Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL 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.
Last year, I really enjoyed an opportunity to review Transcripts Made Easy by Everyday Education, LLC and so I was excited to get the opportunity to review another one of their wonderful products. I received the Perfect Reading, Beautiful Handwriting ebook for review. This book contains both phonics and writing, but we used it mainly for writing. The author asserts that students could learn to read and write in as few as 60 days using this book, though she does explain that some students will need longer.
The most obvious use of Perfect Reading, Beautiful Handwriting ebook is with lower elementary students that are learning to read and write. However, I chose to try it out with my eighth-grade son, who needed some work on his handwriting. We had done handwriting in the past, but somehow his writing seemed to be getting messier as he got older and I wanted to make sure that he had the practice he needed to write legibly. I felt like the beautiful italic style of handwriting was great practice for him and that he showed improvement in his everyday handwriting after consistent practice.
In addition to having my son use the handwriting portion, I spent some time looking over the reading portion of the book. It is an older style phonics program that is set up very basically. First, students learn their letters and sounds. Then students learn short vowels sounds, consonant blends, and so forth getting into gradually more difficult phonics. For the short vowel sounds there are pages of words for each sound for the student to sound out and a story using those words that the students can both sound out and copy for handwriting practice.
I loved that the program was very simple to use. Since it was an ebook, I simply printed out the pages that we wanted to use. The first few pages of the chapter showed him what to do and then he was able to do a page a day independently. I think that even a younger child could work on the handwriting portion without much assistance. The reading would require more parental assistance (as does most any reading program) but is still very open and go without a lot of parental preparation.
Parents who are fairly confident in teaching phonics and want a simple, open and go program may really enjoy Perfect Reading, Beautiful Handwriting ebook . However, if you are looking for a program with lots of explicit directions and step by step scripts this is not the program for you. There were suggested schedules and teaching tips, but it was not a scripted program.
Be sure to check out Perfect Reading, Beautiful Handwriting ebook at Everyday Education, LLC to get more information or to purchase the book. You can also check out my review of their Transcripts Made Easy book from last year. Don’t forget to click on the graphic below to check out the reviews from other Review Crew members who reviewed this book and see how they used it with their families.
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