CursiveLogic Handwriting Review

Almost three years ago I was given the opportunity to review  CursiveLogic's CursiveLogic Workbook. I used it with my Middlest (then 14) as I have tended to take a better late than early tack with handwriting. When the opportunity came up to review the updated version in the Quick-Start Pack with my current 10 year old (as well as The Art of Cursive Adult coloring book), I thought this might be an appropriate time.

His handwriting (or lack of) skills have been more of an issue than his siblings, as I simply could not figure out how to help him keep his lowercase letters an even size. He was also beginning to realize that it was just too hard for others to read easily, so he was somewhat copacetic with the idea of adding cursive to his school day.

The main piece of the CursiveLogic handwriting curriculum is the CursiveLogc workbook. Cursive letters are broken up into shape based sets like the oval letters in the first set... a c d g q o. They learn to identify the motion that goes with the specific shape, and also how to connect each letter to the next. 

The method also includes auditory clues as the student writes as well as color cues to help them remember their letter formation. From the first lesson, your student will learn how to write actual words in cursive, rather than waiting to learn the entire alphabet before starting to form words. 

I was very pleased after the first couple of lessons when my son was actually eager to move on to the next day's lesson. He would bring me his workbook to assess his writing, we'd discuss where there were problems, and he would sometimes erase and rewrite. Other times he would just try harder the next time and see an improvement. 

One of the features I appreciate about this program is the fact that the lessons are kept short and sweet, which is good for just about every child I know, keeping their minds fully engaged for the period of time that they are focused and avoiding brain fatigue. 

The Quick-Start Pack includes 6-month access to a Webinar which walks you (the instructor) through the steps of teaching the CursiveLogic method. It is really addressed to a classroom teacher for the most part, but if you need some guidance in teaching or want to understand more about the reasoning behind the method used, then it could definitely be worth the almost 50-minute investment of time to watch. There are basic instructions on what a week of handwriting instruction should look like, as well as modeling how to teach each set of letters. There are also tidbits on the how and why this method is so logical and works so well. 

The other item we were sent is an adult coloring book that incorporates cursive in the coloring designs. This can be a nice thing for mom to do alongside the kids while they are working on their letters, or as an encouragement for an older student as they complete their lessons. 

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: CursiveLogic 
• Product: Quick-Start Pack and The Art of Cursive and one year access to the Webinar
• Ages: 8+ or earlier if you want to teach cursive first
• Price:  $49 Quick-Start Pack $15.95 The Art of Cursive
• CursiveLogic is offering 

Visit CursiveLogic on Facebook. 

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Blessings~

#hsreviews  #cursive #ilovecursive

Learning to Read and Write Beautifully (Review)

In addition to the Handbook for Writers review that I posted last week, members of the TOS Homeschool Review Crew also received digital copies of Perfect Reading, Beautiful Handwriting published by Everyday Education, LLC, and I was given the opportunity to take a brief look at the manual.

The foreward and introduction include suggestions on teaching and scheduling the lessons, as well as some of the different ways the book can be used (From the beginning reading/writing child to the adult who wants to improve or change their handwriting). The scheduling section utilizes short Charlotte Mason inspired segments, which can help eliminate some of the tedium that many feel when learning to write, and avoid tired, cramped hands for small children who are still learning how to use a writing instrument. 

I don't have a beginning reader, but I took a brief look at the reading instruction. For the most part it looks very simple and basic, which is good. The basic method used is to teach/read words in the same family, followed by silly sentences that incorporate the words practiced.
Here is an example of one of the silly sentence pages... 

I did run into a few issues with pronunciation, although they aren't major. I have the feeling that the author may have grown up in a different part of the country, based on some of the sounds for some of the words given. For instance, I was taught (and my dictionary backs my instruction up), that 'care' is pronounced ke(ə)r not kār, so that is an unfortunate example, and I would say that pair, fair, and stair all follow the same e(ə)r sound pattern.

While there may be a few different regional pronunciations that may be coming through in this manual, given that the author's specialty is handwriting, this isn't a huge deal, just something to look out for. 

I also perused the handwriting portion, which was of the most interest to me specifically, as handwriting is always an issue in our home. The manual uses actual handwriting for the examples and not a computer generated font, which makes it easier to copy. There is an informative discussion about the history of italics and styles of writing. After the basics are learned (in the second chapter), the handwriting section covers joining letters, and ornamentation, as well as instruction in using an edged or calligraphy pen.   

I have finally come to terms with my own handwriting, but thought I would give the italics a whirl myself, and this is what I came up with after a few days' practice: 

The reproducible practice sheets throughout the book are useful, and the practice sheets at the end of the book include guides for correct angling of a calligraphy pen, which is often one of the most difficult things to master. Perfect Reading, Beautiful Handwriting is something that I may look at further for my own use (Working on "beautiful" handwriting, with flourishes and joins) and also for that of my youngest child, as we begin to address his handwriting sometime in the future. 
Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Everyday Education, LLC 
• Product: Perfect Reading, Beautiful Handwriting
• Ages: Elementary and Remedial
• Price: $27.00 ebook (reviewed version), $29.00 print book, $44.00 print/ebook bundle

You can visit Everyday Education, LLC on Twitter

Please click the banner below to visit the TOS Review Crew and see what others had to say. As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~

Logic of English~ Essentials 2nd Edition ~ Review

A couple of years ago I reviewed the Logic of English Essentials Complete Set. In the intervening time, Logic of English  has published  Essentials 2nd Edition. The new edition has been expanded, and there is so much new material included that it has been split into 2 volumes. It looks like there is double the information, as the books are the same size. WOW!  Volume 2 has yet to be published, but Volume 1 has enough material to cover a full semester if following a general schedule of one lesson a week.

Members of the TOS Review Crew received a mix of totally new complete Essentials sets ( as well as the Foundations sets, which are for the younger learner) for those who have never reviewed it before, and an upgrade set that includes the new Teacher Manual, Student Workbook. Because we had previously reviewed, we were sent the Upgrade set.

The new Teacher's manual isn't just colorful on the outside, it's colorful on the inside. There are now three levels of teaching, and they are color coded, so that you can easily skip the information that isn't necessary for the level at which your student is learning.

Note: the student workbook is not "fun and games" colorful, and remains basic black and white. I didn't see too many changes, other than added and expanded material to coordinate with the extra material in the teacher's manual. No reason to change something that is working just fine. It also helps to ensure that an older student doesn't feel that they are being given material that is too young for them. :) However, this doesn't mean that there aren't fun and games included. Each week's lesson incorporates games using the various card sets included, as well as a number of games printed in the workbook.

Back to the Teacher's Manual...
Each Lesson starts with an "index card" on the printed page with an overview of what is included in the lesson for each level, which makes it easy to pull together all the materials required.  If you'll notice from the image of the Complete Set (up above), and as I mentioned, there *are* a number of card sets used with this program, so having the information laid out at the beginning of the chapter is very helpful. :)

One of the new features in the second edition is the inclusion of more vocabulary, and leveled spelling lists. Level Band C vocabulary include Greek and Latin roots, which interestingly enough seems to be one of my 8 year old's favorite parts of the program. He has enjoyed decoding the different parts of words, seeing how suffixes and prefixes can change the root meaning.

The lessons are also now broken down into "Days" which makes it easier to follow. I appreciate the new format, which solved one of my problems in the first edition of simpler phonograms being initially "introduced" but not reinforced before giving a "spelling test." With the new format, the test doesn't come until Day 5, while the spelling words are introduced on Day 2 with a "Spelling Analysis."  The Spelling Analysis goes over each word, with the teacher introducing the word, using it in a contextual sentence, and having the student repeat the word. They then break it down into its separate sounds, with the teacher giving clues when there are ambiguous sounds (which could be spelled a number of ways). Throughout the week all of the phonograms are reviewed (often in game or flashcard format), with special emphasis given to those that are trickier, but now the student doesn't go into the test as "blind" as before.

The manual is still very scripted, with precise directions on how to teach the various phonograms and spelling rules, as well as how to give the above-mentioned clues. The worksheets in the students book are also clearly labeled to help make sure that each one is completed at the correct time.

A couple more "notes"
The program does seem a little complex, and it most definitely isn't "grab-and-go" material. It is most certainly teacher-led, and not "independent" learning. Because of the volume of material, and the multiple levels included, the information may seem a little overwhelming to begin with, but it gets easier after the first week or two.

Because my son is a prolific reader, and apparently a natural speller like his siblings, we used a bit of a mash-up of levels for him. Some of the more complex words include some discussion that is a little long for him to follow, so I simplify that, but keep to the lists, making it work for us.

I did run into something else that gave me pause. There are some unusual words used for simple grammar. For example, at the beginning, on the level C list, "abstract" was listed as a noun, even though it is more commonly used as an adjective. This seemed odd to me, and is an example of where I chose to simplify for my 8 year old, but makes perfect sense for an older student, who might hear the term in their science or math class.

All in all, this revamped edition is very thorough and methodical, structured to help the instructor cover the material on a specific schedule, for a variety of ages and abilities. Although I don't have children who face difficulty with spelling, I imagine that this method would be one that would help those with difficulties gain solid success reading, writing, and understanding the written word.

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Logic of English
• Product: Essentials 2nd Edition
• Ages: 8-adult
• Price: 
• $198 Essentials 2nd Edition Complete Set Volume 1
• $93 Essentials Upgrade Set Volume 1

You can visit Logic of English on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Please click the banner below to visit the TOS Review Crew and see what others had to say. As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~

Logic of English (Essentials Complete Set) TOS Review

Last fall the TOS Review Crew used and reviewed a number of products from Logic of English (I reviewed their Rhythm of Handwriting: Cursive course). This spring the Crew is once again reviewing their products, and this time around I received the Essentials: Logic of English, Complete Set and the Phonics with Phonograms App.

Essentials is a systematic phonics based reading, writing, spelling, and grammar program, available with either a cursive or manuscript workbook. I chose to use the manuscript workbook with my almost 7 year old. The teacher's manual includes sample schedules for struggling readers and spellers (8 years-adult), struggling spellers (9 years-adult), emerging readers and spellers (6-7 year olds,) young emerging readers (5-6 year olds), and ESL students of any age.

The Complete Set includes:

• Essentials Teacher's Manual
• Essentials Student Workbook (In either Cursive or Manuscript)
• Spelling Journal 
• Basic Phonogram Flash Cards
• Spelling Rule Flash Cards
• Grammar Rule Flash Cards
• Advanced Phonogram Flash Cards
• Game Book
• Game Card decks
• Phonogram & Spelling Rule Quick Reference Chart

Some of the items (like the Quick Reference Chart) will be useful later on, and would be more practical for older students.

I was very interested in the remedial aspect of the beginning of the manual, and we actually spent a fair amount of time (a couple of weeks) in the "before you begin" section that covers Phonemic Awareness. My youngest is not the clear speaker that his siblings were at early ages, and I found the section on developing a Kinesthetic Awareness of Sounds to be very helpful in getting him to say the sounds correctly by watching my mouth and lips, and feeling his own mouth, lips and voicebox.

We then spent about a week going over the basic phonograms, and DRILLING the vowel phonograms with the Phonics with Phonograms App. For a child who spoke mostly in vowels when he was a 2 year old,  I find it interesting that Youngest has had a difficult time including vowels ever since he started learning to read, so the app has been very useful in quizzing him on them. I made use of the "custom level builder" to include only those sounds that he was having trouble with. While he still gets tripped up from time to time, usually he'll remember the order from most common to least common when I remind him.

Back to the Main program...
After the introductory/before you begin/ section of the manual, there is a unit on "Teaching the lessons" that details how to walk through the three parts of each lesson~

Part 1: phonograms, sounds and spelling rules
Part 2: spelling dictation and analysis, and spelling markings
Part 3: grammar, dictation, composition, vocabulary

Followed by Teacher resources that include the spelling lists, phonograms, spelling rules, and grammar: parts of speech, sentences and clauses, punctuation, etc...

Once I felt that his foundation was fairly strengthened we moved on to the lessons, going through about 1.5 every two weeks (somewhere between the recommended 1 lesson/week - 2 weeks/lesson).

clockwise from top right~ teacher's manual, game book
phonogram flash cards, workbook, and spelling rule cards

The Lessons are fairly detailed in the teacher's manual, and the workbook pages and activities are clearly marked. You can download Sample pages from the Teacher's manual and Workbook at the Logic of English website.

So far most of my impression has been fairly positive, but there is one thing I found that is worth mentioning.

The first lesson is fairly straight forward, reviewing the a-z phonograms, and introducing /qu/. Consonants and vowels are covered, as are nouns and plurals. The second lesson, however, jumped into words using four *new* double letter phonograms. This isn't really so bad (particularly when going at a one lesson/2 week pace), but only one of the phonograms was emphasized through the first part of the lesson, which meant that we didn't actively review or work on the other three once I introduced them as directed. As a result, when we got to part 2 of the lesson (The spelling test) there was some confusion. I think it would be helpful if the phonograms received equal emphasis (or at least some activity) in the lesson and workbook, in order to relieve the frustration of not "getting it" by the time the student is asked to spell new words.

Moving right along...
The lessons do incorporate games, whether a phonogram bingo game, or a card game from the Phonogram & Spelling Game Book, which has games to suit a variety of ages and abilities.

One of my son's favorite activities to date is making new words with the phonogram cards laid out on the rug~ We started with a specific ending (in this lesson using /ck/ as directed in the manual), and a single vowel (/a/). Youngest then chose letters to put in front of the /a/ to make words. He built pack, sack, whack, back, jack, black, tacks, tack, and hack. Before I could even suggest it, he decided to replace the /a/ with /e/ so that he could make the word neck. This is definitely a game that we will be playing again, as we add new phonograms to our repertoire.

In addition to card games there are gross motor games that incorporate hopping and stepping, drills, sensory/tactile ideas and more. The Phonogram and Spelling Game Book is a great resource, and would be particularly useful in a larger family, where there would be more children to play. :)

From my look ahead, I think that Essentials could be a very good buy, particularly for families who can use it with younger as well as struggling readers. And if it's already in your home library when your kids hit high school it might be useful to pull out and have them do a little review before starting all those college assessment tests, and/or let them use it to help tutor an ESL student as part of a volunteer project.

While this is not my son's favorite subject, I have felt it to be a worthwhile use of time, as he is being introduced to grammar, doing more spelling, and for us, learning to speak more clearly (A happy byproduct of the Essentials introductory material).

Essentials is not a fun and games curriculum, more of a down to business literacy program, but with some very worthwhile information and straightforward, systematic lessons. If your children are younger, and it seems too academic(?) for them, then you might want to check out the TOS Reviews of the Logic of English's Foundations Sets which are much more colorful, and geared for ages 4-7 (follow the link at the bottom of this review).

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Logic of English
• Product: 
• Essentials: Logic of English, Complete Set  (7 - adult) $243
• Phonics with Phonograms App (4-adult) $2.99

Please click the banner below to visit the TOS Review Crew and see what others had to say. As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~