UncleEJ Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 Ok, my 5.5 DS has been working through ARFH K. He has made it through the lower case letters. He actually has very neat handwriting, but doesn't enjoy it much most days. Which is normal and fine with me. We just plug along a little each day. I also have Zaner-Bloser K. I bought it first and planned to use it per WTM reccommendations. For some reason I bought ARFH also and started it. Now I am sort of regretting that. I like the continuous stroke that ZB does and think it "may" be a bit easier for DS. But I don't want to confuse him but switching methods. Would you do it? Would it even, possibly help? Melissa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane Elliot Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 Ok, my 5.5 DS has been working through ARFH K. He has made it through the lower case letters. He actually has very neat handwriting, but doesn't enjoy it much most days. Which is normal and fine with me. We just plug along a little each day. I also have Zaner-Bloser K. I bought it first and planned to use it per WTM reccommendations. For some reason I bought ARFH also and started it. Now I am sort of regretting that. I like the continuous stroke that ZB does and think it "may" be a bit easier for DS. But I don't want to confuse him but switching methods. Would you do it? Would it even, possibly help? Melissa Yes, I think it would help him. And no, it is not likely to confuse him if you switch. The handwriting is very similar in these two books. I've used both of them, switching back and forth occasionally with our 12 children. I prefer ZB. The concept of A Reason for Writing is nice (copy verses, I love that idea!), but I get better results from ZB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UncleEJ Posted February 13, 2013 Author Share Posted February 13, 2013 Yes, I think it would help him. And no, it is not likely to confuse him if you switch. The handwriting is very similar in these two books. I've used both of them, switching back and forth occasionally with our 12 children. I prefer ZB. The concept of A Reason for Writing is nice (copy verses, I love that idea!), but I get better results from ZB. Thank you for your response. That make me feel better about switching! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeline05 Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 My first choice for handwriting practice was Zaner-Bloser so I can’t say firsthand how it compares to any other, but I can surely say that we (my son and I) love it. It’s *odd* I guess to see a little boy with such nice handwriting, but it’s all thanks to ZB. Since you already have the Zaner-Bloser, why not test it a little bit? See how he responds to it at first. If he doesn’t totally hate it then see if he’d be willing to transition. I don’t think it would be very confusing. Especially if he finds he likes the ZB font better. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carriede Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 My first choice for handwriting practice was Zaner-Bloser Do you have the teachers guide or just the workbook? The cost for the complete curriculum kinda gets to me, but I love the font (especially compared to HWT). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UncleEJ Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 Do you have the teachers guide or just the workbook? The cost for the complete curriculum kinda gets to me, but I love the font (especially compared to HWT). I don't have the teachers guide for Zaner-Bloser. Is it needed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carriede Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 I don't have the teachers guide for Zaner-Bloser. Is it needed? I don't know. You tell me! ;) If it works, it works. I guess that's my question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PachiSusan Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 We have used ZB for the entire time and I think my (4th grade) daughter writes beautifully!j We did not use the teacher's guide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UncleEJ Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 I don't know. You tell me! ;) If it works, it works. I guess that's my question. I just looked on the website because I couldn't figure out why I WOULDN'T have bought the teachers guide....well I figured it out. It's over $100! That'd be why! From what I could tell by the website, the teachers guide is more for classroom use, not homeschool. I have just switched my DS to Zaner-Bloser from A Reason for Handwriting, so I can't say for sure if it works. But I like the looks of it better and from what I can tell looking through it the workbook looks pretty self explanatory. I can't see spending $100 for a teachers guide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane Elliot Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 I just looked on the website because I couldn't figure out why I WOULDN'T have bought the teachers guide....well I figured it out. It's over $100! That'd be why! From what I could tell by the website, the teachers guide is more for classroom use, not homeschool. I have just switched my DS to Zaner-Bloser from A Reason for Handwriting, so I can't say for sure if it works. But I like the looks of it better and from what I can tell looking through it the workbook looks pretty self explanatory. I can't see spending $100 for a teachers guide. You don't need the teacher's guide. I've used ZB for well over a decade, and I've never once run into a situation for which I needed the teacher's guide. Spend that $100 on storybooks. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeline05 Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 I have not used the teacher's guide either & that seems to be the consensus here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeline05 Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 We have used ZB for the entire time and I think my (4th grade) daughter writes beautifully!j We did not use the teacher's guide. What beautiful handwriting! It's great to know that others have had the same great experience using Zaner-Bloser as I have! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tmp222 Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Cursive Pusher, I work for Zaner-Bloser and wanted to know if we can share that beautiful image of your daughter's handwriting with our social media followers. Please let me know. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondchen Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 Simply Charlotte Mason has a handwriting curriculum called Delightful Handwriting that uses the ZB font. It's straightforward, no-frills and inexpensive, especially if you buy the teacher guide in pdf instead of print to save a few dollars (I think the teacher's guide in pdf was about $8). I bought both the teacher's guide and the student book in pdf, but I pretty much just use the teacher's guide and then design and print my own pages from the ZB website instead of printing from the student book. It's been very successful for DD so far and I'm thrilled with the font and the order in which the letters are taught. FWIW, originally I tried using the student book from ZB by itself but it was a failure because I actually needed some guidance on how to go about TEACHING handwriting - not just what the letters look like. And I didn't like teaching the capital and lowercase of the same letter at the same time - it made no sense to me, but that's the way the student book is structured and I had no idea what I was doing, frankly. Delightful Handwriting has excellent instruction for the teacher, and it teaches capitals first, then lowercase. This has worked beautifully for DD, and for me! If you feel confident in how to go about teaching him and just want to switch fonts, getting the ZB student book would probably work well. Though if your DS started with lowercase and is now switching fonts, beginning with the ZB capitals in Delightful Handwriting and then re-learning the lowercase might also work well, and it would cost about the same if you only buy the teacher's guide (though printing student pages will cost you something in ink and paper). HTH! ETA: Of course I never even considered spending $100 on the ZB teacher's guide - yikes. That's one reason I was so thrilled to find the DH curriculum - it was the ZB font with an affordable teacher's guide - perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondchen Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 We have used ZB for the entire time and I think my (4th grade) daughter writes beautifully!j We did not use the teacher's guide. Wow. That is some gorgeous handwriting!! Love the ZB font, and I'm so glad I chose it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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