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I am so appreciative for all the input about my last post Thanks so much! I do have one more question. My 6 yr old is almost done with A reason for Handwriting A and I was contemplating starting my 5 yr old with Italics K in the fall instead. I was wondering if anyone has used Italics and really likes it or is it too hard to grasp, or should I just start her up with A Reason for Handwriting like my oldest??? They will both be doing LHTH with the older in the R sides of Beyond in the fall if that helps.... thanks!

WOOPS I MEAN Italics sorry about the spelling!!!

We use Italics and really like it. I even have one that is a lefty and has special needs that affect her writing. It works well for all of them. Startwrite also has Italics and you can put in there copywork for them to do as well. We have enjoyed it. Their handwriting is not perfect but it is better than it has been with anything else. The only thing is you have to teach them to recognize other handwriting so that they can read it. I have not found this to be a big deal but did want to just mention it. Happy deciding!

This past year we started out with A Reason for Handwriting but my dd was not liking it at all. So we switched to Italics and we both like it.

I love Italics for printing. Both my children used italics after using regular ball and stick letters in Kindergarten, and my experience has been that italics improves their handwriting and flow in writing tremendously. I do not however use their cursive, because I don't have time to learn the style. For cursive, I have been happy with HWT, but I'm sure cheerful cursive would be lovely too.

I use Italics for manuscript and love it. I do not like the cursive however!!! What you may want to consider is doing the same handwriting for both kids, unless one has a problem with handwriting. My sister in law uses A Reason for Handwriting and they love that and she loves the bible aspect and the copying of bible verses in it. Are you planning on switching them both? I think it makes it easier in the family to do the same, especially when you start copy work if you are writing the sentences for them as they go on in the guides.
One of the reasons we switched to Italics is, because I learned that in school and doing Ball and stick was hard for me, so I could not write a perfect model for my ds to copy.