Handwriting without Tears

We started Handwriting without Tears today! I know, I know...we ordered it a long time ago. Life has been hectic, though, and we just now got our homeschool cabinet set up in the dining room to keep all our "stuff." Trust me, Handwriting without Tears has A LOT of "stuff" to keep up with!

Timothy was excited to write his name on his "My First School Book." He was more excited about the two-sided crayons he got to use. They're really short crayons that FORCE him to hold them correctly, but he didn't seem to mind a bit.

Timothy's completed a full K curriculum, but we're not willing to let him move on and hope his handwriting clears up in the future! As you can see from his name, above, some of his letters are really bad (including h and y). He normally forms y by starting at the bottom despite our repeated attempts to get him to form it properly! (I should also add that his daddy does the same thing. He makes the stick of the g before the actual curved piece, etc).

I am absolutely in love with these tiny crayons. Timothy loves the novelty of having two colors while I like that his grip is EXCELLENT! I'm so glad we spent the money and bought all the accessories. I told my husband, "We don't need the crayon or chalk; we have those" but, ultimately, he wanted to get them. I'm very glad we did! We've learned from RightStart Math: when in doubt, order the deluxe kit!

The program also has him drawing "Mat Man" to get started each day. First, he draws mat man (above left). Then, he builds Mat Man using wood pieces and the mat (below). Finally, he draws mat man again (above right). In one day, his Mat Man went from having no body to having a body with no instruction from me. 

We ended the day by working on our letter. One day, we make the letter with PlayDoh. The next day, we built it out of wood pieces. The next day, we stamp it on a magna doodle. Finally, we write it on our slate. Notice the smiley face in the upper right hand corner? This program FORCES a child to always start at the top and form the letters in the right order and Timothy needs a little forcing in his life!

Overall, Timothy thought we were doing a "project" and didn't realize it was school! For a 5-year-old, it's a little slow...he was writing words and short sentences in MFW and now we're back to forming letters. However, he's got to get in the habit of forming them right or the only career left open for him will be a doctor.

Day 1, I'm pleased. I'll update as we progress!