I want to tell you how much we enjoy using Writing Strands. I recently was just reading your book, Evaluating Writing, and realized that you suggest that Writing Strands and Reading Strands  be used together and alternated weekly. I wish I had been aware of this last year.

If homeschooling parents want the full benefits of Mr. Marks' program for their children, then they should listen to the author's recommendations of how to go about using it, and make sure that they purchase a copy of Evaluating Writing. It is a valuable teaching guide to the program, and an essential one. Parents have a remarkably simple but complete Language Arts Program in their hands, and they need to know how to utilize it to its full potential. Evaluating Writing  oes this for them. I highly recommend it as a homeschooling parent who uses it, and I feel fortunate to have found the program!

Have a good day,
Linda Raas

Good Day!

My daughter, Sarah, is about to complete Level Three in Writing Strands. Send me an order form so I can place an order for level Four.

Sarah's attitude about creative writing has totally changed for the better since we began using Writing Strands. I really appreciate your work and dedication to providing quality material for homeschoolers.

Vicki Day
Antioch, TN

Dear Mr. Dave,

I finished your book Dragonslaying is for Dreamers quite a while ago, and I wanted to tell you what I thought about it. So I guess I'll start off by telling you it was one of the best books I ever read. I really liked the parts when Axel would make the dragons blow-up. Those parts were really cool! Well, at least I thought so, I don't think my mom an my sister were big fans of those parts! My favorite characters were Axel, Thidney, Winthon and the King. I liked Winthon partly because of his name, and partly because he was a nice donkey. I liked Thidney because he's funny. I liked Axel because he was really brave. And I liked the King because he was very nice. It was really funny the way you took care of Axel's mother and Molly's dad so they could get married! I think they would have had a bad time as married people because they were both wanting to be in charge! What was your favorite part to write?

Your friend,
Austin Canen Age 10
P.S. I'm really looking forward to reading your new book! I want to read the sequel to this!

Mr. Dave Marks,

Hi, my name is Josh Somerstein. I'm 16 and have just finished reading your book Dragonslaying is for Dreamers. I really enjoyed it, alot! I'm not one who just sits down and reads, but yours was excellent. I couldn't put the book down! I enjoy things that I learn from, one thing I learned in this book is how selfish I can be. In the story, Axel was offered a lot of things, but didn't always take them. He was humble and thought of others. I tried to put myself in Axel's place and ask myself if I would have been greedy enough to take everything that was offered to me. I also learned that if you have a goal in life, and try everything to achieve it, then problems don't seem to bother you as much; but if you don't have a goal, then problems begin to become a burden to your life. Your book was phenomenal, and if you ever write any other books, let me know, I can't wait to read them!

Your newest fan,
Josh Somerstein

P.S. I was up till 4:00 am in the morning with a flashlight to finish your book!

Dear Mr. Marks,

I'm so impressed with the results that my daughter is achieving in her writing skills after using your program I just had to write and say thank you. I've been homeschooling my daughter, Nicole, for 5 years. Her writing skills have been the most difficult to develop. I've never felt confident with any of the curriculum I've used in the past. This is our first year with Writing Strands. Right from the beginning of the school year when we cracked open Writing Strands Level 3 Nicole began to improve dramatically. It felt like we unlocked a door we just couldn't get open until now. So, I thank you, Mr. Marks, for putting together such a fine program.

Sincerely,
Leslie Wight
Milford, CT

Hi,

My second grader just finished Writing Strands Level 2 and my sixth grader just finished Writing Strands Level 3. At this time last year, my then fifth grader was halfway through a ... grammar book. It was terrible. Everyday grammar was a struggle for both of us. I thought, "There has to be a better way!" I read about Writing Strands in a homeschool magazine and immediately sent for more information. I then purchased your curriculum. Later in June I was able to hear your presentation at the LEAH Conference in Syracuse. It was a truly inspiring presentation. Thank you so much for Writing Strands. I recommend it to every homeschooler I meet.

Sincerely,
June Griffin
Colorado Springs, CO

Gentlemen:

Thank you for your creativity and inspiration. We look forward to a year of writing without the technical bondage of the "letter" mechanics of English courses in diagramming sentences, etc... "The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."

Pat from Fort Worth Texas

Dear Sir,

We had an amazing breakthrough this year in our writing assignments thanks to Writing Strands. My boys, ages 10 and 13 hated writing and always became upset when asked to write things. "I can't write, I don't know how to get started," was the usual complaint. After using your material the change in attitude was dramatic. Enclosed is my 13 year old's description of his back yard at the end of the year. See and enjoy the results for yourself. Please accept my heartfelt thank you for helping us into the world of writing.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Alan Stout
Holcomb, NY

Dear Mr. Marks,

I recently received my writing books. They are truly everything you claim. After the first few lessons my kids (ages 9 and 11) were hooked, laughing, and asking for more.

Sincerely,

Carol Severson
Malden, IL

Dear Mr. Marks,

My children love Writing Strands! So do I! Writing is no longer a chore but something we all look forward to.

Sincerely,
Tonda Rowley

Gentleman:

I have to tell you that as a former high school English teacher, I am very impressed with the Writing Strands texts. I find them far superior to any writing textbook I have ever encountered. My philosophy of teaching writing has always been that one learns to write by writing, not by memorizing rules of grammar. Your texts use that philosophy. I was unable to teach my 8th grade son how to write. We tried absolutely everything. Thank God I discovered your books. You are a genius. And I believe that genius lies in you being able to speak to kids on their level. What you say makes sense to kids. What you say has meaning for kids, otherwise they would not be motivated to complete the assignments.

Sincerely,

Judith A. Gilbert
Newark, OH

Dear Dave,

I have a son who has mild cerebral palsy. Although he is of average intelligence, he has great difficulty with communicating his thoughts into words, and especially on paper. I heard about Writing Strands from a friend and decided to try it with him. At the beginning of the year, he was 12, he had a difficult time just writing anything, much less sentences. We started with Level Two. "It is a pencil." I could see light beginning to dawn on him as we progressed through the lesson. He was so proud when he looked at his 1st finished sentences. He had done it! By the end of six months he had progressed from that simple sentence, to a page and a half essay on an experience he had during an imaginary summer vacation. I can't say enough about how great I think this program is! Thanks!!

Sandy Parten
Sanger, TX

Dear Sir,

I just want to let you know how much my twin boys age 15 and I appreciate Writing Strands. We have already gone through Levels 3, 4 and 5 and are using Level 6. I thought earlier in this year that we could just get by with using the public school Eng. textbook. Boy, was I wrong! We did nothing but spin around in tight little circles. I tried other books and pamphlets on how to write an essay -- finally we now know how to write an essay using Writing Strands Level 6. Thank you, Thank You!

Cathy Satire
Two Harbors, MN

Dear Mr. Marks:

We have been using your Writing Strands materials in our home school since September of last year. My fifth and eight grades regarded writing as a chore, a disturbing and counter productive development. I have a degree in English from UCLA, with an emphasis in literary criticism, but I was at a loss as to how to stimulate their creative juices. We started with Levels 3 and 5. the guffaws filtering out of the schoolroom were promising: Abel, the 5th grader, particularly relates to the wit of the instructions. The work they have done is a revelation of creativity and -- even more exciting to me -- logic and organization. Hanna, my 8th grader, relates to every exercise with a fresh insight. They seem to engage her imagination in a way that our previous program did not. Thank you for the fine materials.

Kathleen Zander
Crystal Lake, IL

Dear Mr. Marks,

I would like to express my thanks and relief for Writing Strands. Firstly, I must confess I was skeptical anything so simple would work. The first week of homeschool we trudged through nouns: common, proper, collective, concrete and abstract ...Z Z Z! Need I say more? Somehow I felt we weren't learning language unless we were taking sentences apart. Today I took the plunge--out came Book Two. Day one was pure joy for us! Thank you for breaking the units into days and at very sensible places. Sara was actually laughing during certain portions of the lesson! Again, many thanks for these delightful materials!

Danna Zupco
Sebago Lake, ME

To Whom It May Concern,

As a homeschool educator I was introduced to the Writing Strands program at a convention last spring. I was impressed with the presentation and purchased level 3 to use with my two children. The quality of work that has been produced by my children is remarkable. I have taught writing in both the public and private schools using other materials and I have not been as impressed with the outcome. My children are certainly no more intelligent than the many others I have instructed. I must conclude that is the material that has produced the exciting results.

I am thrilled to tell you that both of my children love to do the assignments. My daughter, 13, has always enjoyed writing but not so my son. He now enjoys the results of his work. He is eleven and wonder if he might just be a future writer. I find it amazing the enthusiasm both children have to find out what we are going to do in the next lesson.

Cathy Bergstrom
Elkwood, IL

Mr. Marks:

My son really enjoyed your Dragonslaying is for Dreamers. He usually only likes Star Wars books. I liked the parent's manual--it was great. I wish I had it twenty years ago when I was in school and college. Last month, I ordered Axel and the Blue Men. My son is very disappointed that he must wait until the end of this month to read it. He wants me to tell you that you absolutely must write more books.

Thanks for the great books,

Anonymous Mom of a 12 year old in Virginia

Hello,

We have just completed reading Dragonslaying is For Dreamers. It didn't take us long. My daughter, 13 and son, 11, and I couldn't stop reading it. We took turns reading out loud so we didn't have to put the book down much.

My son, Kevin, surprised me! This child finds every excuse there is not to read. (There aren't actually very many excuses) He was always picking it up wanting to read more than was planned to read that day.

My daughter, Erin, is the opposite. I actually have to tell her to 'put the book down.' Don't worry, I don't tell her that too often but when she is brushing her teeth, making her bed or we're eating dinner, I do have to make her stop reading. She has read many, many books in her 12 years! She honestly said that Dragonslaying Is For Dreamers is her favorite. She could have read it in one day and continually reminded me of that but I insisted that we stop from time to time to have a discussion.

We are happy that the author has a heart and has chosen to not destroy the egg. Axel obviously was not entirely thrilled about the death of the dragons even though the payment, honor and glory were rewarding. The author found it in his heart to keep the dragon fantasy alive for all the young dreamers out there who want to be dragonslayers when they grow up and for all of those who want to dream along with them as they read aloud with their children.

Thank you!

Jenna Baumgartner,
Lawrenceburg