Spencerian Cursive Copybook Set Plus Theory

This set of penmanship books are great if you want to improve your handwriting skills. Today most children have lost the ability to write in cursive. These books are great to teach them as well as improve your own hand writing skills for the next note card you have to write. Everyone can benefit from these books.

Teach your child to write cursive; the public school won’t! Born in 1952, I had the worst handwriting in my class. Now I have very good handwriting. Get a Pilot Metropolitan fountain pen to practice with also.

I bought this set for my homeschool freshman son, wanting to get back to the basics of excellent handwriting. Having homeschooled two other children through high school who, despite being urged to do handwriting of some sort every school year through 10th - 11th grades, consistently balked at learning how to write manuscript. I'm sorry I didn't make it more of a requirement than an option.I've noticed, and had confirmed my by other parents, both homeschooled and "regular" school, that there has been a significantly decreasing emphasis on this skill in the past 15 - 20 years.I'm determined that my youngest will have this skill well developed when he graduates.One key reason for this is that the older two students, one now a college senior, recognized their own folly upon going to college. Their lack of proficiency with manuscript, they've come to realize, just slows them down with note taking, in writing answers to essay questions on tests, etc.Another reason for proficiency with this skill becomes apparent when its time for students to prepare for college, if they're intention is to attend one. Inability to use manuscript proficiency, some studies have consistently shown, results in a lower score on essay answers.A lot of homeschool parents are "curriculum" junkies, so a lot of us have extensive collections of materials. I've had very many handwriting materials over the years and I find that the Spencerian set is the best one I've ever seen.Skills are broken down into easily comprehensible and focused sections, requiring a small time investment for each. This makes use of the system much more likely; learning and practicing skills is not burdensome. The language employed is engaging and direct.The materials themselves are attractive and very inviting. I haven't seen anyone encounter the set so far that doesn't respond with delight in the appearance and a desire to thumb through and take a look.In addition to the elegant appeal of the appearance, the presentation and overall design for use is very efficient: lessons are in the theory book, which one will have forever available, with practice meant to occur in the copybooks. You can simply purchase one theory book and reuse it, time and again, and simply purchase a set, or singles, of the copybooks, or migrate to paper over time.I'd recommend this set for anyone who is starting a child in third or fourth grade - as long as that child has average to above average reading comprehension abilities, or with intention of direct instruction - all the way to adults who want to improve their own handwriting.If I were to do things over again on this subject, I'd start and stay with this program. In addition to all of its smart features, it is an incredible value, which I know comes at a high premium for a lot of homeschool families, who are always working to stretch their budgets.

This "Spencerian Cursive Copybook Set" is well-suited for beginners or anyone looking to improve their handwriting. The quality of the paper is excellent, making it easy to follow along with the neat and structured prompts in the practice booklets.The Theory Lesson Book, though not as polished as modern guides and originally published in 1874, offers a unique and detailed perspective on Spencerian cursive. While it may require some patience to fully appreciate, it remains an informative resource.As someone experienced in calligraphy, I found the set slightly basic for my needs but recognize its great value for novices. I plan to keep this set for my son to use as he grows older, confident that it will be an excellent learning tool. Overall, this is a worthwhile purchase for those interested in developing their cursive writing skills.

This is wonderful training for those that wish to improve their cursive. I learned the Palmer method I wanted to improve.I had to read the theory several times before I understood. It is an interesting delve into the past and discipline, and practice, practice, practice.

A while back I saw a Kickstarter campaign for a fountain pen, and in the video, the guy had the coolest handwriting. The campaign ended up being a bust, but it got me interested in fountain pens, so I bought, rather impulsively, a Lamy Safari italic, and 2 Visconti pens.After buying the pens, I realized that my handwriting, while decent, wasn't anything that would impress anyone. I stumbled on iampeth.com which is a great resource for learning all about different scripts and their histories. Unfortunately, a lot of the stuff on the site is ridiculously complicated and not anything that could really be used day to day, including the ultra-embellished Spencerian script. So, I started looking on Amazon to see if I could find any Spencerian guides. I came upon this and bought it.The set comes with 5 books and a theory book. The theory book is hilarious. It advocates things like getting out a protractor and ruler to measure the exact distance and angle you're sitting with respect to your paper. Okay, ya no... not doing that. But in any case, it's an amusing historical insight into a bygone era.The books themselves are of pretty high quality. They feel like something out of their era but in a very nice way. Each book starts with basics, building upon the last book, and gradually if you use this, you're handwriting will improve. I wouldn't say that I was dedicated enough to come out with absurdly beautiful handwriting, but my handwriting has definitely improved and doing it on my own terms as opposed to having some rude elementary school teacher beat into me was satisfying.I'd definitely recommend a finer tipped tipped pen and ink that won't bleed. The paper is good, but it's not thick enough to prevent bleeding with wet inks, and the lines are small, so writing with a fat tip is going to make mastering some of the flourishes difficult.All in all, if you're interested in having cooler looking handwriting to go along with your expensive fountain pens or even just generally, these books are a good investment.