Be Careful How you Teach Your Child

Important Information for Parents - Please Read

Walk into any Department store in Australia and you will find an educational section that is supposedly devoted to helping your child's education.

• Discount stores also have write-on boards with the alphabet on them and books as well.  

 

What these stores do not tell you as the parent is that:

• You are teaching your child the wrong way to from both letters & numbers.
• The educational materials that you are purchasing do not even slightly resemble the shape or the angle of any of the letters or numbers that are taught in any school in Australia. 

• Pictured above is a book that even comes with a free pen so you can teach your child to form their alphabet the wrong way over and over again.
• You will notice the 3+ on the book, encouraging you as a parent to start teaching them the wrong way to write straight away.

If you take this path (which many parents do because they think they are helping their child) by the time your child gets to school they will be even further behind in the class than a child that has not even began to start to learn to form their letters and numbers.

How do you think your child would feel?

• First of all they would be totally confused - mum wouldn't teach me the wrong way?
• Their self esteem would have taken a huge hit - they thought that they were so good, "Mum and Grandma had been telling everyone how good I am".
• And lastly the feeling of being dumb or less adequate - such a horrible feeling.

Unfortunately this happens too often!

This is not your fault, however, that doesn't make it any easier for you when you watch your poor child suffering and having to learn to form their letters and numbers all over again.

The book pictured above prompts you to buy this to help you child get ahead. We have all heard about NAPLAN on the news, however, no one is telling you that this is NOT the way your child will learn to form letters at any Australian school.

Here are more pictures of department stores selling the wrong educational materials for your child.

• Now I can hear some of you saying, at my child's school they write like that, and to tell you the truth I don't blame you, as no one has told you any different.
• Over the eleven years that Writeboards have been in business, we have had parents tell us that at their child's school they write like that. Of course they were wrong; however, I understand how confused parents are. 
  
  
• The other huge factor is that we trust department stores and if they are selling them, surely they must be right? After all the sign says "Trusted by teachers".

• 99% of these products are imported from overseas and completed using a font called Bat and Ball (also known as stick and ball). 
• When you purchase this educational material, all you are really doing is making a donation to these companies & teaching your child the wrong way to form both their letters and numbers.

Writeboards Offer an Ironclad 100% Money Back Guarantee that we use the Best Australian Fonts in the World for Your Child!

If you would like to know the right way that your child is supposed to write for your individual State school go to Worksheets for Australian Children.

Note: While I was out taking these photos I spoke to one of the employees who had worked in that particular department store for five years. She had no idea that all of the educational material was wrong; she had even purchased it for her own child.

To learn more about handwriting in Australian Schools please go to our blog called "Teach Your Child The Right Australian Font"

 Until next time keep smiling...

Five Different Handwriting Styles for Australian School Children

It may surprise you to learn that the handwriting style taught in Australian schools varies depending on the State or Territory in which your child resides.

Pictured below is an example of the five different handwriting styles that are used in Australian schools:

• You can clearly see that the shape and angle of the first five letters of the alphabet are different from each other, and it is just the same with the remaining twenty one letters.
• You will also notice all the different names the handwriting styles use.

Over Writeboards fifteen years in business, they have spoken to many teachers that are not even aware of these facts, so I ask myself, how are parents supposed to know what to do?

How do you know which Australian Handwriting Style is right for your child?

This would be much easier if there was an Australian standard that could not be abused. Unfortunately, that's not the case.

• There are many people that claim to have the right handwriting style for your child (this is increasing on a daily basis).
• These same people even use the right Australian names for what they are selling you e.g. NSW Foundation Font worksheets, VIC Modern Cursive Font worksheets etc.

What these people are not telling you is, that they are creating books and digital files using what Writeboards refer to as a "look-alike fonts".

The image below features four fonts known as NSW Foundation Font.

These can be purchased from educational supply stores and online. The disparities demonstrated here are consistent across all the states and territories in Australia.

As you can see only one is right and completed using the strict guidelines that the NSW Department of Education have set out in their syllabus.

• If you look at the others, they kind of look-alike, however, they are NOT!
• If you look even closer and compare letter against letter, you will see huge differences in both the shape & angle of the letters.

This unfortunately, is only a small sample of the multitude of Australian handwriting look-alike fonts that are currently flooding the market being sold to parents and teachers.

An even more frightening fact is that you can download all the Aussie handwriting styles for free on the internet. Rather then describe how disgustingly wrong they all are...I will leave it to the imagination of the reader.

Make Sure Your Child is using the Right Australian Handwriting

Writeboards is the only worldwide business that backs their Australian worksheets and flashcards with a 100% money-back guarantee!

 

Once you have the right worksheets for your child, the next logical step is to get them to practice. Keep in mind that they need to learn twenty six letters and ten numbers.

You have two choices:

• You can print those pages over and over and over and over and over and over and over again until your child has mastered the whole thirty six letters and numbers.
• You can purchase a reusable Writeboard and only ever have to print any page once.

Learn Australian Handwriting the Fun and Easy Way

Ask any child and they will tell you that practicing handwriting is a boring task. Well that boring task just became lots more fun with the invention of the Writeboard.

The Aussie made and owned, reusable Writeboard has been in Sydney schools for over fourteen years now and they have not worn out. What lasts that long these days?

Here is a comment from a teacher that uses the Writeboard in her class:

"The kids LOVE using the Writeboards and have no problems with wanting to do a handwriting template over again. No more "I'm finished. What do I do now?"

There are way too many features of the eco-friendly Writeboard to mention here, however, if you would like to know more just click on the link. 

Writeboards Australian Handwriting Kits

To make it more affordable for Aussie parents, Writeboards created their Aussie handwriting kits that include everything your child will need to get ahead at school.

Our Aussie Handwriting Kits include:

• One Reusable Writeboard.
• Two whiteboard markers.
• One magnetic eraser.
• One storage tin (that doubles as the per lap table for your child's Writeboard).
• Hundreds of FREE worksheets and flashcards downloads.

Writeboards Australian Handwriting Worksheets and Flashcards

Discover the incredible worksheets and flashcards that come with Writeboards' unbeatable 100% money back guarantee. Simply click on your child's state or territory sun!

                                                          One last word before I go...Just be careful buying your child educational material at Australian Shops as at least 98% are wrong, you can read more about this here...

Get Your Child Ready to go to School in Australia 

According to the EYLF (Early Years Learning Framework) which 98% of childcare and preschool centres adhere to they say that:

• Your Child needs support and encouragement to make starting school a positive experience.

Kindergarten teachers say the most important attributes are:

• Good language and listening skills.
• A positive attitude.
• Social confidence.
• The ability to focus on one activity for a period of time.
• The participation in high quality early childhood education.

The Early Learning Year Framework addresses the following five outcomes:

Outcome 1:

• Your child should develop a strong sense of identity and exploring while they feel safe and supported in what they learn.

Outcome 2:

• Your child should be connected and contribute to their world. Your child should be able to broaden their experiences by moving between different settings and connecting with others.

Outcome 3:

• Your child should have a strong sense of well-being and that they will have experienced both pride and success in their achievements. Your child should also feel confident discussing their emotions and responses to different events with people that they trust. This includes your child's attitude and expectations around going to school.

Outcome 4:

• Your child should be a confident and involved in learning. This is achieved when your child can relate their connections between preschool and school settings so they can make sense of new experiences and transfer their knowledge from one place to another.

Outcome 5:

• Your child should be an effective communicator. This focuses on your child's verbal and non verbal interactions with both their peers and adults. It also puts a spotlight on your child's numeracy and literacy skills. When your child develops their confidence about starting school they will also develop abilities to express their own ideas, their feelings and understanding of both themselves and the world they live in.

Click here or on the image below to check out our great Australian School Readiness Kits for Your Child.

Be Very Careful What You Purchase for Your Child!

If you are buying from other Australian educational shops, or on the internet, make sure that they are using the RIGHT handwriting style for your State or Territory. We can assure that that at least 95% of them are wrong! Read more about this here

If you would like any help along the way, we are available both by phone and email. Please feel free to contact us for help