Three Cheers for Handwriting Without Tears!

We got the Handwriting Without Tears program yesterday, and the Madison and Ella started it this morning.

I know it's a little premature to say it, but so far the kids love it, Madison especially. One thing that Madison particularly likes about it is that there is a definite method, starting letters and numbers from the top. The other thing that they both like about it is that I'm learning right along with them...I got the parent/teacher guide for the various programs, and I was calling out little tidbits that I learned along the way, such as

The top to bottom habit is the key to printing quickly and neatly. Children who start letters at the top don't have to think about making letters. They print automatically and are able to print quickly without becoming sloppy. Starting at the bottom causes difficulty because it is impossible to write with speed without becoming sloppy.

Madison only has 17 equations left to learn her multiplication to 10 x 10. When I asked her her method today, she let me in on the little songs she's been making up to remember them, two at a time. She's up at the piano right now, trying to match her little tunes to keyed notes. (She can't wait to start piano again when we get back to Rochester.) Today was 7 x 6 is 42 and 7 x 7 is 49.

In math, Ella worked on equalities yesterday, and today is back to odds and evens.

We watched a video from the library about the digestive and excretory systems this morning.