Handwriting Without Tears Curriculum Review

Before motherhood, I had a career in private teaching. At the time, my student was struggling with handwriting basics, like correct pencil grip, and I was eager to find effective strategies to help him succeed. To look for solutions, I attended a Handwriting Without Tears workshop dedicated to supporting students who faced challenges in writing.

During the workshop, I discovered a multi-sensory approach to handwriting I have used since that time. I immediately began applying these engaging and effective techniques with my student, and these methods transformed his progress in writing.

When it came time to teach my own children letter formation, I knew without a doubt that the Handwriting Without Tears method would be my approach of choice. We have utilized it consistently, from preschool through learning cursive. This blog explains the benefits of teaching handwriting to children, all about Handwriting Without Tears, and my tips for adding it into your homeschool.

In this blog post:

Benefits of teaching handwriting to children
Charlotte Mason handwriting philosophy
What is Handwriting Without Tears
Benefits of Handwriting Without Tears curriculum
Tips for using Handwriting Without Tears in your homeschool
More language arts resources from Treehouse Schoolhouse

Benefits of teaching handwriting to children

Did you know that the benefits of teaching handwriting go far beyond the ability to write legibly? Teaching handwriting to children sets them up for success in learning letters, learning to read, writing down ideas, and so much more. Teaching handwriting fundamentals is the beginning of so many kinds of learning for children, and is an important skill we can work on as they grow. Here are some of the benefits of teaching handwriting to children.

Letter formation and recognition

Teaching handwriting at a young age is one way to dissect and teach the correct way to form letters, recognize them, and teach the associations between letters and their sounds.

Fine motor skills

Teaching handwriting to children gives them an opportunity to practice their fine motor skills such as hand and finger strength, hand control, hand-eye coordination, pencil grip, and more. As children practice writing letters and words by hand, these tactile sensations help children’s brains understand how letters make up words.

Higher literacy levels

Research shows there is a correlation between children who have better handwriting skills and score higher on literacy tests. Other research shows that there is a link between children’s ability to write and ability to read.

Related: How to Teach a Child to Read

Better ability to put ideas in print

Children who are adept at handwriting are able to put ideas into print with more ease than children with poor handwriting. Children who struggle with handwriting also take longer to complete writing assignments and schoolwork.

Benefits of writing in cursive

Older children can also benefit from the practice of learning how to write in cursive. Cursive writing relies on strong dexterity and motor skills, and the practice of writing in cursive helps improve memory and reading comprehension because it engages different areas of the brain than typing or print writing. Cursive writing also enhances writing speed and fluency, allowing students to take notes more efficiently and focus on content rather than letter formation

Charlotte Mason handwriting philosophy

The Charlotte Mason philosophy emphasizes using handwriting as a foundational skill to nurture both academic development and character formation. Charlotte Mason believed handwriting should be taught with careful attention to beauty, accuracy, and effort, encouraging children to develop habits of excellence from an early age. She advocated for a slow and deliberate approach, to ensure children form letters correctly and neatly rather than rushing through the process. Mason’s philosophy teaches that handwriting is not just a mechanical skill but an opportunity to cultivate focus, patience, and an appreciation for well-formed writing. By teaching children to write with care and precision, she believed they would develop a sense of responsibility and pride in their work, which would extend to other areas of learning and life.

Charlotte Mason recommended the practice of copywork as an opportunity to practice handwriting. In this method of teaching, children learn handwriting by reading and copying passages of literature.

What is Handwriting Without Tears?

handwriting without tears curriculum review

Handwriting Without Tears is a curriculum I have used and loved for years at various ages and learning levels. It is a structured handwriting curriculum designed to make learning to write easy and engaging for children. Created by occupational therapist Jan Olsen, the program focuses on simple, developmentally appropriate strategies to teach both print and cursive handwriting. Not only does it teach the fundamentals of writing letters on paper, but it uses hands-on, multisensory tools to bring learning to life.

Handwriting Without Tears uses a unique approach that emphasizes correct letter formation, spacing, and pencil grip while minimizing frustration. The curriculum incorporates hands-on activities, music, and interactive tools, such as wooden letter pieces and chalkboard writing, to reinforce learning in a fun and tactile way.

Handwriting Without Tears teaches a simplified, easy-to-learn letter style. The method reduces unnecessary strokes to help children write efficiently and legibly. The curriculum accommodates different learning styles and is particularly beneficial for students with fine motor challenges or special needs.

The program progresses from pre-writing skills in early childhood to fluent cursive writing in later grades. By using a combination of multisensory techniques, explicit instruction, and engaging materials, Handwriting Without Tears aims to build confidence, improve handwriting fluency, and create a positive writing experience for all learners.

Handwriting Without Tears lesson components

Handwriting Without Tears lessons include these basic sections:

Large letter formation model to teach and model how a letter is written.
Child-friendly letter formation language to make it easy and fun describe how to write the letter.
Developmental tracing progression to give opportunities for practice, progressively getting more difficult as they go.
Coordinating illustrations for children to color, just for fun!

The teachers manual includes explicit instructions on how to teach each letter, multi-sensory introductions to each letter, plus reading and writing connections.

See a sample of Handwriting Without Tears here.

Curriculum I love from Handwriting Without Tears

These are some of the books I have used and loved over the years. If it’s your first time using the program, I recommend using the teacher’s manual to learn the style of teaching and instructions. However, once you understand the rhythm and style you may not need it going forward.

My First School Book – Teach colors, numbers, and shapes, plus crayon and pencil grip (Pre-Kindergarten level).

Kick Start Kindergarten – Introduces both capitals and lowercase letter formations (Pre-Kindergarten level).

Letters and Numbers for Me – Teaches capital letters, lowercase letters, and numbers. It also covers proper spacing of letter, letter size, and placement (Kindergarten level).

My Printing Book – Teaches correct use of lowercase letters in words and sentences. Also teaches handwriting, language arts lessons, and line generalization (1st Grade).

Cursive Kickoff – Facilitates an easy transition from printing to cursive.

Tips for using Handwriting Without Tears in your homeschool

I recommend using the teacher’s manual when starting with small children or when beginning the cursive books. The teachers manuals are so helpful because they teach the parent how to give explicit instruction. Once I learned the foundations, I felt I didn’t need the parent manuals for the subsequent years.

The other amazing thing about this curriculum is all of the incredible coordinating multi-sensory tools. I have used them all! It brings such an exciting element that kids love to return to, and makes learning the motor skills of handwriting so much less frustrating. I love using the wooden letter blocks that children can use to build letters, and the touch and flip sensory cards. We have also had a lot of success with the “wet, dry, try method,” which uses a chalkboard to practice writing and erasing letters. The Mat Man Book Set is also a fun way to build on the learning.

I also love the hand-on tools that are offered with this curriculum. I love the wooden letter blocks that children can use to build letters, and I love the touch and flip sensory cards.

More language arts resources from Treehouse Schoolhouse

Looking for more language arts resources for kids? These favorites from Treehouse Schoolhouse include book studies, alphabet cards and tracing sheets, and cursive worksheets for kids.

Treehouse Book Studies

Dive deep into living literature in your homeschool with book studies from Treehouse Schoolhouse. These studies study the story in detail, and then connect the story to themes in science, nature, geography, history, and language arts for further learning. These studies can be a great supplement to your homeschool curriculum, or a language arts reading curriculum that can be used for multiple ages.

Study favorite young adult books like My Side of the Mountain, The Twenty-One Balloons, Mr. Popper’s Penguins, and more!

Each Book Study Guide includes four Weekly Lesson Grids. The Weekly Lesson Grid is intended to be used as a menu for how to study the assigned reading each week. Lesson plans are compiled in a weekly format, so the parent can choose which activities to use each day. These lessons offer opportunities to READ, DISCUSS, LEARN, EXPLORE, and MAKE, bringing the books to life. The Book Study Guide also includes materials lists, recipes, worksheets, and reference links to enhance your study.

Each book study also includes:

Book Report Booklet: Children will complete a book report using the study’s Book Report Template. They’ll illustrate their own covers, journal about their favorite characters, and write summaries of what they learned.
Illustrated Dictionary: As children come across unfamiliar words in the story, they will create an entry in the Illustrated Dictionary. They will write the unfamiliar word, look it up in a dictionary, write the definition, and write it in a complete sentence. As the weeks go by, they will compile their own Illustrated Dictionary which can be saved and bound.
Book Meet-up Guide: The Book Meet-up Guide provides ideas for food and activities specific to each book study, perfect for meeting with friends or with a book club.

View all of the Treehouse Schoolhouse Book Studies here.

Related: Sign of the Beaver Book Study

Wonder of Nature Alphabet Collection (Print and Cursive)

The Wonder of Nature Alphabet Collection – including Print Cards, Cursive Cards, and Alphabet Sheets – were designed to offer young children a multi-sensory invitation to recognizing letters. The watercolor illustrations coordinate with each letter of the alphabet to teach early phonetic awareness by introducing them to beginning letter sounds. These beautiful cards can be displayed in your school room or used for hands-on learning activities like matching, sorting, and reading.

The Wonder of Nature Alphabet Sheets were designed to offer young children a multi-sensory invitation to recognizing, forming, and writing letters. Slide these sheets into a restaurant menu cover or into dry-erase pouches so that your child can practice them again and again. Use dry-erase markers and wipe clean after each use.

Download a free sample of the Letter A here.

Wonder of Nature Cursive Copywork

Wonder of Nature Cursive Copywork offers children a beautiful invitation to learn and practice cursive letter formation with engaging copywork activities. The watercolor nature illustrations, beautiful language, and thought-provoking facts bring beauty and delight as they work through the collection.

Copywork is a long-standing practice in education. It is the practice of copying words, phrases, and passages to help children improve grammar, punctuation, letter formation, and spelling. This collection offers nature-themed vocabulary, literary quotes, poetry excerpts, facts, and even a few jokes as the source for copywork. The illustrations coordinate with the copywork selections.

Will you try Handwriting Without Tears in your homeschool? Share your experience in the comments below.

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