Review of Speeches and Writings in American History from CursiveLogic

I received a COMPLIMENTARY copy of this product from Timberdoodle in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review or be compensated in any other way. This post contains affiliate links. Please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page for more information. Thank you. 

Do you plan on teaching cursive in your homeschool? Have you included cursive in your homeschool in previous years, but you are looking for a new approach? We were pleased to use and review Speeches and Writings in American History from CursiveLogic this summer in preparation for our sixth-grade year. 

Please note this workbook is actually part of the 2024 Fifth-Grade Curriculum Kit from Timberdoodle, but we will be using it during sixth grade. I love the flexibility of homeschooling! 

Our younger son learned how to write cursive using a different style, but I wanted to offer him the choice to learn a different approach. The goal is to let him find what style of cursive works best for him. Enter CursiveLogic! 

About Speeches and Writings in American History

We have not used any other materials from CursiveLogic prior to Speeches and Writings in American History. I do not feel that was a detriment because there were several pages of practice and review before jumping into the speeches and writings. It starts out with reviewing orange ovals to form the first stroke and moves through connecting the letters, forming loops, and finally, capital letters. 

Before the student moves on to the speeches and writings, they check their posture, paper, pencil, and grip. And finally, "check your form" includes five more sets of questions to ask: 

• Questions about the shape of the letters,
• Questions about the size of the letters,
• Questions about linking,
• Question about spacing, and
• A question about slant

The front of the book (which is laminated) has an alphabet reference chart with all 26 letters (lower and upper case), numbers 1-9, and the four types of connected letters. The back of the book has a vocabulary list from the speeches and writings.

Whose Speeches and Writings in American History Will Your Child Be Writing? 

There are 18 individuals chosen to represent American History from Patrick Henry to Ronald Reagan. Speeches such as George Washington's Farewell Address and Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream are included. Witticisms from Poor Richard's Almanac and Helen Keller's essay on Optimism are also included. There is a wide range of people and periods in Speeches and Writings in American History. 

 A few other individuals are: 

• Sojourner Truth 
• Geronimo 
• Susan B. Anthony 
• John F. Kennedy 

How We Used Speeches and Writings in American History in Our Homeschool 

When our 11-year-old started the book, I assigned one page of the review sheets daily. I went over them and checked to see if he needed to make any corrections to his form. After he had completed those review pages, I started to assign the speeches and writings. One day was set aside for reading about the individuals and their writing. Some days, that first day also included the warm-up and vocabulary exercises. Other times, I saved that for a second day. In general, the lessons are designed to take place over four days. 

While each writing section has a spot for the student to check off the following items, I haven't yet used that with our son. 

• Shape
• Size
• Linking
• Spacing
• Slant 
• 3 P's
• Relaxed Hand
• Light Pressure 

"Explore American history through cursive writing! Delve into the lives of 18 notable figures, from presidents to activists, honing handwriting skills." 

My Thoughts 

I really appreciate having a different way to teach cursive to our son. And the fact that this book can connect to American History is fantastic. We can connect his handwriting lessons to both history and language arts by using these lessons. We could even pull in spelling by using some of the vocabulary words for those lessons, too. 

How did we connect this to our other homeschool lessons? I printed out a copy of the entire poem "Paul Revere's Ride" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to read. I have been having him read parts of the poem aloud. Eventually, I might ask him to copy the entire thing in cursive, too. 

There are a few other things in Speeches and Writings in American History that I really like. There is a midline review and a section on flourishes and signatures. One of the things we were talking about before we started the book was the fact that he would be able to pull from his experience with both styles to create his own signature. So, having this information presented in the book itself is wonderful. 

Finally, I like the inclusion of the Gettysburg Address in Lincoln's handwriting. I love primary documents, so we will be looking for more examples of the speeches and writings in this book to incorporate into our homeschool lessons. 

Are You Looking For More Homeschooling Products? 

I have several reviews of products from Timberdoodle. Check them out using the following links. 

• Supplementing Fifth Grade with a Geography Workbook 
• Develop Critical Thinking with Discover! Science 3
• History in Your Homeschool: A Review of Discover! Social Studies 6

Writing During the Month of June: Free Writing Prompts for your Homeschooling Family

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As we move into the warmer months, perhaps you are wrapping up your homeschooling year but are still on the lookout for some fun activities to do with your children. I know that we will continue working on different skills all summer long while having fun outdoors and going on day trips. One of the fun ways you can continue homeschooling through the summer is with writing prompts. Download your set of free writing prompts here and use the photo prompts that follow to build upon those writing skills for your children. 

Photo Prompts

All images are from Canva.com 

Looking for More Fun Ideas for this Summer? 

Crafts, games, or homeschooling year-round – no matter what you plan on doing this month to fill your days, I have some neat ideas for you and your family. 

We have reviewed several games on A Mom's Quest to Teach including Koala Capers, Cauldron Quest, and The Oregon Trail ®. 

Learning How to Write the Right Way: A Review of Rhythm & Writing with the Get Write Crew

There is much conflicting information regarding when and how to teach your child to write. Our five-year-old son was an early reader and thus began writing before we had any formal program in place for him. When the opportunity became available to review a program from Rhythm & Writing called Rhythm & Writing with the Get Write Crew, I was very happy to incorporate it into our homeschooling day with our son. Prior to receiving the workbook in our house, I requested the pre-assessment (which is also printed in the beginning of the workbook). We were also able to meet the Crew and watch three of the instructional videos to see and discover more about the program.

A spot on the front for your child to write his or her name.

What We Are Reviewing 

Rhythm & Writing with the Get Write Crew is a fun handwriting program presented with a musical group who teach kids to write letters the right way. Our five-year-old and I are reviewing the spiral-bound workbook and videos from Rhythm & Writing.

We received a copy of the Rhythm & Writing workbook, a dry erase overlay, and access to the instructional videos. We also received a welcome letter that briefly outlined the "Steps to Success" as found in the workbook.

The creator, Nikki Wilson, is a school-based occupational therapist who has seen "first-hand what happens when children don't learn to form their letters correctly: they write slower, their hands get tired faster, and they have a harder time transitioning to cursive." As a homeschooling parent, one of my concerns is helping our younger children learn how to write properly.

Rhythm & Writing uses catchy phrases – which both our son and daughter sing – to learn how to write the right way. Even if you don't watch the videos, the instructions that are part of the songs is printed on each page in the "Learn" section.

How Our Family Used Rhythm & Writing with the Get Write Crew 

When the workbook first arrived, we let our five-year-old son look through the book. He read some of the narrative pages as well as asked questions about the different vocabulary words and characters he discovered.

The Rhythm & Writing with the Get Write Crew is divided into sections based upon letters that are written similarly starting with the easiest to form and moving to more difficult letters like upper and lowercase J. 

On the first day we incorporated Rhythm & Writing into our homeschool day, we watched the video that accompanied the first three pages as well as the introduction to the Crew video. Our son then read the narrative page, practiced writing his letter L, and colored the pictures in the workbook. 

Each new day that we worked on Rhythm & Writing with the Get Write Crew, we watched the appropriate video that accompanied the letter we were working on as well as two additional videos. Our three-year-old daughter would choose one video and then our son would choose the next one. The welcome letter states that the kids would like the videos (and they sure do!).

All the videos are found in one password-protected place.

The videos have catchy lyrics that help your child remember how to properly write the letter. And they practice the letter multiple times during the video while singing the song. Our son was then able to take that information directly to the workbook to help him learn how to write the letters. 

Here you can clearly see the green, yellow, and red of the writing lines. Keep reading to see why I like them!

Our children taking turns picking which video they would like to watch.

What We Like 

There are many different aspects of the Rhythm & Writing with the Get Write Crew workbook to like. The fact that the workbook is spiral-bound is great because it can lie flat on the table. The color choice for the writing lines – green at top, yellow in the middle, and red on the bottom – provides a good visual clue for young writers. As the Steps to Success page states: "they resemble a stop-light and are used as visual clues to show them were to start, slow down, and stop each letter."

I also like the way that the learning and practicing is broken down on each page. From reviewing the letter and a word that start with the letter, to going over the rhyme, and practicing the different parts of the letter independently to putting it all together and finally writing the letter all on their own, the program is helpful.

Our son really enjoys coloring in all the pictures in the Rhythm & Writing with the Get Write Crew workbook. I love that he gets additional practice in properly holding a pencil or crayon through the coloring pages.

One of the many pages for your child to color.

Our son and daughter really like the Crew. Whenever our son is coloring in the pictures in the workbook, he talks about the different members of the Crew whether they are in the image or not. There are four members to the band (pictured below from the Rhythm & Writing website). The connection between the videos and coloring pages inclusion of the Crew is good. Our son enjoys learning more about the different characters as they interact in the book. 

"Big Country sounds like a farmer." –  five-year-old son

There was only one song that both our children did not like – lowercase g & q. It was mixed too loud for them and very fast. So far, they have enjoyed all of the other videos they have watched together. And our son sits and sings the songs as he works on the pages.

The only other problem we came across so far is that the way that the uppercase letter M is introduced in the video is different than how it is taught in the workbook.

Do you want to learn more about Rhythm & Writing? 

If you are looking for a program that will help your children learn to write or even help your children practice writing if they are struggling, Rhythm & Writing and Rhythm & Writing with the Get Write Crew might be the perfect fit for your homeschool. I know that we are really enjoying the program in our homeschool. This turned out to be one of those things that I didn't know we needed. It was a perfect fit for our son. It even inspired our daughter to try writing herself.

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If you want to see how other members of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Review Crew used Rhythm & Writing with the Get Write Crew, please visit the website.