We completed My Printing Book from Learning Without Tears! Three days a week, my child has sat down with his Unicorn of an Occupational Therapist and persistently worked through Printing Power from Learning without Tears. This book took us a full year to complete, practicing three days a week. Our teaching and practice sessions were short (10-15 minutes), without a lot of meaningless busywork. The progress has been outstanding, and lately, I have recently found a few notes left around the house.
My Printing Book Overview- Grade 1:
Building on the previous courses, My Printing reviews capital letters and numbers but focuses on correct lowercase letters in words and sentences. Activity pages combine handwriting instruction with other language arts lessons, and children are allowed to practice on different styles of lines.
This workbook is for first-grade students or those working at that level.
Lessons emphasize the correct use of lowercase letters in words and sentences.
Activity pages combine handwriting instruction with other language arts lessons.
Practice pages teach writing on different styles of lines.
Our Unicorn (Occupational Therapist) has recommended that we try our hand at cursive next to help with letter reversals. While cursive is often part of dyslexia therapy, it's becoming somewhat of an endangered species in American public education. Our Florida school districts are dropped the previously required lessons to make room for Common Core State Standards and content in standardized tests. While I enjoyed learning cursive, I didn't have an opinion either way, so I researched a few benefits to help me get on board with the process. Here is what I found:
When writing cursive, the word becomes a unit rather than a series of separate strokes, and correct spelling is more likely to be retained.
All lower case cursive letters can begin on the line, so fewer are likely to be reversed.
Most critically, handwriting engages more cognitive resources than keyboarding does (Berninger, 2012).
The ability to read cursive.
A cursive signature is more difficult to forge than a printed one.
It helps with the decoding process because it integrates hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and other brain and memory functions.
It helps people with dyslexia distinguish easily confused letters such as "b," "d," "p," and "q."
Hands develop a physical memory of the letters while writing; dyslexics can more consistently and correctly reproduce the shapes.
Here is what's next on our handwriting Journey:
Cursive Kickoff - Grade 2:
Offering cursive earlier to developmentally ready children, this new course from Learning Without Tears includes a screening pre-and post-test, followed by a review of manuscript using the HWT methodology and style, all before teaching cursive. Lowercase and uppercase letters are taught alongside simple words and sentences initially. Skills are developed through language art topics, poetry, and age-appropriate composition activities.
I'll let you know how it goes. Do you have any thoughts or insight on learning cursive with learning differences?
If you are in Seminole County, Florida, and want an exceptional Occupational Therapist that comes to your house, feel free to reach out for more information.