"After talking with other parents about writing courses their children have taken, I can see how Essay Rock Star truly shines in its feedback to the student. When [the teacher] responds, she not only responds with a statement about the student's readiness to move on to the next step, but she also tells the student something she really liked and felt was strong about the piece. On the flip side, if the piece was lacking in some way, she will offer constructive advice, possibly pointing your student back to a video or example from the course to review again. Your student can take one quarter, one semester, or one year to complete her writing assignments with [the teacher] just an e-mail away the entire time! Essay Rock Star has also solved my problem of worrying about being an objective reader of my child's writing. While I am a reasonably strong writer, I always second guess myself and my abilities. Thus I don't want to take any chances with my child. Having my teenager take the full semester Essay Rock Star course is giving both of us more confidence in her writing skills."

~Heidi Ciravola, a member of the Homeschool Blogger review team for Hip Homeschool Moms

"The Essay Rock Star course came at the perfect time for my eighth grade daughter. Although she is already a strong writer, she had never been assigned a writing topic and had never been taught how to write by anyone but me, her mom. I loved the break from teaching writing. I offered some advice here and there, but for the most part, I was hands-off. At the end of the first month, my daughter had composed a beautiful five paragraph essay essentially without any help from me. Lily's notes prodded my daughter to correct her own mistakes and hone her writing while offering enough positive feedback to motivate her to persevere. I consider Essay Rock Star an excellent tool for pushing homeschooled writers toward more independence in their writing and toward greater confidence with real world writing tasks. I fully recommend this homeschool writing curriculum."   

~Jimmie Lanley, founder of iHomeschool Network and Jimmie's Collage

"Our homeschool contains more than a few dyslexic learners. This complicates our homeschooling days in several ways; our kids tend to be less independent in their studies and mom-intensive schooling means that mom has limited time to teach each child individually. The Essay Rock Star online writing program meets both of these needs in our home by providing audio instruction which helps my auditory learners learn independently and step by step instruction that takes a seemingly huge assignment and makes it manageable. Secondly, I'm a strong believer in the continuing education of homeschooling parents. The extensive list of resources included with the Essay Rock Star program is a huge benefit to both the student and the involved parent. Even if I was confident enough to teach my kids writing skills, it is sometimes hard for my children to take correction from me. Having such a professional teacher to provide the feedback relegates me more of a co-learner. Lily was able to provide just the right feedback that my daughter needed."

 ~Marianne Sunderland, Abundant Life

"So many online courses are automated, the program itself "checking" the child's work. Not so with Essay Rock Star. With this writing online writing program, you have a real instructor helping your child. Lily provides prompt feedback on every assignment. She doesn't issue grades, which I appreciate. The program is great! My child, however, does have several difficulties. One is dyslexia, and the other is bipolar disorder. Lily has been incredibly understanding and accommodating, never pressuring Alexis forward at all. And that's probably the best aspect of this online writing course: the teacher is human. In the end, we're getting through the program together. Progress is successfully being made and I highly recommend the program."  

~Michelle Cannon, Holistic Homeschooler

"My daughter thrived with Lily's gentle way of critiquing her writing. I was pleasantly surprised by the extra effort that Kaylee put into her writing and by her genuine desire to please Lily. Lily's sincere praise was an inspiration to Kaylee as well – positive reinforcement coming from someone other than "just mom" really boosted her confidence in writing. As a larger homeschool family, it can be difficult for us to fit in multiple outside commitments. With Essay Rock Star, Kaylee was able to turn on the laptop and do a lesson any time of the day, without ever leaving the house. Because Kaylee's writing improved so much with Essay Rock Star, I've already purchased the course as part of my son's tenth grade homeschool writing curriculum this year."   

~Judy Hoch, Contented At Home 

"By using the Essay Rockstar homeschool writing curriculum, my son was able to dramatically improve his writing skills. He was not at all confident at the beginning of the course, asking me lots of questions as we went along. But, as time went on, he rarely asked me anything. I'd have to ask him or log into the platform to see if he had completed his assignments. The longer he was in the program, I was pleasantly surprised by the amazing results that I was finding! Each communication that Lily (a.k.a Mrs. I.) sent to my son was always so very encouraging. She never made him feel dumb, but always helped him to build his confidence in writing with her encouraging words of instruction. She has a gift for teaching children! Each time she communicated with my son, she would give useful tips to help him improve his essay, if needed. It was always just enough information to guide him in the needed direction, so that he could complete the assignment as instructed. My son went from hesitant writer to confident writer in two essay assignments. To say that makes me very happy is an understatement!"   

~Sarah Robinson, Sidetracked Sarah

"I like when my children are good writers, but I don't necessarily want to be the one to get them from point A to point B. And (for shame) I tend to neglect the mechanics of writing because of it. Enter Lily Iatridis of Writing Rockstars. Last semester, as a tenth grader, my daughter took Lily's online Essay Rockstar Course which…well, rocked. Lily made sure those missing mechanics were plugged into my daughter's writings! Lily is very positive in her feedback, but doesn't allow lazy writing. I love that! Do you ever feel like you might not be quite strict enough with your expectations as a homeschool mom? Me, too. It was really good for Mahayla to be accountable to someone else for a change! Of course, you already guessed that I LOVED not having to teach or evaluate the writing myself, right?"   

~Cindy West, Our Journey Westward

"Olivia, my budding authoress, seemed to breeze through the course essays. Even though she was already a strong writer, she still needed to learn some formal writing practices. This course helped hone her writing skills, and Lily's feedback and high praise spurred her own through the process. Alec, my reluctant writer, was a different story. Because I was determined to take a 'hands off' approach with this course, I would ask him how he was doing and if he needed help, to which he would reply he was 'fine.' So, I went on with whatever I was working on. Big mistake. Apparently, he didn't understand some things from the very beginning, and rather than asking for help, he thought he would just plod through the course until he was miraculously freed him from his bonds! Thankfully, Lily intervened by emailing me and asking to schedule a phone call with Alec. After sitting down with him and looking over his work, we got him back on course. I greatly appreciate the fact that Lily brought this to my attention."   

~Alisha Gratehouse, Flourish

"In my dealings with Lily, she has been completely professional, encouraging, and when it was clear my student was trying to take short cuts, she was diplomatic but didn't let Lindsey get away with it. A perfect balance, in my opinion. For the in-lesson videos, Lily is always personable, pleasant, and clear in her explanations. I appreciate how easy it was for me to communicate with Lily. She was quick in her responses to any email questions I had for her, and always sent me emails with updates on Lindsey's progress, as well as any potential issues. Because the instructor tailors all input to each student's abilities, I believe the program would work for almost any high school level of writing, from average to advanced, and probably for struggling students as well."   

 ~Jamie Worley, See Jamie Blog

"I had my 9th and 7th grader work through Essay Rock Star (in addition to their regular studies), and they both enjoyed it for different reasons. My 9th grader loved the computer interface. He prefers to draft his writing on the computer so working with the webroom has been very enjoyable to him. My 7th grader loved the online graphic organizer she was introduced to through Essay Rock Star. Bubbles with words inside make her very happy! Both students will continue until they finish all the essay assignments as 10th and 8th graders."   

~Heather Woodie, Blog, She Wrote

"Since we are wrapping up our middle school studies and looking forward to high school level work I knew it was important to help my children address their writing concerns head-on and fine-tune their skills. We decided to get a little outside coaching to assist with this effort and we found exactly what we needed through the Writing Rockstars Essay Rockstar Courses. I have to say that one of my favorite parts of this homeschool writing curriculum is the teachers's personal involvement with her students. Before we began using the program I emailed with her and shared my son's writing challenges due to his dysgraphia. She understood our concerns and offered suggestions for helping him work through the material at a pace that was most effective for him. Once my children submit an assignment they wait about an hour and then begin checking their email to see if they have a return email! They really enjoy receiving help and feedback on their school work from someone other than mom for a change. There are no "canned" responses here (we have received that kind of "feedback" from other online programs), the feedback is always personal and constructive, providing direction to help the student move forward."

~Susan Williams, contributing blogger for The Curriculum Choice

"Right about the time I was beginning to worry that I had not required enough writing last year we received the opportunity to review the Essay Rockstar program from Writing Rockstars. This program couldn’t have come at a better time for us. My son took the online writing program over the summer and it was so nice to breathe a sigh of relief knowing he received quality writing lessons. I do have to say that any student would benefit from this course. Homeschool or not. If your child is in public or private school and you’re looking to perfect his essay writing skills, this would be a great supplement to any program. My son was able to successfully work through this course with little to no help from me. I answered a few questions here and there, but that was it. He completed a beautiful essay from start to finish independently. I was able to check his work, view assignments, and stay up-to-date with his course, but it required absolutely no instruction from me at all!"

~Adrienne Bolton, The Mommy Mess

"After spending the summer in the Essay Rock Star online writing program, Anna has a new and improved set of writing skills. And guess what? I didn't have a thing to do with this improvement! Anna chose to take Essay Rock Star: The Expository Essay, a 7 lesson course. She completed this course at her leisure (it took about 6 weeks). Anna had ample say in what she was writing and her instructor offered much constructive, supportive encouragement along the way. She knew what to expect in each lesson and also received prompt feedback from her instructor. The whole process took NO EXPLANATION from me - my daughter took ownership of logging in, checking assignments, and communicating with her teacher. I love it."

~Mary Prather, Homegrown Learners

"My daughter chose The [Essay Rockstar] Expository Essay as her course, which is broken down into seven lessons and assignments. She had to submit a sample of her writing as a pre-assessment. Lily Iatridis is very kind but also direct. Many of the video lessons that we’ve done in the past were so scripted that they became monotonous, but watching her videos is like sitting across the table from her and having a conversation. My daughter felt like she formed a relationship with Ms. I (how she signs her emails). Ms. I made sure to say something encouraging in every email that she sent. There is absolutely no insistence to speed through the course. No timer. No due dates. It took some of the pressure off of my reluctant writer. There are no grades given for the assignments. Instead, the student must master each step before being allowed to advance to the next lesson. We use the mastery approach in our homeschool for most of our subjects, so this really appeals to me. It was SO nice to be able to step away from the writing boxing ring. There were a couple of times when my daughter asked for my opinion on her assignments and I almost stepped in until I remembered … “Nope! Turn it in and see what Ms. I has to say.” How wonderful to feel confident that she was receiving the instruction she needed."

~Amy Toombs, Are We There Yet?

"A strong homeschool writing curriculum, a great experience! We chose the persuasive writing course, which offered bite-sized lessons on how to write a strong, compelling paper on a topic. My primary goal was for evaluation and for our daughter to gain insight into someone else’s perspective on her writing, grammar, content, etc. Writing Rockstars teacher Lily offered us just what I was looking for! A student can NOT move forward without sufficient mastery of the previous lesson’s skills. I really appreciate this approach; it leaves me feeling confident that my student won’t simply sail through without understanding and correction of her work. Email feedback was quick, and while my daughter is just wrapping up the essay course, Lily completely nailed what I had an inkling would be the strengths {strong writer with good content} and things to work {grammar & sentence structure}. Both Mom and student appreciated affirmation of strong writing skills! My girl did agree that her grammar could be tweaked and improved in certain ways. Thank you Writing Rockstars for being a ‘second opinion’ (ahem)."

~Daniele Evans, Domestic Serenity

"Maddie will be entering the 7th grade this fall and had never done any formal writing before. After choosing one of the four Essay Rockstar classes, Maddie was signed up with her own account. This may not seem like a big deal to most, but to a 12 year old girl this was a big deal. She was able to log in to her class on her own and receive emails directly from Ms. I, as her teacher is affectionately called. I decided it would be best if Maddie took the Essay Rockstar: Expository Essay class. In this class, Maddie learned to write an essay that explained a specific subject or topic. After watching the video, reading the lesson, and printing or saving any of the extra learning tools, Maddie would work through each step of the writing process. One thing that stuck out to me as Maddie went through the writing process, was the willingness of Ms. I to work with her students right where they were and teach them in a personalized way. I look forward to seeing her build on the foundational skills she learned in this writing class. This has been a rewarding experience and has helped her enjoy learning to write!"

~Jasmine Lucero, Guest Writer for Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus blog of Tina Robertson

"When my daughter began her course with Writing Rockstars I let her take things at her pace, not mine. I helped her understand the classroom portal, and helped her understand how she would submit her work. After that, I just let her navigate the course on her own. I wanted to see where she really was with her writing skills, and after hearing the wonderful encouragement from Lily during a hangout, I hoped to see her course be the tool to help my daughter improve her writing skills. I was right! My daughter took the Essay Rock Star: Expository Essay Course. After the first class, I knew this was going to be a fruitful and amazing experience! From the very beginning Lily was personally involved with my daughter. One of my concerns was that everything would be systematic. It was not! Every single time my daughter submitted an assignment, she would receive a personal response via email from Lily (her instructor). What makes Writing Rockstars online writing programs stand out:

• No scheduled classes
• A live trained teacher reviews students’ work
• Teachers work with parents to accommodate special needs learners
• When you start and finish the course is completely up to you
• We work toward the goal of skills mastery for your kids, however long it takes!" 

~Marlene Griffith, A Diligent Heart

"I’ll be blunt; I’ve been hoping to get the opportunity to review a Writing Rockstars writing course for a while now. The idea of letting someone else teach my kids to write seemed so appealing! I’ve finally received the opportunity and I think you will like what I have found. Going into this course, there were a few things that I already knew we would be getting out of this experience: a live teacher, online lessons, a knowledgeable expert, a high school credit course (worth .125 credits for one short course.)What I did not expect to receive:
A daughter who was eager to complete her lessons.
A daughter who impatiently checked her email for feedback and critiques.
A daughter who independently worked through the course with no nagging.
Removing the parent/child relationship in this case was very helpful. But also, I believe it was the instructor’s warm teaching manner that encouraged her the most. If I were handing out stars, I would truly give our experience with Writing Rockstars Expository Essay five of them."

~Amber Oliver, Classic Housewife

"Because writing has been such a struggle for my son we knew we couldn’t jump into a course that didn’t meet our needs. I sat down with both of my kids and we explored the Writing Rockstars website together. Immediately my sons commented about how informative and friendly the website site seemed. We also checked out the Writing Rockstars YouTube Channel. My kids enjoyed all of the videos (just as they aren’t fans of writing, they aren’t fans of reading a lot of information online either!). Both children selected the Essay Rock Star: The Expository Essay course. With the expository essay course students can select their own topic to write about…I couldn’t believe the topics they selected, but they were happy! All of the Essay Rock Star courses follow a consistent 5 step writing process. Working through each step was very helpful for my kids. It showed them that writing is a process. They had always put a lot of pressure on themselves thinking they had to produce quality work in one sitting. Now they understand that it’s not magic, but rather a series of steps and a fair amount of work to get their ideas on paper. The course is written directly to the students and each lesson is filled with useful information. Students are encouraged to review the information as many times as needed, set their own pace for completing the assignments, and ask questions of the instructor when they need help or clarification. Both of my kids agree their favorite part of the course is the instructor feedback. When my children submitted an assignment they would wait a few hours and then begin checking their email to see if they have a return email from Lily! They really enjoy receiving help and feedback on their writing from someone other than mom for a change. My children’s writing practice is still a work in progress. We plan to include additional Essay Rock Star courses in our language arts curriculum this year to continue to build skills and confidence. But we are very happy to begin a new school year with improved writing skills and a positive attitude for moving forward."

~Susan Williams, Education Possible

"I am becoming more and more fond of online learning when it’s a high quality, student focused program. Writing Rockstars is one of those programs. It has allowed my 12-year daughter to work on a writing piece throughout the summer with very little help from me–and when you have seven children, this is super wonderful! I felt very confident that my daughter was learning well and receiving great feedback. I would periodically check her work and was very pleased with her instructor’s feedback. Having help with a solid, trusted, online program is truly a gift for busy homeschool moms. We don’t have to do it all, and I think that recognizing that fact is truly freeing. In addition, it’s good to allow my children to experience being taught from someone other than myself. My daughter did the Textual Analysis and it has been a wonderful [new] experience for her."

~Christin Slade, Joyful Mothering

"Writing is one aspect of our homeschool that is not a strong point. I chalk it up to the fact that my two oldest are boys. Neither of my boys, ages 13 and 11, enjoy writing. At all. When I was presented with the opportunity to review a Writing Rockstars course I jumped at the chance. Specifically, Jacob completed the Writing Rockstars – Expository Essay. I was fairly confident it would be a good fit for us. I don’t particularly like to teach writing, and I have a reluctant writer. Not exactly an invigorating mix. I also wanted my son to be able to experience a class on his own, without me hovering. What exactly is a Writing Rockstars Essay Course? It’s a self-paced, on-line classroom that you can do anywhere, anytime. Your child is led through the writing process, step-by-step, with doable assignments. Not at all overwhelming even for those who haven’t had much writing experience. We appreciated the flexibility of going as fast or as slow as we wanted. I was very impressed with how his final essay turned out. I also know he gained confidence from this homeschool writing curriculum. Confidence that he could get the job done without me hovering and confidence that he can indeed write an essay. I know what he has learned from this course will carry over into other subjects. Perhaps he won’t be such a reluctant writer now that he has experienced some success. We will definitely sign up for other courses throughout Jacob’s 8th grade year and beyond."

~Jen Dunlap, Forever, For Always... No Matter What

"With the Personal Statement online writing course, your student watches videos, then writes their assignments right on the Essay Rockstar website. I like that while the lessons are on video, that the lessons are also written on the same page, below the video. For the pages that don’t have a video, there is the written lesson, with the option to listen to an audio recording of the lesson. This allows your student to learn the way that they learn best, whether they are an audio or visual learner. If they want to listen to the audio while they read, they can do that, too. The classes are not scheduled, so your student can work at their own pace.

"With the Writing Rockstars Essay Rock Star Personal Statement online writing course, your student will learn the steps to writing a great essay. Then your student will apply those steps to writing a personal statement that they can later use for their college applications."

~Linda Perry, Linda's Lunacy

 "Now one of the things I liked about this course is although it is taught and graded by a teacher other than me, her name is Lily Iatridis. It is still what you would call self paced. Alyx likes to work at night and for this course that was no problem, he could work any time day or night on his assignments and submit them for the teacher to look at and give feedback on his work. In the past we have done online classes that were a set time and day and they just did not work well for our on the go lifestyle. This was the extreme opposite of those classes in that there was no schedule or time if life happened it was ok. This was perfect for Alyx's extra busy fall schedule. So therefor much more relaxed, Alyx enjoyed this aspect and it helped make him more successful."   

~Jenn Kasprzak, Fresh Start Academy Homeschool

"We found everything about this process easy going and enjoyable. I very much liked the fact that someone else was evaluating Grace's writing skills. Ms. Iatridis was extremely prompt in emailing us back with what Grace needed to correct or change on each editing stage. The lessons were very easy to understand and the website was easy to navigate. I loved all the resources provided throughout the lessons. The capability to simply read over them or print them for later use was nice. I think what Grace got the most out of attending this class was the brainstorming ideas assignment and feedback from a teacher other than her mom. My only negative would be that a couple of the recordings may need to be a bit more polished where the teacher stumbled over a word or became tongue tied. Other writing courses they offer include: The Persuasive Essay, The Expository Essay, and The Textual Analysis."  

~Diane Knecht, Cabin In The Woods

"In addition to the comments directly relating to Addison's assignments, Ms. Iatridis went above and beyond when Addison asked additional questions. Since this class involved writing a personal essay, Addison asked if she could share any tips for doing an interview. (Both writing an essay about yourself and doing an interview both include the awkward feelings of not wanting to seem like you're bragging about yourself.) Ms. Iatridis not only offered a few suggestions, she also contacted someone who had recently applied to several colleges to get his recommendations to be prepared for an interview.

"Addison and I were both pleased with Essay Rock Star: The Personal Statement class. Her writing improved, and she now has an excellent personal essay that could be used for college applications. More importantly in my mind, the encouragement from Ms. Iatridis gave her a hefty dose of writing confidence that will serve her well as she finishes high school and moves on to college assignments."   

~Cristi Schwamb, Through the Calm and Through the Storm 

"My daughter’s favorite part was brainstorming. Makes perfect sense because she is a planner and likes to have a daily to- do list on her at all times. She also loves the ability to have all the items right there in the program. She could type in the program, save her work and not worry about her work being lost. The flexibility was something that she loved to. She could go her own pace, giving her time."   

~Amy Fleeker, Counting Change Again

"I received the login information and was able to quickly and easily set up my teacher account and her student account. After that, she did all the work. She logged in each day, watched a short video, got her assignment, and set to work. Her assignments were turned into an actual person, and that teacher responded with guidance and opened up the next assignment as each was completed. My daughter worked her way from the opening exercises (turning in a sample of her writing) to a finished personal statement essay in the course of about three weeks.

"Clara has decided to finish the other courses in the Essay Rockstar series. She liked it that much."   

~Amy Blevins, Homeschool Encouragement

"As a parent/teacher, I really like this program so far. Because it is for students ages 12-18, it shows what an adequate/good middle school essay contains. I am considering the program for Matthew - so while expectations would not be as high as they would be for Luke, it is a program that would benefit him as a middle schooler, and help him establish a strong foundation. I also think this would make an excellent adjunct program for a student that is in a "regular" school and needs a bit of extra tutoring and support, particularly in a specific area of writing - the self-pacing aspects means a student could work a few days a week after school, fitting it in around regular assignments. I'm very impressed at how professional yet understanding of her students' ages Ms. I has been - while Luke hasn't hit any real snags thus far, I've taken a peek at the other reviews... and seen that criticism is truly constructive and giving direction, while still encouraging the student. Writing Rockstars's Essay Rock Star is a well-crafted program for helping students become better writers."   

~Meg Falciani, Adventures with Jude

"Jam found the examples of essays given throughout the program very helpful. It made it easier to understand the expectations. Jam thought that the information given was very clear. He also liked that fact he didn't have to wait ages to get feedback on what he wrote. Jam thought it was great that he could choose his own topic. This made it easier for him to write with confidence, because he already knew his subject matter."   

 ~Lisa Maynard, Chickens, Bunnies and Homeschool

"The writing instruction involved 5 basic steps: brainstorming, organization, free writing, revision and editing. These were arranged into several lessons. For each lesson we visited the Writing Rockstars website, entered our password and clicked on "classroom." (Always an easy process!) For each lesson, my son watched a short video with the teacher. He then listened to the teacher as she gave further audio instructions. He was able to read along with her on the screen as she read. Several links and pdf's were available for further instruction and help. My son then completed the assignment. It was typed and sent to the teacher via the website.

"We would then wait a day or two and then my son would receive an email back from Mrs. Iatridis (or "Mrs. I"). She would then instruct what the next step would be. The "classroom" was automatically updated each time an assignment was completed. (A gray check indicated an assignment being graded/turned in. A red check meant it was all done.) Everything was done very linearly and was very self-explanatory. Each level is mastered before moving on."   

~Darrell Letha Paulk, Just Pitching My Tent

"Does teaching your teenage students to write well make you quiver in fear? You don't have to worry anymore - they can become rockstars at writing, even if you have doubts about your writing ability. Essay Rock Star Textual Analysis Writing Course from Writing Rockstars takes the fear out of writing at the upper levels.

"I was genuinely impressed with the level of effort that my tester put forth. He was eager to please the instructor, and to get positive feedback, not something I always get from him. Her feedback was very encouraging, and helpful. I could tell by her comments that she was investing time on monitoring his personal progress - and not just putting in some "canned" type comments. The instructor began by asking for a sample of my tester's writing. Building from that she was able to guide him through the process to complete an AP worthy essay!"

~Renita Bentz, Mom of Many

"I love what I’ve seen of the course, what Chrystiana has shared, and the enthusiasm she’s had in writing her essay. I also love that Lily breaks down essay writing in five key components. Lily’s feedback has been encouraging, and I feel Chrystiana has learned some new things. Most of all, she has learned to share her work with someone other than me, organize her ideas, write, and then go back through to fine tune, and most of all, she’s fallen in love with writing. She definitely found the course a lot more interesting than she thought it would be originally."

Chrystiana: “I like it. It’s enjoyable and I’m learning a lot from it. The videos vary from introducing material to instructing about the material. I’ve learned the difference between a thesis statement and a fact and how to write one. It’s sparked an interest in writing for me, and not just for school, but for myself."

~Audra Silva, SimplyAudraMarie

"I love the writing course. I think that it is helpful if you are unsure yourself as to how to get your child started. I really like that the classes are not scheduled. You can go in anytime and work as you have time for them. The website is easy to maneuver and has a ton of information on it. You might want to go and look around just for that purpose. It is definitely a step toward making the writing process easier."

~Nikki Hinkle, Angels of Heart

"Alyssa completed the course and was given an A+. I am so proud of her and I honestly can not rave enough about this program. Alyssa is a talker. She asks a lot of questions and she is determined. Ms. Iatridis could not have been any more wonderful. Her and Alyssa had almost daily interaction. She always responded quickly and answered every question that Alyssa asked. She took the time to walk her through information that Alyssa didn't understand. This program was a perfect fit for her.

"It also was a perfect fit for me! I really enjoyed getting the feedback from Ms. Iatridis . It was a weight off my shoulders to have someone else looking over her work. This was the first time Alyssa ever had the instruction of someone else. She handled it wonderfully. I never had to push her to do each assignment. She really enjoys writing and she did not look at this class as a burden but as an opportunity to better her writing. She talked about Ms. Iatridis many times over the last few weeks. I would definitely recommend this course. We are excited for Alyssa to move onto a new class soon."

~Miranda Hupp, The Pebble Pond

"Delaney is 12 and she worked through the course herself. There are instructions at the beginning of the course that tell you exactly how to turn in your assignments. Once the writing assignment is turned in a grey check mark appears next to the assignment. The writing assignment is then read and critiqued by an actual person. In the response emails Delaney was told if she needed to correct anything and email it back or if she could proceed to the next lesson. When she was ready to move onto the next lesson there would be a red check mark next to the assignment indicating it had been completed and she could move on to the next one.

"Lily was Delaney's online teacher and she is very encouraging in her emails. She told Delaney things that she did well & she told her things that she needed to correct and offered suggestions to help her out. Delaney has felt very comfortable taking this course and looked forward to her feed back from each lesson."

~Lisa McClanahan, The McClanahan 7

"We both like that we received real feedback from Ms. Lily. This is really the best part of this course. It was so helpful that it wasn't just 'moms' opinion. When Austin asked to revise his essay - Ms. Lily said the same things I did! However they were received much better from her. The break down of the lessons is also pretty awesome. You brainstorm and free draft. He even created a thesis statement. All of this is preparing him for college and college entrance exams. I find that so beneficial because it has been almost 20 years since I had to do those myself."

~Lisa Rupertus, A Rup Life

"What did we think? We are still not quite finished. However, I do enjoy the site. Many online writing courses make the log in and finding your class the hardest part of the program. ha. This program is simple to log in, and very easy to navigate. The teacher got back to us in a very timely manner with personal responses – we knew she had read his work and thought about it; this is not always true with other programs we have used. For us personally, I think it has shown us that we can move on from the ‘how to write an essay’ to just expecting his narration to come in essay form. We have several courses this year that ask for a report in response to work completed, and now I know that the reports should be easy to generate. It is interesting to note, he is due to take WR121 at the local community college this winter. The college was pleased that he would be taking a refresher writing course prior to taking the class. If your child is ready to take the dual enrollment classes, but you are unsure how he / she will do with the assignments, this class would be most excellent." 

~Angie Wright, Pebblekeeper

"The program is completely online and easy to use at your own pace. Possibly the best aspect of ERS is the personal attention of an ACTUAL teacher. Each lesson is composed of video lessons, short lessons to read and assignments. The assignments are uploaded and looked at by Lily Iatridis (the teacher). After assessing the work, she gives feedback to the student via email. Oscar was delighted to receive emails from the teacher. The program is set up so that the student cannot move on to the next lesson until the previous lesson is received and checked off by the teacher. Personally, I think that’s a great idea and keeps the kids from hopping around and rushing through the work."

~Jeniffer D, Thou Shall Not Whine

"The lessons are not complicated and easily explain what is expected of the student. It also explains why we need to write things in specific ways. You could read or listen to the materials in roughly 15-20 minutes and then just add in your writing time to the schedule. Some kids might be able to finish their assignments in under an hour. Some students might need a bit longer.

"The instructor also gave wonderful feedback on Joey's assignments. She focused on how he could improve and not what he was doing wrong. This is exactly any student needs. I was very impressed with her concern for Joey and making sure that he gets the most from the program. They work really well with students who have special needs or learning disabilities."

~Renita Kuehner, Krazy Kuehner Days

"How simple do you find teaching writing to your homeschool students who are ages 12-18? We have always enjoyed our writing assignments and have used a variety of curricula for writing. And we are definitely a word- and story-loving family. However, I was quite thrilled for Jackson to have someone else teach him writing in an enjoyable yet precisely taught course. I was hoping for: a teacher who could clearly teach different components of writing; someone who could plainly but gently correct and encourage; and for a course that would be both appealing and interesting. Essay Rock Star provides all of these, and more!"

~Melanie Reyn, FinchNWren

"Landon definitely falls into the category of reluctant writer, and having someone with real writing and teaching credentials (which he knows I don't have!) tell him he needs to do each step and take his time learning writing skills thoroughly is so helpful. He's got good ideas and things to say, so I want him to properly learn the tools to express himself well. He hasn't reached the point (yet) where he likes writing, but he realizes that it's an essential skill, and does the Essay Rock Star assignments without complaint and gives it a good effort. For this homeschool mom, that's what I'm looking for, and I'm glad he is working on this course and look forward to the final product when he completes the course."

~Kym Thorpe, Homeschool Coffee Break

"My daughter enjoyed this new-to-us concept, and was very pleased to be given some very positive feedback on her assignments, as she has been a reluctant writer in the past. She was pleasantly surprised to find out that "good readers make good writers" really does hold true (at least in her case). As a matter of fact, the feedback was the source of big smiles a couple of times... "Wow! Mom! I didn't expect all those adjectives!" was her immediate reaction when reading the assessment of some of her submitted work."

~Lis P., Acorns ~ Nuggets of Gold

"Although Ben hasn't finished the course (he's close!), I really love this high school writing program and that I am getting some support and help (which is actually a little bit of a break!). If you are looking for that -- and a .5 credit in composition -- I think this is definitely a worthwhile investment in your middle or high school student. I have a relatively reluctant writer who lacks confidence in his ability. Mrs. Iatridis has definitely given Ben a confidence boost in his writing, and I'm very grateful for the way in which we are able to flex this program with our busy life right now. Mrs. Iatridis has been good about getting back to us in a day or so of Ben turning in his assignments, so any slow response has been on our end."   

 ~Alane, Reaping a Harvest

"The Essay Rock Star courses are fantastic. They really teach the kids how to write for the real world. They are very thorough. If you struggle to teach homeschool writing, you should definitely check this out. If you have a reluctant writer, this may be just what they need to get over the hurdle. If you have an aspiring writer who doesn’t like mom or dad to critique their work, this may be the answer! I plan to have Emma work through the rest of these over the next few years."  

~Tara, This Sweet Life

"Turtlegirl was this close to mastering persuasive essay writing. She was able to obtain mastery with this course. She and I are both confident that she can write well. We’ll be taking those skills she has learned and applying them to other essay types. I love that she gained so much confidence in her own writing ability."   

~Tess H., Circling Through This Life

"Emma is still working on her personal statement, and I have seen her confidence increase as she's worked with Ms. I. If you're looking for a homeschool writing course, and an online option would work for your family, I highly recommend Writing Rockstars's Essay Rock Star program. Your student will gain solid writing skills, and Ms. I makes it as painless as possible–even fun."   

~Beth Hollmann, Acorn Hil Academy

"I was very excited to have the opportunity to review this course. My son is a very reluctant writer. Even though, he read fluently at age 3, he no longer enjoys either reading or writing. He's very timid to write anything, and the idea of turning in his work to a real instructor who would grade it was overwhelming to him, so I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the instructor would return the work with such encouraging words for comments. There was no reason to be afraid."   

~Tere Scott, Puddle Jumping

"One of my favourite things Writing Rockstars has to offer is that there is nothing for me to do, no grading, proofreading, lesson plans, etc. Everything is online, assignments are sent via the website and the teacher will respond via emails. This makes my job so much easier!"   

~Jen Bauer, Be Thou Exalted

"Now, as for this homeschool mother’s opinion, I am impressed with what I’ve seen in this particular course. Once you have purchased the class, you go to the classroom tab on the website to access the materials. During the registration process, you can enter the student’s email address for communication. I kept it set to my own email which meant that I could see the feedback rather than having to ask my son for it."   

 ~Laura O., Day by Day in Our World

"It is a fairly simple program with the normal online reading part taking 15 minutes or less. They also have the option to pick if the assignment is read to them or if they want to read it themselves. J had the first one read to him and then he read the others (because it took less time for him to read it than to listen to it being read to him). Having this option is wonderful though as it can help different types of learners!"   

~Dawn, Guiding Light Homeschool

"My Eagle Scout shared that it is very cool how Mrs. Iatridis responds so quickly and gives me great imput on how to improve what I'm writing. Especially since I'm her Star Student. {Obviously this boy does NOT have a self-esteem issue. He is quite the comedian.} He truly has enjoyed all of the assignments and especially likes that he can work on them at his own pace. I like that he is getting constructive criticism from someone other than me and that Lily reinforces what I've been teaching."

~Lynn, This Day Has Great Potential

"I was very impressed with how his final essay turned out. When he read it to his Dad, his Dad said “that’s the best thing you have ever written!”. I know Jacob felt good to hear that remark. I also know he gained confidence from this course. Confidence that he could get the job done without me hovering and confidence that he can indeed write an essay."

~Jen Dunlap, Forever, For Always