Do you expect perfection in copywork assignments?

[BatmansWife]

For those of you who do copywork.....do you expect perfection? I'm just curious.

 

Apparently I don't know the "rules" of copywork. I did not write a glowing review for one of the Queens books and Sandi had to point out that apparently I do not "fully understand the concept of copywork with short, concise lessons that focus on perfection". She said the lessons are "short and intensely focused" and that "perfection in the shapes and strokes of the lessons is emphasized".

 

I would have to agree with her that I don't fully understand it. I can't expect perfection from my kids. She said the student needs to work on the lesson and look it over to make sure it is perfectly copied and then bring it to the parent. "If the parent finds the work to be less than the child's perfect rendition, he must erase the day's lesson and do it over again that same day." :blink:

 

I'm curious if those of you who do copywork actually do this? I just couldn't look at it and see an imperfect copy and tell my child to erase it all and do it again.

 

But, then again....perhaps this is what produces perfect handwriting.

[BatmansWife]

I used to sit with my kids while they were doing their copywork so I could correct as needed.

 

It's more time intensive, obviously, but it resulted in accurate first-time attempts, eliminating the need for later erasing and re-writing.

 

I don't know if I could've asked my kids to rewrite whole passages either. :grouphug:

 

So you would correct a mistake, or an imperfectly copied letter, as soon as it was made. I think that's a better idea.

[Tress]

If my daughters make a mistake in their copywork, I make them correct that mistake below their copywork. If it is a letter that was wrongly formed (my dd5 just started doing copywork), I ask my dd5 to write it three times.

 

I would not make them do everything over, unless you know that they have not tried to do their best and you want to discipline them.

[happycc]

That clarifies a lot why my daughter's handwriting has gotten worse.

I was using copy work mainly to help my daughter remember things like the Months of the Year. I was hoping for independent work but now I realize she needs to do with me poking and prodding her to do it correctly.

Carolyn

[mama25angels]

I used to sit with my kids while they were doing their copywork so I could correct as needed.

 

It's more time intensive, obviously, but it resulted in accurate first-time attempts, eliminating the need for later erasing and re-writing.

 

I don't know if I could've asked my kids to rewrite whole passages either. :grouphug:

 

 

:iagree: this is what I do also

[FO4UR]

I expect near perfection in copywork...I am more lenient with handwriting during spelling lessons. I rarely make them erase and rework. I do make them practice practice practice whatever seems to be giving us problems. My dc know if they are sloppy with their "r" (or whatever), that they will be practicing "r" ad naseum.

 

I am gentle about it, and work up to writing words/phrases/sentences slowly.

[Jay3fer]

My dd6.5 generally works on one page at a time, by herself, and I check it when she's done. However, if we're working on letter formation, I will watch her step by step.

 

When she's done it herself, I definitely ask her to rewrite a few letters that are most conspicuously sloppy (not so many that she gets frustrated).

 

But if I could add one thing, from experience with 4 very different kids, it is - EMPHASIZE THE POSITIVE!

 

What I do with copywork is look over the whole page and put a checkmark or happy face on my FAVOURITE word (ie the neatest). Even if the whole page is mediocre, there's bound to be one word that's good. Zoom in on it.

 

My dd knows the drill by now and will often point out words where she tried especially hard and where she's pleased with the results. I sometimes pick her word, sometimes I pick a different one, but I always point out what I like about the word I choose ("the circle of the 'a' is very close to the stick; you stayed nicely between the lines," or whatever it was).

 

In every subject, always try to catch your kids succeeding - imho, it's the best way to break out of a cycle of "bad" or even mediocre behaviour / work. If your relationship is healthy, they WILL rise to meet your expectations once they know your goals are realistic.

[In2why]

I don't make my son do the entire lesson over again, but I do expect his very best. I also expect him to do it independently, and did last year in 2nd grade as well. In the beginning though I sat with him to make sure he understood the expectation. He is transistioning to cursive so his best isn't quite perfection, but it is his best most days so that is fine with me.

[GingerPoppy]

My dd6.5 generally works on one page at a time, by herself, and I check it when she's done. However, if we're working on letter formation, I will watch her step by step.

 

When she's done it herself, I definitely ask her to rewrite a few letters that are most conspicuously sloppy (not so many that she gets frustrated).

 

But if I could add one thing, from experience with 4 very different kids, it is - EMPHASIZE THE POSITIVE!

 

What I do with copywork is look over the whole page and put a checkmark or happy face on my FAVOURITE word (ie the neatest). Even if the whole page is mediocre, there's bound to be one word that's good. Zoom in on it.

 

My dd knows the drill by now and will often point out words where she tried especially hard and where she's pleased with the results. I sometimes pick her word, sometimes I pick a different one, but I always point out what I like about the word I choose ("the circle of the 'a' is very close to the stick; you stayed nicely between the lines," or whatever it was).

 

In every subject, always try to catch your kids succeeding - imho, it's the best way to break out of a cycle of "bad" or even mediocre behaviour / work. If your relationship is healthy, they WILL rise to meet your expectations once they know your goals are realistic.

 

:iagree: I put happy faces or circle (in colour, with little confetti marks) the best word or letter, too.

[mytwomonkeys]

well, not perfection. but yes, i expect it to be his very best, which includes capitalization, spacing, good letter formation and proper size, and punctuation. typing it out, it sounds a little harsh, but bad habits are formed so easily. i sit by him and watch my son write, and like others, as soon as i see a mistake - we erase it and do it correctly. even in the beginning of our school year, it involved a lot of intervention on my part, but now he's doing beautifully.

[jplain]

She said the student needs to work on the lesson and look it over to make sure it is perfectly copied and then bring it to the parent. "If the parent finds the work to be less than the child's perfect rendition, he must erase the day's lesson and do it over again that same day."

Somewhere in WWE SWB instructs the parent to watch over their child's shoulder, and prompt them to find and correct their mistakes immediately. In my opinion that's a more compassionate way to achieve the same results.

[justamouse]

Somewhere in WWE SWB instructs the parent to watch over their child's shoulder, and prompt them to find and correct their mistakes immediately. In my opinion that's a more compassionate way to achieve the same results.

 

I believe CM advises the same.

[twoxcell]

That depends on what you mean by perfection. I expect all words to be spelled correctly, and for punctuation to be correct. If it is not then they are required to fix all mistakes. As far as handwriting as long as they are making their best effort it is fine. I have erased passages and made my ds re-do them when I felt he did them hastily and they were very sloppy.

[littlebug42]

I do not expect perfection. I expect effort and improvement. For my oldest daughter, handwriting has always been a struggle. If I expected perfection, I would do nothing but work on handwriting.

[Mama2Many4]

If you are following a true CM approach, then you'll expect perfection. A child as young as five can be expected to achieve perfection when writing. If it is perfection you expect, then give no more than one sentence per day. "Don't expect an entire page of perfect strokes, but six perfect strokes." This is something Charlotte used to say.

[VBoulden]

I don't expect perfection (even though the copy work is only one sentence, etc.). I can tell if my daughter did her best. After enough time and copy work, her best will be (and does get) closer and closer to perfect. :001_smile:

[justamouse]

If you are following a true CM approach, then you'll expect perfection. A child as young as five can be expected to achieve perfection when writing. If it is perfection you expect, then give no more than one sentence per day. "Don't expect an entire page of perfect strokes, but six perfect strokes." This is something Charlotte used to say.

:iagree:

[NotSoObvious]

I used to sit with my kids while they were doing their copywork so I could correct as needed.

 

It's more time intensive, obviously, but it resulted in accurate first-time attempts, eliminating the need for later erasing and re-writing.

 

I don't know if I could've asked my kids to rewrite whole passages either. :grouphug:

 

:iagree:

Yep, copywork time is when we are working on handwriting, so just like I'd correct every wrong math answer, I correct the handwriting. I used to sit with them and make them stop and erase if there was an error. Now they just know they'll need to rewrite it if it's sloppy. One dd loves the "art" of copywork and has beautiful handwriting. The other dd doesn't love it because she struggles, but her handwriting has improved tremendously since we started homeschooling.

[Farrar]

I think a lot of this depends on what you mean by "perfection" and how much that definition allows for the real small motor skills issues as kids develop their handwriting. I don't expect "perfection" of anything really. To me that's not an achievable standard. But do I expect all the letters to be reasonably well-formed and even, no reversals, all the punctuation included, and all the words corrected spelled on copywork? Yes.

[NotSoObvious]

Oh, and I'll add...

I don't know what perfection looks like. To me, a letter is either formed correctly, touching the proper lines, or not. Even my daughter who struggles with handwriting can form letters correctly. It just takes her a little longer.

Does that make sense? I think it helps kids to go through a proper handwriting program first to get practice with each letter before they are expected to put it all together.

[NotSoObvious]

I think a lot of this depends on what you mean by "perfection" and how much that definition allows for the real small motor skills issues as kids develop their handwriting. I don't expect "perfection" of anything really. To me that's not an achievable standard. But do I expect all the letters to be reasonably well-formed and even, no reversals, all the punctuation included, and all the words corrected spelled on copywork? Yes.

 

:iagree: Exactly.