEW as the preferred Grammar and Writing curriculum; why are we adding these courses now? The answer is simple, over the past few years, our online school has grown significantly. More students mean more learning styles, and we wanted to offer our students what works for them while maintaining excellence in education!

Veritas and Classical Academic Press have had a close relationship for the past 20 years. We chose CAP’s Latin for Children early on for our grammar Latin curriculum, and we’ve seen great success with it. In 2021, CAP released its newest edition of the Well-Ordered Language text to go along with its Writing and Rhetoric books, so we were thrilled to check them out. After a thorough review and lots of positive feedback, we decided to offer a live course option using the curriculum.

There are four levels of the Well-Ordered Language (WOL) and Writing and Rhetoric curriculum. Each level has two books, A and B, to be used in one academic year. The online courses start with Level 1 in third grade and go through Level 4 in sixth grade. The live courses are the same quality as our Shurley and IEW Grammar, but with a different approach.

Not sure which course to choose for your child? Here’s the breakdown.

WOL’s approach to writing is less-structured than Shurley. It is written with the child’s interests in mind. While Shurley emphasizes repetition and building on past concepts, WOL plays on a child’s natural curiosity with language and desire to collect, gather, and order. It also uses excerpts from classic children’s literature and poetry to bring the grammar concepts to life.

Writing and Rhetoric compliments the WOL text very nicely. Because this course doesn’t start until third grade, it assumes the student knows a thing or two about writing sentences. Many parents claim this curriculum is great for reluctant writers because it allows room for creativity. It is a better fit for natural writers who struggle with the nitty-gritty of being told how and what to write but need help organizing their writing. IEW is an excellent curriculum that might appeal more to logic-minded children with its incremental approach to writing.

Both Grammar and Writing course options will prepare your child for Composition I in secondary school. If your child is resistant to writing or hasn’t had a strong foundation in grammar and writing, then the Classical Academic Press course option might be a great solution for them. As always, we strive for excellence in our course offerings, so no matter which course you choose, you can be sure that your child will be prepared for the next steps.

Classical Academic Press courses are offered in live classes or you-teach classes!

If you’re still unsure about which courses are right for your child, just talk to one of our consultants, and they’ll answer all your questions!