Open Tent Academy review of online homeschool writing class

Open Tent Academy Review

Looking for an Open Tent Academy review? We’ve got our full thoughts on their writing courses.

How to Find a Homeschool Writing Curriculum That Works Magic…

I started college as a journalism major and LOVE writing. Unfortunately, my three kids don’t share that passion. For the first few years of homeschooling, I thought their writing would progress naturally- they read a lot and usually, reading and writing go hand in hand. However, it just wasn’t clicking- their writing was actually quite dismal and it became a power struggle. We needed an amazing homeschool online writing class we found one and now are sharing our Open Tent Academy review with you! If you would rather listen to our podcast, we interview Eva Goldstein-Meola about the writing classes at Open Tent Academy.

We needed help for homeschooling and writing beyond their other Language Arts curriculum.

Finding a Homeschool Online Writing Class For Elementary Through High School

Enter Open Tent Academy....looking back, I think I found it back then by luck on a Google search (of course- isn’t that the way it always works?). After a few amazing homeschool online writing classes with Open Tent Academy, I’m excited to report that my kids can effectively write (including your typical middle school/high school 5 paragraph essay). Now, don’t get TOO excited. They still haven’t learned to LOVE writing…BUT they don’t hate it, they enjoy the class, and the improvement in their work is so dramatic that this mom is very happy.

Nothing my kids have had for writing instruction has come anything close to the well-organized writing homeschool curriculum from Open Tent Academy. Want proof? I have 10 concrete examples for you! Keep reading our full Open Academy review.

9 Year Old Review of Open Tent Academy

1. Classes for each age range that build upon each other for a FULL, comprehensive writing curriculum.

Some online writing classes can be taken for multiple years- I promise, the content won’t be boring and the students will just build upon the previous year. The instructor is skilled in teaching material to multiple ability levels.
Course options truly are a step approach, including Introduction to IEW Writing, Powerful Paragraphs, Middle School Writing, All About Essays, and High School Research (remember, courses can be taken for multiple years)

2. Live, online, interactive classes with the option to FLEX

Classes are 10 weeks, 20 weeks, or full-year courses (summer options are also available). Full-year courses typically meet live every other week, offering the student ample time to complete assignments in between.
The live component is 90 minutes in duration and includes interaction via chat or microphone.
If a live session is missed, the recording is available- personally, we try to make the live classes as much as possible but occasionally have to miss.
If families prefer, they can take the course as a ‘flex’ option and utilize recordings.

3. Easy to Follow Online Platform

Open Tent Academy uses the Jigsaw platform for homeschool online classes. Weekly live sessions and assignments are organized in ‘modules’. I promise- it is super intuitive– my 3rd grader figured out how to access everything after a week.
Don’t worry- your kids won’t be searching for homework or telling you they didn’t know something was due- it is all very, very clearly organized.

4. Simple yet effective outlines

I can use Google and find outlines for various types of essays. However, it can get cumbersome and I have to pay or sign up for certain downloads- honestly, it just gets irritating to search and find so many results to weed through.
Open Tent Academy offers an outline for each assigned essay that tailored to that essay style AND is simple and easy for the student to complete independently.
We have each type printed and saved in a binder for future use.

5. Open Tent Academy Review – Unique editing checklist with detailed systematic approach

My kids have learned to love the editing checklist in Open Tent Academy writing classes. It turns the creative writing process into more of a scientific process– they have a step-by-step guide to editing that isn’t just check spelling, grammar, punctuation. It’s clear directions about banned words, sentence starters, and more- it’s actually pretty fun to try to complete all the ‘steps’.
Eventually, the process becomes automatic, but while learning, the checklist is an essential piece of the puzzle.

6. Minimal parental involvement

There is a reason I sign my kids up for online classes- I don’t have the time to teach them myself (I am a working mom) AND they respond better to instructors for specific subjects.
I DO want to oversee and have a role. Open Tent Academy makes this easy– in each module, there’s a short letter / memo to parents explaining how they can help their child through that particular unit or essay.
I can easily access grades and make sure my kids are staying current with assignments.

7. Challenging grading

I can’t even tell you how many assignments my kids have turned in and received 100% on that I KNOW have visible errors (this has occurred in both in public school and online classes). This drives me nuts. Not in these classes!
Grading by Open Tent Academy on writing assignments is tough and I LOVE that. It’s not just handing out A for effort. My kids KNOW if they receive even a 9/10 that it is quite well-done and are motivated to try even harder to achieve that 10.

8. Actionable feedback within grading

With the tough grading comes feedback for future improvement. Each writing assignment or essay is returned with highlighted parts praising things done well, and LOTS of suggestions for editing and revising.
What separates the homeschool writing curriculum from Open Tent Academy is how clear and easy to understand the feedback is.

9. Truly college preparatory curriculum (if you wish)

Whether your child just needs to learn to write an essay as part of a high school requirement or they are college prep, these courses will be of use.
The homeschool online writing class curriculum can be as challenging as YOU as a parent want it to be. Especially if your child takes a course for a second year, you will see tremendous results and improvement in their natural writing.

10. A Writing Notebook / Resource for LIFE

With the handouts provided from Open Tent Academy, I recommend creating a binder – the resources are extremely powerful.
I’ll be honest, I even borrowed my daughter’s notebook when recently writing a research article for work!

Still have reservations about a homeschool online writing class for elementary through high school? Luckily, Open Tent Academy is a small, family-owned organization and you can access the teacher with any additional questions. For us, we will continue taking writing classes through Open Tent Academy until my kids are off to college. Make sure to join our Private Facebook group to discuss ALL things related to Online School!