Best Handwriting workbooks for K (5 year old)

[Blessed with seven]

Okay..another one of those things that I would like to have a workbook. I like the ones that use as few strokes as possible, but not italic or d'nellian? Any suggestions?

 

Thanks!

 

Kim

[CatholicMom]

We have liked A Reason For Handwriting. It's Christian with bible verses and such. I liked the font and it's cute but pretty no-nonsense.

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

I am very happy with Zaner-Bloser. I actually just hosted a guest post from them on my blog about their handwriting curriculum and part of it was about how they use comparatively less strokes than other handwriting styles.

 

(And here's the link to my other blog post about Builder Boy and my experience with them.)

[blondeviolin]

I don't believe there is any one handwriting book that is going to teach your kid the proper letter formation that you want him/her to learn. It's all going to be about you sitting with him and coaching him the proper strokes a hundred million times. With few strokes and not d'nealian-esque, the biggest choices are Handwriting Without Tears, Zaner Bloser, A Reason for Handwriting, or making your own sheets/printing something off the internet.

[Arboreal TJ]

I recently abandoned HWT for Pentime. Pentime books are ~$5 and have significantly more copy practice than HWT.

 

HWT has great instruction but Pentime workbooks are much better IMHO.

[2squared]

Probably not what you want, but my 4yo PreKer & 6yo Ker are learning handwriting using lap sized whiteboards. Every day I write a sentence to copy, and I sit by them while they form each letter. It's mind-numbing, but it's the only way to make sure they are forming all the letters correctly.

[...................]

We use RFH now but only because my daughter really loves the border sheets.

 

Honestly I don't think it was a great handwriting book. The K book doesn't give enough practice at all, and only teaches capitals. the cursive doesn't give enough stroke development.

 

I recommend Pentime or HWOT.

[Classical Book Worm]

We started with HWOT, but those books are slim and there was never enough practice. I had to buy 2 copies of the same workbook to last the year. I also didn't like the letter formation. The rhymes were cute though.

 

We went with A Reason for Handwriting this year and have been much happier. We practice handwriting daily. Penmanship has improved, and we really like the border sheets. It does seem to motivate my son to do his best, and makes handwriting (as a subject) more special.

[hollyhock]

A pretty good (and free!) option is the ABC worksheets from Starfall. You can download them and print them off. I've done this for a few of my kids and they are available in block print or manuscript. Here's the link: http://www.starfall.com/n/N-info/abcprint.htm?n=downloadcenter

[Aloha2U]

Well, I prefer Cursive First alongside SWR. :thumbup1:

 

That being said, Classical Conversations has just announced the January release of the first four workbooks in their new PreScripts series. They integrate memory work with art and cursive writing. You can visit the CC Bookstore to watch the YouTube video.

[Blessed with seven]

Thank you for all your suggestions. I had not wanted a handwriting program but feel it is necessary, the ones I didn't use it with seem to not have great handwriting and I need something where I can hand them a book and watch what they are doing and have them practice it everday!!

[Momof2littles]

I am using A Reason for Handwriting K. I have the "A" book but the lines were too small and frustrating for my 5 year old (who loves to color, draw, and write). I'm saving "A" for when she's done with "K." It's simple and straightforward.

[Aurelia]

We used Zaner-Bloser, but I also like the handwriting program by Teach Me Joy. You can choose either manuscript or cursive.

[Tidbits of Learning]

I have 4 kiddos. 2 of them learned with Zaner Bloser in public school with little oversight. One was a perfectionist and has good handwriting. The other child just finished the pages and the teacher didn't have time to check all the children's work. My oldest son did public school K and picked up the same bad habits that I still haven't gotten remediated. Youngest ds was home and I could sit and watch and correct and erase and redo until he got it right. He finished the pre-k and k HWOT book. Now he is working on the rest of the ARFH K book that we had started last year.

I think he does better with the 3 lined ARFH b/c we did the HWOT first and he could focus on the formation without being stressed to keep it in 3 lines. He only had to focus on 2. I like the reinforcement of going back and doing the ARFH K to see how he does now with standard 3 lined paper.

I think Zaner Bloser can be good also. I used the cursive when my girls came home b/c they were used to Zaner Bloser. I wound up remediating print for the one child with HWOT though.

I agree with the pp that isn't so much what handwriting book you use as much as really sitting and watching and correcting before bad habits set in with writing.

[momtoamiracle]

Well, I prefer Cursive First alongside SWR. :thumbup1:

 

That being said, Classical Conversations has just announced the January release of the first four workbooks in their new PreScripts series. They integrate memory work with art and cursive writing. You can visit the CC Bookstore to watch the YouTube video.

 

 

 

 

I like the looks of that. Something else to pore over and decide upon! LOL!