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.

If there's a topic you'd like for me to cover in an upcoming post, I'd love to hear from you! Just leave your ideas or questions in the comments section below or in the guestbook.

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

Q: Our son has a high IQ, and is considered gifted. Should we allow him to skip a couple of grades?

A: In most cases, I think it's usually best to allow a child to identify with the grade level that describes his age group. My best advice for all home schoolers is to move ahead at a comfortable pace as long as the child continues to love learning.

If a child's birthday is fairly close to your state's "cut-off" date for school entry, it's usually okay to start a child in home school kindergarten one year early, IF you're convinced that he is academically advanced, physically similar to other children in that grade, emotionally mature, and exhibits self-motivation for learning along with a quickly growing attention span. Using those characteristics as a guide will help prevent problems later.

Additionally, although this may sound old-fashioned, I do think it's sometimes easier for girls to start early than for boys. It's a fact that boys are more often mis-diagnosed with ADD/ADHD than girls; perhaps they just need a few more years to wiggle. So, gender is another factor for parents to consider.

As teachers, we should remember that enrichment is often more important than advancement, especially in the early years. In other words, teach deeper instead of faster. One option is to pursue an enriched curriculum throughout elementary years, and if a child still exhibits a need to advance more quickly, allow him to skip the 8th grade and accelerate toward college prep courses and college level courses from there as needed. It's also fairly easy, with some good planning, for students with high IQ's to complete a college-prep high school program in three years if desired.

Keep in mind that if you do move ahead, and an advanced level of learning becomes stressful, don’t be afraid to take a break, try a new approach, or even take a few steps back.

I've seen people regret moving ahead too quickly, but rarely have I seen them regret progressing at a steady pace. Make common sense and nurture your guides, and discipleship your goal. Be careful to avoid the influences of selfish ambition or pride, and you will be sure to make a wise decision.

Happy Home Schooling,
Mrs. Sherry

P.S. To read about how we made a decision about grade assignment for our daughter for the next school year, visit the home page of my website: www.sherryfiscella.com. You can cut and paste the address into your browser, or there's a link to the right.