CursiveLogic Review

Handwriting is becoming a lost art. Many schools today are forgoing the teaching of cursive writing to students, even though there are numerous benefits as to why it should still be taught. Not only is it a faster and more fluid way of writing, but it also encourages brain development and removes the confusion of the lowercase letters b and d, amongst other advantages. 

CursiveLogic still believes in the power of penmanship. Linda Shrewsbury created this program to help a struggling adult student learn cursive. After studying the letters, she realized that they seemed to fit into four distinct categories. She thought that learning small variations of a few shapes would be easier than learning 26 individual letters. Her innovative yet intuitive method worked so well that the student  caught on to forming the entire lower case alphabet in 45 minutes and was able to sign his name. From there, the CursiveLogic workbook was born. Since our review a few years ago, they have made changes to the book and created a teaching webinar which can both be found in the  CursiveLogic Quick-Start Pack and also designed an adult coloring book, The Art of Cursive.

CursiveLogic is different from other handwriting curricula because it focuses on the inherent structure of the cursive alphabet, instead of relying on rote memorization. The program is designed around the following features and visual and auditory cues.

Letters Grouped By Shape -- Four foundational shapes underlie the entire lowercase alphabet. The letter formations are taught by shape group based on the initial stroke of the letter, rather than alphabetically. In this way, the natural synergy of the alphabet is captured, allowing each letter in the series to reinforce the proper formation of all the others.

Letter Strings -- All the similarly shaped letters are taught by connecting them in a string, instead of individually. Since the students are taught to connect letters from the very beginning, it helps them to internalize the flow of cursive handwriting even before they have learned all 26 letters.

Theme Colors -- Each letter string has a theme color that helps the student remember the shape.

Verbal Task Analysis -- Students learn a simple, rhythmical chant that describes the path of the writing instrument as the letter shapes are formed. The process of verbally describing a motor task while performing it aids the acquisition of new motor skills.

The workbook is spiral-bound at the top so it never interferes with the student's hand and making it the best option for both right- and left-handed students. The beginning is filled with proper writing guidelines and tips, beginning exercises, and teaching notes. There are step-by-step directions throughout the book and occasional helps in colored boxed. The plain format ensures that the student is not distracted and able to better focus on the task. The lessons work through the entire lower case alphabet before moving on to the upper case. 

The webinar, given by Prisca LeCroy (Linda's daughter and co-founder of the company), teaches the CursiveLogic method in detail. This course is a nearly 50 minutes long and is filled with step-by-step guides through the program, from the method itself to why it works to how to teach it. There are different kind of learners, so if you're one who understands better when you see something in action as opposed to reading about it, this webinar would be a great resource. 

Art of Cursive is an adult coloring book. It is not an alternative to the workbook and does not replace proper instruction. However, it does have four quick lessons--one to cover each shape--and then incorporates those throughout the pictures. There are individual letter strings, double letters repeated, and even whole words hidden in the 27 drawings. The pages are thick and hold up to markers and pens. The book is designed for an adult or anyone who has previously learned cursive writing.  

I've used the CursiveLogic method with my first two kids, so it was the obvious choice to use with my third. I do appreciate the changes made from the first edition, which make the workbook easier to use and more streamlined. This was my 8-year-old's first experience with cursive. He was apprehensive to start, to say the least. I showed him the individual cursive letters (found on page 10) and covered the first stroke of each letter. Most of them he could figure out because they look so similar to print. Seeing the letters individually like that gave him the confidence he needed. He immediately was able to read whole words in cursive and was eager to learn to write it, as well. 

He did very well writing the first letter group shape, but started to struggle as we moved on. He naturally wants to start many of the other shapes in the same way. The CursiveLogic method is to write letter strings as opposed to individual letters, but I found that if I had him write some of those letters by themselves to fully master them, he did much better. If he started the string incorrectly, he wrote the entire thing incorrectly. He really just needed practice with that first letter or two. I know that they don't want to teach the letters by themselves, but I think it would be beneficial to have a dry-erase page in the back of the book with the others that is just the individual letters.

He is requiring a bit more practice than what is given in the book, and that's ok. He's writing well and able to read just about anything in cursive now. More importantly though, he is eager and willing to keep learning. CursiveLogic is designed in a way that does not discourage or overwhelm him.  

Now through the end of March, you can receive a 20% discount off the Quick-Start Pack (webinar and workbook combo) with code CREW2018. If you have a struggling writer, this might be the program for you.

You can connect with CursiveLogic on Facebook or their website. 

If you'd like to see how this program worked for other homschool families, please read more reviews on the Homeschool Review Crew blog. 

Perfect Reading, Beautiful Handwriting Review

For the past 13 years, I haven't had to fill out many forms. Oh, it's not that we haven't needed to. I mean, we bought a house, had 5 kids, purchased vehicles, and experienced other times when paperwork needed to be filled out. You see, my husband does the majority of the writing. It's not that my handwriting is poor, but that my husband's can be nearly perfect. In fact, in college, our friends used to tease him that his writing looked as if he printed it directly from the computer with a Comic Sans font. It's unusual for men to write so clearly. And it's not that it just magically came naturally to him. He worked to make his handwriting better.

I've noticed recently that my own handwriting seems to be getting sloppier. Maybe it's because I rarely use an instrument to write across a page anymore, but instead rely so much on typing on a computer (hey, my WPM has improved, ha). Or maybe it's because I don't have to write neatly. Or is it because I'm just not taking my time to write properly? Whatever the reason, I've decided I want my handwriting to look nicer. So when we had the opportunity to use a product from Everyday Education, LLC, I chose  the digital version of  Perfect Reading, Beautiful Handwriting. For myself.     

Perfect Reading, Beautiful Handwriting is a simple program that teaches a child step-by-step how to read and write well. The 60 lessons teach phonics-based reading and italic handwriting. It's not solely for young children starting school though. There are 4 different ways to use this book.

• To teach young children 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 to have beautiful handwriting. 

 

As I mentioned, I chose to use this myself. After I downloaded the book and started to scroll the pages, I thought, "Oh, man, what did I get myself into?" I took a calligraphy class in 6th grade and struggled through it. Since I have a type A personality and therefore don't enjoy doing things that I'm not good at, I have stayed away from calligraphy ever. Sad, but true. Perfect Reading, Beautiful Handwriting teaches italic writing, a form of calligraphy. I was concerned.

 

 
The letters in italic writing are formed much differently than typical manuscript writing. Instead of making the letters round and curved, they are more jagged and asymmetrical. After 34 years of knowing that you write an O as a perfect circle, it seemed wrong to write it like an oval. The author describes why italic is a better choice though. "It is the easiest style to learn, the fastest to write, extremely legible, and beautiful to look at." She goes on to explain that the typical style of printing that children are taught now is very difficult to write and is discouraging because of it. It's more natural to write those O as ovals, and will therefore encourage a sense of self-confidence in the child and promote good writing.

The book suggests starting at Chapter 6: Handwriting Practice for those choosing to simply improve their writing and not needing the reading instruction. The first 5 chapters teach letter formation and reading, along with handwriting practice. Since the italic style of writing is very different from what I am used to, I figured it would be best to choose some practice pages from the beginning of the book, in order to get a grasp of the proper formation. I felt like my 4-year-old working on a handwriting page, ha. Trace. Write. Trace. Write. Trace. Write.

   
It was definitely strange starting out, trying to change my brain into making my hand form the letters differently. I haven't practiced nearly enough, but, as with all things, it gets easier over time. I appreciate how the author states that everyone will have his own style of italic. Manuscript printing gives no margin for difference, so this acceptance of variables is nice. She explains some of the differences like upright versus slanted, joined compared to separated letters, wide as opposed to narrow letters, edged pen in comparison to a regular pen, and the difference of adding serifs. Of course, there are example of each style along with practice pages, making it easy to duplicate.

Perfect Reading, Beauitful Handwriting is easy-to-follow and written in a conversational way. I plan to continue working through the pages myself and also switch to using this with my children. I already see characteristics of this style in their writing and have been trying to correct it. Now I realize that I may just need to change my own thinking, instead of my kids' writing.  

 

You can connect with Janice Campbell and Everyday Education, LLC on the following social media sites:

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If you'd like to read more reviews of this book or of one of the other resources used by some of my crewmates, please visit the Homeschool Review Crew blog.

CursiveLogic Review

Many schools today are forgoing the teaching of cursive writing to students, even though there are numerous benefits as to why it should still be taught. Not only is it a faster and more fluid way of writing, but it also encourages brain development and removes the confusion of the lowercase letters b and d, amongst other advantages. CursiveLogic, a new company, still believes in the power of penmanship. Linda Shrewsbury created this program to help a struggling adult student learn cursive. Her innovative yet intuitive method worked so well that the student  caught on to forming the entire lower case alphabet in 45 minutes and was able to sign his name. From there, the CursiveLogic Workbook was born.

CursiveLogic is different from other handwriting curricula because it focuses on the inherent structure of the cursive alphabet, instead of relying on rote memorization. The program is designed around the following features and visual and auditory cues.

Letters Grouped By Shape -- Four foundational shapes underlie the entire lowercase alphabet. The letter formations are taught by shape group based on the initial stroke of the letter, rather than alphabetically. In this way, the natural synergy of the alphabet is captured, allowing each letter in the series to reinforce the proper formation of all the others.

Letter Strings -- All the similarly shaped letters are taught by connecting them in a string, instead of individually. Since the students are taught to connect letters from the very beginning, it helps them to internalize the flow of cursive handwriting even before they have learned all 26 letters.

Theme Colors -- Each letter string has a theme color that helps the student remember the shape.

Verbal Task Analysis -- Students learn a simple, rhythmical chant that describes the path of the writing instrument as the letter shapes are formed. The process of verbally describing a motor task while performing it aids the acquisition of new motor skills.
 

Jake (9) started learning cursive a while ago. He did all right with it, but quickly lost interest. I didn't make it a priority and the lessons were soon forgotten. Since I believe in the benefits of handwriting, I knew we needed to focus on it again. Fast forward to a month or so ago. His penmanship was sloppy and he had forgotten how to form many of the letters.

He flipped through the 96-page, colored CursiveLogic workbook and was immediately excited. Excited? My I-always-complain-about-writing boy? The method shown in the book with its colored letter strings grabbed his interest. Better than that initial excitement though is the fact that his penmanship quickly improved and that eagerness to learn more and write better continued. He enjoys using colored pencils to form the letters according to the theme colored strings. Who knew that my boy who isn't interested in coloring and doesn't like to write would be happy to combine the two, in a sense.

We are thoroughly enjoying using this book. The teacher's manual (with step-by-step instructions) and student workbook (with lessons, practice sheets, and 3 dry erase surfaces) are combined in this one book. The CursiveLogic method seems so simple, yet works so well. Sometimes we complicate things too much. This truly is a logical way of learning cursive. 

You can connect with Cursive Logic on the following social media sites:
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If you would like to see what other homeschool families thought of this book, please read the reviews on the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.

The Rhythm of Handwriting

We've been reviewing the Rhythm of Handwriting Cursive - Complete Set from Logic of English. 

Handwriting--you either love it or hate it. And I am not in the loving camp. I remember my friends in school writing in bubble or block letters and creating word designs just for the fun of it. Yeah, that was not me. I write only when I have to. I much prefer to type. And given the choice between manuscript or cursive, I'll choose manuscript every time. (Well, ok, it's more like a connecty combination of manuscript and cursive.)  My husband, on the other hand, loves to write, so much so that he used to write just for the fun of it. (The fun of it?!?)  While I do not share the same opinion, I do understand the importance of writing and writing well. Cursive handwriting is not being taught in most of the schools anymore, yet there have been studies that show how important the skill is for your brain development. When we had the opportunity to review the Rhythm of Handwriting Cursive, it wasn't a product that I necessarily wanted to use, but one that I knew I needed to.     

The Logic of English offers a variety of products to aid teachers, parents, and students in the journey to reading proficiently. Their curricula is designed to teach reading, writing, spelling, phonics, and grammar in an easy-to-follow way. We used the Foundations A package in the past and had good results, so I was interested in using the handwriting curriculum, as well.


The Rhythm of Handwriting set ($65.00) is for ages 4-adult and includes everything your student needs to learn to write cursive.

• Student Workbook -- $15.00
• Quick Reference Chart -- $10.00
• Tactile Cards -- $28.00      
• Student Whiteboard -- $12.00

 

Student Workbook - The book begins with a step-by-step guide to teaching handwriting. It also includes many tips to help along the way, explains why it's best to teach cursive writing before manuscript, and describes how you use all 4 learning modes while writing. There are also different schedules to choose which one works best for your student and 10 fun games to help with the process. From there, the book has practice pages for each letter. The letters are categorized by type and starting with lower case: swing letters, curve letters, loop letters, bump letters. Next are the capitals: curve letters, roll letters, loop letters, circle letters, slash letters, and miscellaneous letters. Each individual letter has its own practice page with 2 lines each in 4 different sizes. This leave the opportunity for the student to choose his own line size. There are also practice pages throughout the book that focus on connecting letters and making words.

Quick Reference Chart -- This colorful foldout chart includes systematic directions for forming each letter. It also has instructions for each of the strokes that are combined to make the letters. Just like the book, the chart groups the letters by type, making it easy to follow.

Tactile Cards -- These Montessori-inspired sandpaper letters provide a sensory experience for learning the letters. On the back of each card is the same rhythmic instructions that are seen in the workbook and the reference chart. Each card also includes the sounds made by each of the phonograms and sample words written in cursive.

Student Whiteboard -- This high-quality whiteboard is double-sided. The first side has one large spot for large-motor practice. The other side has multiple smaller lines for small-motor skills and writing words, phrases, and sentences. It is stain resistant and will not peel.

I primarily focused on Jake (8) for this curriculum. He had been asking me for a while when he could learn cursive. When I told him we were starting, he was very exciting. He had tried drawing some letters in rice or using the tactile cards, but he really just wanted to start writing on the whiteboard. He sat at the table and began to write letter after letter. By day 2 (picture above), he was connecting them to make words. He had never written in cursive before, so I was very impressed with how easily it came to him. I do have to encourage him to practice more and work on his technique (because in his mind, once he write it 2 or 3 times he's ready to move on) but he is doing wonderfully. He is even reading cursive in various places and quite proud of himself.

I have started Alyssa (6) on the program as well. She is requiring a slower pace and more practice, and that's just fine. She gets discouraged when she can't keep up with her big brother, but gets excited when she makes a letter better than he does in his haste. It's been a good challenge having the 2 of them practice together. We all enjoy using the tactile cars, and it's helping me improve my skills as well. Who knows, maybe I'll love writing eventually after all! All right, let's not get carried away, haha. This program is very thorough and is working well for our family. We will continue to use this and make it a point to write more.
        

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

If you're interesting in checking out the the other products or in reading more reviews of this one, head to the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.

Spelling You See Review

Have you ever s-p-e-l-l-e-d w-o-r-d-s because you had little ears listening and you didn't want them to understand what you were saying? My husband and I can get away with that less and less since our kids are getting older and especially now that we've been using  Spelling You See: Listen and Write (Level A). More and more, I find them spelling out words and sounding out the letters they see and hear. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad they're doing so well, but how can we talk about i-c-e c-r-e-a-m and still keep it a secret!

Spelling You See (part of the Math-U-See family) claims to be "a natural, easy way to teach and learn spelling" and I couldn't agree more. The program focuses on short daily activities that combine listening, speaking, reading, and copying. By repeatedly reading and writing, the student naturally imprints the proper spellings of words in their minds. The program currently offers 5 levels of learning, starting with the students just beginning to learn letter names and sounds. That's the level we've been using. 

I've had both Alyssa (6) and Zac (4) working through this book. Even though Alyssa has been reading for quite a while now, I felt that she could benefit from the early spelling lessons and the handwriting review. Zac had learned his letter sounds and could read simple CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words, but not consistently. Also, he had little formal experience with proper letter formations.

I printed off the lessons (we received a PDF version, though it is not available to purchase) and handed them each lesson 1. They excitedly flew through the page and asked for number 2. The directions recommend 10-minute lessons, but my kids never want to stop after just 10 minutes. 

The 36 lessons are divided into 5 parts, A through E. The top of each page is letter formation practice. The bottom portion is filled with letter boxes. These boxes help the brain learn sound-to-letter correspondence. The lessons start three-letter words to copy and gradually increase to 5-letter words to spell.

Alyssa and Zac start by writing the letters and making their sounds. They try to have a race to see who can get done first, but I remind them that writing properly is more important winning. That works. Sometimes, ha. Then I pick out which one of each letter is written the best and draw a smiley face above it. The so look forward to seeing which letter gets the smile! After that, we work on the letter boxes together. 

I am amazed at how well this program is working for us! The format seems so simple, there is nothing exciting, the pages are plain, yet I have seen vast improvements in my little ones and their abilities. Alyssa, for sure, is doing better with both handwriting and spelling, but Zac is the one who has benefited the most. In the beginning, he struggled, understandably, with some letter formations, but usually by the second or third day with the letter, he was writing it beautifully. Another thing is that before, he would write in capital letters sporadically, but is now writing in lower case. Also, I can say a word, and he spells it. But the biggest, most exciting part? He is reading now! And not just slowly sounding out words, but reading simple books. I am beyond thrilled, as is he. 

I do have one negative though. I do not like the font that is used. For instance, certain letters, like l and t are have a curved end instead of a straight line. The curve is harder to write. Alyssa, especially, would write the letters properly before with just a straight line for the l and so on. When they started this program though, I found their writing getting worse. As you can see in the picture above, her ls were getting sloppy. Instead of having them practice those letters to match the ones on the paper, I had them write like they had done before, with the straight lines. Not a big deal, but one to note.   

Other than the font issue, I have nothing but good to say about the Listen and Write program. The kids and I all enjoy it and are seeing improvements. We will definitely continue with this program. I am interested in researching the higher levels for Jake (8) as he has struggled with his spelling. If this is working so well for the other two, I expect it to work well for him, as well.

The instructor's handbook costs $14 and the student pack (workbook, sticker pack, and the Guide to Handwriting) costs $20.

You can find Spelling You See on Facebook and Twitter.

If you'd like to read more reviews of Level A or would like to see some of the other levels, please check the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.

Logic of English

It is no secret that I love English. Grammar, punctuations, words, reading - you name it, I like it. So, when a review came from Logic of English, I knew I wanted to try it.

When we received the Foundations A package, I asked Jake (7) to bring it in the house. I heard a grunt and then a laugh before he asked me to get it instead. I teased him about not being strong enough to pick up the box. I mean, how heavy could it be? And then I lifted it up. Boy, was I wrong! I was surprised just how full it was of fun learning resources. Even though the materials are geared toward ages 4-7 and I was planning to use these with Alyssa (5), the boys were pretty impressed with the things, too.

• Foundations A Teacher's Manual ($38)
• Manuscript Workbook ($18)
• Basic Phonogram Flash Cards ($18)
• Red Manuscript Phonogram Game Cards ($10)
• Blue Bookface Phonogram Game Cards ($10) 
• The Rhythm of Handwriting Manuscript Tactile Cards ($28) 
• The Rhythm of Handwriting Manuscript Chart ($10)
• Student Whiteboard ($12) 
• Phonograms App ($2.99)

The Foundations A Teacher's Manual includes 40 lessons and is very thorough. The book covers phonemic awareness, handwriting, and reading. The lessons are scripted so that you could read word-for-word if you so choose. The lessons are a bit long, but are broken into several activities. The beginning of each lesson lists the objectives and needed materials. There are also notes sprinkled throughout the book listing book ideas, teacher tips, and multi-sensory fun, and more. The manual is hard cover, colorful, easy-to-follow, and detailed.

The Manuscript Workbook is a consumable workbook full of fun learning activities. The pages are perforated if you want to tear them out. The book is colorful and has cute pictures that grabbed Alyssa's attention immediately. It also includes many games like bingo, reading basketball, matching, charades, etc. There are also places to practice handwriting. Alyssa loves completing workbook pages. She would have done 15 pages a day had we skipped everything else!

 The Basic Phonogram Flash Cards include the 74 basic phonogram. These large, sturdy cards list the phonograms, pronunciations, and examples. 

The Red Manuscript Phonogram Game Cards and the Blue Bookface Phonogram Game Cards are used throughout the lessons to reinforce the phonograms and have fun. These two cards are the same, except for the color. I have one child whose favorite color is red and another whose favorite is blue. Each child wants everything in his own favorite color. The things that are important to kids!

The Rhythm of Handwriting Manuscript Tactile Cards are great for practicing writing. The writing strokes, lower case letters, capital letters, and numerals are printed with a sandpaper texture. On the back of each card is the complete instruction for formation. All three kids and I had fun tracing the cards just to feel the bumpy texture. 

The Rhythm of Handwriting Manuscript Chart is a reference chart that includes systematic directions for writing each letter. The letters are grouped and color-coded by their initial stroke. It is a helpful tool in teaching proper letter formation.

The Student Whiteboard is a huge 11" x 16" double-sided, durable whiteboard. One side has one big set of handwriting lines, measuring 5 inches, while the other side has a set of 6 lines, 1 inch a piece. Alyssa loves using this board to practice her writing. My children have inherited my perfectionist gene. If she makes a mistake, she gets frustrated and unhappy. I explain that she's only 5 and still learning. Regardless, she's always liked using the whiteboard since it's easy to erase and fix the mistakes. Since this board is so large and sturdy, she can take it anywhere - couch, bed, table - and practice her letters. I think this board is well-worth the price.

The Phonograms App is an on-the-go way to review the phonograms. It let's the student hear the sound, see the phonogram, and touch the matching card. The app consists of matching the card to the sound or a simple flash card review. Alyssa was a little put-off by this originally. Since each sound is listed for phonogram (i = ĭ, ī, ē, y) it was a little overwhelming. I started hitting the correct answer before she could and turned it into a game. She had fun listening and pressing the letters and tried to beat me to them. And sometimes she did! 

Overall, we liked the program. The lessons are a little long. Since Alyssa already knows how to write, we didn't spend much time on the handwriting portion as it was written. We did review the letter strokes in helping her write them properly. She loved using the large whiteboard and the workbook. The colorful pictures and fun games are what she likes most. I appreciate the thoroughness of the program, along with the extra tips and activities. One of the things I love about homeschooling is that if a certain learning style isn't working for your student, you can change it up. Logic of English offers different options that will work. It's detailed, easy-to-use, and complete.

Logic of English offers other products as well. Some of my crew mates reviewed Essentials or Rhythm of Handwriting. You can read the reviews.

Handwriting Without Tears App

Are you one of those people who likes to write? To grasp the pen in your fingers and feel it glide across the paper? I am not. My husband is, and I think he's crazy. (Though those 2 facts might not be related. Ha!) When I first heard about the Handwriting Without Tears (HWT) curriculum a few years ago, I was drawn to the name. It's not that my handwriting is a mess (in fact, I think it's pretty neat), but that I just don't like to write, ya know? I'd much rather type. Or let my hubby fill out forms and sign papers. {wink}

But from what I've heard over and over again is that the curriculum is more than just a cute name. It's a really great program for teaching kids handwriting. The multi-sensory program is geared toward students preschool-5th grade and is used for just 15 minutes a day. They recently released a new line of  student books, teacher guides, and the Wet-Dry-Try app.

Our techy family got to try the new app. 

The Wet-Dry-Try app is based on the curriculum's slate chalkboard activity that is used to teach capital letters and numbers. Like the physical board, the smiley face in the corner reinforces top-to-bottom and left-to-right directionality, and the frame prevents and eliminates reversals along with helping to keep the writing a consistent size.

So, how does it work? Simple, just like writing on a real chalkboard . . . without all the dust and the squeaky chalk! First, the app shows the child how to properly write the letter using a virtual piece of chalk. Then, the child uses a sponge to wet the letter. After that, he uses a towel to dry it. Finally, he gets to try his own letter with the chalk.

There are 2 ways to practice. The first is the pick and practice section. Here, the child can choose which letter he would like to write. Once he completes all the steps (wet, dry, try), he earns a star under that letter. With each star, the difficulty of the levels increase. Star 1 allows for the most stroke leniency; star 2 requires a little more accuracy; star 3 necessitates closely following the original chalk marks used to demonstrate the letter. After earning all 3 stars, the student wins a letter card.

The second choice to practice is by following HWT's winning order of letters. It teaches the easiest skills first, and then builds on prior knowledge. The letters are grouped together by formation: frog jump, starting corner, and center starting. In this section, the student begins with letter F. After he earns 1 star, letter E is opened, and so on. Again, there are 3 levels of difficulty for each letter and a letter card for completion.

My 4½-year-old and 3-year-old enjoy playing this app. I was a little skeptical at first since they have to trace the letter 3 times before earning a star. I thought the redundancy might bore them. Not once did they complain though. And I admit, once I tried myself, I understood why! It's kinda addicting following all the steps. I was a little nostalgic as I wet the board, dried it, and retraced the letter with chalk. I was reminded of all the times I did that in school as a child.

Then I heard, "Mommy, is it my turn yet???"

Alyssa did very well with her letters. She already writes beautifully with pen and paper. There are times when I have to remind her how to form certain letters, so this is great practice for her. Zac has not had much practice writing letters. He did well when he chose the letters himself (probably because he picked the ones that were easiest for him), but struggled when following the winning order, specifically in completing the letters with the curved lines. When he got frustrated after repeatedly hearing "Oops, Try again." I would help him. He did think it was pretty funny though when he'd hear "Cool beans!" when he'd trace the correct lines.

There were parts of the program that were a little confusing for the kids. For instance, if they strayed off the line at all, it would stop them and make them start over. Also, if they did not trace all the way to a connecting line (like the middle of the humps in the letter B), it would tell them they were wrong. I'm sure these are things that will be corrected as they become more proficient in writing their letters.

The app costs $4.99 and is available for both iPad and Android and can be purchased from iTunes or Google Play. The app includes capital letters and numbers because of their philosophy that capitals are developmentally easier, but I think it would be a great addition if they offered the lower case letters as well, maybe unlocked after the capitals are mastered. Regardless, we will be using Wet-Dry-Try to continue practicing the letters and perfecting formation. (And maybe I'll continue to play just because it's fun!)   


If techy-learning is just not your thing, make sure to check out the reviews of the physical books from Handwriting Without Tears on the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.




Disclaimer: I received this product for free as a member of the Schoolhouse 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. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC regulations.