Another Lynn Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 What are you doing in early grammar stage to build up hand strength for the writing needs that will come in late grammar stage and logic stage? I would love open and go copywork, in increasing quantities, but mostly I'm finding handwriting instruction books which are not the same. I did find a few options on Lulu, but surely there are more resources out there I'm not finding. The Queen books might work, but, iirc, they are a little pricey for the amount of copywork. Startwrite might be a good option, but then I'm always left to prepare it myself and I'd love something open and go I can hand to them. (K/1st and 3rd grade, by the way). The Draw, Write, Now books could help, but the sentences are so short and stilted. What am I missing? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 I used WWE, but if you just want copywork, have you checked the AOCopywork Yahoogroup? Then you can make your own in whatever your favorite font is (find a free one or purchase something to make it). In first grade, I started with one short sentence of writing a day, and I gradually built up the writing until he was doing 2-3 sentences a day (across subjects - not just "copywork"). We're continuing to build up hand strength now in 2nd grade. I think by time we get to 3rd/4th grade, he'll be ready for a little bit of writing of his own narrations and such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Does it have to be copywork? My kids are in OT, and the therapist is constantly harping about how for handstrengthening, every kid needs to be using Playdough EVERY SINGLE DAY and cutting stuff out with scissors EVERY SINGLE DAY. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nansk Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Yes, the AOCopywork group has lots of selections, but you have to prepare the copywork yourself if they cannot copy directly from the source. Have you looked at these printable options? 1. Julie Shield's Ancient and Modern History copybooks on lulu.com 2. Kimberly Garcia's Write From History books (includes copywork and narration) on currclick.com. 3. copycatbooks.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Does it have to be copywork? My kids are in OT, and the therapist is constantly harping about how for handstrengthening, every kid needs to be using Playdough EVERY SINGLE DAY and cutting stuff out with scissors EVERY SINGLE DAY. :iagree:We also have squishy balls the boys squeeze as fidgets, Legos, and older ds is starting piano which includes a lot of hand strengthening exercises. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amie Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Does it have to be copywork? My kids are in OT, and the therapist is constantly harping about how for handstrengthening, every kid needs to be using Playdough EVERY SINGLE DAY and cutting stuff out with scissors EVERY SINGLE DAY. Thanks for this reminder. My son is very good at a lot of things, but he is terrible with scissors. I'm bad about not getting these things out as often as I should. Time to keep it consistent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizaG Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Memoria Press has some copybooks for K to 2nd grade. They use excerpts from the KJV Bible and some classic children's poems. (We haven't got that far; DS6 is still working on forming letters. :tongue_smilie:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Thanks for this reminder. My son is very good at a lot of things, but he is terrible with scissors. I'm bad about not getting these things out as often as I should. Time to keep it consistent. Come up with a cutting activity that doesn't require a craft plan. I have a box full of old magazines, and anytime I need 10 minutes, I send them over to find something. "Let's make a Letter F page! Go find 5 things that start with F and cut them out!" A piece of copy paper & a glue stick and you are done! Words that start with "th", colors, people who are being kind, the 5 senses, etc. Truly anything you are studying, you can ask them to find examples in a magazine. We do it several times a week! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amie Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Come up with a cutting activity that doesn't require a craft plan. I have a box full of old magazines, and anytime I need 10 minutes, I send them over to find something. "Let's make a Letter F page! Go find 5 things that start with F and cut them out!" A piece of copy paper & a glue stick and you are done! Words that start with "th", colors, people who are being kind, the 5 senses, etc. Truly anything you are studying, you can ask them to find examples in a magazine. We do it several times a week! :) Thanks for the ideas! It is still too frustrating for him to cut something out on a line (like a craft/art project) so I end up simply having him cut whatever he wants on plain paper (boring). The magazine idea is great though because he can try to cut out an object without feeling like he needs to stay exactly on the "dotted line"--and this will add more meaning and make it more interesting. Oh, and we have lots of magazines/catalogs around here! We'll start this week! Thanks again! (Sorry, OP for the rabbit trail.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another Lynn Posted October 1, 2011 Author Share Posted October 1, 2011 Thank you for all the replies... lots of good ideas here. I agree with the idea of working on hand strength in many ways, but one reason I zeroed in on writing/copywork is that I want them used to doing enough writing that future assignments will not look so daunting to them. I suppose it's psychological as well - turn up the heat a little at a time and they won't know the water's boiling when it's time to do written narrations, paragraphs, etc. everyday. We started with HWOT, so while MP and VP have copybooks that I like, the cursive is different enough to be a stumbling block to my 3rd grader. I could get her the 4th grade HWOT cursive, but she really doesn't need to learn all the letters over again. It's kind of frustrating. Can I whine and say I wish HWOT would publish a copywork book that doesn't re-teach all the letters? And since I'm really dream, I wish they would include copywork that transitions them to real notebook paper. (I'm still correcting my 4th grader on making his lower case letters take up the whole line on regular notebook paper :tongue_smilie:). Okya, sorry, this wasn't supposed to be a HWOT's vent! Anyway, thanks again for your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrissySC Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 Copybooks from Currclick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 Thanks for the ideas! It is still too frustrating for him to cut something out on a line (like a craft/art project) so I end up simply having him cut whatever he wants on plain paper (boring). The magazine idea is great though because he can try to cut out an object without feeling like he needs to stay exactly on the "dotted line"--and this will add more meaning and make it more interesting. Oh, and we have lots of magazines/catalogs around here! We'll start this week! Thanks again!(Sorry, OP for the rabbit trail.) It's hard to cut around an object in the beginning. Two of my kid still have to circle the item they want to cut out, then cut on the line. Not sure why that is easier, but it is! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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