Whether you are looking to start teaching your pre-K child how to write the letters of the alphabet, or hoping to get your elementary aged child to write more neatly, Handwriting Without Tears is a very popular curriculum that is well priced and easy to use. We recently purchased the pre-K book for our almost 4 year old, as well as the 2nd grade book bundle, and 3rd grade book bundle for our older children.
Handwriting Without Tears is part of the Learning Without Tears program, and their mission is to “make learning and teaching easy and fun by providing superior educational products, professional development, and materials to educators and families.” Aimed at children from pre-K to grade 5, their handwriting books are simple and clear- just a straightforward black and white book, of which each page can be completed in less than 10 minutes if even that.
It is very clear to see why their handwriting program are so popular with families: with our older 7 and 9 year old children, we saw changes in their handwriting within the first month. Little reminders such as “the magic c” really stuck, and even they were impressed by how much their handwriting had improved. My 3.5 year old wants to “homeschool” like his older siblings, so his book teaches the basics, such as drawing straight lines and curves, and there is plenty of coloring.
Handwriting Without Tears also has a “Building Writers” book for grades K to 5, which you can purchase separately or as part of the book bundle. I’m glad we got the set because Building Writers gets children to practice creative writing, while pairing it with the handwriting skills they’ve learned.
Handwriting Without Tears also offers teacher manuals, which offer more insight on how to teach the handwriting to children.
Because of the programs simple book layouts, the prices are very reasonable too: we purchased the book bundles for under $20 each. As the prices vary from state to state, their website will tell you how much the books would cost where you live, and you can also download free samples for each grade, such as the pre-K one available here.
You can view their website here, or go to their Amazon shop here.