"Secure that the child begins by making perfect letters and is never allowed to make faulty ones, and the rest he will do for himself; as for 'a good hand,' do not hurry him; his 'handwriting' will come by-and-by...
Set good copies before him, and see that he imitates his model dutifully: the writing lesson being not so many lines, or 'a copy'––that is, a page of writing––but a single line which is as exactly as possible a copy of the characters set. The child may have to write several lines before he succeeds in producing this.
A certain sense of possession and delight may be added to this exercise if children are allowed to choose for transcription their favourite verse in one poem and another." Charlotte Mason
I've been homeschooling for 6 years now (including one year for Kindergarten). During this time I thought that I was teaching my children copywork the way Charlotte said. However, during recent studying and research I have found that copywork was not just writing down mindless words or dare I say twaddle.
Now since my research, my children (those who are old enough) will be taking copywork from their history book, This Country of Ours by H.E. Marshall. Once they understand a "good copy" is to be had first. I will later let them choose the passage from their own books to write.
Let us not want to get to the next subject and not be concerned with how well a "good copy" is made. I know the importance of making sure they have a "good copy," by watching my oldest (whom to my fault has not been made to do so.)
So let me encourage you to take your time and not hurry them so that they can in return give you a...
Good Copy!
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