My Slant on BJU Press Handwriting

      BJU Press offers Handwriting Worktexts and Teacher’s Editions for 1^st through 6^th grades. The printing is done with a bit of curve and a slant to make the transition to cursive easier. It is a pretty handwriting as well.

     Cursive writing instruction begins in the second grade.  A few letters are different than I was taught as a child. The lowercase “b” looks more like a printed “b.” I like this way better. The capital “I” and “J” and “Q” look different as well. The “Q” doesn’t look like a “2.”

     Again, I haven’t used BJU Press from the beginning. I have mostly used Handwriting Without Tears although I’ve used A Reason for Handwriting and Happy Handwriting as well. I’ve always thought my older children’s writing lacked a mature look, and I think it’s due, in part, to the lack of a slant in the writing styles I taught. As we work on better slanting with BJU Press books, their writing is becoming more legible and more mature looking. (I still think there are some wonderful tips in the Handwriting Without Tears books if you have a child with OT issues.)

     As a homeschooling parent, handwriting has not been my strong point. My own 1^st grade report was A’s and A+’s with a C- in handwriting. Handwriting gets sloppy because I forget to expect better handwriting. I’m getting better though. That’s your tip for the day: If you want your kids to have better handwriting, make them rewrite their work when it’s sloppy.

     BJU Press also offers practice in reading cursive handwriting. I know from experience reading cursive is a separate skill from handwriting. A few years ago, I had one of my children write some poems in cursive handwriting.  I decided to record him reading his poems. The only problem was, he stumbled through them and finally lamented, “Mom, I can’t read cursive handwriting.”  Perhaps only a few children would actually have this problem, but we don’t want to send any of them out into the world not being able to read a handwritten note from the future darlings. ;-)

     As with many BJU Press subjects, I love the themes that offer extra learning. My sixth grader is learning about all kinds of different careers with her distance learning course. One year focuses on world geography; another the states. Of course, verses and hymns are interspersed throughout.

     Another extra bonus. . . the sixth grade cursive also includes some practice in Calligraphy. What a great way to get an older child motivated to produce beautiful handwriting!