Looking for something for my soon to be 1st grader. I'm thinking either A reason for Handwriting or R&S. Any opinions?
I have heard a lot of good things about Handwriting Without Tears. My daughter used it in ps last year (gr 1) and I am going to continue with it for hs this year. (for her sisters too) She had really sloppy handwriting and I was amazed at how great her penmanship became. It is less confusing because it uses 2 lines instead of 3. And they have quite a lot of manipulatives that you can get to go along with it. I was pleasantly surprised to see how affordable it is. The workbook is only $6.35 and the teacher's manual is the same. I don't know about the others programs you mentioned, but thought I would let you know about this one - just to make the decision a bit more difficult! ~Jessica
First grade for handwriting I used all the free stuff available on the internet!!! I used: www.handwritingforkids.com www.edhelper.com www.worksheetworks.com (this year) Note...edhelper has an annual fee, I "think" that you can still use the handwriting sheet creator without a membership - but I've been a member so long, I don't remember if it's free or not. If it's not worksheetworks is free until they are out of beta testing - which should be the rest of this year. Edhelper basic is on $20/year, and Worksheetworks claims that thiers will be less than $20 a year when they start charging - they are hoping to go with $9.95 or something like that for a whole year. But, truly, there is soooooo much free for that level or even at the $$ store that it's not necessary to spend on that. I start buying at the transition to cursive year - 2nd gradish....and I use Horizons Penmenship b/c I love that even after they learn cursive, they still do one day of manuscript to keep that neat. I think this year, for my oldest (4th grade next school year) I'm only buying the workbook and not the teacher book. The teacher book after a while really seems unnecessary! Nice to have, but not necessary. Hope this helps. (OH...btw...when I use edhelper, I make a journal page that says "My name is XXXX, today is Monday, April 28, 2008, I live at 123 any street, any town, pa, etc....and then add a few sentences that mean something to the child...it created a neat journal for the kids of each school year!)
would this be to difficult for first grade? http://www.mottmedia.com/pages/publications.asp?Pub=spencer
I used a Reason for Writing with my boys and they really liked it! They learned well, but didn't have to write a whole page of stuff. They liked doing the picture thing on Fridays (It's been awhile since I used it)!
We used A Reason for Handwriting this year. We used K (kindergarten), T (transition to cursive) and D (4th grade cursive). I have Book A for my k'er to do for 1st grade. Having said all that, I now realize that my 4th grader didn't need a formal handwriting book BUT she likes it so we do it when the mood strikes but she'll still use the D book next year and whenever she wants to practice....formal handwriting is done for her unless she regresses to sloppiness. My middle kiddo wasn't quite ready to transition to cursive so we stopped and she did her AWANA verses for handwriting. We have now picked back up and she's working on cursive now. My son finished the K book by Christmas and wasn't ready to start Book A because the lines got smaller than his fine motor skills were ready for....so he's just using his Explode the Code and some free sheets I got online for handwriting. I do like A Reason for Handwriting but I agree with the others that you can do it all for free. I like the convenience of the book though. You do NOT need the teacher's guide though unless you're using the T book. The Transitions book has WAY more material than needed for a school year. This is because you get to chose when in the year you want to Transition so it has PLENTY of manuscript and cursive (enough for 2 years if you didn't follow their directions). And honestly, the teacher's guide wouldn't be crucial...you could use the T book however you wish....I got it because I was a newbie and clueless :lol:
Wow, maybe I will just go with the freebies! If we decide we want something else we could always buy later. I was only planning on buying books for handwriting and math next year, so going this route will make next year super cheap!
MAN! I've used Donna Young for her forms for a long time and never realized that she had a full handwriting thing on her site for FREE!!! WOW.... I'm going to use those basics sheet to start my 3 year old who's just eager to learn to write!!!
I like A Reason for Handwriting. If you use the spelling curriculum the kids work on the same main verse for the week. DD really likes this connecton.
I went to donna young via the link and printed George Washingtons guide to Civility, it has some really good lessons and a few that are silly sounding that will be fun to have ds do writing practice from plus learn the rules! THANKS!
