My 8 yo son was eager to write since before he really knew how to hold a pencil. At first, he had a hard time with the mechanics -- handwriting, spelling, etc. -- a source of frustration that made it hard for him to channel his wild imagination into words on a page. Joining Writopia was a liberating experience for him. With the help and support of the wonderful Writopia teachers in DC, he was able to shift focus to story-telling, and free his mind to pick up new skills: learning to research, structure, and craft evocative descriptions. The leap from his pre-Writopia writing to what he has produced at Writopia is unbelievable. And what do you know -- penmanship and spelling are catching up!