Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. The purpose of this Manual is to put penmanship into teachable form for teachers in the public schools. Written language is a necessity to children all through their school career, from the age of six or seven years, and hence they should be introduced to actual writing quite early. In the natural method, the letters themselves are given and combined in the very first lessons. Writing, from first to last, is a com bining process, and the written articulation should be practiced by the youngest pupils as a part of language. No amount of drill on individual letters will give the combined movement of the arm and fingers in writing words. Breaking up words into single-letter practice breaks up the unity of the writing move ment, and tends to the drawing movement, restricting the natural writing gamut of the hand and arm.

The purpose of this Manual is to put penmanship into teachable form for teachers in the public schools. Written language is a necessity to children all through their school career, from the age of six or seven years, and hence they should be introduced to actual writing quite early. In the natural method, the letters themselves are given and combined in the very first lessons. Writing, from first to last, is a com bining process, and the written articulation should be practiced by the youngest pupils as a part of language. No amount of drill on individual letters will give the combined movement of the arm and fingers in writing words. Breaking up words into single-letter practice breaks up the unity of the writing move ment, and tends to the drawing movement, restricting the natural writing gamut of the hand and arm.