My first grade teacher (who was also my father's first grade teacher - if you can believe that!) deemed good penmanship a necessary life skill.  I remember our handwriting lessons vividly.  I look at my first grade work every now and then (my mom still has copies of stories I wrote all those years ago) and marvel at the difference in my writing and that of my children.  Somehow, my daughter came through the public school system with beautiful handwriting.  My boys, on the other hand, have not fared so well in that area. 

A battle I continually fought with their teachers was over their penmanship.  I simply could not accept the school's tolerance of the scrawl my boys were permitted to pass off as 'handwriting'.  *I* knew they could do better and I demanded it.  Their teachers knew they could do better, too.  They would not demand it. 

When we brought learning home, one of the first things I addressed was penmanship.  I found Handwriting Without Tears and pushed my middle school level boys all the way back to the basics.  I had them complete several lessons of printing, then bumped them up to cursive (something my fifth grade son had not been taught in public school - I was STUNNED).  I had them complete the HWT Cursive book TWICE before I was satisfied they had mastered correct letter formation.

Still, they show a great deal of laziness in this area.  I am determined this is going to change.  *grin*

On the first day of school, I pulled out a notebook I found while cleaning out some boxes this summer.  In this notebook I have a collection of quotes, poems, song lyrics, and 'blurbs' from short stories and plays I enjoyed when I was about their age.  They looked at just a few pages and it hit them - everything was hand copied.  Both commented on the neatness of my handwriting and how long it must have taken me to fill the notebook.  Both of them then realized one of the quotes in my book matched one written on the white board in our kitchen classroom.

OH!  THAT'S what this is all about ~ Mom is OH SO CLEVER!

From the House of Hooligans ~ Have an awesome weekend!