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Handwriting

Handwriting CurriculumHandwriting Resources

We tend to think that if instruction isn't rigorous and difficult, it's not really instruction; or, we go to the other extreme and assume that everything in the world needs to be easy and fun, and that anything which doesn't fall into both categories should be avoided like an active volcano. As usual, the truth is somewhere in the middle, a fact easily demonstrated by the "right" approach to teaching handwriting.

Kids learn best when instruction is organic. That doesn't mean you have to be a vegan, just that you don't need to turn every skill (no matter how "academic") into a formal school subject. Penmanship involves a lot of skills just as easily acquired through everyday activities, and while putting them together to form the specific ability known as good handwriting requires concentrated effort, giving your kids the building blocks can be far less structured and a lot more fun for everyone involved.

For instance, holding a pencil or pen correctly requires specific motor skills that aren't necessarily intuitive (a lot of kids start out trying to hold their pencil like the hilt of a sword). However, picking up small objects is intuitive, and can be a great way to hone your child's ability to operate his or her hand properly when learning to write. Some educators even encourage parents to start this process with babies as young as nine months.

Learning good penmanship is more than just learning the right motions. Children also need to absorb the names, character, and shapes of each letter of the alphabet, a far more intellectual activity than learning how to hold a writing implement. But even here, they can be taught these things while playing with blocks or letter magnets, while coloring or drawing, and even by making letters out of playdough. (Studies indicate that children who draw a lot end up with better handwriting than those who don't "practice" in this way.)

But why teach handwriting? many will wonder. My child will just grow up typing, anyway; she'll have no need for penmanship skills. Unless the world becomes entirely automated and paper is outlawed by all the governments of the world, that's simply not true. Adults write all day—memos at work, shopping lists and phone numbers at home, even a husband's short love notes to his tired and stressed-out wife. If kids never learn to write by hand, and to write legibly by hand, how will they be able to communicate with others (or even themselves) later on?

Current research shows that simple handwriting instruction, specifically cursive instruction, actually aids academic study and advancement. Because, as much as some would like everything to be simply practical and expedient, academic study and success are important elements in the development of children. To some extent, if we want our kids to be good readers and mathemeticians, we need to make them good handwriters.

Handwriting development doesn't just help a child's academic progress, however. It helps them become detail-oriented, to understand the need for clarity, and gives them something to practice which can be tangibly measured in terms of progress. Yes, good penmanship takes effort and is often frustrating, but the rewards it yields are worth the initial hand cramps and scribbled letters.

In the end there isn't really a "right" way to teach handwriting, or to introduce any of the little helps that reinforce the appropriate skills and get kids interested in penmanship through different avenues. There is a right attitude, though, one which sees a child's development as a holistic process of which handwriting skills are an integral part, and which takes every available opportunity to teach those skills.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur.Read more of his reviews here.

 

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224 Items found Print
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1st Grade Writing Tablet
from A Beka Books
for 1st grade
in A Beka Penmanship/Creative Writing (Location: HAN-ABK)
$8.00 (3 in stock)
2nd Grade Writing Tablet
1st edition from A Beka Books
for 2nd grade
in A Beka Penmanship/Creative Writing (Location: HAN-ABK)
2nd Grade Writing Tablet
1st edition from A Beka Books
for 2nd grade
in A Beka Penmanship/Creative Writing (Location: HAN-ABK)
$11.00 (2 in stock)
A B C Touch & Flip Cards
from Handwriting Without Tears
for Preschool-Kindergarten
in Handwriting Without Tears (Location: HAN-WOT)
ABC Writing Tablet - Cursive
2nd edition from A Beka Books
for Kindergarten Age 4
in A Beka Penmanship/Creative Writing (Location: HAN-ABK)
ABC Writing Tablet - Manuscript
from A Beka Books
for Kindergarten Age 4
in A Beka Penmanship/Creative Writing (Location: HAN-ABK)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Aesop Copybook
from Memoria Press
in Handwriting Resources (Location: HAN-REF)
Alphabet Wall Charts (Cursive)
from Memoria Press
for Preschool-Kindergarten
in Memoria Press Penmanship & Copybooks (Location: HAN-MPPEN)
$17.35
Art of Illuminated Letters
by Patricia Seligman, calligraphy by Timothy Noad
from Past Times
for 9th-Adult
in Calligraphy (Location: HAN-CALLIG)
Bible Type
by Jackie Newbrough
from Centruth
for 7th-12th grade
in Typing Curriculum (Location: HAN-TYP)
Building Writers Level E (old)
1st edition from Handwriting Without Tears
for 4th grade
in Handwriting Without Tears (Location: HAN-WOT)
Calligraphic Ornaments
Dover Clip Art
by Kiyoshi Takahashi, designer
from Dover Publications
for Adult
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Calligraphy School
by Gaynor Goffe and Anna Ravenscroft
from Reader's Digest
for 9th-Adult
in Calligraphy (Location: HAN-CALLIG)
Can-Do Print
by Lesslie Newbigin
from Handwriting Without Tears
for 5th grade
in Handwriting Without Tears (Location: HAN-WOT)
Character Italic - Advanced Cursive
by Martine Cox, Wendy Shaw
from Italic Builders
for 1st-6th grade
in Getty-Dubay™ Italic Handwriting (Location: HAN-ITALIC)
Character Italic - Basic Print
by Martine Cox, Wendy Shaw
from Italic Builders
for 1st-6th grade
in Getty-Dubay™ Italic Handwriting (Location: HAN-ITALIC)
Character Italic - Beginning Cursive
by Martine Cox, Wendy Shaw
from Italic Builders
for 1st-6th grade
in Getty-Dubay™ Italic Handwriting (Location: HAN-ITALIC)
CL Handwriting Practice Pads: 2nd-4th
from Christian Liberty Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in CLP Handwriting (Location: HAN-CLP)
$3.00
CL Handwriting Practice Pads: K-1st
from Christian Liberty Press
for Kindergarten-1st grade
in CLP Handwriting (Location: HAN-CLP)
$3.00
Classically Cursive Book 1
by B. J. Jordan
2nd edition from Veritas Press
for Kindergarten-1st grade
in Veritas Press Classically Cursive (Location: HAN-VPCC)
$19.00
Classically Cursive Book 2
by B. J. Jordan
2nd edition from Veritas Press
for 1st-2nd grade
in Veritas Press Classically Cursive (Location: HAN-VPCC)
$19.00
Classically Cursive Book 3
by B. J. Jordan
2nd edition from Veritas Press
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Veritas Press Classically Cursive (Location: HAN-VPCC)
Classically Cursive Book 4
by Kathy Mahaffy
2nd edition from Veritas Press
for 3rd-4th grade
in Veritas Press Classically Cursive (Location: HAN-VPCC)
$19.00
Composition and Sketchbook I
from Memoria Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Memoria Press Penmanship & Copybooks (Location: HAN-MPPEN)
$9.45
Composition and Sketchbook II
from Memoria Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Memoria Press Penmanship & Copybooks (Location: HAN-MPPEN)
$9.45 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Composition and Sketchbook III
from Memoria Press
for 3rd-5th grade
in Memoria Press Penmanship & Copybooks (Location: HAN-MPPEN)
$9.45
Copybook Cursive I
by Leigh Lowe
Fir from Memoria Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Memoria Press Penmanship & Copybooks (Location: HAN-MPPEN)
$16.30
Copybook Cursive II
by Brenda Janke
2nd edition from Memoria Press
for 3rd-5th grade
in Memoria Press Penmanship & Copybooks (Location: HAN-MPPEN)
$16.30
Copybook Cursive III
by Brenda Janke
2nd edition from Memoria Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Memoria Press Penmanship & Copybooks (Location: HAN-MPPEN)
Copybook Cursive IV
by Brenda Janke
1st edition from Memoria Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Memoria Press Penmanship & Copybooks (Location: HAN-MPPEN)
Copybook I
by Leigh & Cheryl Lowe
from Memoria Press
for Kindergarten-1st grade
in Memoria Press Penmanship & Copybooks (Location: HAN-MPPEN)
Copybook II: Manuscript & Cursive
by Leigh & Cheryl Lowe
3rd edition from Memoria Press
for 1st-2nd grade
in Memoria Press Penmanship & Copybooks (Location: HAN-MPPEN)
$16.30 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Copybook III
by Leigh & Cheryl Lowe
2nd edition from Memoria Press
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Memoria Press Penmanship & Copybooks (Location: HAN-MPPEN)
$16.30
Creative Calligraphy
by Malcolm Couch
from Todtri Productions Limited
for 9th-Adult
in Calligraphy (Location: HAN-CALLIG)
Creative Writing
from A Beka Books
for 6th grade
in A Beka Penmanship/Creative Writing (Location: HAN-ABK)
$13.00 (1 in stock)
Creative Writing (old)
from A Beka Books
for 6th grade
in A Beka Penmanship/Creative Writing (Location: HAN-ABK)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Cursive First
by Elizabeth FitzGerald
2nd edition from LITHBTH Educational Services
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Spell to Write and Read (Location: PHO-SWR)
Cursive Formation Flashcards
from A Beka Books
for Preschool-Kindergarten
in A Beka Penmanship/Creative Writing (Location: HAN-ABK)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Cursive Formation Flashcards
from A Beka Books
for 1st-2nd grade
$14.00 (2 in stock)
Cursive Formation Flashcards
from A Beka Books
for 3rd-4th grade
in A Beka Penmanship/Creative Writing (Location: HAN-ABK)
$14.50 (1 in stock)
Cursive Formation Flashcards (1-2) (old)
from A Beka Books
for 1st-2nd grade
in A Beka Penmanship/Creative Writing (Location: HAN-ABK)
$8.00 (3 in stock)
Cursive Knowledge
by Jill Pike
from Institute for Excellence in Writing
for 2nd-12th grade
in Handwriting Resources (Location: HAN-REF)
$19.00
Cursive Practice Sheets I
from Memoria Press
for 1st-2nd grade
in Memoria Press Penmanship & Copybooks (Location: HAN-MPPEN)
$16.30
Cursive Success
by Jan Olsen
from Handwriting Without Tears
for 3rd-5th grade
in Handwriting Without Tears (Location: HAN-WOT)
Cursive Writing Tablet
from A Beka Books
for 1st grade
in A Beka Penmanship/Creative Writing (Location: HAN-ABK)
Daily Handwriting Practice: Contemporary Cursive
from Evan-Moor Educational Publishers
for 1st-12th grade
in Evan-Moor Daily Handwriting Practice (Location: ZCLE-EM)
Daily Handwriting Practice: Modern Manuscript
by Jill Norris
from Evan-Moor Educational Publishers
for 1st-3rd grade
in Evan-Moor Daily Handwriting Practice (Location: ZCLE-EM)
Daily Handwriting Practice: Traditional Cursive
by Jill Norris
from Evan-Moor Educational Publishers
for 2nd-4th grade
in Evan-Moor Daily Handwriting Practice (Location: ZCLE-EM)
Daily Handwriting Practice: Traditional Manuscript
by Jill Norris
from Evan-Moor Educational Publishers
for 1st-3rd grade
in Evan-Moor Daily Handwriting Practice (Location: ZCLE-EM)
Delightful Handwriting: D'Nealian and Zaner Bloser - Teacher Book
by Lanaya Gore
from Simply Charlotte Mason
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Handwriting Resources (Location: HAN-REF)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Draw Write Now - Boxed Set (Books 1-8)
by Marie Hablitzel & Kim Stitzer
from In the Think of Things
for Kindergarten-5th grade
in Draw Write Now (Location: ELE-ARTDWN)
$149.99
Draw Write Now - Workbook
by Marie Hablitzel & Kim Stitzer
from In the Think of Things
for Kindergarten-5th grade
in Draw Write Now (Location: ELE-ARTDWN)
$5.49
Draw Write Now Book 1
by Marie Hablitzel & Kim Stitzer
from In the Think of Things
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Draw Write Now (Location: ELE-ARTDWN)
$19.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Draw Write Now Book 2
by Marie Hablitzel & Kim Stitzer
from In the Think of Things
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Draw Write Now (Location: ELE-ARTDWN)
$19.99
Draw Write Now Book 3
by Marie Hablitzel & Kim Stitzer
from In the Think of Things
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Draw Write Now (Location: ELE-ARTDWN)
$19.99
Draw Write Now Book 4
by Marie Hablitzel & Kim Stitzer
from In the Think of Things
for 1st-5th grade
in Draw Write Now (Location: ELE-ARTDWN)
$19.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Draw Write Now Book 5
by Marie Hablitzel & Kim Stitzer
from Barker Creek
for 1st-5th grade
in Draw Write Now (Location: ELE-ARTDWN)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Draw Write Now Book 5
by Marie Hablitzel & Kim Stitzer
from In the Think of Things
for 1st-5th grade
in Draw Write Now (Location: ELE-ARTDWN)
$19.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Draw Write Now Book 6
by Marie Hablitzel & Kim Stitzer
from In the Think of Things
for 1st-5th grade
in Draw Write Now (Location: ELE-ARTDWN)
$19.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Draw Write Now Book 7
by Marie Hablitzel & Kim Stitzer
from In the Think of Things
for 1st-5th grade
in Draw Write Now (Location: ELE-ARTDWN)
$19.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Draw Write Now Book 8
by Marie Hablitzel & Kim Stitzer
from Barker Creek
for 1st-5th grade
in Draw Write Now (Location: ELE-ARTDWN)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Draw Write Now Book 8
by Marie Hablitzel & Kim Stitzer
from In the Think of Things
for 1st-5th grade
in Draw Write Now (Location: ELE-ARTDWN)
$19.99
Floral Borders on Layout Grids
by Stefen Bernath, designer
from Dover Publications
for 6th-Adult
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Getty-Dubay Italic Calligraphy
by Inga Dubay
from Getty-Dubay Productions
for 6th-Adult
in Calligraphy (Location: HAN-CALLIG)
$29.95
Getty-Dubay Italic Handwriting Series Blackline Masters
by Barbara Getty & Inga Dubay
from Getty-Dubay Productions
for Kindergarten-8th grade
in Getty-Dubay™ Italic Handwriting (Location: HAN-ITALIC)
$24.75
Gothic and Old English Alphabets
by Dan X. Solo, selected and arranged
from Dover Publications
for Adult
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Handwriting 1 - Student Worktext
4th edition from Bob Jones University Press
for 1st grade
in BJU Handwriting (Location: HAN-BJU)
$34.44
Handwriting 1 - Student Worktext (old)
2nd edition from Bob Jones University Press
for 1st grade
in BJU Writing & Grammar (old versions) (Location: OBJU-GRA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Handwriting 1 - Student Worktext (old)
3rd edition from Bob Jones University Press
for 1st grade
in BJU Writing & Grammar (old versions) (Location: OBJU-GRA)
$27.90
Handwriting 1 - Teacher Edition
3rd edition from Bob Jones University Press
for 1st grade
in BJU Writing & Grammar (old versions) (Location: OBJU-GRA)
$19.00 (1 in stock)
Handwriting 1 - Teacher Edition
4th edition from Bob Jones University Press
for 1st grade
in BJU Handwriting (Location: HAN-BJU)
Handwriting 2 - Student Worktext
2nd edition from Bob Jones University Press
for 2nd grade
in BJU Handwriting (Location: HAN-BJU)
$27.78
Handwriting 2 - Teacher Edition
2nd edition from Bob Jones University Press
for 2nd grade
in BJU Handwriting (Location: HAN-BJU)
$55.28 $19.00 (1 in stock)
Handwriting 3 - Student Worktext
2nd edition from Bob Jones University Press
for 3rd grade
in BJU Handwriting (Location: HAN-BJU)
$27.78
Handwriting 3 - Teacher Edition
2nd edition from Bob Jones University Press
for 3rd grade
in BJU Handwriting (Location: HAN-BJU)
$55.28 $19.00 (4 in stock)
Handwriting 4 - Student Worktext
2nd edition from Bob Jones University Press
for 4th grade
in BJU Handwriting (Location: HAN-BJU)
$27.78
Handwriting 4 - Teacher Edition
2nd edition from Bob Jones University Press
for 4th grade
in BJU Handwriting (Location: HAN-BJU)
$55.28 $19.00 (2 in stock)
Handwriting 5 - Student Worktext
2nd edition from Bob Jones University Press
for 5th grade
in BJU Handwriting (Location: HAN-BJU)
$27.78 $16.00 (1 in stock)
Handwriting 5 - Teacher Edition
2nd edition from Bob Jones University Press
for 5th grade
in BJU Handwriting (Location: HAN-BJU)
$55.28 $19.00 (4 in stock)
Handwriting 6 - Student Worktext
from Bob Jones University Press
for 6th grade
in BJU Handwriting (Location: HAN-BJU)
$27.78 $16.00 (1 in stock)
Handwriting 6 - Teacher Edition
2nd edition from Bob Jones University Press
for 6th grade
in BJU Handwriting (Location: HAN-BJU)
$55.28 $19.00 (2 in stock)
Handwriting by George Volume 1
by Cynthia Shearer
from Greenleaf Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Handwriting Resources (Location: HAN-REF)
Handwriting by George Volume 2
by Cynthia Shearer
from Greenleaf Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Handwriting Resources (Location: HAN-REF)
Handwriting by George Volume 3
by Cynthia Shearer
from Greenleaf Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Handwriting Resources (Location: HAN-REF)
Handwriting by George Volume 4
by Cynthia Shearer
from Greenleaf Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Handwriting Resources (Location: HAN-REF)
Handwriting Level 1 - Workbook
from The Good and the Beautiful
for 1st grade
in Handwriting Resources (Location: HAN-REF)
Handwriting Program for Print
Preventing Academic Failure
by Eileen Perlman, Phyllis Bertin
Workbook from Educators Publishing Service
for 3rd-5th grade
in Handwriting Resources (Location: HAN-REF)
$18.89
Handwriting Program for Print and Numerals - Teacher’s Manual
from Educators Publishing Service
for Adult
in Handwriting Resources (Location: HAN-REF)
$6.49
Handwriting Without Tears - Wooden Pieces Set for Capital Letters - Improved Set
from Handwriting Without Tears
for Preschool-Kindergarten
in Handwriting Without Tears (Location: HAN-WOT)
$22.00 (1 in stock)
Handwriting Without Tears 4th Grade Cursive - Teacher's Guide
by Jan Olsen
3rd edition from Handwriting Without Tears
for 4th grade
in Handwriting Without Tears (Location: HAN-WOT)
Handwriting Without Tears Double Line Writer
from Handwriting Without Tears
for Kindergarten-6th grade
in Handwriting Without Tears (Location: HAN-WOT)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Handwriting Without Tears Gray Block Paper
from Handwriting Without Tears
for Kindergarten-1st grade
in Handwriting Without Tears (Location: HAN-WOT)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Handwriting Without Tears Mat for Wood Pieces
from Handwriting Without Tears
for Preschool-1st grade
in Handwriting Without Tears (Location: HAN-WOT)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Handwriting Without Tears: Cursive Success
by Jan Olsen
7th edition from Handwriting Without Tears
for 3rd grade
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Horizons Penmanship 1 - Set
from Alpha Omega Publications
in Horizons Penmanship (Location: HAN-HOR)
$48.00
Horizons Penmanship 1 - Student Book
from Alpha Omega Publications
in Horizons Penmanship (Location: HAN-HOR)
$31.25
Horizons Penmanship 1 - Teacher's Guide
from Alpha Omega Publications
in Horizons Penmanship (Location: HAN-HOR)
$25.00 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Horizons Penmanship 2 - Set
from Alpha Omega Publications
in Horizons Penmanship (Location: HAN-HOR)
$48.00
Horizons Penmanship 2 - Student Book
from Alpha Omega Publications
in Horizons Penmanship (Location: HAN-HOR)
$31.25
Horizons Penmanship 2 - Teacher's Guide
from Alpha Omega Publications
in Horizons Penmanship (Location: HAN-HOR)
$25.00
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