Tina Robertson

Handwriting Without Tears homeschool program is a well-recognized and in-depth handwriting program designed to teach handwriting skills. Also, look at my page Practical Homeschool Writing Curriculum from Pre-K To High School for more tips.

The program is for up to elementary school ages.

And handwriting is a complex skill that requires fine motor control, visual perception, and cognitive understanding.

So, the methods used in Handwriting without Tears homeschool program help children to be successful from the beginning.

Handwriting Without Tears (HWOT) offers Pre-K through 6th grade instruction for beginning writers to those improving their cursive skills.

Today my focus is on My First School book which is perfect for Pre-K or Kindergarten.

But we have used almost every level available at one time or another throughout the years.

What I like most about the program is that it uses a multi-sensory approach.

HANDWRITING WITHOUT TEARS MY FIRST SCHOOL BOOK

For example, it incorporates visual, auditory, and kinesthetic activities to engage learners and reinforce letter formation.

It keeps your child’s attention better while teaching at the same time.

Handwriting without Tears homeschool program emphasizes simple, consistent language and letter shapes, making it easier for students to learn and remember.

It builds on itself and follows a similar format throughout all levels, so it is familiar even while it becomes more challenging as they advance levels.

For example, each level includes engaging, and developmentally appropriate instructional methods to help children to master handwriting as an automatic and comfortable skill.

• Explicit instruction combined with guided practice to promote handwriting automaticity.
• Research-backed curriculum with an intuitive and customizable design.
• Developmentally appropriate sequence flows from Pre-K–6.
• Seamlessly integrates with literacy curricula for effective handwriting instruction.
• Hands-on tools build vocabulary and alphabet knowledge prior to writing. 
• Multisensory activities engage all learners and develop fine motor skills.

My First School Book is a curriculum-based workbook that was designed to introduce and reinforce foundational handwriting skills in young learners.

It is primarily targeted to preschoolers and kindergarteners, focusing on pre-writing strokes, proper letter formation, and overall fine motor skill development.

The program utilizes a multisensory approach, incorporating verbal cues, visual guides, and kinesthetic activities to make learning engaging and effective.

PROS HANDWRITING WITHOUT TEARS

• Multisensory Approach– The book uses a multisensory approach to learning, incorporating visual, auditory, and kinesthetic elements. This caters to different learning styles and helps children recognize letter shapes and writing patterns more effectively.
• Engaging Activities- The book is filled with activities that are developmentally appropriate and captivating for young learners. These include tracing, coloring, drawing, and connecting dots, all designed to reinforce letter shapes and writing patterns.
• Clear and Simple Instructions-The instructions provided are written in a very straightforward and easy to follow manner, both for children and the adults guiding them.
• Focuses on Fine Motor Skills- The activities are crafted to strengthen the fine motor skills necessary for handwriting. This includes exercises that promote hand-eye coordination, finger dexterity, and pencil control.
• Structured Introduction to Letter Formation-The program introduces letter formation in a systematic and logical sequence, starting with simple strokes and gradually progressing to more complex letters. This structured approach helps children build confidence and mastery.

CONS HANDWRITING WITHOUT TEARS

• Repetitive Activities- This is both a pro and a con, while the activities are generally engaging, some children might find the repetitive nature of certain exercises tedious, especially those who are quick learners or have prior exposure to handwriting. I have not seen this personally be an issue for us at all.
• High Amount of Parental Help Needed: Although the instructions are clear, young children will likely require adult supervision and guidance to complete the activities correctly and get the most out of the program. If you are looking for a handwriting curriculum little ones can do on their own this might not work, at least for this age group.
• Limited for Advanced Learners: The book is primarily designed for beginners and might not offer enough of a challenge for those children who already have strong handwriting skills or advanced fine motor development. But the easy solution for that is just to begin in the next book or further on in this one.

In addition to the book, I suggest adding these additional items (although the book alone is wonderful) to create a richer and more fun learning experience.

While these items are for letter recognition, they work very closely with learning to write, as a preschooler or kindergartener learns to confidently identify their letters and how they are formed they can translate that knowledge into confidence in writing.

• Wood Pieces Capital Letters- These are so much fun and very high quality to help your child form all the capital letters in the alphabet with every shape they need included in the set.
• Wet Dry Try App- Before a pencil even gets picked up you may want to encourage your child to familiarize themself with practicing writing letters with their fingers or a stylus on the app. Wonderful repetition as they draw the letter, erase over the same lines with a “wet sponge”, and then finally dry over the same lines.
• HWOT Slate and Supplies- Sometimes something as simple as changing up your writing surface from paper to slate or dry erase really sparks the interest.

Too, look at more homeschool writing tips.

MORE HOMESCHOOL WRITING CURRICULUM & TIPS

Finally, look at these levels.

HANDWRITING WITHOUT TEARS HOMESCHOOL LEVELS

• My First School Book
• Kickstart Kindergarten (PreK)
• Letters and Numbers For Me
• Building Writers
• My Printing Book(Kindergarten)
• Printing Power(1st)
• Cursive Kickoff
• Cursive Handwriting
• Cursive Success
• Can-Do Cursive
• Cursive and Beyond