Penny Gardner's book is just what parents and teachers using the Charlotte Mason Approach to Education have been waiting for! It relates what Charlotte Mason said about italic handwriting and copy work, or transcription, and makes it easy to teach and use in the home and classroom.

From the introduction to Italics, Beautiful Handwriting for Children:

Charlotte Mason, a British educator who lived from 1842-1923, recommended teaching children Italic handwriting. She wrote: "Some years ago I heard of a lady who was elaborating, by means of the study of old Italian and other manuscripts, a 'system of beautiful handwriting' which could be taught to children. [This is] a style of writing which is pleasant to acquire because it is beautiful to behold. It is surprising how quickly young children, even those already confirmed in 'ugly' writing, take to this 'new handwriting.'" (Home Education, p. 235-236)

Features…

• Italic handwriting instruction within a 'Charlotte Mason' framework
• Suggestions for writing-readiness activities
• Overview of steps in teaching handwriting to children
• May be used at all grade levels—elementary through high school
• Lessons and practice in Basic Italics and Cursive Italics
• Articles on copy work
• Models in handwritten basic and cursive italics for children to copy
• Quotes to transcribe into basic or cursive italics
• Variations on copy work--ideas to make it more challenging and instructive
• 48-page consumable workbook

“To all of you who have been waiting for a purely Charlotte Mason handwriting program, you can rejoice; it has finally arrived!” --Merri Larson, TX

" I have been using your Italic Handwriting book with my 12 year-old, who's handwriting is truly illegible. She is doing very well. We have tried MANY programs including the Getty/Dubay Italic." --Sheila Carroll, Worldwide Educational Resources, www.educationinabox.com 

See sample pages from this new book. See complete Table of Contents. Read book reviews . Print out additional copy work quotes for your children to write.
Note: We have found two errors (that’s not bad!) in the Italic book. At the top of page 36, the “a” in “after” should have a little serif coming out of it but not touching the “f”; you may add the serif with a pencil or pen. At the bottom of page 45, whiteout the ‘n’ in unbroken; the poet intended ‘unbroke’.

This book is temporarily out-of-print. I hope to make it into a reproducible e-book (PDF) that you can print out for family members for a one-time $5 fee. If this is possible, it should be available again by the middle of June. Thanks for your patience. --Penny