Mrs. Lilac Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 I ordered Italic handwriting A for my K'er boys, and Italic D for my 3rd grader. I got the books today and am just not feeling it. I'm shocked that the A book only covers single letters, and doesn't get them writing words at all. The D book just seems to have small lines and lots of instruction cramped in on each page. I'm leaning towards getting Handwriting Without Tears K book for my boys (that's what I used with DD in K, and it was fine- the only reason I was going to do Italic with them is because I was switching her to Italic.) As far as learning cursive- I love HWT in earlier years, but I'm not a fan of their straight-up-and-down cursive. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 I gave up all my handwriting fonts and curricula after reading the instructions in WRTR. Can it be that simple? It seems to be :-0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 I bought Italic A and B for my son, as well as teacher notes. Now that we're moving on, I'm just using the wording for the words from GDI and the blank sheets in the back and making things up as I go (along the lines of WRTR, just a different letter script). Emily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. Lilac Posted August 4, 2011 Author Share Posted August 4, 2011 Okay, what's WRTR? :) And what's GDI? We homeschoolers and our acronyms! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nansk Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 GDI is Getty-Dubay Italics. If it is the instruction book you don't like (but still want to continue doing the Italic writing style) then take a look at some copywork pages and free Italic fonts I linked here. Also if you need more practice (beyond single letters) you may either purchase the GDI blackline masters, or you may purchase the GDI font from Educational Fontware, or purchase the StartWrite program to make your own copywork. My dd does the WWE1 copywork in Italic. She also used to copy phonograms, spelling words, contractions, homonyms, her name and our address, in Italic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 I wasn't impressed with the workbooks either. I used the adult one to learn it myself (that one was good), and now I'm making my own sheets in Startwrite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 I bought Italic A and B for my son, as well as teacher notes. Now that we're moving on, I'm just using the wording for the words from GDI and the blank sheets in the back and making things up as I go (along the lines of WRTR, just a different letter script). Emily I love letter scripts (precise verbal/written instructions that explain EXACTLY how to draw each letter). Once you memorize the instructions, it is so easy to draw each letter correctly. There is no need to continually look at and trace a model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 Most of our handwriting work is in the form of copywork. I start with the GDI Blackline Masters Level A (skip the Level A book altogether) and cycle through these sheets until stroke formation is reliable. I then make my own copywork sheets using the GDI font from Educational Fontware. While it's not cheap, I've found it to be worth every penny. Each succeeding year the kids complete the next level's book and then do copywork for the balance of the year. DD the Elder just started The Wind in the Willows and DD the Younger alternates sentences from Phonics Pathways (for spelling) and WWE. FWIW, I'd be hesitant to jump into Book D if the lines seem too small and would instead step back to Book C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorrainejmc Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 I ordered Italic handwriting A for my K'er boys, and Italic D for my 3rd grader. I got the books today and am just not feeling it. I'm shocked that the A book only covers single letters, and doesn't get them writing words at all. The D book just seems to have small lines and lots of instruction cramped in on each page. I'm leaning towards getting Handwriting Without Tears K book for my boys (that's what I used with DD in K, and it was fine- the only reason I was going to do Italic with them is because I was switching her to Italic.) As far as learning cursive- I love HWT in earlier years, but I'm not a fan of their straight-up-and-down cursive. Any ideas? I was disappointed too. I had used the HWT pre K but thought I would try GDI A. We are now back with HWT and will use it for all the print books. As we are in the UK where looped cursive hasn't been taught in schools for decades, I will either continue with the HWT font, adding joining strokes that leads on to joined writing, or I may use one of the Andrew Brodie books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 I was disappointed too. I had used the HWT pre K but thought I would try GDI A. We are now back with HWT and will use it for all the print books. As we are in the UK where looped cursive hasn't been taught in schools for decades, I will either continue with the HWT font, adding joining strokes that leads on to joined writing, or I may use one of the Andrew Brodie books. I moved from HWT printing to the Andrew Brodie books. It was an easy transition and worked well for us. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 There are a lot of great, inexpensive choices on CurrClick. Perhaps you could find something there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekmom Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 I know you probably don't want to spend more money, but I ordered Penny Gardner's Italic program online http://www.pennygardner.com/italics.html. It's only $10.00 and you can make as many copies as you need (she emails it to you). The instructions and practice sheets are perfect (not crowded, beautiful handwriting, etc.) I actually prefer it over the GDI workbooks for younger children. I didn't think the cursive instruction was very helpful, but the print instruction was just right for younger kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 (edited) Penny gardner's Beautiful Handwriting for Children is the only other Italics program I know of. I hated GD Italics because of the cluttered pages. Your other option is creating your own program using either StartWrite or Educational Fontware and a teaching guide like the HWT teacher's books (I have old ones) or the GD books. Alternatively, ordering books from the UK. Laura is a good person to ask about those. Edited August 6, 2011 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aspasia Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 I almost bought the workbooks but ultimately decided to just go with StartWrite. I like the Italic font (and I HATE the HWT font, btw), but I wanted to have more control over the worksheets. My dd hates handwriting sheets that consist of writing the same letter over and over. She puts up a lot of resistance. But she's more than happy to write a letter to her cousin! If I were tring to get her to do one of those GDI workbooks, I would be avoiding handwriting and telling myself that she "just isn't ready". But she totally has the fine motor control and loves writing if there's a reason for it. On top of it all, StartWrite is a better deal! (Buy it through Homeschool Buyers Co-op.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. Lilac Posted August 8, 2011 Author Share Posted August 8, 2011 CurrClick was a great idea! I bought The Joy of Handwriting- Cursive and The Joy of Handwriting- Manuscript and they are GREAT! So simple. Love that they were $6.50 each and I can print multiple copies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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