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 :)