Peterson Direct Handwriting Review

I was given the opportunity to review the Peterson Direct Handwriting   program. At first I was a little weary to stray from the handwriting program we had been using. After talking with Mr Nelson though my fears were put to rest. Handwriting was a chore, something my kids did just to get it out of the way, now they are really enjoying it!

Other handwriting programs I've seen are trace and practice, trace and practice. With this program they say verbal cues as they write the letters in the air, then they practice writing them on a dry erase board or paper while still saying the verbal cues. Now I was skeptical at first but those verbal cues really do make all the difference. It really helps cement the concept for my audio learning preschooler and gives my very kinestetic 3rd grader something to do while he writes!

We were sent the Print 1, 2 and 3 ebooks to use with our preschoolers, these books are $19.95 each step and can be printed off for each of your students. This is a very cost effective program, especially for multiple students.

We were not given teacher's manuals which I thought would make it hard but when I was confused I actually was able to call Mr Nelson and he very graciously talked me through the program. He also said I could call anytime I needed help and he would walk me through things. He also talked to me quite a while about my older son who is dyslexic and gave me the cursive program to try with him. So far he is loving it!
I did go ahead and purchase the TM for the cursive and some of their pencils. Let me say I really like the way their teacher's manuals are laid out. It gives me instructions for exactly what to do each day, which is worth $10 to me ;).

A mom on the TOS forum shared her daily routine with the program and I followed her lead and modified it to suit us. Here is what we do....

Mon I introduce the letter/number we will be working on and we write it in the air with the verbal cues. Then the kids try to change their voices while saying the cues to make their letters have emotions. It is very amusing to see what they come up with... our letters have sang, cried, yelled, been grouchy, happy,scared and cold so far. After this we practice writing on a dry erase board for a couple minutes.
Tues-Wed we do the same thing but add in that we make 4 good letters on paper.
Thur more of the same plus we review through air writing all the letters/numbers we've learned so far with a letter parade!

These smiles say it all :)







Pros of the program....

* It uses more learning styles than other handwriting programs I've seen.

* The kids thing it's FUN!!! ( This is the selling point for me ;) )

* Economical

* Live help whenever you need it.

*Printable E-book instead of workbooks you have to buy for each child.

Cons of the program....

* The website is quite hard to navigate

* Relating back to the other con it is hard to figure out what you need to purchase

* I do wish they had included the teacher manual for the review, the phone help is fabulous but having it on paper is a must for me. 

* Mom has to learn some new tricks ;) Not sure if this is a con but ya know I'll put it out there. 



All in all I think this is a great program for any age from preschool on up and shhh but I'll also be doing the cursive program because ummm my cursive may leave something to be desired.


The only compensation I received for this review is the product itself to be reviewed. I will always give honest opinions of products :)

Random Pictures I wanted to share

Anna on her night out alone with Mom



Summer Ice Cream nights at Braums



Peyton's Great Wall of China... errr linens?



Anna getting her own breakfast



How Peyton and Elway sleep

Lindi, the butterfly wisperer....

We learned that not only does Lindi have a way with horses... she also has a way with butterflies! She kept catching one after another and would give them to the other kids to hold... and no they weren't touching their wings or holding them there at all. They just like her I suppose?











Also we learned Avery is scared of Butterflies... see her eyes peeking out the glass.

Wiiiiiiii..... fun with Dad!!

While Joe was visiting we took the kids to Fun City ( think Chuckie Cheese type place). There was no where else to go while it was 500 degrees out, which turned out to be a good thing. We played miniature golf, played games and then... while playing a game where you cut a string with a motorized razor arm to win the prize it's holding Joe won a WII!!! We were thrilled... and spent a whole lot of time indoors playing the Wii for the rest of his visit, which is the perfect 500 degree weather activity ;)







There was also a lot of this going on while Dad was home ....



We love you Daddy!!!

The Littlest Ballerina

Anna started Ballet a couple weeks ago. Let me tell you she is the cutest little ballerina in the whole world and she is SO excited to get to dance like the "big girls".



Look at those precious little teeny buns



Amelia helps out Miss Rachel in the little girls class





Also you know I couldn't have the camera out at dance and not get pictures of my other dancers.... although I didn't get any of Audrey, Avery or Weylin's class :(  My camera died before their classes.

Love this picture, can you see Peyton in the mirror?

Our first day of School!!

We started school today and we had so much fun! Audrey and Avery are starting Kindergarten and Peyton and Amelia are in 3rd this year. I must say I am just thrilled with how our first day went and the curriculum we're using this year.
Everything flowed well and everyone had fun. They were even sad to see school end ;) We started a little late (around 9:30) and had some distractions that were unavoidable but were done by 2 with everything even the fun extras!!

Here's the official "back to school" pics

Peyton



Amelia



Audrey



Avery



And can't forget miss Anna



Here's everyone working on salt maps for history



Making Ice Cream for science ( which was disgusting, so we were forced to make cookies to mask the disappointment) 



All in all I think everyone is excited for the new year and the break has us all refreshed and ready to learn new things!

Just for the record, I am NOT super mom.

I don't write a lot on here, I mostly cover the fluff and post pictures. I don't get deep often, maybe I never have, I can't recall.  Today though I am losing it and need a place to emotionally dump if you will.

If I see you in real life, no I don't want to talk about it, I want to dump it and forget it thankyouverymuch.

I am SO SO SO SO SO sick of dealing with everything. I do not know how single parents manage it all. I am sick of being the only one to deal with the poop,pee,stubborn children, whiny relatives, dirty house, idiotic ATT people, toilets that don't flush, laundry, grocery shopping, bills, cars, lawn, grouchy teenagers, back to school socials, etc, etc, ad infinitum.

I am losing my mind and frankly it isn't pretty. I need a break. I need a minute to use the bathroom alone, to eat a meal in peace, to run errands, to be a person instead of just being MOOOOMMMMMYYYYYY.

Most days I know we are doing this for a purpose, to get in a better place, I know it's temporary and worth it in the end. But today? I want to whine. I want to scream. Today I want to run away.

So far this week I have had ATT here for 12 hours, and my internet is still dial up slow. I cannot skype with my husband because they can't fix the darn uverse. I have spent no less than 4 hours on the phone with ATT probably more.
Yesterday at 5pm I pulled out all the junk piled everywhere in Peyton's room and told him he wasn't doing anything else until it was clean.... it's STILL not clean. Just how many hours will it take?
I'm potty training Anna, enough said, if you've ever potty trained a child you know.
I've spent almost 5 hours at dance. Many of those hours trying to convince my very stubborn daughter to apologize to her dance teacher for disrupting class, in the end I caved and let her write her teacher a very heartfelt note instead... it said I AM SORRY. Fabulous, her people skills are astounding.
Avery spent almost all of yesterday crying, practically nonstop, for who knows what reason.

You know what I was planning on doing this week? I had planned on scheduling our school so we could start next week, on time. I've scheduled math, for 2 kids. That's it. 


So perhaps you'll understand why today after I had spent hours on the phone with a technician I said look, I need to go, I have 6 kids, a home, schooling, and a life I need to get back to. To this the man on the phone said wow, what are you super mom? That poor man is very lucky I did not scream at him like I wanted to. I AM NOT SUPER MOM..... I am a normal tired sick of it all mom, just like any other.

Here's to the end of a bad day.... hoping tomorrow is a much better one.