Draw Write Now

This year I want to incorporate more copywork into our school. For beginners, I really like Draw Write Now and thanks to PaperbackSwap, I finally have a complete set. Homeschool Share has a list that connects the Draw Write Now books with our Five in a Row book of the week.

I have begun using it in a few different ways.

Sometimes (especially for Seth) we use it exactly how it is written up. He draws the picture and copies what was written.

Recently I noticed that Seth really needed help with his letter formation. I made up a page for him (using the handwriting tips from donnayoung.org):

Sometimes, they will copy a short passage out of our Five in a Row book for the week:

Again, I gave Seth a little extra help. He tends to copy letters exactly as they appear and I don't really want him writing his a's like 'a'. So I typed his out for him:

And finally, for Christopher, I have been letting him write his own little stories. They are short (they fit on the one page) and I don't always go back and correct his spelling. The picture is his inspiration and I just want him to enjoy the creative writing process without a lot of red tape:


They all three enjoy drawing. And while Christopher has gone past stick people, Nathan and Seth have not. This may just look like a simple elementary handwriting program, but it helps them pay attention to detail and see the steps of a drawing. I think it will be useful to us for a few years, yet.