handwriting w/ descriptions?

[anabelneri]

My younger daughter really wants to learn to write, and she's been working on it slowly. We have the ETC primer books, but they frustrate her and she just wants to color the pictures. I think all of the extra activities annoy her, since she already knows all the letter sounds and doesn't respond well to repetition.

 

I had figured it was simply a maturity issue (she is young) but we were doing some Right Start this week, and learned to write all of her numbers in just two sessions. Right Start uses a song to tell the kids where to start the numbers, and then there's a little phrase that goes along with each number to remind the child of how to write it. She had very little trouble or frustration, and she enjoyed the little practice pages.

 

Is there anything out there like this for handwriting? I used Zaner-Bloser with my elder, and that didn't do this, and ETC isn't doing it either.

 

Thank you!

[acrosier]

Hi, You might want to look at the Handwriting Without Tears website, under the preschool heading. It's pretty much exactly like what you're looking for with songs, coloring, and more. Good luck :)

[boscopup]

HWT has a song or two ("Where do you start the letter? At the top!"). They also have a script for each letter ("Magic c, up like a helicopter, back down, bump" makes 'a').

 

I will say that for some reason, numbers were waaaaaaay easier to learn than letters. Both of my older two children learned writing numbers long before they could write letters. My middle son is still working on the letters, but his numbers look GOOD. He learned from the R&S Counting with Numbers workbook, and it had cute sayings for each number ("Around and back on the railroad track... two, two, two!"). That totally clicked with him.

[Hunter]

Not songs, but Writing Road to Reading provides precise scripts for each letter in both manuscript and cursive.

[MomatHWTK]

If you get the TM for HWOT, there are descriptives for each type of line used to make the various letters. Then the child's workbook groups letters by line type. For instance, the curved shaped for letter "C" is called the magic "C" and it demonstrated like the line formed by a magician pulling a rabbit out of his hat. (Or something like that- I didn't really do any of the fun stuff as I had a very "just the facts" kid.)

 

Basically you have your short and long straight lines, and your small and large curves and all the letter then use those 4 types of lines. The program also offers wooden manipulatives, a "mat man" character, etc.

[alisoncooks]

...My middle son is still working on the letters, but his numbers look GOOD. He learned from the R&S Counting with Numbers workbook, and it had cute sayings for each number ("Around and back on the railroad track... two, two, two!"). That totally clicked with him.

 

This was a big hit at our house. My DD loved the "C" book and the sayings for the numbers.

[MerryAtHope]

HWT has some really cute stories too--my dd used to say "and catch George!" for years after learning how to make the letter g!

[three4me]

If you get the TM for HWOT, there are descriptives for each type of line used to make the various letters. Then the child's workbook groups letters by line type. For instance, the curved shaped for letter "C" is called the magic "C" and it demonstrated like the line formed by a magician pulling a rabbit out of his hat. (Or something like that- I didn't really do any of the fun stuff as I had a very "just the facts" kid.)

 

Basically you have your short and long straight lines, and your small and large curves and all the letter then use those 4 types of lines. The program also offers wooden manipulatives, a "mat man" character, etc.

 

Which grade TM? PreK or K?