Peterson Directed Handwriting ~ Cursive

If you were like me, you probably had never heard of Peterson Directed Handwriting.  When I was asked to review this curriculum, I was excited because we had just recently started working on cursive and I was hoping this would be a good addition. 

According to their site, "The Peterson Method curriculum uses a unique movement based strategy to teach skills for fluency and legibility".  This is, what I think, makes Peterson different from other handwriting curriculums.  They do not recommend tracing and copying, instead they focus on air writing and then finger tracing, before writing.  They also put much more focus on proper paper positioning, pencil gripping, and proper seating.  Those are all things that I have thought about and we have worked on, but I didn't realize how important they could be.  Those three things alone, have changed our daughter's cursive dramatically! 

Before

After

Rand H. Nelson, the contact for Peterson Directed Handwriting, is available to answer any questions you may have about this product. He maintains an Adobe Connect Meeting Room, and whenever possible, the room is open to visitors.  It supports voice over the Internet and tools for illustration, including video.  You can use the link HERE for a quick question, or send an email request to arrange a meeting in advance. Before reviewing the product, I had a 45 minute meeting with Rand where he explained the Peterson method and answered all questions I had.  I found this to be the most helpful part of the whole curriculum.  It was nice to know that at any time I could ask him for assistance. 

All this said, I feel like the website is very confusing!  From the main page, I am still not sure of the best place to go.  There is a ton of good information, you just have to dig to find it, which will turn many people off automatically.  You can find some good links and training presentations in the Information Directory, and you can also find some good information about handwriting assessment and evaluation on this Coaching page. 

One good thing about this program is that Peterson Directed Handwriting is not hiding anything.  They give you all the information you can possibly use to make a decision on what product to purchase, and if their product is right for you.  For those starting with cursive, you can begin HERE.  Rand even offers the complete, secured version of the e-book for you to review before you buy it. 

My Thoughts: The website really needs to be better organized.  I think that turns people away.  I struggled with it for a while before I figured out what I was doing.  If you can get past that, the program is great.  You can purchase the e-books so you can make as many pages as you need.

Thoughts of a 7-Year Old: My hand is still trying to get used to it, but it makes my cursive much prettier.

Find Out More: Peterson Directed Handwriting offers a wide variety of products.  You can find all cursive e-books HERE.  Cursive Step 1, 2, 3, and 4 e-books all sell for $19.95 each. 

My Crewmates are also reviewing Peterson Directed handwriting, so you can check out what they think HERE.

Disclosure: This product was given to Our Homeschool Reviews for free for review purposes, and I do not have to return the product to the vendor. I have received no compensation from it and all opinions and experiences within this review are my own.