Handwriting Manuscript Training Stencils?

[amldaley]

DD's teachers say she REALLY wants to learn to write letters and suggested stencils.

I found these which are $30 (ouch!) at Leaps & Bounds/One Step Ahead.

http://www.buzzillions.com/reviews/school-rite-handwriting-manuscript-kit-reviews

Anyone seen something else similar for less or a better product in general?

I know I could go with craft stencils, but they are typically to stylized and the stencils are thinner (won't guide the pencil).

[lilycat88]

We just used the "dotted" letters and had DD trace. That's what they did in Kindergarten as well. You can download those online for free. At 3, she was learning to trace the letters really large (think 2-3 letters per page) with crayon. As she got older and had more motor control, the size got smaller. I sat at restaurants waiting for food many times making "dot" letters for DD to trace.

[JBaxter]

Check walmart or a home school store. I think ours were 2.99? for a pack of upper case / lower case/ and shapes.

Here...

http://www.amazon.com/BAZIC-Size-Lettering-Stencil-Sets/dp/B003BMX5DI/ref=sr_1_1?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1311016657&sr=1-1

[Meatball Mommie]

I found these on Rainbow Resource...

http://www.rainbowresource.com/prodlist.php?sid=1293728203-47157&subject=9&category=6790

They are $11.50 each though - not cheap but better than the $30

[ahrimie]

There were some dotted sets at Costco. They had flash cards stuck on a ring for numbers and letters and came with a dry erase marker. But now, I just dot for her when we need to kill time.

[JTsMom]

The thing about stencils is that they won't teach her the proper steps to form the letter. I'm a big Handwriting Without Tears fan. I've borrowed a lot of their ideas, but made my own stuff. For example, at the preschool level, they have their Roll A Dough letters. I wrote letters on index cards, laminated them, and gave DS a can of Playdoh and a dollar store picture frame. They have the wood letter pieces- I made my own with cardstock, then photocopied them put together to make the patterns. The little slate they sell can also be found at Michaels- just draw the happy face on it yourself.

Another fun activity is to practice writing with your finger in a dish of cornmeal. You can even make sandpaper letters for her to trace with her fingers.