Hey there!
I’m Ruth Winn. I show homeschool moms easy, practical ways to help middle/high school students improve their writing skills. If you want to know more about what makes me tick and how I can add value to your writing classroom, then keep on scrolling.
Homeschool mom
My homeschool journey began over 12 years ago when my oldest child was in first grade–he graduated from high school in 2019. I have two other children, both teenagers, who are still being homeschooled. As a busy homeschool mom, I understand the challenge of finding the time to fit it all in. Even if you know something is important–like your child learning to write–it’s hard to navigate through the oceans of material that try to explain the process. And even if you manage to do that, you’re not done, because next you have to figure out how to implement it. And then you’re left to tackle perhaps the hardest part of all: evaluating those essays. Because as we all know, writing is a lot more nuanced than math. There’s only one answer to 2 + 2, but there are a thousand ways to write a sentence. How do you even begin to get students to write? And then how do you keep them writing after the first week or two?
Experienced writing instructor
Long before I started directing the writing of my own children, I earned a Master’s degree in English and taught college-level composition courses. I also spent a year teaching English at a public middle school. For the past several years, I have been the writing instructor for a homeschool co-op class of middle and high school students.
My Mission
Even though I should have known better, I really struggled to get my kids to write. We made valiant starts every year with a bright, shiny writing curriculum, but rarely got past the first few assignments. Over and over again, the curriculum was too technical, too ponderous, too intricate, too paralyzing. When life got busy, we didn’t have time to figure out methods and charts. The curriculum itself wasn’t bad–it was just too much. When I finally got around to trusting in my own ability to teach writing, I realized that what we needed was the Cliff’s Notes version of writing instruction. So my mission became to streamline writing instruction–pare it down to just the essentials.
Bonus Material
A few personal tidbits: I’ve been married to my high school sweetheart for over 25 years. We live on mountain at the edge of a National Forest in Southwest Virginia. I love the Atlanta Braves, strong black tea, and my two big friendly dogs (a Golden Retriever and a Goldador).
Drop me a line!
I’d love to meet you and answer any questions.