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Wyning Academy Donations
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Startwrite was created by a devoted father, Dave Sharp, who wanted to create personalized handwriting practice worksheets for his daughter at home. After spending hours trying to create them by hand he searched the internet for an easier way to create worksheets but didn't have much luck. And so the idea of Startwrite was born. Dave asked his teacher friends what they thought of the idea and they were ecstatic. Dave designed the features and the layout of Startwrite and created the dotted fonts, however his partner, Wayne Wylie, is the brains behind Startwrite. Today Startwrite is helping thousands of teachers, homeschoolers and parents create handwriting lessons quickly and easily.
A moms review:
For about a week now I have been having fun creating customized worksheets with Startwrite. The program is currently available for Windows and a must have for any parent or teacher. It is simple and fun to use and will save you both time and money. With a few clicks you can create exciting worksheets that focus on your child's needs and interests making handwriting more fun and entertaining. But the worksheets you can create with Startwrite will help your children with more than just handwriting. They will also help with math, spelling, Spanish and more.
There are lots of videos on the Startwrite website to help you get started, but if you are proficient with word processors you will have no problem opening Startwrite and getting started immediately. The layout of program is clean and easy to navigate. All of the tools you need to create a one of a kind worksheet are conveniently located on the top toolbar. Within 10 minutes I created a math worksheet, handwriting/spelling worksheet to compliment the most recent book we read and an a,b,c worksheet.
Startwrite is very versatile and includes 19 handwriting fonts (including cursive, manuscript, italics, Handwriting Without Tears and more), borders, pictures, guide line options (dashed, solid, thick, colored), and letter type (dotted, dashed, solid, stroke arrows and more). If you are bad speller or dyslexic (like me) then you will be happy to know that there is a spell checker included in the program. Startwrite also comes with several custom lesson worksheets already created for you which include a,b,c practice, color, phonics, numbers and more.
More program features:
Grid
Saving option
Flowing text
Border art
Numerous handwriting fonts
Cursive fonts
Clip art
Color everywhere
Guide line options
Letter types and stroke arrows
Font sizes
Shading of fonts
Landscape and portrait options
Spell checker
Custom lessons
Spanish and math fonts
and more...
As a homeschool mom I am always on the search for ways to make make learning more fun. With Startwrite in my resource arsenal I can do just that. Startwrite offers lots of flexibility to create unique, customized worksheets specifically for each of my children.
What can you create with Startwrite?
Well virtually anything your heart desires! Here are some ideas.
Create copywork pages (manuscript and cursive)
Create customized math practice worksheets (money, time, counting)
Create personalized coloring and notebooking pages (use Startwrites clip art or upload your own)
Create tracing worksheets
Create custom phonics worksheets (use Startwrites clip are or upload your own)
Create custom spelling worksheets to compliment any lesson, book, etc
Create blank story starters
Create letters
The list goes on.....
Sample worksheets
Freebies:
Head over to the Startwrite website to join in the 52 Weeks of Handwriting fun. There are free printables, and more.
And if you don't believe me about how awesome Startwrite is the download the FREE Trial to see for yourself!
Where to buy: Startwrite currently has an introductory price of $39.95 (regular price $49.95). School licenses are also available.
Now time for the giveaway:
One winner will receive a copy of Startwrite. Only the first entry is mandatory. Other entries are optional and give you extra chances. This giveaway is not affiliated with Facebook in any way. The winner will be posted on the blog and will be emailed. Winner must reply within 24 hrs with their contact information or another winner will be chosen.
Please wait a moment for Rafflecopter to load.....
*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my
Disclosure Page for details.
Logic of English is a fabulous reading program for homeschool families and teachers. Pedia Learning Inc. was founded in 2010 after they noticed a need in the community for better reading resources. Pedia means Educating the Whole Child and that is just what the Logic of English product line is dedicated to doing. Pedia Learning is dedicated to providing parents, teachers and community leaders access to affordable books, curriculum and software which includes accurate linguistic research, multi- sensory instruction and incorporates the five strands of reading.
A moms review: Last year we reviewed Foundations A from Logic of English. Both children utilized the program in the beginning, but only Gwyn my 8 year old completed it. Rowyn hasn't shown much interest in learning to read yet but hopefully when he does we can start the Foundations curriculum with him again. The program worked so well for Gwyn that when we had the opportunity to review Foundations, Level B we jumped at the chance.
The Foundations curriculum is a perfect fit for our family. It is a multi-sensory, interactive and fun curriculum that engages children instead of boring them. The curriculum is great for all learning styles, which makes it perfect for many families. And the lessons are short which is makes it great for busy on the go families, like ours. Foundations is recommended for children ages 4-7 years old and the curriculum covers handwriting, reading and spelling.
Logic of English utilizes a systematic multi-sensory approach to learning how to read, spell and write. The method is based upon 74 basic phonograms and 30 spelling rules which explain 98% of English words. The information that is learned in the Logic of English materials will help bring order to the English language for your children. Children will learn why words are read and spelled in a particular way. And best of all Logic of English does not use sight words, which my daughter loves!
The Foundations program uses all of the research that goes into the Logic of English and makes it tons of fun for early readers and writers. The Foundations workbooks come in two options manuscript and cursive (see below for more details about the workbook). Foundations B is recommended for children who have learned all of the sounds of the a-z phonograms and can read short vowel words. By the end of Level B children will be know 8 spelling rules, be familiar with the concept of the schwa sound, be able to spell 120 new words, be able to read and write 19 multi-letter phonogram, know that a sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a period and more!
Click here to check out the overview of the Foundations program.
*This post contains affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure Page for details.
The first module of Fundanoodle was developed in partnership with Amy Bumgarner and Michelle Yoder both pediatric occupational therapists with more than 20 years of combined experience. Fundanoodle products include writing tablets, multi-activity sets and activity tablets which are all designed to make learning fun and interactive. Fundanoodle is great for parents, teachers and kids!
A moms review: We received two great items from the Green (K to 1st)Fundanoodle learning system to review. This was perfect because my 6 year old son was able to use one product and my 7 year old daughter was able to review the other. My son worked on the I Can Write Lowercase Letters and my daughter worked on I Can Write My Own Stories.
Fundanoodle was a great product for both of my children. The learning systems are lots of fun and help improve skills needed for handwriting as well as other everyday activities. Each product by Fundanoodle helps in the following 4 areas: Muscle Movers, Visual Motor, Sensory and Brain Builders. The learning systems are the perfect fit for every learning style and a great supplement to any curriculum. For our busy on the go family they were perfect for learning on the go. They are easy to transport and only require a pencil and some crayons.
The tablets are spiral bound, which makes flipping the pages and keeping the book open to the current activity a breeze. The back of the tablet is made out of stiff cardboardand makes the perfect writing surface if you are not sitting at a table. The tablets are each 12 x 9 so the font and writing spaces for each activity are perfect for beginner readers and writers. The paper quality is also fantastic. In the back of each book are reward sticker pages which the children loved. Each time they completed a page they waited anxiously for their sticker. And most importantly they are very affordable! Each tablet also features the Fundanoodle mascots Max and Alphie. Both of my children adored Max and Alphie. Max and Alphie do a great job of guiding children on fun learning adventures.
Each child worked through their book a few times a week at their own pace. Below I have a break down of each book with further details and my children's thoughts.
I Can Write Lowercase Letters: Rowyn my 6 year old hates writing...actually both of my children hate writing but Rowyn really hates it. I have the hardest time getting him to practice his letters and his name, well I did until Fundanoodle arrive. Rowyn went bananas over Max...probably because bananas are something they both LOVE. He grabbed the book when it arrived and started writing. And thanks to this writing tablet he can now write his "w" correctly.
The book has 52 pages and the letters are sequenced according to a child's visual and motor skill development. I think this is one thing that made it great for Rowyn, since he has some motor skill issues. In the front of the book are tips for parents and simple instructions about the page layouts that you can go over with your child. Each page is super simple and has the same layout.
In the top left corner of each page children get a nice bold visual of the letter they are learning to write. There is also a cute graphic of an easily recognizable object that begins with that letter. Over to the right of the page Max provides children with simple instructions for forming the letter (no more than 3 steps). Next children practice writing the letter in a blank box. Then they move onto writing the letter in a box with a top, median and bottom line. And lastly they write the letter on lines (top, median and bottom) without the box. At the end Alphie congratulates them and there is a special spot for their reward sticker.
Example page:
Because of the sequence of the letters I had my son go in order to get the most benefit from the writing tablet. The tablet really helped his motor skills, pencil control and eye hand coordination. It also helped him with learning to align letters and stay within boundaries.
In the back of the book there are additional practice pages utilizing blank boxes, lined boxes and writing lines.
I Can Write My Own Stories: Gwyn my 7 year old also does not enjoy writing. She can write very well she just doesn't care to do it. But the pages in the writing activity book were so much fun she didn't even realize she was writing. She would actually do more than one activity a day!!! The I Can Write My Own Stories book contains 50 activity sheets.
I would let Gwyn choose which activities she wanted to do each day. She not only got to practice her handwriting and writing concepts but she also learned creative writing, creative thinking, sentence completion, story sequencing and more. There are a variety of activities including writing, listening, labeling, drawing and fill in the blank. Each activity is very different and includes very easy to understand instructions. At the bottom right corner of each page is a spot to put a reward sticker. Gwyn also loved that the pictures on the pages were black and white so she could color them in a she wished. Additional Resources:
-Tips and Activities
-Downloadable practice pages for each book (must enter UPC)
-More fun stuff
Gwyn review (7 yrs old) and Rowyns Review (6 yrs old):
Gwyn, "I like my book a lot. I am having fun writing my own stories"
Rowyn, "I am liking writing my letters. The monkey is cute. I can write a w now!"
*This post contains affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure Page for details.
Logic of English is another fabulous company started by a homeschool family. Pedia Learning Inc. was founded in 2010 after Denise Eide had given a lecture on, "The Logic Of English." Her family noticed a need in the community for better reading resources and so they set forth to make a difference. Pedia means Educating the Whole Child and that is just what the Logic of English product line is dedicated to doing. Pedia Learning is dedicated to providing parents, teachers and community leaders access to affordable books, curriculum and software which includes accurate linguistic research, multi- sensory instruction and incorporates the five strands of reading.
A moms review: We had the opportunity to review Foundations A from Logic of English. I will admit it, I am totally addicted to reading resources. I have a 6 and 7 year old and reading is one thing that we are focusing very heavily on right now. My daughter is struggling with reading due to some dyslexia and self confidence issues. We have tried many curriculum's and often both children end up bored or frustrated. This summer while attending many homeschool conventions I had the pleasure of talking with Logic Of English and was very intrigued by what I saw. The curriculum looked like the perfect fit for my very tactile children. I kept my fingers crossed and patiently waited for the Logic Of English, TOS Review Crew day to arrive.
I was thrilled to be able to review this awesome curriculum and guess what it did end up being the perfect fit for our family. I originally had planned to use it with my 7 year old daughter, but my 6 year old son saw how much fun we were having and wanted to learn along with us too so he did.
My favorite things about Foundations A are that I could use it with both children at the same time, it covers handwriting, reading and spelling, the lessons are short and it is multi-sensory. Oh and my kids beg to do the yellow books. They both love Logic of English and have not been bored!
Logic of English utilizes a systematic multi-sensory approach to learning how to read, spell and write. The method is based upon 74 basic phonograms and 30 spelling rules which explain 98% of English words. The information that is learned in the Logic of English materials will help bring order to the English language for your children, I know it has for mine. Children will learn why words are read and spelled in a particular way. Logic of English does not use sight words, which was terrific for us because Gwyn despises sight words. Logic of English is great for all learning styles, making it a perfect for many families.
The Foundations program uses all of the research that goes into the Logic of English and makes it tons of fun for early readers and writers. It is a complete reading, phonics, spelling and writing program for children ages 4-7. The Foundations workbooks come in two options manuscript and cursive (see below for more details about the workbook). Foundations A is recommended for beginning readers and will teach children how to read and write lowercase a-z and practice decoding short vowel words and consonant blends. By the end of Level A children will be reading and comprehending phrases with lowercase letters and short vowels.
Click here to check out the overview of the Foundations program.
We received several components with the Foundations A curriculum:
Below I will break each component down for you with further details and thoughts.
Teachers Manual:
Ahhh an easy to use, no frills, no need to plan way ahead teacher manual. The teacher/parent manual is a very nice hardback book. I love that you can literally just open the book and start with out any (or very little preparation). However there are 2 pages of instruction which I do recommend reading. There are a total of 40 lessons in Foundations A. In the very front of the book is an awesome scope and sequence so you know at a quick glance what each lesson covers. Each lesson is broken down much the same way so you always know what to expect (I love consistency). Each lesson is also still very flexible though and can easily be adjust to meet your family's specific needs.
Here is an breakdown of an average lesson: 1) Blue box - indicates what the lesson objective is for both handwriting and phonemic awareness. Indicates common core standards. And indicates materials that are needed and optional for the lesson. As my children would say easy peasy. 2) Next you start the Phonemic Awareness lesson (my children's favorite part of the lesson). Everything you need to teach and say (scripted) to your child is laid out for you, again though it is still very flexible and can be adjusted as needed. This portion of the lesson is usually very hands on and includes a fun game. I think we often covered our PE through the games as well (I love killing two birds with one stone). Generally you are also directed to utilize the student workbook and phonogram cards in this part of the lesson as well. 3) Next you get into the Handwriting portion of the lesson. This is also very hands on and utilizes the workbook, whiteboard and tactile cards. Again everything is laid out very nicely for you.
Throughout the lesson you will find colored boxes (green, blue, orange, red, etc) off to the right hand side of the page. In these boxes you will find additional tips and hints like book recommendations, multi-sensory fun, challenges, letter day activities, vocabulary and teacher and speech tips. You will also find a light blue box which indicates the materials needed at that precise point of the lesson. I really loved the speech tips because my son is currently in speech therapy for articulation issues. I have always had an issue working on his speech at home because he is stubborn and very tactile. But thanks to Logic of English I have been able to really help my son at home with his speech finally. In the first few lessons voiced and unvoiced sounds are taught (like b and p, etc) through the use of various multi-sensory, fun activities. For example: feeling the air coming out of your mouth or feeling your throat vibrations and paying attention to the placement of your lips, tongue etc by using a mirror. These fun activities made it possible for me to help my son with his speech at home without him even realizing it and without him getting frustrated and mad at me.Since we have been using Foundations his speech has been greatly improving. Even his speech teacher made a comment to me so I of course told her her all about the fabulous new curriculum we have been using. I also love that the majority of the book recommendations are Dr. Seuss books, he was one of my favorite children's authors and his books can teach children so much about language.
After 5 lessons there is a review and assessment lesson. These are not used to grade your child but rather determine which skills need further practice. The review first shows you a chart with all the various skills that have learned so far for phonemic awareness, handwriting and phonograms. Then there is a mastery level indicated for each item (ie mastered, familiar, not mastered, etc). This helps you determine whether or not your child is ready to move on to the next lesson. There is a phonemic awareness and handwriting assessment as well as optional practice ideas.
All of the lessons are easy to follow, fun and engaging. The games and activities included are fabulous and really make learning language arts fun, even for the parents!
Cursive Workbook:
The Foundations A workbook includes colorful drawn pictures as well as photographs. There are generally 2-3 worksheets per lesson. One worksheet generally goes along with the Phonemic Awareness lesson and two go along with the Handwriting portion of the lesson.
So far I have been able to utilize the one workbook with both children. My handy dandy page protectors and a wipe off markers have come to the rescue again (this is actually even a recommendation in the first lesson for the handwriting pages).
Gwyn is really wanting to learn cursive so we decided on the cursive workbook over the manuscript one. That is the only thing Rowyn has not been doing in the workbook with us because he is learning manuscript and has no desire to learn cursive. The Rhythm of Handwriting Manuscript Chart: This chart was very handy for both parents and children. It really helped me explain to Gwyn how letters are formed when written (it's been a long time since I have written cursive). Within the chart you will find instructions on how to write upper and lower case letters. Each letter is broken down according to it's style, ie. roll, curve, loop, slash etc. I love the way that Foundations A breaks down writing cursive by introducing strokes one at a time. Basic Phonogram Flash Cards: These sturdy, large 4 x 6 flash cards have been a life saver for this mom. I have a huge issue with vowel letter sounds. I never really learned phonics so trying to remember all the vowel letter sounds has always been hard for me when it comes to teaching them. On one side of the card is the letter in large, bold font. On the other is the sound (s) that the letter makes along with a sample word (s). We have used these cards for games, drill and more. Manuscript Tactile Cards: I absolutely love these sturdy, large 4 x 6 cards as well. Who would have thought something so simple would be so wonderful. I am planning to get my son a set of the print ones because I think he would totally benefit from these. The letters are written in green and have a sand paper feel to them. I like that the line guides and directional arrows are included on the cards. It was a great way to for Gwyn to feel how the letters should be written. Lowercase, uppercase, numbers and strokes are all included in the card pack.
Red Manuscript Phonogram and Green Cursive Phonogram Game Cards: These nifty cards are used for many activities and games throughout Foundations A. These cards are smaller about 2 x 3. Since I don't have a manuscript workbook for Rowyn I have been utilizing these cards on and off to assist him with practicing his letters. Student Whiteboard: This super large whiteboard is amazing. It is perfect for teaching children to write their letters in between the correct lines (something my daughter has an issue with) and practicing their handwriting. It is a two sided board with multiple handwriting line spaces on one side and a large sized handwriting space on the opposite side. Doodling Dragons is also recommended throughout many of the lessons, however we did not receive this product for the review. It is available for $15.00.
Overall thoughts and how we used it:
As mentioned above I used Foundations A with both of my children. The only part my son did not do was the cursive letters (he has no desire to learn cursive right now). One lesson takes us about 30 minutes to work through (sometimes a little more because the kids beg to play another game). We used Logic Of English 4-5 times a week for our reading, spelling and handwriting. And yes occasionally PE!
A typical lesson starts with learning a phonogram. There is typically oral practice, a fun game as well as a workbook activity. Next you finish up with handwriting practice utilizing the workbook tactile cards and/or whiteboard.
Gwyn already knows a lot of her letter sounds and can read about 150 words very fluently, but since she has the lack of confidence I have found that going back over stuff again helps her greatly. So rather than skipping her ahead in the book (which I could have done) I decided to start at the beginning. This ended up being great because her brother was able to join us (he is currently working on letter sounds). The first few lessons introduced compound words which was a huge help for Gwyn and greatly improved her reading in just a few days. Really I am not lying my husband even noticed how much better she has been doing. Every other reading curriculum we have used has NEVER introduced compound words so early on. But it made perfect sense and helped her immediately build confidence to read bigger words.
We are really moving through Foundations A and I am fairly certain that if it keeps going as well as it has been I may have to purchase Foundations B.
There is nothing negative and nothing I would ever recommend changing on this product....well except for maybe making the App available for Android.
I could go on and on about this curriculum, but then I may begin to bore you. This has been my favorite TOS Crew review item so far this year. If you have any questions about this curriculum please feel free to ask.
Free resources:
There are TONS of great FREEBIES on the Logic of English website be sure to check them all out. You will find spelling and phonogram lists, handwriting paper, phonogram game tiles, research studies and more.
You can also view lots of samples for the Foundations A curriculum to see for yourself how wonderful it is.
Gwyn review (7 yrs old) and Rowyns Review (6 yrs old):
Gwyn, "I love writing cursive. I like the cards with the sand paper letters they are fun. I am having tons of fun reading."
Rowyn, "I like the games we play to learn. I like blending sounds to make words. The yellow book is fun."
Where to buy: You can purchase the Foundations A program directly from the Logic Of English website. The recommended items for this level include a Teacher’s Manual ($38) and a Student Workbook ($18, available in manuscript or cursive handwriting). It is also recommended that you purchase the basic phonogram flash cards ($18), a student whiteboard ($12), handwriting tactile cards ($28), the Rhythm of Handwriting Quick Reference chart ($10), and two sets of phonogram game cards ($10 each) (these items can all be used with the other Foundations levels as well). Click here for more Logic Of Englishreviews (Rhythm of Handwriting, Essentials and Phonograms App) from the The Schoolhouse Review Crew.
*This post contains affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure Page for details.
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please link up at the bottom of this post!
You can copy the button from my side bar.
Each month Jen, from Gricefully Homeschooling,and I host a freebie link up called Homeschool FreeBEE Fridays. The blogger link up will start on the first day of every month and end on the first day of the following month. Each month there will be a new link up. Check back next Friday for an amazing, limited time, special freebie from on of our Homeschool FreeBEE Friday Sponsors. View all my FreeBEE posts here!
FreeBEEs:
It's that time again...you know where you start getting back into that homeschool routine after an awesome slow Summer or Summer break. Well if your kids are anything like mine it takes their brains a little bit of time to get fully functional again so today I have 10 great websites that offer amazing FREE story starters or writing prompts.
The Handwriting Without Tears product line has been around since 2008 but the Jan Olsen began implementing the program with her son 30 years prior. Handwriting Without Tears is the leader in handwriting curriculum that is easy-to-learn, easy-to-teach, developmentally appropriate and inclusive to elementary students.
From the Handwriting Without Tears website, "At Handwriting Without Tears, our mission is to make learning and teaching easy and fun by providing superior educational products, training, and materials to educators and parents."
A moms review:
We had the privileged of reviewing the 2nd Grade Printing Power Plus program which includes the Printing Power and Kick Start Cursive workbooks as well as the teacher's guide. Handwriting With Out Tears is a multi-sensory handwriting curriculum so it's great for all learning styles (visual, tactile, auditory and kinesthetic). It is also great for both righties and lefties.
When we first started homeschooling in 2011 my daughter would literally end up in tears when it was time to write. But over the last year she has gotten a little better and doesn't seem to dread it as much, however she does have some issues when it comes to printing her letters. Her issues mostly have to do with reversals, spacing and sizing. So when I found out I had an opportunity to review Handwriting Without Tears I jumped at the chance. I had heard so much about this curriculum and wanted to see for myself if it would help my daughter. Last year Gwyn asked to learn cursive, because it was prettier, I was very skeptical that she was ready. So I was even more excited to find out that the Printing Power Plus program included a the Kick Start Cursive workbook.
Well I am happy to report that it the HWT curriculum has greatly helped my daughter. She doesn't dread the short 15 minute lessons, loves doing the workbook and was excited she could start learning cursive.
Over the past few weeks we have been using Handwriting Without Tears about 3-4 times a week. We generally do one-two lessons in the Printing book and one lesson in the Cursive book. I was afraid she would get confused working out of both but I wanted to share my thoughts on both so I thought I would give it a try. So far she has been fine with utilizing both workbooks so we will probably continue to do so.
My daughter is actually in first grade but based upon what I read on the website I decided she would be fine with the 2nd grade (and we wanted to try out the cursive which doesn't come with the 1st grade). After a few lessons I gave her the FREEHWT screener test to actually see where she placed. The screener helped me figure out what we needed to work on a little more before proceeding further. She did score below in some areas which was what I expected because of her reversal and spacing issues.
I think it is wonderful that HWT provides this FREE screener test to everyone. It will help you figure out your child's weakness no matter what curriculum you use and it will help you track the progress they are making as well. It is the perfect way to determine whether or not the curriculum you are using is actually working for your child.
The workbooks:
As mentioned above my daughter loves the workbooks. I love how items are explained using stories, props, etc. Like Frog Jump Letters and Magic C letters with Magic C Bunny (see a pict of Magic C Bunny below). The letters are not introduced alphabetically instead they are taught in a developmental teaching order which is the easiest way for children to learn. First the easiest skills are taught. Capitals are taught before lowercase letters and all letters are taught in small groups which have similar formations.
The Printing Power workbook is 94 pages and includes lots of different activities like letter, words, sentences and number writing practice. There are fun, basic illustrations on many of the pages which children can color or draw on, but at the same time there are not too many which could lead to distractions. Many of the illustrations are arranged in such a manner as well to help promote left to right directionality. One of my favorite things though about the workbook is the cross curricular connections. Whenever possible HWT will place appropriate topics and skills into the handwriting practice pages. For example in the 2nd grade workbook (near then end of the book) grammar, feelings, art, science, Spanish and more are worked into the handwriting practice.
The Kick Start Cursive workbook is 32 pages and mostly contains an introduction writing cursive letters. There is some word and name practice as well. The kick start cursive lessons can be found on the, Click Away section of the HWT website (explained further below).
Teachers guide:
I love this very thorough 190 page teachers guide. The first 21 pages are filled with valuable information on how to use the teachers guide and lessons. The last 25 pages include resources. It took me about 1 hour to read through all the information.
There is way too much information to tell you about everything so I will quickly describe how the lesson plans are set up as well as some of the recommended activities. In the back of the book is a recommended 36 lesson plan (see photo below on the left). I utilized this plan very closely and simply checked off the days we completed. There is a notes section as well, perfect for keeping track of weak areas, etc.
Lesson layout:
The lessons are very short and only took us about 15 minutes a day. Each lesson is broken down much the same (see photo above on the right) and there are two types of lesson plan layouts.
1) There are Activity Design lessons which are set up like this: At the top of the page there is an explanation of the activity and the purpose. Underneath is a green shaded area labeled, Activity. In this section you will find the main activity listed and explained in easy to follow steps. Under the green shaded box is, More to Learn. This section tells you ways to extend the learning. To the left of the green shaded box you will find three sections: Materials, Grouping and Support/ELL. Materials explains what supplies are needed for the lesson. You may also find the "A Click Away Smiley Face" which tells you that there are additional resources online. Grouping will be utilized more in a public school environment and didn't really apply to homeschool use. Support/ELL has suggestions for modifying or reinforcing the activity. At the very bottom of the you will find the Connections section. This section helps you connect the activity to another subject, technology or a home link (again mostly utilized in a public school environment).
2) And there are Active Teaching lessons which are set up like this: At the top of the page there is a lesson heading which indicates the letter you will be working on as well as language for teaching the letters. Then there is a photo of the corresponding workbook page. Next is a green shaded area which features the Lesson Plan.There are 3 simple steps in the Lesson Plan, demonstrate & copy letters, demonstrate & copy words and check & evaluate. It is also recommended that you then Read and Discuss the words and/or sentences together. Under the green shaded area you will find the same sections indicated above: More to Learn, Support/ELL and Connections.
Activities:
Various activities are utilized in many of the lessons and generally on Mondays it is recommended that you let your child pick their favorite activity. This was probably my children's favorite day and it was a great way for my 5 yr old son to get involved as well. Activities include:
-Teaching with Technology
-The Hand Activity
-Air Writing
-My Teacher Writes
- Laser Letters - This was my childrens favorite activity. They actually beg to play this game. It is so simple and super fun and educational. And all it cost me was $3.00 (thanks to the clearance section at Petsmart) and 1 sheet of paper for the smiley face.
-Letter Stories
-Rock, Rap, Tap & Learn CD - My kids loved the CD (explained more below).
-Diver Letters' School
-Voices
Resources on HWT website:
Another thing I love about Handwriting Without Tears is all the extra resources they have available. Throughout the teachers guide there are references to these various items and one of them does require a special code to access which is located on the back of your teachers guide
Videos - There are lots of great videos. My kids really enjoyed watching the song videos.
Click Away - This section requires the special code. In Click Away you will find grade-specific downloads, home link activities, practice pages, handwriting all year activities, more video lessons, remediation guidelines and strategies techniques. Digital Teaching Tools - Create your own worksheets and utilize the activity board (this requires an extra fee but there is a FREE two week trial). This is a fabulous resource and does cost a small additional fee of $24.95 year. I utilized it for a couple of weeks and am debating on whether or not to purchase it. I really liked the worksheet creator but most of all I liked the activity board which can be used with a computer (or any devise with Flash capability) or an interactive whiteboard. The activity board is great for visual learners. I specifically utilized this feature with my son who loves the computer and is a very visual/tactile learner There is a FREE version of the A+ Worksheet Maker which has lots of features but has some limitations as well.
Additional materials?
Handwriting Without Tears makes several additional hands on manipulative resources which will assist with the curriculum but they are not necessary and there are other things you may be able to use in there place. I felt it necessary to mention some of these items in my review because they ate recommended and utilized throughout the teachers guide. These great products do help make this great curriculum even better.
I highly recommend purchasing the Rock, Rap, Tap & Learn CD. This was not part of the review and is not required to complete the lessons. I honestly had no intention of purchasing it but my daughter and son heard me listening to the samples on the HWT website and started singing along. So...I decided to purchase it and am glad I did. The CD goes along great with the lessons and both kids have learned a lot from the songs. They especially like listening to it in the car.
Chalk Board - I did introduce the wet-dry-try activity to my children but we utilized a chalk board we already had on hand.
Mat Man - Mat man has his own entire world so be sure to read more about him. Mat Man teaches important readiness skills such as body awareness, drawing & pre-writing, counting, building, socializing & sharing. The mat man pieces can be used to create uppercase letters as well. We do not have the Mat Man pieces but that didn't stop us from having fun building Mat Man because there is an online interactive Mat Man Game that is FREE.
Wet Dry Try App - Several of the TOS reviewers reviewed this so be sure to read their thoughts. This app is available for Android an iPhone/iPads.
FREE stuff:
-Screener - will work with any curriculum.
-Learning Lounge - there are several Free items you can access from the Lounge like the FREE worksheet maker, seminars, newsletters, lesson samples, formation charts and more.
-Mat Man interactive game. Wrap up:
This is definitely a program we will continue to utilize. I like that the program is multi-sensory and easy to adapt to your families specific needs. The books are very reasonably priced which is a HUGE plus for homeschoolers. I am 99% sure I will be buying the 1st grade level next year for my 5 yr old son who has some motor skill issues, is ambidextrous and a very tactile learner. I liked the detail in the teachers guide and liked how HWT provides many valuable resources (some free) that go along great with the program, but are not necessarily a requirement. Gwyns review (7 yrs old):
I like writing in my workbook. I was very happy to start learning cursive letters. I think cursive is fun.
Links to follow: -Handwriting Without Tears Website - be sure to sign up for their emails they have lots of helpful tips and tricks in them. -Handwriting Without Tears Facebook
*Disclaimer - As part of the TOS Review Crew I received the 2nd grade handwriting without tears workbooks and teacher guide in return for my honest review. Please note that prices indicated in the post are subject to change. I was not compensated for my review and all opinions are our own! Many of the links found on my side bars and in my blog posts are affiliate links. As a result, I might get paid money and I will most likely spend the money on homeschool supplies. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.
