Alphabet Beats

Handwriting practice has just become one of the best parts of my Kindergarten student's day! We received Alphabet Beats, writing lowercase letters DVD to review from TV Teacher. The DVD was free in exchange for this review. The TV Teacher 's motto, "We make learning easy and fun!" capitalizes on the power and impact television has over young children to teach valuable early learning skills like handwriting, shape and number awareness.



There is a wealth of information for parents, teachers and therapists regarding Alphabet Beats on the company website. Created by Susan Ellis, mother to Ryan an autistic pre-schooler, the DVD's are perfect for any child aged 2-8. Ellis's son had difficulty forming alphabet letters although he could recite and read them. Marnie, his occupational therapist, agreed to video tape her therapy sessions with Ryan to be used at home. The videos helped him so much that Ellis knew others would benefit from a similar product. The videos began to be professionally produced in 2006, and have received acclaim from therapists, teachers and parents. Alphabet Beats received the "Preferred Choice Award" by Creative Child Magazine in 2008.

Alphabet Beats, writing lowercase teaches all 26 lower case letters in 5 minute mini-unit studies. The very happy, engaging and encouraging, Miss Marnie shares vocabulary words, songs, objects, visits around town and of course specific direction for each letter formation with humor and energy. Alphabet Beats, lowercase, however is more than simple handwriting practice. In my opinion it is a full pre-school curriculum filled with alphabet organized mini unit studies.

A typical unit shifts from video segments demonstrating letter formation for handwriting practice to short segments relating to the letter sound. For example, the letter P unit teaches the student, "dotted line down, follow up and around" with Miss Marnie chanting the catchy reminder and demonstrating on lined paper how to form lowercase p. After reciting the chant a few times the segment shifts as Miss Marnie narrates "P is for police officer!" The camera reveals a man dressed in uniform. The officer smiles at the camera saying, "Hi! I'm a police officer. You can come to me for help if you need it. I'm your friend".

Other examples of the comprehensive pre-school units include taking a virtual field trip to the dentist with Miss Marnie and learning a song to remember the days of the week. These activities are part of the unit dedicated to learning lowercase d letter formation.


Handwriting practice is demonstrated on chalkboards, dry erase boards and lined paper. Parents can download the same lined paper Miss Marnie uses from the TV Teacher website for free. Miss Marnie uses colored magic markers and dry erase makers adding visual impact for children.

Parents using Alphabet Beats for teaching handwriting instruction are offered the following teaching tips at the beginning of the video:

• Watch the DVD with your child. (Alphabet Beats is NOT a video babysitter)
• Practice the handwriting skills for 10 mins. a day
• Complete no more than 3-4 letters in a day

Aidan is 5, almost 6 and I would agree with all the teaching tips offered with the exception of 3-4 letters in one day. We chose to focus on one letter per day by watching the video through once, then watching it a second time while he practiced letter formation along with Miss Marnie on the screen. At the conclusion of the video segment, Aidan spent some solitary time completing more letter writing practice before we called it a day. I found focusing on one letter at a time with Aidan had a greater impact in helping him remember the lesson.

"I liked it!" commented Aidan. "The letters are easy to make. I liked using the markers to write with. The paper made it easy too. I really liked the A's (for Aidan) the best.

I think the use of color and other visual stimulation accompanied with the chanting and narration are excellent examples of teaching to auditory and visual learning styles. Approaching handwriting through a variety of senses helped Aidan's handwriting lessons find their way into his long-term memory. Add in the "fun factor" brought to lessons by Miss Marnie and handwriting practice evolves from dreaded, boring chore to one of the best parts of the school day.

"It's really cool! When we were learning about the letter P my favorite part was picnic", said Aidan.

Alphabet Beats lowercase DVD sells on the TV Teacher website for $35.00. A spiral bound from the top student workbook of the special lined paper Miss Marnie uses sells for $4.49. For the frugal minded individual sheets of paper can be printed free of charge directly from the website. In addition, TV Teacher's Uppercase and lowercase DVDs sell as a set for $64.99.

Zeezok Publishing

Zeezok Publishing, established in 2003 is a company focused on serving the homeschool curriculum marketplace by offering unique products designed to "assist you in developing your family's love for God and country". It's not surprising that a company with such a mission carries a handwriting curriculum titled, "Presidential Penmanship" Zeezok Publishing sent our family the Getty Dubay Italic Style version of Presidential Penmanship for free in exchange for this review.

According to the publisher, Presidential Penmanship is appropriate for handwriting practice for grades 1-12. I personally do not see the need to practice handwriting at the Jr. High or High School levels of education, but it is helpful to know the curriculum is comprehensive enough to span a variety of grades. Presidential Penmanship is described on the packaging as "a supplemental handwriting program....based on the writings and quotes of America's founding fathers and presidents." In addition, the company suggests using the short quotes used in the primary years for memorization practice. They believe these quotes will become a foundation for future instruction in government and civics. The sixth grade level includes a "final exam" requiring the student to copy the Gettysburg Address.

I have never taught anything but block style handwriting to my children simply because it is what I knew. Getty Dubay Italic Style handwriting has a few more curves to printed letters connecting them together much in the way traditional cursive writing does. Fans of Getty-Dubay Italic believe it develops neater handwriting by helping children who tend to struggle with letter reversals. According to research published by Portland State University, "The hand position and movements for the italic are natural and result in an easy flowing motion when writing." Presidential Penmanship is available in 6 different handwriting styles through ZeeZok Publishing.

My Presidential Penmanship Complete Program arrived as a computer CD-rom neatly packaged in a plastic box similar to packaging for DVD movies. There was no instruction booklet to read through, so I simply placed the CD in my computer to begin instruction. Unfortunately, there wer no detailed teaching instructions leaving me to interpret the numerous PDF files appearing on my computer screen on my own. After reading the package description printed on the back of the cover and opening several of the files I determined my student should spend one week each on a quote. All worksheets print from the CD and provide lined areas for printing practice. Each session of handwriting practice allowed for copying the quote once, but I printed a few extra practice pages provided just in case we would need them.

I chose to test drive Presidential Penmanship Italic Style Complete Program with my 2nd grade, left-handed student, Sierra. Being left-handed is not without its challenges especially when your teacher is right-handed. I always forget to remind Sierra to turn her paper the correct direction, etc. because she is a mirrored reflection of my habits. I hoped the simplicity of Presidential Penmanship and incorporation of Getty-Dubay Italic style would empower Sierra towards neater handwriting.

Week One of Presidential Penmanship, Grade One offers handwriting practice using the quote, "It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one." ~ G. Washington. The first day Sierra and I read and discussed the quote's meaning plus spent time remembering George Washington and his importance to our country. Sierra followed up our discussion by tracing inside bubbled letters that directed her strokes and placement. By having the mini history lesson first and following it with handwriting practice, the lesson seemed natural and purposeful.

Day 2 of the week was spent tracing over pre-printed letters and then following with an "On Your Own" section to practice writing the quote without prompts or helpful guidelines. The third and final day of week one of Presidential Penmanship was spent identical to day two. Students were expected to trace over pre-printed letters before trying to write the quote solo. Each day's practice took Sierra approximately 10 minutes to complete; an easy thing to incorporate into any day.

Sierra seemed to enjoy Presidential Penmanship. When asked for her opinion she eagerly shared. "I really liked it because it shows you how the letters should be so I always remember. I learned a little about the Presidents too", she said. A lifetime fan of Abe Lincoln she added, "I can't wait to do Abraham Lincoln. That will be awesome."

Presidential Penmanship Italic Style Complete Program retails at www.Zeezok.com for $39.99. It is available on CD or in e-book instant downloadable formats. Sample pages can be viewed on the company website. For customers not wanting the comprehensive version of the program separate grade level options may be purchased for $9.99 each.

Peterson Directed Handwriting.....handwriting with movement!

I never understood clearly the importance of handwriting study. Perhaps, it stems from haunting memories of frustration centered on second grade handwriting practice. Long ago, my school teacher, although very kind, was firm in her resolve to make sure my letters were of a particular legible standard. My mother, being a former school teacher herself, made handwriting a constant priority of my time at home in an effort to help me succeed with this onerous task. I will never forget the despair in my heart when I returned to second grade after Christmas break, finally feeling confident in my manuscript printing ability, only to hear the announcement that our class would now embark on the wonderful adventure of cursive writing. Can you still hear my cry of agony?

Perhaps, my little second grade heart would have filled with joy at the thought of additional handwriting practice if my teacher and mother had known about Peterson Directed Handwriting. Peterson Handwriting has been helping teachers teach handwriting since 1908. Why is handwriting so important in our modern world? According to information on the Peterson website, “studies have proven that handwriting fluency is a powerful link between all language skills, spelling, composition and reading”.

Peterson Directed Handwriting is different from other handwriting options on the market because their curriculum is movement based. The science and research of this movement based method is available for free study on the extremely informative Peterson website. If you have a few minutes, I encourage you to watch a 20 minute adobe presentation on the site titled appropriately, "The Peterson Method in 20 Minutes". The presentation given by Rand Nelson, Director of Training, Research and Development for Peterson Directed Handwriting, details the importance of teaching rhythm and movement with handwriting. According to Nelson, movement and rhythm are necessary for development of muscle memory for the child which in turn will develop fluency. Much like a dancer must learn basic steps to develop muscle memory and fluency of movement for advanced dance combinations, a child must develop basic directional movement and understanding of letter shapes before being able to easily pull them together for ease with spelling or composition.

The Peterson method can be broken down into four basic steps. They are:

1) Illustrate and Describe
2) Write in the air and say
3) Finger Trace and say
4) Write and say

Each of these steps and the supporting parts of the curriculum are explained in the Adobe presentation which although a bit “heady” at times is still fascinating and very informative. The entire approach is so different from traditional handwriting curriculum choices that it rapidly caught my attention and begged me to give it a try.

My favorite aspect of the curriculum is definitely the little chants students are given to support the movements they must make to form letter shapes. Peterson Handwriting offers a unique tool, “Animated Letter Cards CD Rom” which I think supports this portion of the curriculum beautifully. The CD Rom allows students and parent teachers to watch letters form on a virtual flashcard. While watching the letter being written, the memory cue chant rhyme appears as well. For example, letter a appears on its flashcard along with the memory cue, “hook, around, small down”.

Each letter has its own unique memory chant to accompany the movement required in forming the letter first in the air and finally on paper. Letter d has the memory cue of “hook, around, tall down”. Letter b, however, is “tall down, roll around”. Learning the chants and making the movements while chanting ensure an elimination of letter reversals as children develop their writing skills.

Peterson Directed Handwriting kits are reasonably priced and available on the Peterson website. A complete Grade 1 homeschool kit, for example, retails for $38.55 before shipping and handling. It includes one teacher handbook, one pupil book, two finger fitter pencils and two self-adhesive position guides. The teacher’s handbook is filled with helpful information regarding teaching the Peterson way and day by day lesson plans with step by step instructions for 36 weeks of school. When you order a kit, be sure to add on a specialized pencil sharpener for the triangular shaped pencils at $3.98, so that you can sharpen them. I did not receive a sharpener from the company and found their unique shape does not lend itself to traditional sharpeners.

I highly recommend Peterson Directed Handwriting. The lessons are short, interesting and easy to implement into your homeschool. I love the fact that they are movement and rhythm based as I am a firm believer that most children learn best through movement and action.

Peterson Directed Handwriting has convinced me to make handwriting practice a priority for my little ones. The helpful Peterson website filled with resources, educational videos and excellent customer service provided by Rand Nelson will encourage you to make handwriting practice a regular part of your day. It really is too good to miss.