Perfect Reading & Beautiful Handwriting: An Everyday Education Review

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.

Learning to read and write is a very beautiful thing.  It comes with tears and arguments for sure, but once it starts to click, those bright eyes of knowledge are simply beautiful.  As with anything, there are all types of reading and writing programs. Some have lots of bells and whistles while others are very minimalist.  Now that two of my three children are readers and I see my 3 year old bending toward it, I have a greater appreciation for the minimalist approach.  Today we are reviewing just such a program - the Perfect Reading, Beautiful Handwriting ebook from Everyday Education, LLC. 

What We Received:
We received access to a single download of the Perfect Reading, Beautiful Handwriting ebook: The Intelligent Parent's Complete Step-by-Step Program for Teaching Any Child How to Read in 60 Days!  This is a 218 page ebook that teaches children how to read while providing a model for handwriting that is simple yet beautiful.  As a digital file, it is reproducible and useful for multiple children or repeated practice. The first five chapters include 60 reading lessons with handwriting practice.  Chapter 6 focuses deeper on handwriting.

How It Works:
As is stated in the beginning of this book, you can use Perfect Reading, Beautiful Handwriting in at least four different ways:

• 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

If your child is new to reading then starting at the beginning is ideal. Each lesson focuses on a collection of words that share a similar sound or grouping.  Typically there is a reading page and then one or two handwriting practice pages.  While some fast paced students could theoretically do one lesson per day, it is not really recommended that way.  In the Charlotte Mason tradition, short lessons are found to be more effective and these lessons are great for revisiting as long as is necessary.

If handwriting is your main focus for this program, the practicing pages are conveniently separated from the instruction pages so that you aren't forced to print unnecessary portions.  As the handwriting progresses, it delves further into calligraphy ideas which is great for all ages.  It discusses slanted lettering, joining letters, edged pens, etc. Learning to slant your letters is something I have always been able to do, but I honestly have never thought very much about it.  Along with a uniquely lined handwriting practice pages, this program plainly and simply provides a beautiful framework for enhancing your own writing abilities. 

How We Used It:

My 6 year old daughter is an avid reader so we had no need for that portion, but her handwriting still needs a lot of practice.  I printed the handwriting practice pages without the instruction pages in order for her to practice.  While reading is not something she struggles with, it was so fun to watch her read the silly sentences and get so tickled by it that she ran and showed her brother on multiple occasions.  "Yell at a pig, have a big fig. Pet a fox, kiss an ox. A big black blob is on a block."

What We Thought: 
This program is very flexible to suit all levels of learning.  It is comprehensive, but easily split apart as needed.  The reading aspect is minimal, basic and adaptable to any situation. The font used is very accurate to actual handwriting that is clean and clear, but easily shifts into joining letters eventually.  The goofy sentences are fun and effective for children learning to read (and beyond) and my kids cracked up at them!  In my experience, learning to read doesn't require a lot of bells and whistles, but consistent instruction and lots of being reading time together.  This program has it down to a fine art all while combining handwriting instruction too.  I highly recommend this for new readers and writers!

Follow Everyday Education on Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janicepcampbell & https://www.facebook.com/excellenceinlit/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/EverydayEdu & https://twitter.com/JaniceCampbell Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jcwords/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.mx/janicecampbell

Do you have a brand new reader or a special needs student?  Check out the other reviews to see other perspectives on this product!

2 Digit Multiplication Practice: A Channie's Review

Growing up I had two brothers, I was a nanny for two boys and now I'm a mother of two boys.  I feel like I have a good handle on what it's like to teach boys.  My sons are very active and would rather be busy moving around than not.  That often leads to doing the undesirable things in life (like math for J) in a big hurry!  Doing schoolwork in a hurry can not only lead to messy handwriting, but making simple mistakes becomes a way of life. We  reviewed a handwriting book from Channie's Visual Handwriting & Math workbooks a couple of years ago that had a wonderful format for neat and orderly practice.  Today's review is from the same company only this time we're considering a One Page A Day 2 Digit Multiplication Practice book.

What We Received:
A One Page A Day 2 Digit Multiplication Practice workbook with over 50 tear-out pages, a cardboard back and an answer key in the back.  

How It Works:
Each page contains visually guided problems, beginning with 2 by 1 digit problems and eventually graduating to 2 by 2 digit problems. Each number or number answer has it's own box so that everything lines up clearly.  In the 2 by 1 problems the single digit row is shaded green. The 2 by 2 problems continue with shading, but this time green boxes signify the first calculation and answers and blue boxes signify the second calculation and answers.  On both types of problems there are white boxes for the final solutions.  Near the back of the workbook the shading goes away, but the boxes are still present.  The net is taken away, but the format is still simple and clear.

The intent of this product is clear by the name 'One Page A Day...' so this is a drill type product that encourages the student to actively practice while not being overwhelming at the same time.  Also, all of their products encourage neat and clear handwriting skills, even in math!  The pages are designed to be ripped out, giving you the option to assign work separate from the answer key.

What We Thought:
True confession time! When signing up for this review, I overlooked the 2 digit part and only saw multiplication and 3rd grade.  J had not learned double digit multiplication when we received the product!  At first I panicked, but then I just took this opportunity to teach him double digit since he was already pretty proficient in his times tables.  And guess what?  All it took was one sitting and he figured it out!  Small mistakes are still his way of life when he gets in a hurry, so this was no exception, but the more he practiced the better he got at it.

The visual guidance in this workbook is genius and the best way to practice double-digit multiplication I have ever seen.  With so many new elements with double digit multiplication, it can get really confusing and difficult to teach sometimes.  The color-coded blocks, while seemingly not that important, makes this program highly effective and unique in my opinion.  So effective that a scatterbrained mom can use it to teach the skill from scratch with no issues!

Keep Up With Channie's on Social Media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/channiesworkbook/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/channiesvisualhandwriting/

Did you know Channie's offers a variety of workbooks?  Several other Crew members tried out other books as well as this one so click below to find one that meets your education needs!

New American Cursive 2: A Memoria Press Handwriting Review

Memoria Press is beginning to be a household name around here.  We have gotten the chance to review for them a couple of times before and this time we are trying out one of their cursive handwriting books, New American Cursive 2 (Scripture).   Most people have a love or hate type of a relationship when it comes to cursive handwriting, but we have really embraced it.  Even though J gets tires of it easily (he struggles with tensing up when he tries really hard), he is terribly proud of himself when he writes in cursive.  Either way, it is nice to find high quality curriculum to rely on if/when your students pursue it.

Memoria offers a complete New American Cursive penmanship program for Grade Levels 1-4 and we were given Workbook 2 with Famous Quotations and Scripture.  The book itself is spiral bound at the top so that left or right-handed students can successfully utilize it equally.  Workbook 2 begins with a 7 paged Teaching Guide that covers everything surrounding learning to write in cursive.  They discuss the value of learning cursive, posture and pencil position, testing, how to use the workbook, complementary exercises, and even the best type of music for handwriting practice!  If you don't have a clue about penmanship or teaching it, this teaching guide gives you more than enough to equip you. 



Since this is Workbook 2 in a series, it begins with a review of the entire alphabet in cursive, pencil grip, posture and correct paper placement.  The next section highlights the individual letters, two to a page, along with practice words to trace and copy.  Every few pages there is a fun or open-ended page perhaps with a writing prompt and encouraging the student to illustrate their response.  The next section focuses on the size of their writing, encouraging the correct placement of letters on baseline.  Here several creative writing, scripture and quotations exercises are introduced.  Near the end of the book there is a Handwriting Evaluation Checklist that helps you determine what your student needs to work on.  It would be a handy page to reproduce whenever you need to check on their progress.

What We Thought:
Since J is not brand new to cursive, this level was great for him.  The review reminded him of what was expected out of his handwriting and inched him a little further in refining some of his letters.  The variety of exercises was perfect!  From days of the week, relevant scriptures like obeying your parents and being kind, to the incorporation of journal writing and drawing, there was always something new to distract from the usual weariness of handwriting.  This is a great resource for strengthening  handwriting skills that have already begun, but it is even more useful for building that bond of pencil and paper with journaling, something I strongly believe in.  This program shows a lot of wisdom and forethought for various learning styles as well.

We highly recommend Memoria Press and Workbook 2 with Famous Quotations and Scripture. is worked very well for our needs.  The Crew reviewed other books in the penmanship series as well as Traditional Logic and Classical Composition.  Don't forget to check out what they thought about the rest of the products.

Memoria Press on Social Media: 

• Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/memoriapress/ 
• Twitter:  https://twitter.com/MemoriaPress    Tag:   @MemoriaPress     
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/memoriapress/         
• Instagram:   https://www.instagram.com/memoriapress/          Tag:   @memoriapress   
• Google+:  https://plus.google.com/u/0/+Memoriapress1  Tag:  +Memoriapress1   
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/memoriapress/   

CursiveLogic: A Cursive Handwriting Method Review

Cursive handwriting.  Who knew such a pretty yet simple skill would become the object of such debate in the world.  Whether or not you think it should be mandatory, I think we can agree that it is a neat skill to have.  It is certainly not something that is a huge sticking point with me so I have never made a big deal about it with my kids.  However, my 7 year old has been begging to learn cursive since he was 5.  So, why wouldn't I encourage him?  And we have included cursive in various forms every so often, but it was usually just letter by letter practice just like when he learned the print alphabet.   Our latest review is a completely different yet logical approach to cursive handwriting from CursiveLogic.   For our review we received CursiveLogic Quick-Start Pack, a consumable all-in-one workbook and The Art of Cursive, a coloring book of cursive.  In addition to these two books, I was also given access to a webinar that walks you as the parent/teacher through the concept behind and various steps involved in this handwriting method.

What Makes It Different:
Instead of learning each individual letter and practicing them individually, the logic behind CursiveLogic is to create a more efficient and intuitive method that prevents boredom and accelerates learning.  The creator noticed patterns in the cursive alphabet and then started grouping letters together based on shape and teaching each group as a bunch.  This focuses on connecting the letters together and jumping right into words rather than isolating letters for a long period of time. It also makes special accommodations for left-handed writers by spiral-binding at the top rather than either side of the notebook.

Who It Is For:

The origin of this program was born from the desire to teach an adult quickly who desired the ability to sign his name.  So, it is the PERFECT solution for adults learning or even improving their cursive handwriting skills.  However, it is also ideal for kids ready to tackle cursive but might otherwise get pretty tired of letter repetition or a slow-moving approach.  It moves quickly, explaining the necessary steps for good shape and connection and dives right into writing words the first week.  It is also a multi-sensory approach that is suited to all learning styles because it includes color, movement, verbal and auditory tools, making it a more efficient use of the students' time and energy. 

  

The Art of Cursive book is a really neat addition to CursiveLogic's method.  This book is full of beautiful handwriting quotes and coloring pages.  The coloring pages, though, are made up of cursive letters in varying sizes and locations.  The book begins with an explanation of each letter group so the coloring book could stand alone in teaching cursive if you chose to do so, especially for adults.

What We Thought:

My 7 year old, like I mentioned before, had some cursive experience coming in, but very little in connecting letters into words.  From the beginning, the full-color pages and use of color coding seemed really interesting to him and kept his attention.  His handwriting proficiency always waxes and wanes with his interest level anyway, but after a couple of days he was very successfully connecting letters and starting to ask about how he would write different names.  The first half of the book focuses on lower-case and the second half is upper-case so we have more to work on but it has proven to be a much better teacher than me so we're happy!

If you are at all anxious about teaching cursive, I highly recommend giving this method a try, especially with the webinar they provided.  It gives you all the tools you need as well as a better way to teach it!  If you decide to try it yourself, you can get 20% off the workbook and webinar with code CREW2018 until March 31st.

Follow CursiveLogic on Facebook: 

• Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/ilovecursive/   

Check out what other family's experiences were: