Discussion: Handwriting and Copywork

1. Do you begin handwriting using large motor writing for younger children (in the air, on a chalk or dry erase board, etc)?

Yes. Sidewalk chalk, esp.

2. What do you use for copywork or teaching handwriting (basic supplies or specific styles and materials – anything goes!)?

I teach cursive from the beginning using Cursive First and/or Pencil Pete. I prefer D’Nealian/Contemporary cursive bc all lowercase letters start on the baseline. If I were to teach print, I’d use HWT.

3. Where do you get your copywork passages and how do you get it in front of your child (print it, write it, hand them a book with the sentence/passage marked, etc)?

For beginners, I use prepared papers from Light Home Publications or Scholastic quote books, etc. Amy next step is to choose passages from books, type it in the font we like and give it to child. By 5th grade, they choose their own passages and copy a certain number of lines from one of their schoolbooks. By 7th, we use commonplace books for fave passages.

4. How often do you assign copywork in a week?

Daily until 4/5th. Then 2-3 times per week. Eventually with commonplace books, I only assign it once per week, but it gets done more frequently.

5. Do you use special lined paper (with upper, middle, and lower lines I think of as “kindergarten paper”) or do your children do copywork on simple lined paper (no upper or middle guidelines)? Do you start with one and move to another? When?

I start with 3 line and by 2/3rd I move to wide lined ruled paper.

6. Do you teach cursive handwriting or a specific style of handwriting like Italic?

Cursive first. It’s what was done until the 40s/50s and is actually easier for kids. It avoids many issues like spacing and reversals and bonus is ability to easily read cursive. There are articles online about cursive first.

7. If you have an older child who regularly mixes upper and lowercase letters in the middle of words would you begin copywork (think upper elementary/middle school age) – this assumes the child is not currently doing copywork?

I would start or continue copy work as needed.

8. How is YOUR handwriting? Do you expect your children’s handwriting to be nice and not your own? Have you done copywork personally to improve your own writing? Do you write in print or cursive?

I use cursive mainly. If it’s a grocery list, it’s quick and messier, but in journals and letters, then I use my best. I expect same from my kids.

First off, I preface this by saying – we have been all over the place trying to get this working right.  I do have some LD’s with my oldest 2 that may be affecting our results….

1. Do you begin handwriting using large motor writing for younger children (in the air, on a chalk or dry erase board, etc)?

It has varied – usually in the air, and/or a smaller dry erase board…

1. What do you use for copywork or teaching handwriting (basic supplies or specific styles and materials – anything goes!)?

This has changed over the years…   right now I’m using ‘New Handwriting’ by Mona Brooks – it is an italic style.   I’ve used Cursive First, Pencil Pete, Peterson Directed Handwriting (Cursive First).

Then we switched to using Italics, which I definitely prefer.  So we used Penny Gardner’s course, then one I designed myself, and now New Handwriting.

1. Where do you get your copywork passages and how do you get it in front of your child (print it, write it, hand them a book with the sentence/passage marked, etc)?

This has varied – and this last year we never got copywork done….   I generally print it in a close font.

1. How often do you assign copywork in a week?

Previous years it was everyday (after learning the letters – which was worked on every day.)  This last year it was every other day – just because I had so much to do.     We had a copywork jar one year, and there was a few slips in there that said ‘no copywork today’ so if they pulled that one, they showed me, initialled the back (they could only do copywork that they hadn’t initialled) and put it back in.

1. Do you use special lined paper (with upper, middle, and lower lines I think of as “kindergarten paper”) or do your children do copywork on simple lined paper (no upper or middle guidelines)?  Do you start with one and move to another?  When?

That has also varied.  We have done the ‘K’ paper.  We have done notebook paper at double size.  We have done Italic style paper.  We have done HWT paper.  

1. Do you teach cursive handwriting or a specific style of handwriting like Italic?

Now we do Italic.

1. If you have an older child who regularly mixes upper and lowercase letters in the middle of words would you begin copywork (think upper elementary/middle school age) – this assumes the child is not currently doing copywork?

I do have kids that do that.  They do copywork (and they don’t do it in the copywork….)

1. How is YOUR handwriting?  Do you expect your children’s handwriting to be nice and not your own?  Have you done copywork personally to improve your own writing?  Do you write in print or cursive?

My handwriting varies.  I don’t think it is great, but it isn’t too bad.  But if I am trying to be neat (ie, speed isn’t the priority) it looks pretty good and I’ve had a couple of people say so.   But I’m not like my friend in highschool that was hired to do the caligraphy on the award certificates!

I write in…. a mixture.  Actually, I realize now that I write mostly in joined italic – but it has cursive mixed in too.  My letter formation will vary depending on the use – especially the ‘e’.  (Each of the 2 e’s in my name are done differently by me.)   I learned cursive in school, then when I was in grade 7 or so my mom bought a book about improving handwriting with italics (and caligraphy) – and so I went through it and changed my writing… 

I am seriously considering trying the Getty-Dubay series – it is pretty much the same as what we are doing, and might make things go better etc…

1. I have them trace the letters on large flashcards to start.  We use HOD’s preschool program and we often make the letter out of masking tape and they play with the letter (add blocks to it, drive toy cars around the letter, etc.).  It also has some activities where they add stickers to a letter, draw it in applesauce, etc.  We don’t always do these activities, but I usually have them trace the letter to start.  
2. I love the Cheerful Cursive book since it has short lessons and has some assignments where they practice reading cursive.  For younger ones, I like the Explod the Code Primers…technically phonics, but they are short lessons to teach each lower-case letter.  The letters are larger and they only have a few per page, so I think it’s set up perfectly to work on letter formation.
3. We do an assortment of styles with this…sometimes I write it on the dry erase board, sometimes it’s printed on their writing page, and sometimes I hand them a book with it.  With my younger children (1st/2nd and younger), I write it on their paper if it isn’t already there.
4. Usually we get to it 2x per week.
5. I use whatever they write better with.  My 11yo uses wide lined paper (not college ruled).  My 9 and younger DC need larger paper.  We prefer the 1/2″ margins…they find it easier than the larger lines.
6. Do you teach cursive handwriting or a specific style of handwriting like Italic?
7. I have one that still does this (age 9).  He does copywork.  I’m hoping teaching him cursive will help a bit with this.  
8. I have very nice handwriting when I try…when I’m writing quickly, it isn’t as nice.  I do practice it when I write in my commonplace book.

Older child mixing upper and lowercase?  Oh my, I have two or three of them!  It only happens in their personal writing, not during copywork.  I’m hoping to address this.  I also have two children with spacing issues.  As in, they forget to space out words so things often look like one long string of letters. 🙂

Tristan, there is a part of me SO GLAD to hear this!  (Sorry!)  Both of my school kids do the mixing upper/lower case so much it drives me nuts – in anything they write, not in copywork…   And Echo misses spaces so much it is one long line of letters too….  

Tristan, Echo occasionally tranposes numbers, but not nearly as often as she reverses them.  I’d say she transposes maybe once or twice in a week…. but writing the single number backwards – well I’d say about 25-30% of the numbers.  

Really bad right now are 6’s and 3’s and 5’s…. – those are usually written backwards more than frontwards.  She will also revers 2’s and 7’s.   And really, when you think of it, there really isn’t a way to reverse 1’s, 8’s, or 0’s!  4’s she generally also does right.  9’s usually are written so they look write, but not written ‘properly’.  She starts at the top right, goes around clockwise and kind of spirals the 9’s.   She has gone through writing all the numbers when taught (RightStart explicitly teaches how to write numbers – and includes a song (not a great song mind you) to help you remember where to start a number….) – and Each year I’ve had her do a few days practicing with the number writing sheets.  I will admit to varying how often I make her fix mistakes in writing the numbers during lessons though….   Wish I knew how to fix it!