Boost print handwriting fluency with this practice workbook that alternates between pencil-and-paper copy work and physical exercises that build the hand, finger, and core strength needed for confident writing. A Christian worldview and American history theme give students something meaningful to write, making Write Like a Pioneer a workbook that addresses the whole child: mind, body, and spirit.
For students who have completed a foundational handwriting course and are ready to build manuscript skills. Designed for grade 2, suitable for grades 1-3.
Improve print handwriting through pioneer passages and body strengthening exercises — for grades 1-3.
With Write Like a Pioneer, you'll connect handwriting practice to content that actually matters, so your child is absorbing something meaningful while they develop legible, consistent manuscript handwriting. Creative expression, fun facts, full-color illustrations, and a wide variety of hand, finger, and body strengthening experiences make this workbook fun for kids!
A Whole-Child Approach with a Biblical Emphasis
Write Like a Pioneer takes a whole-child approach to print handwriting, engaging the mind, body, and heart to create a lasting learning experience. Yes, your child gets plenty of practice forming letters. But they also build fine motor strength and coordination, mature in focus and patience, and reflect on history, character, and spiritual themes through the carefully selected passages.
A Christian worldview permeates this practice workbook. Your child will copy scripture passages, read the examples of American pioneers who followed God's lead, and repeatedly see themes of prayer and Christian faith.
What Your Student Will Gain
- Develop legible, consistent print handwriting with correct letter formation and spacing.
- Build stamina and muscle memory, making manuscript writing automatic so children can eventually focus on meaning more than handwriting.
- Improve attention to detail through proper alignment, size, and spacing.
- Connect handwriting practice with history by engaging with stories of American pioneers, famous trails, and early frontier life.
- Strengthen Christian faith through Bible passages and references to godly character.
- Build the physical foundation for writing through hand, finger, and core strengthening exercises.
More Than a Handwriting Workbook
Each lesson pairs copy work with physical exercises that build the strength and coordination the body needs for confident, lasting penmanship. Your child will copy quotes from real American pioneers and explorers alongside fun exercises like stretching rubber bands, stringing pony beads, rolling playdough, practicing with hole punchers, and more. These aren't filler activities. They build the gross and fine motor skills that make fluent print handwriting possible.
How It Works: Simple, Flexible, Open-and-Go
With Write Like a Pioneer, you'll spend just 30 minutes per day twice a week to give your child the necessary practice and skill development for clear, confident print handwriting. Follow the clearly laid out 36-week schedule or opt for the accelerated one-semester pace, also included.
Check the supply list for any household objects you may need week by week: rubber bands, pony beads, playdough, a dry-erase board, and more. An Answer Key provides solutions to the mazes and matching activities along with grading suggestions.
It's fully open-and-go and all-in-one. Your child writes directly in the workbook where all directions for the parent are also included.
Readiness Benchmarks
Designed for grade 2, but suitable for grades 1-3.
Write Like a Pioneer assumes students can make large-motion movements with their arms, grasp and hold a writing tool, participate in guided reading, and engage with written content for ten minutes or more. For students who need a foundational handwriting course first, start with Handwriting A to Zoo before beginning Write Like a Pioneer.
Table of Contents
- Course Description
- Master Supply List
- Suggested Daily Schedule
- Lessons
- Lesson 1
- Alabama: Samuel Dale
- Alaska: Sheldon Jackson
- Lesson 2
- Arizona: James Ohio Pattie
- Arkansas: William H. Rector
- Lesson 3
- California: John Sutter
- Colorado: Zebulon Pike
- Lesson 4
- Connecticut: Thomas Hooker
- Delaware: Peter Minuit
- Lesson 5
- Florida: Henry Flagler
- Georgia: James Oglethorpe
- Lesson 6
- Hawaii: Henry Ōpūkahaia
- Idaho: Henry Spalding
- Lesson 7
- Illinois: George Rogers Clark
- Indiana: William Henry Harrison
- Lesson 8
- Iowa: William Salter
- Kansas: Charles Sheldon
- Lesson 9
- Kentucky: Lewis Craig
- Louisiana: Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville
- Lesson 10
- Maine: George Weymouth
- Maryland: Cecil Calvert
- Lesson 11
- Massachusetts: Priscilla Mullins Alden
- Michigan: Étienne Brûlé
- Lesson 12
- Minnesota: Henry Schoolcraft
- Mississippi: Hernando de Soto
- Lesson 13
- Missouri: Nathan Boone
- Montana: Jim Bridger
- Lesson 14
- Nebraska: John C. Frémont
- Nevada: John S. G. “Snowshoe” Thompson
- Lesson 15
- New Hampshire: Captain John Mason
- New Jersey: John Fenwick
- Lesson 16
- New Mexico: Kit Carson
- New York: Peter Stuyvesant
- Lesson 17
- North Carolina: Virginia Dare
- North Dakota: Father Pierre-Jean De Smet
- Lesson 18
- Ohio: John Chapman (Johnny Appleseed)
- Oklahoma: Will Rogers
- Lesson 19
- Oregon: Marcus Whitman
- Pennsylvania: William Penn
- Lesson 20
- Rhode Island: Roger Williams
- South Carolina: Eliza Lucas Pinckney
- Lesson 21
- South Dakota: Jim Bridger
- Tennessee: Daniel Boone
- Lesson 22
- Texas: Sam Houston
- Utah: John Muir
- Lesson 23
- Vermont: John Greenleaf Whittier
- Virginia: John Smith
- Lesson 24
- Washington: Ezra Meeker
- West Virginia: David Brainerd
- Lesson 25
- Wisconsin: Samuel Mazzuchelli
- Wyoming: Jedediah Smith
- Lesson 26
- The Appalachian Trail: America’s Mountain Pathway
- The Oregon Trail: The Journey West
- Lesson 27
- The Santa Fe Trail: Trading on the Frontier
- The California Trail: Gold Rush & Settlement
- Lesson 28
- The Cumberland Gap: Gateway to the Frontier
- The Wilderness Road: Daniel Boone’s Mountain Passage
- Lesson 29
- The Natchez Trace: From Footpath to Frontier Road
- The Pony Express: Carrying the Mail Across the West
- Lesson 30
- The Lewis & Clark Trail: Exploring the Unknown
- The Chisholm Trail: Cowboy Pathways
- Lesson 31
- The National Road: America’s First Federal Highway
- The Gateway Arch
- Lesson 32
- Building a Home: Living Off the Land
- Pioneer Wagon Life: Traveling in a Covered Wagon
- Lesson 33
- Log Cabins: Building Shelter on the Frontier
- Pioneer Food & Cooking
- Lesson 34
- Frontier Schools: One-Room Learning
- Pioneer Waterways: Travel by River
- Lesson 35
- Stagecoach Travel: The First Cross-Country Transportation
- Mountain Men: Exploration & Survival
- Lesson 36
- Hunting, Trapping, & Trading Posts
- Frontier Missions: Sharing the Gospel in New Lands
- Lesson 1
- Teaching Resources
- Answer Key