Our Homeschooling Journey: Copywork

One of the tasks I hated the most when I was studying was writing. Not the composition part, but the writing part - the part where I hold the pencil, then scribble the letters over and over and over and over again, that part I have the strongest dislike. Add to the fact that I am the only left hander in the class, the result is a handwriting only I could understand. (Kudos to my mom who, now I realize had a very challenging task of deciphering my written thoughts.)

The way we were trained to practice writing when we were young was this: our parent or educator would write down our full name on top of a piece of paper, then depending on our level, they would write down broken lines which we will trace or they would instruct us to copy what was written until we filled the entire page. This was deemed effective by everyone, including me. I figured once I filled a whole page or two or three, by the time I reach the end, I'd have already mastered writing my name. Or so we thought.

"Okay. This is your name. Trace the broken lines. When you're comfortable, try to write the letters on your own on the next line. Got it? Good. I'll be back later to check your work."

Sounds familiar? Chances are most of us got the very same or a slightly different version of instructions when we were young and newly learning how to write our first letters. Do you remember how overwhelming that was when you were young? Probably not. But still, there is a high chance that we thought of writing and copywork a punishment more than a practice training for our handwriting.

I am all for training kids to learn independently. In fact, that is my goal in our homeschooling journey. I plan that one day, I'll be able to go back to working full time, still homeschooling my kid, but feeling at peace trusting that she has developed the habits necessary for her own learning. In able to achieve that, I have to equip her with the right skills, mindset, habits, and attitude integral for her independent learning.

Copywork for Children

I'm starting with our copywork. As simplistic as each steps may seem, these are important not only in ensuring that our children give their best in every endeavor they may have. It also ensures that they are appreciating what they are learning, while enjoying it, and truly and honestly loving every bit of it. As opposed to how we were taught before, I am using these instructions to my kid on our copyworks.

Observe.

The first instruction I gave my daughter was to take a close look at each letter. I told her to pay attention to the curves and lines, how they look like in the copywork sheet. My kid already knows how to write the entire alphabet when we tried the CM approach in copywork. It was a bit of a challenge at first to unlearn what I initially taught her from few years ago. At this part of the instruction, they did not need to do anything yet. All they have to do is simply take a look at the letters (or words), let them notice all the lines and curves and shapes of the letters.

Close your eyes and try to imagine the letter (or words) in your head.

Here, we want them to see the letters in their mind's eye. The reason we need this part is to train their mind to remember how each letters look like. It is also a practice for their memory. Challenge them to try to memorize the letters you are studying at the moment. If they need to take another look, let them, but as time goes by, they should aim to remember how the letters look like.

Trace.

You may do this with broken lines, but I find tracing (or writing) it in the air (or water, or sand) is more effective. The more they picture it in their head (in their mind's eye) and imagine writing it somewhere where only their imagination can see it, the better they'll remember it when it is time for them to write it on paper or whiteboard or blackboard (whichever they are comfortable with). Though homeschooling is mostly parent-led, it is important that we as parent educators take into consideration the comfort level of our little ones and match it with the lessons and goals that we set for them.

Emphasize the need for EXCELLENT execution.

The keyword here is excellent. Refrain from pushing the kids to try to write perfectly. My instructions to my daughter always include "Try to copy the words as beautiful as you possibly can." At first, my daughter thought she needed to do it perfectly, this caused frustration on her part. Plus, she is naturally a perfectionist, we have to sometimes take a break whenever she feels that way. Children need to be reminded that it is important to exert an effort on everything they do, but they also need to know their limits. (Just like grownups.) Make the kids feel that it's alright if they think their work isn't as beautiful as they had expected to, as long as they are practicing excellent execution. Meaning, they gave their best and they put all the effort they can muster to produce that piece.

Write with care

Along with excellent execution, children, especially in the early years, must also learn to slowdown and take their time in performing their tasks. Originally, I would tell her to "write carefully" which she translated as avoid mistakes. This added to her frustration (being that she's a perfectionist.) I broke down the instruction into two. Try to copy the lines and curves as best as you possibly can and take her time in writing. I know, I set only 5 minutes for her copywork time but that doesn't mean she must rush her writing in order to complete the task at hand. In that 5 minutes allotted for her copywork, we spend time to just take a look at the letters which she has a hard time writing, we practice them on another piece of paper and when she's comfortable enough with her output, she goes back to her copywork notebook to continue writing.

Gently remind and correct them while they're doing their copywork.

Children's handwriting won't be perfect right away. It is our job to correct them and guide them as they go along. Children will develop muscle memory as they practice writing. It is important that what their muscle remembers is the correct and proper way. While it is important that we correct them, always remember to be very gentle but stern with them. Gentle in providing coaching, pointing out specifics, encouraging them, and taking notice of their efforts. But we also have to be strict when it comes to observing the rules and and carrying out instructions.

Teaching and training kids how to write properly in the early years is a very challenging feat. It is up to their educators to make this task less taxing to a young child as it possibly can. Children need specific instructions carefully and passionately delivered in a language children will understand. Discipline must also be observed and instilled so that these instructions, relayed with utmost care to the young minds, will be carried out and produce outputs that clearly show excellently executed copyworks. In this day and age when technology often takes control of almost everything, having good handwriting is a valuable skill to have not only for written communication but also because acquiring such skills entails learning other values such as patience, perseverance, discipline, and habit of excellence.