3 February 2011 Dorbie Handwriting Lesson

I have a writing workbook in which Sam can practice letter formation. A week ago or so I was trying to motivate her to practice printing lowercase letters, and I saw two of her “Dorbies” lying nearby. I decided to enlist the dolls in my motivation efforts. Whenever Sam would execute a letter in good form, the Dorbies would cheer her on. If Sam produced a really fine letter, a really beautiful specimen of handwriting, the Dorbies would… burst into tears. “That lowercase t is just too beautiful to behold!” they would cry.

Hey, I was just trying to get my daughter to care about her writing. And you know what? It worked. It worked well. Too well.

Sam wants to do her handwriting book every day now. And the audience of Dorbies has grown. In today’s writing session five Dorbies appeared to watch her write. And now Sam has turned it into a bit of a lesson for them (of course). And in this picture, the Dorbies are raising their hands to volunteer to read the words that Sam is tracing.

Who says Dorbies can’t be educational? (I just hope that Sam doesn’t try to take them to college with her.)