Plz post your handwriting curriculum recommendations/reviews for 1st & 3rd grade ???

[OLCH]

Me again,

 

My name is Christine & we are getting ready to start our 2nd yr. of home schooling. I’ve just found this board (not sure how I missed it, except that we really didn’t lv the kitchen table) anyways I am so thankful to be here.

 

I’d love to hear your recommendations/reviews of handwriting curriculums. I have a 3rd grader exposed to handwriting although last yr was our 1st yr home schooling so unfortunately it was not a high priority & therefore she is still printing. I also have a 1st grader that I’d like to start early. My only concern here is she’s a struggling reader; will this be too confusing for her?

 

I’d like to find something that will work for both girls if possible & as always not too expensive or readily available 2nd hand would be great.

 

TIA J

Edited August 13, 2009 by OLCH

[Jennefer@SSA]

For your first grader consider Explode the Code books if you don't already have a phonics program you love. This program could serve as both handwriting and phonics! If she is still learning to read the phonics support will encourage her reading skills and there is plenty of writing practice on each page as well.

 

When you get to cursive with your older one here is a cut and paste of what I said about Classically Cursive in another post...

 

We have loved Classically Cursive by Veritas Press. I love that instead of copying "Sally sells seashells by the seashore," to practice his penmanship he is copying the Ten Commandments or the attributes of God!

 

In addition the books are well made. The pages are thick enough to hold up to lots of erasing (to be expected when learning new letters!) which can't be said about all handwriting books!

[OLCH]

Thank you so much, this is just what I was looking for. Although I meant cursive curriculum (changed the title) for both. Do you think Classically Cursive would also work for my 1st grader? Or would you not do it?

[Julie_Julie]

We are using A Reason for Handwriting. My daughter is in 3rd grade. I like that it has a teachers manual which gives good explanations for how to form letters. That works really well for my daughter. Each lesson is focused on scripture, too, 'making the most of every opportunity'!

[2_girls_mommy]

I can't say how good this one is, as we have just started it. But I am using Rod and Staff's 2nd grade Penmanship. It introduces cursive midway through the year after reviewing print, then spending some time on "slant" writing.

 

It fits your bill in the inexpensive dept. and that you could use it for both. Just buy the T.M once, and 2 workbooks. I didn't learn cursive in P.S. until 3rd, so I don't think you are "late" learning it at all.

[Aletheia Academy]

There is a program called Spell to Write and Read (SWR) that teaches phonics, spelling and cursive handwriting all at once. I know many homeschoolers who use it and love it.

 

I don't, because we are using Getty-Dubay Italics handwriting and I don't want to teach spelling that way-I just wanted to be up front about that.

 

Anyway, here is the link, in case you might be interested. http://www.bhibooks.net/swr.html

 

This is the only curriculum you would need to teach spelling and writing and reading.

[Heather in OK]

Handwriting Without Tears (you don't really need the TE or extra things they sell)

 

Getty/Dubay Italic

 

I go back and forth between the two. My kids start out with HWT. I've moved to the Italic with a couple of them for extra practice in neatness. But then we switch back to HWT because I do not like Italic Cursive.

[blessedmom3]

I like Handwriting without tears for both , printing and cursive. I am using HWT cursive with my 1st grader because he wants to learn cursive . So far , his handwriting is nice for a 6 yrs old boy !

[SilverMoon]

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Edited September 10, 2023 by SilverMoon

[TracyR]

How about Handwriting Without Tears. You could start them with the number three book. My oldest who is now 11 taught herself how to write in cursive with it when she was 6 that is how easy it is to use.

[mamapjama]

We used these last year and liked the progression. He did really well, and it's free :)

http://www.kidzone.ws/cursive/

 

They only have lower case so we used this site for upper case

http://www.handwritingforkids.com/handwrite/cursive/alphabets/index.htm

[Jennefer@SSA]

Thank you so much, this is just what I was looking for. Although I meant cursive curriculum (changed the title) for both. Do you think Classically Cursive would also work for my 1st grader? Or would you not do it?

 

My only concern with starting a first grader on Classically Cursive is that she may get frustrated with writing words she can't read. At first they learn the lower-case letters and they are writing the letters alone or in conjunction with several other letters - no words yet. Then the first words are simple enough that it may be okay. Once the upper-case letters are taught they are copying proper names. Then once that is complete they are copying the books of the Bible. Her reading may have advanced enough by the time she gets to the end of Book 1 that it wouldn't be an issue.

 

I know some people choose to start with cursive first and I don't know much about the pros and cons of that. I personally have chosen to start with manuscript before moving to cursive with mine.

 

There is a curriculum designed for families that want to teach cursive first but someone else will need to chime in with the name of it b/c I can't remember it off the top of my head.

 

Hope that helps as you make your decision.

[Julieofsardis]

My favorite for that age is BJU. Their 2nd grade does half printing and half cursive. Their printing moves seamlessly into cursive. I like their books because it's a lot like copywork.

[MamaofTwo]

I like BJU also. The first grade book starts with letters and simple CVC words, then moves to copying sentences and simple poems by the end of the year. The second grade book transitions to cursive about half way through. The third grade is all cursive and includes copying verses, famous quotes, poems and paragraphs about historical figures.

 

I love the font because it seems to have less of the fancy curly-q's and the transition from printing to cursive was relatively easy.

 

As a second choice I would recommend a Reason for Handwriting. While I did not like the font as well as BJU, I did love the verses and the idea of printing them on special paper to give as a gift to others. I found my daughter put extra special effort into the final writing assignment because she knew she was going to give it to someone. She even sent one to George W Bush and recieved a letter and photos back from him. She was thrilled!

 

As a side note...this year she copied out the 10 Commandments and sent them to President Obama. :D

[Crimson Wife]

We're going to be giving Peterson Directed Handwriting a try this year. Their cursive alphabet just looks prettier to my eyes than Zaner-Bloser or (shudder) HWOT.

[HSMom2One]

My dd had challenges with handwriting and since I had heard and seen the italic method (taught by GD) I checked it out. Since then, DD has been using it since 3rd grade and I can see a very big improvement in her handwriting. We started out with the manuscript style (printing) and then moved up to cursive. I think there are a total of seven sequential levels in the series, A-G.

 

In addition to my own experience, the Classical Christian school where I teach part-time implements this method and nearly all of my 125 art students have very neat, very lovely and legible handwriting because of it. I know another mom stated in this thread that she doesn't like the italic cursive, but I LOVE it and have to say that she is the first one I've ever heard say anything negative about it.

 

If you'd like to check it out, here is one link and here is another.

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

[OLCH]

She even sent one to George W Bush and recieved a letter and photos back from him. She was thrilled!

Ohhh ~ how sweet!

As a side note...this year she copied out the 10 Commandments and sent them to President Obama. :D LOL!!!

 

 

Thank you soo much Everyone!!! Last yr being our 1st yr. schooling I was looking for this kind of support from the local group I joined, although never found it. I truly understand, just wanted to share how thankful I am to have found you all!!! :grouphug:

 

Many Blessings!!!

[momto7]

Another vote for A Reason for Handwriting. This is our 9th year of HSing, and I'm embarassed to say handwriting was a major area of neglect for far too long. We started using this a few years ago and have stuck with it since.

 

I find the lessons to be short (VERY important for little folks!) and the children LOVE having a border sheet at the end of the week to showcase their best work. They usually give them away to someone they feel would be blessed by the Bible verse.

[HSMom2One]

After our thread the other day, I ran across the Startwrite program in a different thread. I did not think I'd ever switch dd from GD, but SW has an option that is very similar to GD and we could easily adapt to it.

 

They have a free trial, plus you can download the curriculum to your computer, allowing you to create your own worksheets.

 

Check this out:

 

 

• Choose Handwriting Fonts including Manuscript (similar to Zaner-Bloser), Manuscript-Simple (similar to Zaner-Bloser, Simplified), Modern Manuscript (similar to D'Nealian) and Italic (similar to Getty-Dubay or Portland Italic).
  
• Use Cursive Fonts that correspond to the above-mentioned educational fonts, for the advanced student.
  
• Expand Font Sizes anywhere from 1/4" to 2".
  
• Choose Shading of Fonts from Dark to Light for all levels of learners.
  
• Choose From Four Guide Line Options: Top, Middle, Bottom and Descender. Change any line to solid or dashed and colors to red, black or blue.
  
• Type dotted, dashed, or solid letters.
  
• Starting Dot to help in your child's learning of letters.
  
• Stroke Arrows for proper letter formation.
  
• Clip Art Included or import your own JPG or BMP clip art to make pages fun...
  
• Print Worksheets on Plain Paper from your own printer--no hassle and no expensive special paper needed.
  
• Print in Landscape or Portrait for your convenience and creativity.
  
• Custom Lessons are included (or can be downloaded free from Homepage) for quick and easy lesson preparation time.
  
• Use Startwrite's other Standard Word Processing Functions like cut, copy, paste, new, open, save, print, zoom, etc. for extra ease in preparation.
  
• Utilize 100,000-Word Spell Checker for accurate worksheet preparation.
  
• Save Lessons for future use to create your own curriculum in minutes, and save time and effort when repeating lessons.
  
• Use Spanish and Math Fonts* for even more learning potential.
  
• Create a Variety of Pages like phonics pages, spelling pages, a letter to a friend, scrapbook pages, etc. for more practice and fun while learning handwriting.
  

 

I am going to purchase this program for dd so we can continue to work on improving her writing. I think it is well worth the price, as we'd easily spend this on consumable workbooks.

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

[modest-mama]

We used Sound Beginnings for HW with our oldest, but it wasn't enough for our second son. So I got him handwriting without tears. Sound Beginnings also only has print practice. Explode the Code books are good practice as well.

[Aletheia Academy]

I wish I could figure out that quote function, Lucinda...

 

We use StartWrite and the GDI books together. I found that when beginning instruction, the GDI books did not provide enough practice. StartWrite is so versatile. I like to make handwriting practic sheets for a variety of subject areas.

 

I will say that the font is a little different than the GDI. It is noticeable to me, but it hasn't seemed to bother ds.

[Pamela H in Texas]

Handwriting without Tears....

 

It's the only one I'd use. Of course, there is a reason for that. I used it with my older kids. But also, my mom is an occupational therapist in a school district in Houston and highly recommends it. The one she used before that (cursive) is called Loops and Hoops (I think). I completely trust my mother's expertise on this one :)

[Narnian]

For 1st and 2nd grade, I used font similar to Zaner-Bloser (after we went through the first ZB workbook) from Fonts 4 Teachers and made up my own worksheets in MS Word. It was so quick and easy that I decided to do the same thing with cursive, which my son will be starting this year. I wanted a more modern cursive font though, so I bought the font pack from Educational Fontware, which comes with a lot of different cursive and manuscript styles.

[Satori]

We use Handwriting Without Tears. My dd4 and I love it! We finished up the preschool one and now are almost to the point where we can learn lowercase, can't wait.

[Cornerstone Classical]

My DC adore A Reason For Handwriting. They love to pick our their own writing pages, copy their verse and color the page!:001_smile:

[sweetgeo]

Another vote for Handwriting Without Tears for both print and cursive. It truly is painless, and so easy to use. I have a 7 year old dd using it for print and a 10 year old ds using cursive success.