Writing With Ease vs Brave Writer
The main differences
Both build early writing on narration, copywork and dictation from real books. Writing With Ease is a scripted program for about 1st to 3rd grade, four short lessons a week from an instructor guide with the child's answers suggested, at $39.87 a level in print. Brave Writer runs from age 5 to 18, teaches the parent to coach the child's own writing, ties grammar and spelling to a novel each month, and comes as PDFs; a year's bundle for about age 8 was $247 on sale.
| Writing With Ease | Brave Writer | |
|---|---|---|
| Subjects | Language arts | Language arts |
| Grades | Levels 1 to 3 workbooks, about 1st to 3rd grade; the Four-Year Guide covers the first four years, about 1st to 4th grade | Ages 5 to 18, about kindergarten to 12th grade, in five age bands |
| Method | Classical | Literature-based |
| Format | Books and workbooks | Books and workbooks |
| Faith label | Not labelled | Secular |
| Cost a year | $39.87. Level 2 in paperback: instructor guide $21.21 (list $24.95) and student workbook $18.66 (list $21.95), so $39.87 for the year. The PDF versions are $17.56 and $15.16. | $247. Emerging Writers Bundle One (designed for age 8, about 3rd grade; three year-long PDF programs): $247.00 on sale, regular price $325.00. |
| Placement | Free diagnostics to choose a level ↗ | Stages of growth guide, by age and skill ↗ |
| Parent time | Not stated by the publisher | Not stated by the publisher |
| It fits | A parent of a young writer who wants short, scripted daily lessons in narration, copywork and dictation from good books. | A parent who wants to coach writing through good books and conversation, with one relaxed program for one or several children. |
| It doesn't fit | A family that wants one book to cover grammar, spelling and phonics too, or a child who needs to work alone. | A family that wants a scripted workbook a child can do alone, or wants the option of a refund. |
Writing With Ease
Writing With Ease is a scripted elementary writing program built on three skills: narration (retelling a passage in the child's own words), copywork and dictation, using passages from classic children's literature. Each level is 36 weeks of four short lessons a week plus an optional creative-writing lesson, taught from a scripted instructor guide with a student workbook. Levels 1 to 3 are sold in print or as PDFs, and a Four-Year Guide lets a parent supply their own passages instead.
Does well: Every lesson is scripted with suggested student answers, so a parent can teach it without preparing.
Watch for: It teaches writing only, so grammar, spelling, phonics and handwriting need other programs.
Brave Writer
Brave Writer is a writing and language arts program built around a parent coaching a child's own writing. A year-long bundle for each age band joins three parts: monthly handbooks that teach grammar, spelling and punctuation through copywork and dictation from a read-aloud novel, monthly writing projects, and a manual that shows the parent how to guide the writing process. Everything is a downloadable PDF. Separate online writing classes with instructors run for ages 5 to 18.
Does well: The PDFs are not consumable and can be used with more than one child, especially children close in age.
Watch for: All sales of the digital products are final, with no refunds.
Lists with both
How we label
Every fact on a card was read on the publisher's own website on the date shown, and the page it came from is linked. A fact we could not confirm there is left out. Costs are for one child and one year of the main package, as the publisher's page showed them that day; prices and sales change. Method and format are the publisher's own description where it gives one. The only thing we say about religion is one label, secular or faith-based, given by the rule above; where the publisher's pages don't settle it, the card has no label.
Something wrong or out of date? Send a correction; publishers can send corrections, never money. Every program compared