Handwriting Without Tears Package K

by Stephanie G on 2011-12-05
I too was excited to use this program at the beginning. I have a son who is left-handed and this was suppossed to help. Instead the two lined paper was confusing. I had a hard time adapting my style and he struggled to stick to this style of letters. Later he began comparing his writing to others who are using a different form. He is taking a couple of classes in Public school and his teacher uses the standard style. His handwriting is now atrocious as he is trying to mimic what he sees others doing, rather than sticking to this style. I do see the value as it helps his hand while writing to form the letters easier, but he is getting confused with lines and styles. We didn't start with tears on this program, but now we have them.

by Nicole S on 2011-11-10
I was very excited to use this product this year. The wood pieces and chalkboard looked like great tools. They are in fact great tools and I think that they helped cement capital letters for my son. We also all like the idea of using a "Magic C" to form lowercase letters--very helpful. But I am also very disappointed with with this system on many levels. First, the letters and numbers seem to be dictated by the four shapes included in the wooden set. So, the number 2 for example is forced and awkward. I would rather HWOT would show a letter made with shapes and allow it to be different from the way it is written in real life then teach my children to write awkward letters and numbers. Also, we are now into November and we have not used the wooden pieces or chalkboard in weeks! We are doing lowercase letters now and they don't use these tools. I was willing to try the 2 lines system, but my children have found it to be more confusing because they have three lines included in other workbooks. And last of all, the teacher's book is the most useless book I have! The book spends more time selling you on the system (and trying to upsell other products) than it does giving you any hints, tips or advice. I will keep the wooden pieces and chalkboard, but I will be looking for a new system for my younger children. I am sad that this didn't work out for us.

by JENNIFER G on 2010-10-10
I am writing to second what others have said about Handwriting Without Tears. The chalkboard and wooden pieces are fun, but the 2 lined paper is just confusing. I do not recommend this product unless your little one has serious handwriting trouble.

by HELEN T on 2010-05-12
I agree with the previous review that this program isn't necessary unless there are definate learning difficulties involved. It was fun with the wood pieces and chalk board (which I would recommend) but as far as letter formation it isn't necessary. We found the lined paper confusing and that it brought on unnecessary stress.

by FAITH D on 2010-03-15
I don't think this program is absolutely necessary unless your child already has tears with handwriting. Mine didn't, so with this being her first handwriting experience, we got very frustrated with the two line paper approach as opposed to the two solid lines with one dotted line (which is in EVERY other kindergarten book). It was really hard to get my daughter to adapt to the lines used in Explode the Code (which we love). A little bid more tedious than I was expecting for my daughter who has had absolutely no problems "getting" handwriting. We're getting Reason for Handwriting next year.

by ANGIE P on 2009-11-18
I used this with my son, who has fine motor delays, and now he's writing much better than we expected at this age. We are starting with the wood pieces for my daughter who just turned 4 and has similar fine motor issues. She is now writing 2 letters after just a week with the wood pieces.

by AMANDA M on 2009-10-09
We've liked the instruction but its given us some confusion. My 5 yr old has problems with the idea that he's not practicing writing the "sound" letter of the week. We've been trying to balance the introduction of the sound letter and introduction of the writing letter and the introduction of the memory vs. letter. I've pulled back on the writing instruction in favor of the sound instruction. We'll pick it up later- and hopefully he'll be better able to sort it all out. We're still newbies.

by ANGELA D on 2009-01-14
All 4 of my little ones love this program! My youngest is only 2.5 and he is so eager to get in on the fun! Even he learned to write a 'P' today with the slate and chalk! My ds4 LOVES the wood pieces, and is always pulling them off of the shelf to make letters. We love Handwriting Without Tears!

by DANA G on 2008-10-17
Loved this for my left handed son. He had lots of bad habits--arching his hand, poor grip, etc. This program was so helpful to break bad left handed habits.

by Tabitha F. on 2007-11-20
We loved the wood peices and the chalk board instruction, but the paper that's supposed to be used with it thouroughly confused my child (who had never been instucted in handwritting before). So we tossed the paper, and adapted it to 'normal' handwriting paper and it worked just fine.