With ETC, do you also need a handwriting program?

[Celia]

Just wondering if it covers letter formation well enough.

[Jmac]

I don't believe it actually covers letter formation at all. There is no instruction on how to make letters and it lacks repetition. I personally would highly recommend a seperate handwriting program if your child has never been through one. There is nothing harder that correcting a child who learns to make a letter incorrectly by either starting from the bottom or writing it backwards.

[Ellie]

Yes.:001_smile:

[Mama2two]

I don't believe it actually covers letter formation at all. There is no instruction on how to make letters and it lacks repetition. I personally would highly recommend a seperate handwriting program if your child has never been through one. There is nothing harder that correcting a child who learns to make a letter incorrectly by either starting from the bottom or writing it backwards.

 

I agree, it doesn't teach formation, but once they know formation I think it if fantastic for handwriting practice

[KristenR]

Yes, I think you would need separate instruction on handwriting.

[redsquirrel]

Well, I have never used the writing aspect of ETC. I only have them read, cross out, circle etc and skip the handwriting. For handwriting I use HWT. My boys reading ability always outstrips their handwriting ability and I see no reason to frustrate them.

 

I keep reading instruction in reading and handwriting instruction in handwriting.

[Spy Car]

Personally, for the lower-level books (Primers—ETC 3) I really preferred avoiding the written work, and doing them "orally" or with finger-tracing rather than writing.

 

Why? Because (to my mind) the phonics were necessary to facilitate learning to read, and the Primers are well-suited to nursery school and ETC 1-3 of Kindergarten. But the writing was less developmentally appropriate to those ages than the phonic instruction.

 

I did not want to hold back the phonics/reading by waiting for writing skills to catch up, or to "force" the writing component of ETC on my child (as he, like many, needed to build up those skills) and I did not want any conflation of the "frustration" of having to physically write getting in the way of the joy of learning to read. So we kept these developing skills complete separate until he was ready. Which was in ETC 4, in his case.

 

YMMV.

 

Bill

[FO4UR]

I've taught letter formation enough...that I can make an ETC lesson include formation as I go.

 

I skip some of the writing as we go, but make sure he (5yo) does about 1 page of writing each school day.

[Walking-Iris]

I've used ETC and HWT with both my boys and I would recommend using both together as well.

[boscopup]

I think letter formation should really be focused on separately from reading instruction.

 

That said, my DS2 has used ETC1 via writing it himself (before he turned 5), and he has not had formal letter formation instruction yet. I've shown him things here and there, and he has copied things on the white board (him also writing on the white board - and it was his choice, not mine :tongue_smilie:). I ended up letting him do whatever he wants in ETC and not worrying about letter formation there, because I want him to focus on how to read, and he insists on doing the writing. Crazy boy. He does learn well by writing, but I've kind of put ETC to the side for a bit to work orally with Webster's, so he won't have anything begging him to write before he has letter formation knowledge. Kind of a catch 22 really.

 

We are separately doing HWT. We've worked one page so far. :D Guess I need to get moving, as he is clearly ready to write. Sooooo different from my oldest.

[acurtis75]

Personally, for the lower-level books (Primers—ETC 3) I really preferred avoiding the written work, and doing them "orally" or with finger-tracing rather than writing.

 

Why? Because (to my mind) the phonics were necessary to facilitate learning to read, and the Primers are well-suited to nursery school and ETC 1-3 of Kindergarten. But the writing was less developmentally appropriate to those ages than the phonic instruction.

 

I did not want to hold back the phonics/reading by waiting for writing skills to catch up, or to "force" the writing component of ETC on my child (as he, like many, needed to build up those skills) and I did not want any conflation of the "frustration" of having to physically write getting in the way of the joy of learning to read. So we kept these developing skills complete separate until he was ready. Which was in ETC 4, in his case.

 

YMMV.

 

Bill

 

:iagree: My daughter was ready to read well before her handwriting was even close to legible. I was doing handwriting informally but her frustration with trying to write the answers in the ETC book actually pushed me to get HWT which worked great for us. She liked to try to write some of the answers but we covered the concepts orally and focused on handwriting during handwriting time. I think we covered at least books 1-3 during our K year and she definately wasn't writing well enough to move through at that pace.

[Celia]

My ds' ability to read was far above his ability to write, but with my dd, not so. She loves pencils and workbooks. So she wouldn't shy away from the writing in ETC, I just wasn't sure if it was enough.

[morosophe]

And my son started with ETC 4 (as part of Sonlight Core 1/B), after giving half a stab at "Get Ready for the Code" and giving up on it at least a year earlier--in part because the writing was just too hard for him. I don't think I even made him do all the writing at the beginning of 4, but by the time he finished with 6 (the last one Sonlight Core 1/B schedules), he was certainly writing everything.