This curriculum, which teaches a handwriting style nearly identical to simplified Zaner-Bloser, uses a unique approach—it offers a literal "reason" for handwriting. Each week, the student learns and practices letters and words from a specific Bible verse (from The Living Bible). During the first three days of the week, they work on memorizing the verse, and by Thursday, they write the entire verse on one of the enclosed "border sheets." The border of this sheet can then be colored and posted on the refrigerator or given to a friend or relative.

• Kindergarten teaches manuscript handwriting in a nicely laid-out and colorful book. The student practices circles and lines at different angles before moving on to actual letters. It doesn't assume much motor control, and the letters are practiced on dotted lines measuring 1 1/4" tall. The book teaches through the entire alphabet starting with lowercase and moving to uppercase midway through the book. As it teaches the letters, it alternates one page of practice with one coloring page (using an animal starting with the pertinent letter), and it inserts a couple pages of review every seven or eight lessons. This level does not teach Bible verses.
• Level A also teaches manuscript but it reduces the dotted lines to just over 1/2" tall. For the first 30 one-page lessons, the book reviews the basics of writing both numbers and letters (upper- and lower-case) before moving on to its normal daily lessons. The book includes verses from both the Psalms and the Proverbs.
• Level B is very similar to Level A, but only offers 10 one-page review lessons before starting the normal lessons. Again teaching manuscript and using the same size lines, Level B incorporates verses from the Gospels in 30 weekly lessons.
• Transition is basically two books in one. It starts off exactly like Level B (we mean exactly—the first 70 pages are identical!), but where lesson 28 exists in Level B, Transition begins its introduction to cursive. Here the line height switches to 3/8", and after 45 pages of introducing and drilling cursive letters and connections it begins with normal daily lessons, of which there are twenty-seven (eighteen of these are repeated in Level C).
• Level C begins with 27 practice pages, and then launches its normal weekly lessons. There are 32 lessons, focusing on verses from the Epistles. Remember: eighteen of these lessons were taught in Transition!
• Levels D, E, and F are nearly identical in approach. All of them use the same size lines (3/8"), none of them offer any introductory practice pages, and all have 32 weekly lessons. The only difference is the Scripture being memorized. Level D takes verses from the Gospels; Level E takes them from the Psalms; and Level F from the Proverbs. These books may be used interchangeably.

Please Note:

Materials from The Concerned Group, Inc. are copyrighted, and it is illegal to reproduce these books in any way.

Samples: (click to enlarge)
Basic (manuscript)	Cursive