BJU Handwriting uses a penmanship style developed specifically for the series by Bob Jones Press researchers that closely resembles the D'Nealian style made popular by Scott Foresman. The series covers grades 1-6, with kids learning precursive in first grade, transitioning to cursive in second, and culminating in brief calligraphy instruction in grade six. A handwriting book also covers kindergarten, but this is available as part of the comprehensive grade K curriculum package.
Lines are 1/2" for precursive, and 3/8" for cursive. Exercises are straightforward—students copy sentences, answer questions and write original stories. Sometimes there are Scripture verses to copy (King James Version), though most of the work relates to nature study, moral tales, or American history and geography. Consumable workbook pages are not reproducible. There are around 100-120 lessons per book, though there is no schedule and you can complete each one in your own time. Teacher guides provide limited instructional suggestions.
Each text is very colorful, with plenty of cartoon illustrations to keep kids engaged. While some suggest it's the student texts you don't need, you could much more easily complete each level with just the student book and not worry about purchasing the teacher guide. It would be quite helpful as you introduce cursive in grade 2, but in general, there are no questions requiring answer keys, and while there is some useful information concerning how kids should hold their pencils, etc., this content gets recycled in each successive teacher guide. You'll have to evaluate your kids' work anyway, so we suggest using the student texts by themselves and saving some money.
Samples: (click to enlarge)
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Manuscript
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Cursive
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Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews
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