Presidential Penmanship – History & Handwriting for Homeschoolers

Handwriting is an important skill, even in this age of digital technology. Research shows that you are more likely to retain information if you hand write it, than through any other method.

Every week I ponder some of the wisest sayings of the US Presidents. Here’s what ended up on my desk this morning, in painstakingly neat handwriting:

• It is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God. ~ Abraham Lincoln
• Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves.  ~ Abraham Lincoln
• Things may come to those who wait but only the things left by those who hustle. ~ Abraham Lincoln
• There are no good laws but such as repeal other laws. ~ Andrew Johnson
• Things don’t turn up in this world until somebody turns them up.  ~ James A. Garfield
• Officeholders are the agents of the people, not their masters.  ~ Grover Cleveland

Yes, my daughter, Miss 11 is learning handwriting, but even more importantly, she is learning wisdom!

Presidential Penmanship

Presidential Penmanship calls itself a supplemental handwriting skills program. It is meant for first grade through senior high and is based on quotes of America’s founding fathers and presidents. This program will expose your student to the governmental principles and moral qualities that made America a great nation.

You would need another program to actually teach the basics of manuscript and cursive writing (we use Canadian Handwriting), and you would use Presidential Penmanship for writing practice. 

Presidential Penmanship offers its 8 printable e-books in 6 common handwriting styles. There are two books for manuscript writing (grades 1 and 2), and 6 books for cursive writing, one for each of grades 3-6, one for junior high school, and one for senior high school. Each e-book has ruled pages for writing and a few extra ruled pages for extra practice, but our children just copy straight from the computer to a scribbler.

Presidential Penmanship Complete Programs

When you purchase a complete program you get all the grade levels for that style of writing!

• BJ Style Complete Program
• Italic Style Complete Program
• ZB Style Complete Program
• DN Style Complete Program
• AB Style Complete Program
• HWOT Style Complete Program

This series of copywork e-books serves as an introduction to the values that made the United States a great nation. The quotes given above are from the grade 4 level of the program. Earlier levels include short quotes on character qualities, and higher levels involve copy work from Washington’s Rules of Civility and related Bible texts, longer presidential quotes, the Gettysburg Address, the Declaration of Independence, and Reagan’s Inaugural Address, among others.

For children who despise twaddle, it’s so much more enjoyable to practice handwriting while copying valuable information.

Homeschool Presidential Studies

Top American President Studies for Your Homeschool – The Curriculum Choice authors are here with a wealth of inspiration for you to study the American Presidents with this Homeschool Presidential Studies compilation.

Learning not only the American President’s names, but the order in which they served is a vital part of learning about American History. These facts, along with things like how our government was founded and the parts of our government, as well as the election process, form the basis of our nation. Here are some of the ways we have found to learn about these topics throughout our years of homeschooling!

More Helpful Handwriting Resources

20 Top Handwriting Resources for Your Homeschool – Even in this digital age, being able to clearly handwrite and read handwriting is an important skill. Most public schools no longer teach cursive. So how will kids learn to sign their name? How will they read things like their grandparents letters, old documents, etc.? This collection of Homeschool Handwriting Resources is designed to help you teach your children to legibly write in print or cursive.

Everything You Need to Know About Handwriting Without Tears – Are you looking for a way to teach handwriting to your little one? Maybe you are looking for a cursive writing curriculum? Either way, you should check out all that Handwriting Without Tears has to offer! This is not only a guide to all things Handwriting Without Tears, but also several of our Curriculum Choice authors share their personal experiences using Handwriting Without Tears in their homeschool.

Homeschool Cursive Handwriting Resources for Grades K-6 – Are you wanting to teach cursive writing to your kids? In my opinion, handwriting is still so important even in this digital age. We included cursive writing in our homeschool because writing things down helps so much in helping remember and recall information. We wanted our daughter to know print and cursive, so she would have two options to choose from. Here are cursive handwriting resources for elementary.

~ Originally posted June 2012, Written by Annie Kate, a Christian homeschooling mom of five, who reviews and blogs at Tea Time with Annie Kate.