Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.
So many individuals would like to work on writing more clearly. Perhaps even some may want to write beautifully. Our family began using the Perfect Reading, Beautiful Handwriting eBook last month from Everyday Education, LLC.
We received access to a PDF eBook of 218 pages which not only focuses upon phonics but also introduces italic penmanship going from straight to slant to jointed writing. As it is an eBook, I am able to print as many pages as I need for my children to use and practice upon over and over. What a great bonus for a handwriting book! (If you prefer a print book, you can purchase that instead of the eBook.)
There are 60 lessons with a phonics-based approach that can be used across 60 days to teach your young child to read. One of the features of the eBook is that your child will practice writing directly on the page where they see how to form the letter or letters. It can also be used with the Charlotte Mason approach to homeschooling. So there are multiple ways in which you could use Perfect Reading, Beautiful Handwriting eBook in your homeschool.
Within the opening of the book, Janice Campbell provides ideas as to how to use the book and a weekly schedule you can use in your homeschool. The author, Caroline Joy Adams, then presents four specific ways the book can be used:
- To teach young children how to read and write
- To teach children with reading difficulties to read effectively
- To teach children to have fast, legible, attractive handwriting
- To teach yourself beautiful handwriting
Why use the Italic style of handwriting? The typical style of handwriting taught is not easy for children to master beautifully. Most letters require more than one stroke and the formation of circles. Italic style are written in mostly one stroke (only 6 letters require more than one) and follow a more natural shape of an oval for writing. This helps children master handwriting more easily. A very interesting concept and I can't wait to see if our daughter will do better with this style. (I didn't use this eBook with her during the review period because she just turned five and she sometimes gets very upset or frustrated when writing.)
In Our Homeschool
I primarily used the Perfect Reading, Beautiful Handwriting eBook with our first grader as we were not using any copywork with him currently. I did not require him to practice writing out the entire alphabet sheets but when we got to the section on short vowels and then blends, I had him write out the sentences and read the sentences aloud.
Some of the lessons were very useful as we are working on having him try to speak more clearly when it comes to certain letters and words. So for some lessons I had him read aloud the entire sheet (we usually took breaks in between the columns). For the other lessons, I sat with our son and randomly pointed to words on the sheet for him to say aloud for me.
Personally, I used the handwriting sheets that focused upon slanted and jointed writing to practice my own handwriting. I am hopeful that I will be able to better my skill at Bible journaling through practice. I traced the sheets several times with highlighters so I could get used the style of the handwriting and then attempted writing out some Scripture.
After that did not end up quite the way I wanted it to, I practiced writing just letters on a separate sheet of paper. I like the way some of them turned out but not all of them. This is through 'user error' not the fault of the book at all. I am very happy to add these pages to my collection of Bible Journaling materials. And because the book is digital, I print the pages out as many times as I need to trace them to get better at copying the style.
I think that Perfect Reading, Beautiful Handwriting eBook would be a good addition for many homeschooling families. As there are multiple ways in which you can use the book, you can incorporate the lessons into your homeschooling day however it suits your family's needs. Lessons range from vowel sounds, blends like th, ch, wh, and others, compound words, contractions, silent letters, endings, and many other topics to help teach reading and writing in your homeschool.
Would You Like to Learn More?
There are so many great ways in which you could use this eBook in your homeschool. Be sure to check out the rest of the reviews from the Homeschool Review Crew to see how they used the exercises in their homeschool.