What's for Dinner (Breakfast or Bedtime Snack?) An Easy, No-Cook Summer Delight!

It's hot, hot, hot in my home which means I crave cool, cool, cool and delightful treats.  For me, that sometimes means chia pudding! 

So quick and easy to make and chock full of chia -- a "super food" lauded as a nutrient powerhouse, chia pudding is what was for breakfast and bedtime snack yesterday, as well as what was for picnic dinner just a couple weeks ago. 

We made these servings with a extra seeds for stiffness, so it was easy to scoop from jars to single serving containers at a dinner picnic.

Chia seeds absorb up to 10 times their weight in fluid and add fiber, protein, calcium, zinc and omega-3's to our diets, but do not create a texture that any of my kids loudly protest!  (Granted, given the day, at least one of my three kids only takes a small serving of pudding.  But, if 4 out of 5 people in my home love a dish, I consider it a "keeper!")

How do I make chia pudding? 

Chia pudding is quick, easy and adaptable to make!  My two favorites are vanilla and chocolate:

Vanilla Chia Pudding

 
Ingredients

• 1 can organic coconut milk
• an overflowing 1/3 cup chia seeds
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• a few shakes of sea salt
• 3 tablespoons raw, local honey

Procedure

Put all ingredients into a blender, whiz, pour into a jar, put in the fridge, shake a few times and let sit for a couple hours or overnight.  Then enjoy with toppings of choice - for me, that means berries!

Increase or decrease the chia seeds to achieve stiffer or soupier consistancies and adjust the sweetener to taste.  (Maple syrup works well, too!)
  

Chocolate Chia Pudding

Ingredients

• 1 can organic coconut milk
• 1/3 scant cup chia seeds
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• a few shakes of sea salt
• 1/4 cup baking cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup real maple syrup

Procedure
 
Put all ingredients into a blender, whiz, pour into a jar, put in the fridge, shake a few times and let sit for a couple hours or overnight.  Then enjoy with toppings of choice - for me, that means coconut flakes and berries!

No blender?  

No problem.  Just mix the ingredients together in a jar and shake.  The seeds don't actually need to be blended.  I just prefer the texture that way.

No room in the fridge?

No problem.  Mix it all together, let it sit for 10-15 minutes and enjoy. It just won't be as cold and refreshing unless your coconut milk was pre-chilled.

Where do you buy chia seeds?

We often find chia seeds at local discount stores like Ocean State Job Lot, TJ Maxx or Marshalls, but sometimes we purchase them from grocery stores or specialty stores.  If you cannot find any locally (or want to help us out by clicking through an affiliate link to make a purchase), you can also also find plenty of chia seed choices on Amazon, of course.
 

Cooling off before bed with some vanilla chia pudding...

We tend to use black chia seeds, because it is what our local stores most often carry.  However, we occasionally use white ones, too, which are more aesthetically pleasing in vanilla pudding to some of our children. 

Either way, we enjoy our chia pudding, and I am thrilled that preparing requires no cooking.  I also find it tastes that much more delightful to me knowing it contains "super food"!

What are some of your favorite quick, cooling, no-cook treats?  Do you enjoy chia seeds in other recipes?

Flexible, Fun, Hands-On History for Every Learner { A Project Passport: Renaissance & Reformation Review}

Hands-on history!  That is what jumped out at me when I learned we'd have the opportunity to review the Project Passport World History Study: Renaissance & Reformation by Home School in the Woods.  For my children love history and particularly cotton to flexible, activity-based learning that appeals to their different learning styles.


Gotta Love Homeschool Products Born of Need and Written by Homeschoolers for Homeschoolers

 


Amy Pak, a homeschool mom whose family really does live in the woods, could not find images that she liked to go along with the history studies that her children and her were immersed in.  She ended up using her gifts with graphic design and illustration to create some.  In 2002, she published these as timeline figures and Home School in the Woods was born.    

Together with her family, Amy began answering requests to create more history-related products, the latest of which are Project Passport World History Studies, a series of excellent activity-based history units.  

Project Passport World History Studies Help Kids Enjoy Tailor-Made Journeys Back in Time

My son studied the Quick Stop Itinerary to decide what he wanted to do first.

When I received and email with a link to our downloadable copy of Project Passport World History Study: Renaissance & Reformation I was able to access the unit with ease.  Once I downloaded it and began to dig into its multiple folders on my computer, I was a bit overwhelmed at first.  There was just so much there, including:

• 8 quality MP3's (a favorite for our boy)
• step-by-step "itineraries" for each of the 25 stops along the journey back in time (each with clear, well-formatted directions)
• loads of masters for printable projects
• lapbook files
• beautifully illustrated covers for notebooks
• teacher keys
• well-written text to read-aloud or have adept readers read on their own
• lists of Additional Resource

and more.
Thankfully, there was also a well-written, easy-to-follow introduction and Travel Tips, which helped my overwhelm abate and allowed my son and I to just dig in!

The program is written with children in grades 3-8 in mind is is meant to take 6-12 weeks, depending on how deeply you wish to dig into topics and how many projects you care to complete.   

Topics include:

• Laying the Foundation (Packing for the Trip through prep and familiarization)
• Italy and DaVinci
• Everyday Life, parts  and 2
• Renaissance Art and Famous Artists
• Music, Literature and Drama of the Renaissance
• Science, Math and Astronomy
• Invention
• Explorations in the America, Africa, Asia and Around the World
• The Early Reformers
• Martin Luther
• The Thirty Years' War
• Zwingli and Switzerland
• John Calvin
  France and the War of Religion
• Henry the VIII and His Children
• Civil War
• Knox and Scotland
• The Counter-Reformation, Parts I and II
• Packing Up (or finishing up!)

Activities include:

• Creative and Newspaper Writing
• Postcard Illustrations
• Notebooking and Timelines
  Over a dozen Lap Book Project
• a dozen 3-D Projects to make
• a File Folder Game
• Art Projects
• A "Dining Out Guide" of Recipes
• Applying Art Techniques
• A File Folder

and more!

My son enjoyed listening to included MP3's while coloring parts of his project.

For a comprehensive tour of the time period, all of these things can be fit together seamlessly using the step-by-step instructions and photos of finished examples provided in the program materials.  Or, they can be picked-and-chosen from in order to suit the interests, abilities and desires of each particular child who journeys back in time using them. They can enhance existing studies of the Renaissance and Reformation or act as a complete study on their own.  The plan is all there, the portions you choose to use are completely up to you!



How We Used It (So Far)
 

Lightboards are not on the materials list, but when my printer acted up with cardstock and my son wanted an element of the project on cardstock, he got inventive to trace it.

When I signed on to this review, I intended to use the curriculum with all three of my children.  However, after receiving it, taking a closer look at just how comprehensive it could be, and realizing what the rest of our summer experiences and plans were shaping up to be, I opted to introduce it to my oldest only at this time -- the child who is in the recommended age bracket of grades 3-8.

Since my oldest tends to enjoy a lot of say in what he learns and how, I printed the Quick Stop Itinerary document out, handed it to him, and asked him to decide what he wanted to dive into first.  For, although I knew the study would make the most sense to do from start to finish, selecting whichever activities appealed most to my son in consecutive order, I also know my son and felt he would be more invested in the study if he could make some decisions. 

I was fairly certain my boy would choose Inventions or War to start with, but he surprised me.  He wanted to start at the beginning.  So, that is exactly what we did.  Together, we printed, cut, pasted and put together his passport, luggage folder, notebook, etc.  Then, we commenced with reading the Guide Book, listening to audios, coloring images for the timeline and so forth... 

Since it is summer and our time at home is short, these things took us a number of 10-20 minute work-periods, which is about all any of us focus on at one time during this time of year with no A/C in our home and lots of experiential learning to be done out by water and in the woods.  They were followed by other similarly brief periods foraying into the further stops along the way...

Of course, our tiny-bite approach to the study means we are taking a slow, but steady course through the journey, stretching stops that take some families a day into ones that take us weeks.  However, doing so has fit our needs and desires right now quite well.  My son (and I!) are learning and enjoying as we go.  He is able to narrate back details from the Guide Book text readings, has already asked if we can listen to some of the audios again, and is looking forward to more projects, cooking, art, etc.

Meanwhile, I am thrilled that the program can benefit my son and me as we take the journey back to the Renaissance and Reformation with teeny, tiny baby steps now, but that it also promises longer traverses at each go when the weather cools and we invite my other children to join us along the way.  In fact, sometimes when my children are enjoying outdoor pursuits, I have spent time reading ahead in the itineraries and poking through the 50+ projects offered, getting excited about all the cool things my boy and his siblings have yet to realize we are going to explore during our trip through the Renaissance and Reformation.  There is just so much there and I so look forward to immersing us for more than 15-20 minutes at a time!

Would I Recommend Project Passport World History Studies?



In a word, "Yes..."  So far, we have found the Renaissance & Reformation Project Passport Activity-Based World History Study one to be thorough, engaging, and worth time spent on it , and I hear that the Ancient Egypt and The Middle Ages ones are of similar high quality.

Pros of the curriculum as we have experienced them include:

• a wide variety of hands-on activities to choose from.  With activities that range from color-cut-and-paste timelining, to writing a newspaper, to creating art, to reading, to listening to MP3's, to lapbooking, to playing file folder games, to literally tasting the time period, the program provides plenty of hands-on learning to pick and choose from.
 

 

• consideration for varied learning styles.  Kinesthetic learners will appreciate crafts, cooking, art and more.  Visual ones will appreciate the timelines and well-laid out printables.  Auditory ones can enjoy the engaging MP3's, as well as text read aloud by parents.  Just about any learner should be able to find activities that capitalize on their strengths and stretch their areas of growth.

•  a well-rounded view of the period.  As a Catholic, I was a bit concerned about how this curriculum would treat the Reformation and have, happily, found it balanced without strong bias so far.  I also appreciate how the program introduces children to famous folks and events as well as to the life and times of everyday people.  I just love when history focuses on common citizens as well as important figures.  This program does so!

• flexible, thorough materials.  The student materials are well-organized and easy to pick-and-choose from.  There are also excellent parent materials with further explanations, keys, etc.  And, bonus, there are additional resource lists with recommended reading.  (How I love book lists!!!)

All that said, I will admit that the ellipse after my, "yes" above was intentional.  For, in all honesty, I would have to recommend the product with a "Yes, but..."  There were a few things I did not relish about the program.

Cons include:

• how much printing it can require.  There are pages and pages and pages of potential printing involved with this study and most of it cannot be done with a single click that allows you to simply hit "print", move onto other things, and, then, return for your hefty stack of ready-to-go materials.  Rather, many of the pdf's are single-page ones that need to be printed on the back sides of other ones and some need to be printed on cardstock.  More than once, I wished that pdf's were batched into multi-page document groups with one for those that needed to be printed double-sided on office paper, one for those that are recommended to be printed single-sided on cardstock, etc.  For, while the organization and flexibility of the way the printables are currently presented as well-labeled single documents, I think that batching them would save parents like me time and headaches.

•  significant prep work.  As soon as I looked over the itinerary for Stop 1, I realized that the activities included in this curriculum involved a fair amount of cutting, gluing, taping, etc.  I am one who values the fine motor exercise of such activities, but also one who could envision the chaos of doing all this with all three of my children at once.  Thus, I opted to involve only my oldest with this study at this time and to have him do prep alongside me.   Then, when the weather cools, and my oldest can act as a seasoned helper on our journey, I plan to invite my other two children to print, prep, assemble, learn and explore alongside us.  
 

• the necessity to budget for supplies.  The product costs $33.95 as a digital download or $34.95 on a CD-rom.  However, depending on how you choose to use it, you will also need an ample supply of ink and other office supplies, such as office paper, colored cardstock, colored paper, glue sticks, a three-pronged pocket folder, a three-hole punch, double-sided tape, packing tape, and coloring implements.  Additionally, special art supplies such as chalk pastels, plaster of paris, etc. are needed for some of the projects.  Considering the amount of information and learning that is included in the study - and the duration of the unit - the costs are not extraordinary, but they can add up and, I think, are worth noting for some families.

Despite these "cons", I can honestly attest that our Project Passport Activity-Based World History Study has proven itself as a wonderful resource for flexible, multi-faceted, hands-on history learning in our home already and could well be just what your family might want to embrace to bring history to life, too.  Though sometimes tedious in printing,prep and assembly at first, initial effort pays off.  This hands-on Renaissance & Reformation study is chock-full of engaging choices that become a welcome way to dive into the everyday and the exceptional of past!  


Learn More

• Watch a video to see what Project Passport Studies are about. Also look for samples of audios, pictures of finished projects, etc. towards the bottom of the Renaissance and Reformation study page.

• Visit Home School in the Woods on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google +.

• Discover how 100 homeschool families implemented Project Passport World History Study: Ancient Egypt, The Middle Ages, and Renaissance & Reformation with their children and what they thought of it by reading Schoolhouse Review Crew reviews.

How do you make history come alive for your children?  Might Home School in the Woods help you to do so?
 

Our Current Read Aloud (which We Love!!)

Just today, a friend on Facebook asked for read aloud recommendations.  I immediately shared the title of our current read aloud:

Note:  There are affiliate links to Holy Heroes and Amazon in this post in case you want to read more about the character we are loving or make any purchases at either vendor.  Read our full disclosure and, if you choose to shop through links here today, thank you for helping us by doing so!

Image Source: Holy Heroes

Tom Playfair, Or Making A Start is a part of a wonderful trilogy of books that we happily discovered at Holy Heroes, Father Finn's Famous Three: Tom Playfair Series.
 
Our oldest received these books as a gift some time ago, but found them a bit too challenging to read on his own.  So, I have begun reading through the trilogy with the kids together.  What a delight!

Humor.  Virtues.  Adventure.  Faith.  Exquisite vocabulary.  Engaging characters.  They are all there and more.  

The kids' giggles as Tom deals with bullies or gets himself into or out of predicaments are precious!  They all loved the chapter where Tom outsmarted a bully who was going to put a "kick me" sign on his back.

I have loved how Tom is so real, and how he transforms from being a "handful" to a fellow with increasing virtues.  In fact, I have found that, since beginning this trilogy, examples of how Tom and his boarding school companions demonstrated vice or virtues have woven themselves into countless conversations with my children.  I just love when characters and their choices come alive and become "friends" we can look to for guidance.

And adventure?  It's definitely there - both everyday and extraordinary... fun and, well, fatal.  (Warning:  In one chapter some boys die from electrocution after a lightning storm.)  Happy or harrowing, all of the escapades of Tom Playfair keep my kids (and a friend who joined us in a tent for bedtime stories at a campout) completely engaged!

As for faith - wow! - how great is it to read a novel that includes Catholic faith and examples.  We read secular, Christian and Catholic books here, but, have not typically found well-written, engaging Catholic fiction for kids before this.  Now, we have and I am delighted.  

I can also say that the story is written in such a way that non-Catholics can appreciate it, too.  Strong characters and plot can appeal to any child, of say 8-14 years, and seems particularly riveting to boys. Vocabulary that sometimes has me learning new words makes the book a bonus for parents, too!

Honestly, we are so delighted to have been introduced to Tom Playfair and want to share about the not-as-well-known read aloud trilogy that he is featured in so you can delight in it, too.  Nina and Luke have been saying how they want to buy some of their friends copies of the Tom Playfair series.  With reasonable prices at Holy Heroes and current prices at Amazon as low as a penny for used copies, under $2 for Kindle copies and around $10 for new paperbacks, I think they'll be able to afford to do so.

Have you read Fr. Finn's fabulous fiction before?  What did you think  Do you have other great read alouds to recommend - especially ones that contain strong examples of faith and virtue?

Get a Free Trial of THE Most Comprehensive Online Planner I Know {A Homeschool Planet Review}

I don't know how life is with you, but with me it is f-u-l-l, FULL!  Almost too full, at times, which reviewing Homeschool Planet by the Homeschool Buyers Co-op has made clear to me.  

For, you see, Homeschool Planet (which is offering a FREE 30-day trial!) is much more than a homeschool planner or a basic online calendar, it is an adaptable life planner - a central place to organize home, homeschool, work, volunteer and other pursuits.  For me, it is also a wake up call about how many things I have been failing to organize well.  

Indeed, I when I signed up to review Homeschool Planet, I thought it would take me no time at all to transfer our calender and other information over to it and to, once and for all, juggle the balls of life with success.  However, through no fault of Homeschool Planet, I that was not the case.  I simply have a lot to transfer and much of that is buried in physical and e-clutter.  For, as a single, I was a "paper person".  I had a small binder that I carried with me as well as a wall calendar that I wrote "big events" on.  I also had running to-do lists at home and one at work and, occasionally, made color-coded charts and project notebooks, too.  These tools, together, kept me fairly well-organized and successful at work and at home.

Enter marriage, then children.  My old tools no longer worked.  My husband's mental and physical organization styles differed from mine.  Our lives and schedules got more complicated. Our children, as many children do, worked to make the old adage, "life is what happens when you're making other plans" a minute-to-minute reality for us.  The organizational tools that I had come to trust could not keep up with the all the new and different balls that life tossed my way, and, consequently, disorganization became an unfortunate hallmark of this once organized gal.

To combat the developing chaos, I sought more tools - some made by others, some made by me, some online, some offline.  All helpful to a degree, but not to a large enough degree to keep all the balls of life in sync as they soared through the air, with none being dropped, or, worse, smacking me square in the face. 

For, okay, I admit it!  I tend to juggle a lot of balls at once.  I overplan.  I get lost in minutia instead of plowing through priorities.  I miss deadlines.  I smile, thinking carpe diem, (or cry, wondering, What have I done?!) as I toss another ball into the air or get distracted running after one that is rolling away.  Yes, I also tend to squeeze just one more activity in my family's lives even when my husband is reminding me there simply isn't room.  And, in doing all this, I negate many of the positive effects of most planners, schedules, calendars, checklists, etc. I have developed or tried. 

Whether a tool for just me, one for the family, one for each person in the family, one that is online, one that is offline, one that is you-name-it, prior to Homeschool Planet, no tool could even come close to helping me keep all the balls I sought to juggle in the air with a smile.  But Homeschool Planet, as I am coming to know it offers something different: hope!  As a flexible, all-in-one planner that is made by homeschoolers and continually updated with user suggestions in mind, Homeschool Planet has the potential to be THE tool to finally get me as organized - or,  God-willing, even more organized - than I have been in ten years!  Better still, is has both online features (which provide ease for input, rescheduling, communicating with others in the family, etc.) and printable options (which appeases my paper-loving inner-luddite) that are all connected and centralized!

To date, I have slowly been wading through physical and e-clutter in my home to centralize information with Homeschool Planet
while also adding new meetings, to do's, events, tasks, appointments, etc.  Doing the latter is easy-easy!  Homeschool Planet is rather intuitive to use and also has a collection of how-to videos and speedy, helpful customer service should you need it.

And- wow!- does Homeschool Planet offer a lot of helpful features!  I have not used them all, but I have used enough to offer you a top ten of sorts of reasons this tool offers me hope and might be just what you are looking for to get organized, too:

10 Reasons to Cheer About Homeschool Planet



1.  There are different views! 

So long as you have an internet connection and a web browser, you can get started with ease and, when you do, you can choose to view (or input) things in Calendar view, Planner view or Resource view.  In these views, you can also select to look at a single day, a week or the month.  So, whether you want to get an overview of all the balls you have to juggle or focus in on a certain one, you can easily do so! 


 
2.  It can work for you, your spouse and your children -- individually or together.You can create profiles for yourself, your spouse, each individual child, even the roles you each play (such as Mom-home, Mom-work, Mom-co-op, etc.)  Then, you can view appointments, information, classes, etc. for one, some or all at once.  That means you can focus in on just one person, or even one role of a person, or can see how everyone's wants, needs and commitments are working together. 

 3.  Scheduling is simple.

When you want to schedule something, you choose if it;s a class, an event (birthday, etc.), or "everything else".  Then, you choose the day and time (or recurring).  You can also choose who the class, event, or comittment is for and add notes, specific assignments, etc.



4.  Rescheduling is but a click away.Life happens and one of the joys of homeschooling is the flexibility to go with it.  In one click, you can reschedule assignments and take a day off.

5.  Communication is key!You can input an email (or a phone number for text if you are not part-luddite like me and lacking a "fancy phone") for each person in order to be send a digest of upcoming commitments and tasks - or even to text grocery lists.  This makes for an easy way to communicate with spouses (and children who are old enough to have emails or text messaging) even when everyone is going in different directions.

6.  There are individual log-ins.

Your spouse or children can access their own lists, assignments, etc. through individual log-ins you create.


7.  You can color code!If you (or your husband or kids) are visual, color coding can be key.  Easy options to do so are included.  (Better still, if you choose to print, you can print in black-and-white or color, so you do not have to use color ink if you do not want to, but can if any individual prefers it.)



8.  Tracking is easy.

If you need to track attendance, time, or grades for reports or transcripts, it can be done with ease!

9.  Widgets add loads of extra appeal!

Meal planning, shopping lists, Bible verses, inspirational quotes, weather and more are all available on handy sidebar widgets that you can add or delete.

10.  You can go mobile.

If you have multiple mobile devices, you can use a tutorial to create an easy-access icon to access Homeschool Planet from anywhere. 



My Bottom Line 

Even if you're busy, you need not be bowled over by all the balls you are juggling.   Homeschool Planet, offers features and flexibility that make it a comprehensive, one-stop planning tool that can help keep you and yours on track.  If, like me, you desire to appreciate the abundance of life, but also seek to clearly discern which parts of the plethora each day unfolds with should get priority, give this planner a whirl.  It not only has traditional and convenient calendar features, but it also provides:

• inspiration through verse and quote widgets,
• ease through an intuitive interface, help videos and excellent customer service
• features designed by homeschoolers for homeschoolers
• a way to organize your home, homeschool, work, volunteer and other pursuits in one place -- and to do so for your family members, too!

 
I am excited to see how much more organized my family and I become as I use the remainder of the one-year subscription to Homeschool Planet that we currently have.  I have a feeling we'll be pleased enough to want a subsequent subscription.

Learn More

• Try Homeschool Planet out for free for 30 days or purchase a one-year subscription for $6.95 per month of $65.00 per year.

• Find Homeschool Planet on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

 

• See how 90 Schoolhouse Review Crew families have been organizing homes and homeschooling with Homeschool Planet.

Might Homeschool Planet help you to better organize and integrate the details of your home, homeschool, volunteer, business and other pursuits?  Try it and see!

What Do You Do When You Get into the Car?

"Mom, you forgot to pray a decade," piped up a little voice from the back of our minivan this morning just as my husband and I had entered into a conversation.

Although my little one had interrupted my husband and me, his words made me smile.  

In my head and my heart, I prayed:  Thank you, God, for my youngest.  Thank you for affirming a positive and meaningful habit is being built in my children.  Thank you for this time.  And, thence, I began the simple Prayer Peg that we've attached to our regular entry into our minivan.

Basically, almost every time we get into our van, we say a brief prayer pf some sort of another, and, if it's the first time in a day that the children and I hit the road together, we pray a bit longer.

First, we pray the Guardian Angel prayer.  Then, we pray a decade of the rosary together, pausing between each Hail Mary to vocalize special intentions for friends, family members, those in the vehicles around us, the world at large, etc.

Sometimes these prayers are truly beautiful and reverent.  Other times, well, at least they are shared.  All the time, they are heard, we trust, and for that, we are most grateful!

Do you pray, too, each time you enter your vehicle?  Spontaneous prayers, meditative prayers or traditional prayers?  What other Prayer Pegs have you added to your daily life?

 

Cursive Writing Made Simple {A CursiveLogic Review}

I have two children working on cursive handwriting now, one of whom does best with short,  independent practice that is presented in a simple, logical way.  Thus, when I was offered a chance to review the CursiveLogic Workbook by CursiveLogic, I went for it.  I had a feeling it would be ideal for him since he could use it on his own.


How We Used CursiveLogic

When our copy of the CursiveLogic Workbook arrived, I browsed its 97 pages, which include:

• introductory notes

  

• three pages of text and images on how to prepare for cursive handwriting, including notes in paper, posture, hand exercises, etc.

• six pages on how to teach the program

 

 

• four multi-page lessons grouped by letter shapes which make learning lower case letters logical and easy

• three thick dry-erase pages for reviewing the letters

• other pages on string practice, signing your name and learning upper case letters (which are presented in seven groups)

Then, I introduced the workbook to my son, let him know that we would be weaving into his weekly S.K.I.L.L.  T.I.M.E. tasks, and let him have at it.

Since then, my oldest has been progressing slowly but surely with his cursive handwriting with little guidance necessary from me. (The slowly part is due to the fact that his overall S.K.I.L.L. T.I.M.E. work sessions are typically brief in the summer time and handwriting is one of his less-preferred subjects, so he takes the workbook in nibble-sized pieces. )

Every once in a while, I "quiz" my son on his independently learned cursive writing abilities by reviewing the pages of the workbook that he has completed and, then, dictating a few words to him for him to write.  He typically succeeds with writing whatever I ask him to.  However, when I note him struggling with particular letters or connections, we briefly reference completed workbook pages and do an impromptu targeted review.

As a side note, the workbook lends itself nicely to 1:1 teaching as well.  In fact, if I were using this program with my daughter, who prefers not to approach new skills independently as my son does, I would likely sit together with her "coaching" the "catch phrases" orally, demonstrating strokes on a white board or paper, pointing out how few strokes it takes to learn how to write a number of letters, etc.  With a parent, tutor, or teacher sitting alongside a child, I truly feel that CursiveLogic would help children master cursive quickly and confidently (as opposed to how my son is progressing -- slowly, steadily and successfully, in independent micro-sessions.)

Why CursiveLogic Works 

 
In our experience so far, CursiveLogic lends itself to cursive handwriting success because:

• letters are grouped by shape into four basic "families" that are named alliteratively and make up the entire alphabet. 

• similarly shaped letters are taught together, greatly simplifying the learning process for children with minds like my son's.

• letters that share a common shape are strung together, which I have noted helps a child's muscle memory as much as his mental one.

• color-coding and "catch phrases" are used to help children remember the different shapes in multi-modal way (visual, kinesthetic, and auditory)

• real words are used straight from the first lesson, showing children they can write in cursive right away - a great motivator.

• there are repeated opportunities for students to trace, write and link words, making practice progressive and purposeful.

• top spiral binding, well-sized tracing fonts and plenty of space on the bank writing lines make the workbook user-friendly.

 
Without question, the program is a well thought-out one that lives up to its name, by making learning how to write in cursive logical and simple.  Begun as an effort to teach an adult student with learning disabilities how to write cursive with ease,CursiveLogic
has developed into a program that can help any student - young or old - how to succeed in writing script.  Straightforward, intelligent and logically presented, the CursiveLogic Workbook is a handwriting program I would recommend.

Learn More

• Find CursiveLogic on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
• Purchase CursiveLogic Workbook for $29.00.

• See what 100 Schoolhouse Crew Review families thought of CursiveLogic.

Do you know a child or grown-up who could benefit from learning cursive through a logical, straight-forward approach?