Handwriting Notebooks with LOTS of FREE Resources!

While handwriting practice may just seem like busy work to some, I would argue that it’s not. Busy work is work that is given to kids to just to keep them busy {hence the name “busy work”}. Handwriting practice, on the other hand, serves a real purpose. And handwriting skills, like most new skills, often times need to be taken out of their context to learn them better.

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For example, in order for kids to truly learn the patterns and logic of spelling, it needs to be taken out of the context of reading and writing {one of the reasons we created our Short Vowels Word Study app}. I could say the same for helping a child learn to zip his jacket. Sometimes we practice zipping the jacket just to practice, not because we need to get out the door right now.

The purpose of practicing skills out of their context is to integrate them back into the real context. We want our kids to know how to zip his jacket so we CAN get out the door. We want our kids to learn spelling to help them become better readers and writers, not just to pass a spelling test.

 

Have you seen our Handwriting App? It’s filled with activities to make handwriting practice a little more fun! Find it on iTunes.

 

Handwriting Notebooks

To help my kiddos practice their handwriting skills, each of them has a handwriting notebook. Today, I want to give you a quick peek inside each one.

These are stored in one spot in our room, along with my 3rd grader’s Writer’s Notebook, each child with their own color notebook. My oldest two boys (K and 3rd grade) use their notebooks about 1-2 times a week.

They also serve as a reference guide if either of them has a question about how to write a particular letter. My 4 year old uses hers almost every day with our Reading the Alphabet curriculum. We use the one I created for my toddler when she expresses interest.

 

Handwriting Notebook Materials

• 1 inch folder (I prefer different colored ones so they can easily spot which one is theirs)
• plastic sleeve protectors
• dry erase markers or Vis a Vis markers (I prefer the smaller tipped markers over the wider tipped for two reasons: the skinnier markers encourage good grip and they have a smaller writing surface, making it easier to trace or write)
• FREE handwriting resources (that you’ll find in this post)

 

Handwriting Notebook for my Tot

My tot has an extremely simple handwriting notebook and it was created for her to play with writing. Each page contains one letter and a picture beginning with that letter to show her where to start writing the letter.

Am I a stickler with her? No way. But by providing it for her and exploring it with her, she’s exposed to letter sounds, letter names, holding a writing utensil, and the beginnings of handwriting. You can find the free Print and D’Nealian pages HERE.

 

Preschool Handwriting Notebook

My 4 year old is working through Reading the Alphabet this year. One of the things I did when I updated the curriculum back in June was to create my own tracing pages for the alphabet. After much debate, I decided to go with uppercase and lowercase. These are similar to the toddler handwriting pages, only more per page. These are a newsletter subscriber freebie.

Also in her notebook are tracing pages to go with every letter of the alphabet (found in the free and bundle pack of Reading the Alphabet) and tracing and picture cards from 1+1+1=1’s Raising Rock Stars Preschool curriculum.

When my son went through Reading the Alphabet, I also included the mazes and word searches in his Handwriting Notebook, but his notebook couldn’t handle all those pages. This year, I’m doing something different with MBug. We still slip them into plastic sleeve protectors, but they are collected together on a 1 inch ring and she enjoys flipping back and forth to each one. Doing mazes and word searches at this young age still counts as handwriting practice in my book!

 

Kindergarten Handwriting Notebook

Believe it or not, my highly active Kindergartner actually enjoys handwriting. He prefers writing in uppercase (as do most kids in this developmental stage) and it’s been fun to watch him trace and write his lowercase letters this year and exclaim, “I can do it!”

 

In the very front of his folder, I created a simple, one-page reference guide for printing. It’s also be laminated and mounted on the wall beside him as he writes. You can download it HERE for free!

Also included in his handwriting notebook are:

• Confessions of a Homeschooler’s A-Z Handwriting Worksheets
• The Measured Mom’s Lowercase Handwriting Worksheets (I love how these provide support and gradually release the responsibility to the child)

Cursive Handwriting Notebook

My oldest son (3rd grade) has always had such beautiful penmanship. At the end of 2nd grade, I began introducing him to cursive writing as he was highly interested. We started with his name and then I created a cursive pack for him (in his notebook). Also included in his notebook are the cursive handwriting pages from Confessions of a Homeschooler.

 

More Handwriting Ideas and FREEBIES:

• 5 Effective Ways to Teach Handwriting to Preschoolers
• Roll & Write Handwriting Practice Pages 
• Roll & Write Cursive Handwriting Practice Pages {Free Homeschool Deals}
• FREE Handwriting Worksheets for Preschool {The Measured Mom}
• Playdough and Handwriting Mats {3 Dinosaurs}
• FREE Handwriting Worksheets {Kids Activities Blog}
• Teaching Handwriting for Kindergarten {Golden Reflections Blog}

 

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~Becky