As promised, here are a few of my favorite penmanship teaching tips...

Tricky Letters and Numbers
1. When a student struggles with writing a number/letter that can be divided into two parts, trace the first half for him in purple, and the second in green. Then, instruct the student to trace and say, "purple, green" as he forms the letter. Both the rhythm of the words and the color code help the student to remember what to do first. This was the key to my kids learning to write the number eight. I'm not sure who created this idea; I learned it when I volunteered in a first grade classroom years ago. Let me know if you know whom to credit.

For Kinesthetic Learners
2. Texture is important to some kids with who need tactile learning experiences. Purchase some fine-gauge wire screen, and using wire cutters, cut it to the size of a sheet of paper. Use colorful electrical tape to frame and cover the sharp outside edges. Assist the student in setting a piece of white paper on the top of the screen, and then guide him to use a crayon to write a letter, number or word. A bumpy, textured result will give him something to trace and feel with his fingers when finished.

"Pre-Penmanship" Activities
3. For kids who just don't like to sit still and write yet, venture away from paper and pencil. Allow children to write letters in a shallow box or pie plate filled with sand, salt, whipped topping, yogurt or pudding. Also, use different writing utensils: sidewalk chalk, paint, markers, gel pens. My kids also really like using personal-sized ruled dry erase marker boards. These are all great "pre-penmanship" activities that will lead to success later, and seem a lot more like playing than formal learning when kids are just learning the basic shapes of letters and numbers.

"Invisible" Letters
4. Instruct kids to use their fingertips to write an "invisible letter" in the air or on their desktop before putting pencil to paper. That way, you can see if the formation is correct, and give additional instruction if needed without requiring that dreaded eraser. This is especially useful when teaching cursive penmanship.

Happy Home Schooling,
Mrs. Sherry

When it comes to penmanship, an ounce of instruction is worth a pound of correction.

I define good penmanship as legible handwriting that conforms to a standard sample with attention given to placement within guidelines, reasonable slant, good spacing between letters and words, and correct use of capital and lower case letters. (Add fluid connectedness to the list of standards when considering cursive writing.)

I'm a stickler when it comes to requiring neat handwriting. The key to getting kids to produce beautiful strokes, however, is to start early.

Your best bet is to offer planned, intensive instruction in manuscript penmanship during the first year of formal schooling (then again when teaching cursive, usually second or third grade). For my kids, I emphasized handwriting (manuscript printing) during 4-year old pre-school. Now, don't let the word "intensive" scare you. What I really mean is that I provided targeted, one-on-one guidance as the children learned to form letters. Sitting beside them with a smile five minutes a day is all it took. In the following elementary years, I simply provide penmanship correction and instruction as needed, and I've found it unnecessary to use an on-going penmanship curriculum.

Two big keys are to require kids to start most all letters with a stroke at the top of the guideline, and to form circle strokes going in the same direction each time.

Also, it is better to require children to write two or three letters/words correctly than to fill a page with a mess. This is the area where parents with good intentions get failing results. "Perfect practice makes perfect," and sloppy practice creates sloppy habits that are hard to break later.

If a child's effort is good, I offer verbal praise. If the result is nearly perfect, I draw a star above the letter, or a smiley face in the center of it. If the effort and result are poor, then we erase and try again, but I don't make a big deal of it. My kids have loved learning to write, and it has been a no tears endeavor for us.

There are lots of little tricks you can use to help kids learn to write correctly. I'll share a few of my favorites in an upcoming post. In the meantime, if you have penmanship questions, please send them my way through the comment section below.

Happy Home Schooling,
Mrs. Sherry

Thank you Home School Solutions Friends!

This blog is now ranked the #1 most popular parenting blog on Blogstream!

I appreciate your visiting and commenting on my blog. It's my joy and privilege to serve you.

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Happy Home Schooling,
Mrs. Sherry

So, you're thinking about home schooling your children next year. Congratulations! Here are three websites I recommend most highly as you begin your journey.

1. http://www.family.org/parenting/Schooling/
(Cut and paste the address above into your browser, or click on the Focus on Your Child link to the right, then click on the schooling tab.) This is a section from the Focus on the Family website. You will find several helpful articles here, including one that helps you determine your family's best method of education: public, private, home school or some combination.

2. www.hslda.org
(Link to your right.)This is the official website of the Home School Legal Defense Association. You can find everything you need to know about the laws in your state for home schooling and the legal climate for home schooling and parental rights nationwide.

3. www.homeschooliowa.org
This is the home of NICHE: Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators. If you live in Iowa, this is a must-visit site. Everything you need to know, including information about the upcoming state-wide home school conference on June 7-8, can be found here.

Happy Home Schooling!
Mrs. Sherry