Iskra Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 I know nowadays most programs that teach typing are software. I am looking for a book, not software. Since most fun/cool typing software runs only on windows or mac, and we don't use either, I would like to find an awesome book that does the job. In the good old days, you would put this kind of a book in front of your computer (it stood by itselt desk-calendar-style, so that you can easily see it while typing), you would cover the computer screen so that you don't see what you are typing and you just go, lesson by lesson and then you lift off the cover off the computer screen to see what mistakes you've made. Does such a thing even exist nowadays? What's your favorite book that teaches kids to type? And we know about the dance mat typing online and ds 6 did it, but he still doesn't know how to type after completing all the levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ednkirstin Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 :banghead: I have had one for YEARS, and I finally decided to get rid of it about a month ago....sorry! Here's one on Amazon that looks pretty good. I ended up using Typing Instructor for our kids, but one thing I liked about learning the book way (I did), is that I learned to type accurately without looking at the screen while I was typing. Hope you find what you're looking for! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen in NS Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 In the good old days, you would put this kind of a book in front of your computer (it stood by itselt desk-calendar-style, so that you can easily see it while typing), you would cover the computer screen so that you don't see what you are typing and you just go, lesson by lesson and then you lift off the cover off the computer screen to see what mistakes you've made. :D I just have to say that in *my* good old days, we would put the book on the stand beside the *typewriter* and didn't look at the paper that was slowly rolling out of it. :D (and, I learned on an electric typewriter - I'm sure people here who are older than I am will say they learned on the manual typewriters, and will tell me about the correction fluid or tabs they had to use; whereas I had a correction key on my typewriter, that would "white-out" my mistakes. ) Anyway, Rod and Staff publishes what you are looking for: http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com/list/Rod_and_Staff_Typing/ It does show how a typewriter works, but the typing principles would probably work for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy Jo Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 I'm dictating sentences from Spelling Plus's "Dictation Resource Book" to my eldest - working on typing and spelling/grammar at the same time. You might check a used book store. I've seen a few keyboarding books at them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoVanGogh Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 We are using "Touch Typing in Ten Lessons." I bought it on Amaz*n a while back. (We are also using a real typewriter, because I am so old-school.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
classics4us Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Abeka had them a few years ago, not sure if they still do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deerforest Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 I learned on a manual typewriter and used correction fluid.. lol.. I just had to admit it. I first learned in 7th grade.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 My dad gave me an old typing book (for typewriter use). I'd be happy to send it to you FFS. Are you using Linux? There are some instructors on there, though I haven't tried any of them. FWIW, my oldest wasn't ready for typing at age 6. He's doing Typing Instructor for Kids now at 8, and he's still nowhere near ready to type his compositions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iskra Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 My dad gave me an old typing book (for typewriter use). I'd be happy to send it to you FFS. Are you using Linux? There are some instructors on there, though I haven't tried any of them. That's very sweet of you to offer, but I want a book that was intended for a computer keyboard, not a typewriter. And yes, we use linux. I should start a linux tribe thread, since I often feel very dissapointed when people brag about this or that cool educational software and of course it is never for linux. The biggest thorn in my eye is Rosetta Stone. I think I might start to hate them with a passion :mad:. I better :chillpill: before I work myself up about this. Anyway, back on topic, why do you think 6 year olds are not ready for typing? They sure don't have any problem using the keyboard to browse the web and play computer games? My son makes me type for him e-mails to people all the time and frankly I'm really looking forward to him doing it himself. He has the motor skills, I really think it is just a matter of finding a good lesson book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iskra Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 :D I just have to say that in *my* good old days, we would put the book on the stand beside the *typewriter* and didn't look at the paper that was slowly rolling out of it. :D (and, I learned on an electric typewriter - I'm sure people here who are older than I am will say they learned on the manual typewriters, and will tell me about the correction fluid or tabs they had to use; whereas I had a correction key on my typewriter, that would "white-out" my mistakes. ) This made me giggle. Things have really changed fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoVanGogh Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 why do you think 6 year olds are not ready for typing? They sure don't have any problem using the keyboard to browse the web and play computer games? My son makes me type for him e-mails to people all the time and frankly I'm really looking forward to him doing it himself. He has the motor skills, I really think it is just a matter of finding a good lesson book. I wasn't the PP that commented on age...I have gone back and forth on what age to teach typing. I started at nine. DS is now ten and can type fairly well. I do wish I would have tried earlier, just to see if he could do it. (No pressure if he wasn't ready.) DS has good fine motor skills (started electric guitar at seven) so I think he probably could have done it earlier. I keep going back to the idea that it is antiquated idea that kids don't learn how to type until middle school. Like you said, young kids are so comfortable with computers and keyboards - why not try it? At our school, the kids have "computer" classes starting in K, but don't have formal "keyboarding" until middle school. I think that a lot of bad habits will be formed between time. Some days, I even think that not teaching DS to type until nine let some bad habits creep in. Thankfully, they weren't hard to correct at this stage. Just my thoughts. I wanted to mention -- re: the book that I mentioned above -- I have used that with a typewriter and a keyboard, just switch up lesson a bit as needed. (Mainly, shift and return/enter keys.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 I wasn't trying to generalize to all 6 year olds. I was just giving my son's experience. For him, it is part motor skills and part.... I don't know what. :lol: This child can use a computer no problem. He's definitely doing better this time around, but it's slow going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ednkirstin Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 I usually start mine around 9. One thought I've had about younger kids is not so much their ability to get around on a keyboard, but the size of their hands. I'm not sure they can stretch their fingers enough to type properly. I will say I haven't tried very hard to get my kids to type earlier than 9ish, so my thoughts are not from experience, just speculation. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nansk Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 (edited) You can try these simple typing lessons. They are web-based, so should work on Linux. A second good option is Keyboarding Skills by Diana Hanbury King. She teaches typing in the alphabetic order. Here is the rhyme that goes with the book. Here is a set of superb back-to-basics typing lessons with printable cards and other helps. Another no-frills set of typing lessons for older kids. Another option is to get the book for the Almena method. This PDF file has the typing sequence/lessons. Can you print this and make a DIY stand-up book? TuxType software is available for Linux. I have seen a recc. for a desktop stand-up typing instruction book on this forum. I'll search and post back if I find the thread. My 7 yo has requested for typing lessons, and I want to use a simple, no-frills, non-software-based lesson sequence. You can tell I have researched this extensively online. :tongue_smilie: However, my dd is not yet ready to learn typing. Her fine motor skills, size of her fingers and muscle strength needs to improve/increase. Edited July 13, 2012 by nansk Added more links. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy Jo Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 And yes, we use linux. I should start a linux tribe thread, since I often feel very dissapointed when people brag about this or that cool educational software and of course it is never for linux. The biggest thorn in my eye is Rosetta Stone. I think I might start to hate them with a passion :mad:. I better :chillpill: before I work myself up about this. :seeya::hurray::cheers2: Another Linux User!!! (Hi!) GCompris has some basic keyboard & computer skills. TuxType is "kid friendly" and has the falling words game with themes - it's addicting. KTouch (KDE's typing program) will let you add custom text. It's fairly easy - so you could type a text file with his spelling words or perhaps lines from a reader. (You might already know about these, and they are on the computer still.) Oh, and I started my eldest at 8, the next at 7. I'll probably try to hold my youngest son off until 8 ... he is not Mr. Follow-Directions, and I don't want them to hunt and peck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iskra Posted July 13, 2012 Author Share Posted July 13, 2012 You can try these simple typing lessons. They are web-based, so should work on Linux. A second good option is Keyboarding Skills by Diana Hanbury King. She teaches typing in the alphabetic order. Here is the rhyme that goes with the book. Here is a set of superb back-to-basics typing lessons with printable cards and other helps. Another no-frills set of typing lessons for older kids. Another option is to get the book for the Almena method. This PDF file has the typing sequence/lessons. Can you print this and make a DIY stand-up book? TuxType software is available for Linux. I have seen a recc. for a desktop stand-up typing instruction book on this forum. I'll search and post back if I find the thread. My 7 yo has requested for typing lessons, and I want to use a simple, no-frills, non-software-based lesson sequence. You can tell I have researched this extensively online. :tongue_smilie: However, my dd is not yet ready to learn typing. Her fine motor skills, size of her fingers and muscle strength needs to improve/increase. Thank for all these awesome resources!!!!!!! I love it when ask a question and someone who has done the research chimes in. This forum is awesome like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iskra Posted July 13, 2012 Author Share Posted July 13, 2012 :seeya::hurray::cheers2: Another Linux User!!! (Hi!) Yay!... I'm glad I'm not the only one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Yay!... I'm glad I'm not the only one! I was a Linux user for years, and I even had my kids' computer running Linux (after DS1 killed Win2K by deleting the fonts folder :lol:). The kids LOVED the games on there. :D But sadly, I switched back to Windoze, as I had a couple programs that just could not run under Linux at all (I even tried to get them to run in Wine). I usually still keep my computer dual boot, but my dad gave me his "old" (screaming fast, much better than my old one) computer recently, and I haven't installed Linux on it yet. I still have Cygwin on my Windoze machine, so I can use GOOD command line tools. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another Lynn Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 I only skimmed the other responses, so if you've gotten enough links and resources that you no longer want a typing book, just ignore me. My .02 is that the various software we've tried hasn't yielded great results. What I wish I had kept was our last actual typewriter - I think that would have been much better to learn on. Anyway I know of two typing books - Rod and Staff carries one that reminds me very much of my 8th grade typing class (except for the content of the typing :lol:). Another one I have seen but haven't tried is called Keyboarding Skills from the same folks that produced a series of writing workbooks called Writing Skills. HTH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy Jo Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 I only skimmed the other responses, so if you've gotten enough links and resources that you no longer want a typing book, just ignore me. My .02 is that the various software we've tried hasn't yielded great results. What I wish I had kept was our last actual typewriter - I think that would have been much better to learn on. Anyway I know of two typing books - Rod and Staff carries one that reminds me very much of my 8th grade typing class (except for the content of the typing :lol:). Another one I have seen but haven't tried is called Keyboarding Skills from the same folks that produced a series of writing workbooks called Writing Skills. HTH. It's not to hard to pick up a typewriter here - at least an electric one. My local Goodwill usually has 1-2 for under $15. I have one because someday I'm writing my NaNo novel on it... And there's always E-Bay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 :D I just have to say that in *my* good old days, we would put the book on the stand beside the *typewriter* and didn't look at the paper that was slowly rolling out of it. :D (and, I learned on an electric typewriter - I'm sure people here who are older than I am will say they learned on the manual typewriters, and will tell me about the correction fluid or tabs they had to use; whereas I had a correction key on my typewriter, that would "white-out" my mistakes. ) I had the EXACT same thoughts in reading the original post! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomesteadMommy Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Yay!... I'm glad I'm not the only one! :iagree: Me to!!! lol I don't know if your looking for a Christian typing program or not. But Keyboarding for Christian Schools is good and they are printable ebooks. We also use Tux Typing, kids love that one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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