CursiveLogic Speeches (Review)

 

If you are looking to add cursive to your homeschool this year, you will absolutely love CursiveLogic Speeches and Writings in American History. Even though this is part of the Timberdoodle Fifth Grade Kit, I have been using it in a history course that I crafted together for my homeschooled teens this year. Even though they have a strong foundation in the basics of American History, since World History was their focus last year, I wanted to do a deep dive into American History while honing in on some other skills as well. Using CursiveLogic and other resources, I am able to help them strengthen their writing, research, and cursive skills. This resource is the perfect fit for my teens this year. The CursiveLogic Speeches and Writings in American History includes facts and speeches about key historical figures from American History which makes this work well for us.

This book is the perfect supplement for homeschooling families whether you want your older child to brush up on American History or learn new facts. This is completely different than other cursive programs that we have implemented into our homeschool. Most of the programs out there simply teach each letter while progressively adding harder words in as you progress through the material. This book is entirely different. From cover to cover students are engaged, learning, and working at a higher and more detailed level than other programs that I have worked with. 

Let's face it, cursive is not as popular as it used to be. When I was in school it was naturally integrated in third grade. Now it is considered a lost art. Even though it is not needed as much in our society today, it is a useful skill to have. Similar to learning how to read clocks. Kids can get away with not knowing how to read an analog clock or read cursive, but they will be more well-rounded if they can. Do not be embarrassed if your teen does not yet know cursive—she can always learn! My teens learned the basic skills in their elementary years but I did not require them to use cursive all of the time as my public school teachers did. Even though I do not plan on requiring this for all of their papers, I will for some, just to keep it fresh on their minds. 

I love the format of this book. It is easy to follow, easy to implement, and easy for an older student to work through on their own with minimal to no help from the parent. For this section on optimism by Helen Keller (above), the child is able to read the excerpt in cursive and transcribe each sentence directly below. Don't worry, practice pages with the letters and some smaller words are presented before your child will tackle these larger passages. The book flows nicely while teaching and reinforcing American History at the same time!

Disclaimer: Many thanks to Timberdoodle for providing a copy of the mentioned product in exchange for an honest review. 

All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.