Penmanship is something that I’ve focused on, little by little, with Jacob since he was in first grade. We started out with printing then steadily moved on to cursive writing. Jacob seemed to pick up on cursive writing very quickly, and though he still gets sloppy and messy at times, it’s not a subject we’ve really struggled in at all. Thankfully, we’ve had great resources to rely on, which are so important.

Bogart Family Resources was started by Jennifer and Larry Bogart; they really sought to provide educational materials that were “edifying, literature-based, multi-sensory, clearly organized, convenient, and easy” for families to use. One thing I love about their products is that they were made by another fellow homeschool family. The Bogarts actually provide different levels and styles of copywork. Copywork has been an important part of Jacob’s education, as we’ve sought to give him a more classical education. I definitely have this in common with the Bogarts, in that I feel copying from Scripture or well-written literature is an integral part of a child’s education. It just builds up not only his penmanship skills but is also a character-building, knowledge-building exercise. I received three different copywork booklets (in ebook form) to download and review. The following gives a short synopsis of each one.

~Available as a free download, What About Penmanship? is a 109-page guide for parents. I know when I first started trying to find penmanship books for Jacob, it was quite difficult. We’d started cursive quite early, in first grade, as Jacob had a bit of trouble mixing up the direction of his letters in printing….I’d read that cursive could actually help him, so we plunged right in. I was overwhelmed by the different styles of penmanship; I never knew there were so many to choose from. Which one should I use? The Bogarts offer Zaner Bloser, Getty Dubay Italic, Handwriting without Tears, and D’Nealian.

This booklet goes through the different styles with parents, explaining in great detail each style, as well as how to choose a style based on your child’s needs, as well as your own desires. There are different factors to consider with your child when it comes to choosing a style. There are also copywork pages included in this resource, 36 in all. They’re available in the major styles. The Bogarts also share other penmanship resources toward the end of the book, as well. If you’re new to homeschooling and a bit overwhelmed by all of the choices facing you, I highly recommend this guide. You can download What About Penmanship? totally FREE, and you can even share it with other homeschool friends, as long as it remains totally intact.

~ Copying the Classics: Among the Farmyard People (Zaner-Bloser 1-A) is a 55-page copywork ebook. Among the Farmyard People by Clara Dillingham Pierson is the literature base for this copywork. There are 21 lessons with which students can practice their printing skills. Each of the copywork books contains a reference chart, so students will have a guide as they practice writing. (Just a note, I’ve found our own reference chart to be such an important resource for Jacob because sometimes he can forget how to form his cursives and just needs that reminder.) There are illustrations throughout the book, which offer a great reward for students after they’ve completed their copywork, as they can color the illustrations. Scriptures are included at the start and finish of this book, and then children can copy excerpts from Among the Farmyard People. They also suggest reading the literature, as your child progresses through the copywork, which can be used as a supplement to the readings.

~ Copying the Hymns All Things Bright and Beautiful (Zaner-Bloser 3-A) is another great title that incorporates the great hymn, All Things Bright and Beautiful by Cecil F. Alexander. Again, reference charts, blank copywork pages, and illustrations to be colored are included. There are 15 lessons focusing on this great hymn, but the first and last lesson start/end with Scripture. It is suggested that parents read the Scripture (in its broader context) with children when working through these lessons, adding to discussion of the different parts of the hymn. Sheet music and an audio download for the hymn are included at the end of the book.

~ Finally, Copying the Classics: McGuffey’s Eclectic Primer (Zaner Bloser 1-A) is yet another great resource centered on The Original McGuffey’s Eclectic Primer. There are 20 lessons with excerpts from the Primer, as well as Scripture to open and close the lessons. The lines in this copywork are 5/8″, and it focuses on printing skills. This makes an excellent supplement if you are using McGuffey’s Primer to teach reading. There are pictures to color in this book, as well as reference charts.

I found this set of copywork books to be such a wonderful resource for a classical education. While the lines are quite large in each book, even in the cursive, we are still able to use these copywork lessons. Jacob can use our normal paper instead of printing out their blank pages. Then he can just copy what they have written. While the style differs somewhat to what he’s used to, it’s still quite similar, so I let him copy it in the way that he has learned. The selections are the gold nuggets in this entire set of copywork. I don’t have to search through a book or find literature to use for our copywork all the time….I have confidence in using these lessons to help reinforce Jacob’s penmanship skills. Also, they’re downloadable, printable ebooks, meaning I can continue to use these for our youngest.

With different styles and levels of copywork available, Bogart Family Resources is a blessing to homeschool families. You can purchase most of their copywork for $2.95 to $4.95, so they are highly economical. Not only that, but if you sign up for their mailing list, not only will you receive discounts on new titles and other savings, but you’ll also receive a $5 coupon, meaning you can try one of their products totally free. They also send out free copywork lessons to their members. You can sign up on their website.

The exciting news is that we’re giving away one copywork book to one MamaBuzz reader! You can enter to win by doing one or more of the following; just be sure to leave a separate comment for each way that you enter. I’ll draw the winner, via random.org, on Thursday, May 19. This giveaway is open to all. Good luck, and have a wonderful day!

1. Visit Bogart Family Resources, and let me know which copywork book you would most like to win.
2. Like Bogart Family Resources on Facebook.
3. Follow @BogartFamily on Twitter.
4. Tweet about this giveaway; you can tweet once daily to earn extra entries.
5. Join the Bogart Family Resources Mailing List.
6. Leave a comment on the Bogart Family Resources Blog.
7. Follow MamaBuzz or subscribe to our posts.
8. Follow @mamabzz on Twitter.
9. Like MamaBuzz on Facebook.
10. Stumble this post.

(Disclosure: I received 3 copywork books, free of charge, from Bogart Family Resources, for the purposes of this review. All views/opinions remain solely my own.)

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