It alternates back and forth until the full lesson has been written. First line has the quote in dotted lines for her to trace, next line is blank and she writes it herself. The practice lines alternate on the pages. After the practice M moved on to the Introduction to the Declaration of Independence. The first couple of pages in the book have the student practice the alphabet in cursive. To her the cursive practice is fine, but she loves facts and ideas she can learn and spring on others. My daughter loves the history part of the books. These books are consumable and are designed for one student only. You can discuss the person, or an important thought or teaching. Each lesson can start a discussion or study into deeper topics.
I like that it is not just copying a random paragraph. I love that each lesson is a quote, poem or even a verse or hymn.
They suggest a lesson a week, but you can base it on your child's ability. I received the Patriotic Penmanship for High School grades 9-12 for M. I am so grateful, that there are still courses like this available from Laurelwood Books. I have a friend who is a public school teacher in Florida, and she said they no longer teach classes like penmanship. One are we have dropped the ball is in penmanship. We seem to be lowering our standards in the public school system, which makes me very glad I chose to homeschool. Syllabi are also available for purchase from the MODG office, with a 30% discount for enrolled families.I want to state up front, just how important I believe that the Patriotic Penmanship books from Laurelwood Books can be.
Online versions of the MODG syllabi are provided to enrolled families free of charge. In addition the syllabus has several lists of good literature for the student broken down by the liturgical year, a calendar of saints and a general list of literature. In Music we use the Music Masters Series to foster a love of great music along with First Book of the Recorder (Usborne) and Let's Learn Music #1 (Hayes) which introduce the student to playing an instrument and music theory. In Art we use Second Grade Art (MODG) to continue the student’s art appreciation along with a variety of craft kits to provide the student with hands on art. In History & Geography we use a variety of biographies of famous Americans to introduce the student to American history and we use Second Grade Map Skills (MODG) and flash cards to introduce the student to American geography.In Poetry we continue to use The Harp and Laurel Wreath for selections of poetry to memorize. In Science we use Second Grade Science (MODG) which provide a directed exploration of nature to encourage observation of and familiarity with the natural world. In Writing we use Writing Our Catholic Faith Grade 2 (Wasylyk) to continue the practice of the formation of words. In Reading we use Sound Beginnings (Fogassy), supplemented by appropriate, high quality reading materials to encourage and continue to foster a love of reading.
In Mathematics we use Arithmetic 2 (A Beka) which serves well to continue the study of mathematics begun last year. The student continues to develop not only his understanding of his faith but also his habit of retention by the memorization involved in learning the questions and answers. 1 along with the lives of the saints to continue the study of Catholic doctrine begun last year. We have provided below a sample of the first week from the syllabus along with a list of the books used in the syllabus. It also contains a variety of teaching resources including Second Grade Subject Rubrics and Learning Objectives, suggested daily schedules, teaching tips and several lists of grade level appropriate literature. The Second Grade Syllabus contains detailed daily lesson plans for Religion, Mathematics, Reading, Writing, Poetry, Science, History, Geography, Art and Music.