Stacy Coolidge's Fancy-Smancy Cursive Handwriting幼兒繪本故事

……·THEADVENTURES米FEVERYDAYGENIUSES·●●

Cc)StaceyCoolidge's

Fancy-Smancy

CursiveHandwriting

“Awonderfulbook

series...essential

forchildren.”

—Dr.CarolS.Dweck,

StanfordUniversityprofessorof

psychologyandworld-renowned

authorofMindset

WRITTENBY

BARBARAESHAM

ILLUSTRATEDBY

MIKEANDCARLGORDON

StaceyCoolidges

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dp?ld00C

CursiveHandwriting

WRITTENBYILLUSTRATEDBY

BARBARAESHAMKEANDCARLGORDON

Secondgradestartedoutsogreat.

ILikedmyteacher,Mrs.Thompson.

ILikedmyclassroom.AndIespeciallyLikedFrederick,theclassguineapig.

I'dbeenwaitingsincefirstgradetobeabigkid

andhavethechancetoplaywithhim.

00

Butmyfeelingschangedduringthethirdweekofschool—thedaywegottheredfolders.

ThefolderswerefilledwithLinedpaper,

andeachofuswasgivenabrandnewpencil.

ThatwasthedaythewordCURSIVEwasmentioned.

“Class,todaywewillbegincursivehandwritingexercises,”Mrs.Thompsonannounced.

“Eachdaywewilltaketimetopractice.Ifyoucompleteyourhandwritingearly,youcanreadorworkonthecomputerorplaywithFrederick.”

Thatsoundedgoodtome.IwouldfinallygetachancetoplaywithFrederick.Helovedtobeheld,andheespeciallylovedcarrotsforatreat.

IwasstillthinkingaboutFrederickwhenMrs.Thompsonsaid,“Everyoneopenyourredfoldersandtakeoutonesheetof

paper.Wearegoingtostartbypracticingslantsandcurves.Afterafewdays,wewillpracticethelettersofthealphabet,thenwe'llmoveontosentences,andeventuallyyouwillusethesefolderstokeepyourowncreativewriting.”

InoticedeachofmyclassmateswasLookingattheirpencilasifitweresomethingnewandmysterious,withspecialpowers—Likeawizard'swand.

ThenIheardStaceyCoolidgeask,“Ifwefinishextra,extra

early,canweplaywithFrederickANDworkonthecomputer?”

“Idon'tthinkyouneedtoworryaboutthatrightnow,Stacey,”Mrs.Thompsonanswered.“Eachstudentwillneedplentyof

timetopracticecursivewriting,butifyoushouldfinishearly,youcanplaywithFrederickandworkonthecomputer.”

Staceywasthebestathandwriting.

Shehardlyeverusedhereraser.

Istartedbypracticingmycurvesandslants,butIwasn'thavingmuchluck.Icanshootabasketfromwheremybigbrotherstands,Icanmakeupmyownsongswhileplayingthedrums,andIcancreatecomplicatedobstaclecoursestoweavethroughwithmyskateboard.Howcouldwritingasimplecurvebesodifficult?

AndthenIheardStaceysayshewasfinished.

Onthefirstdayofpracticing,StaceygottoplaywithFrederickANDworkonthecomputer.

Ittookusawhiletolearnallofourletters.Aweekor

twolater,wemovedontopracticingsentencesthatMrs.Thompsongaveustowrite.Thingsdidnotgetanyeasier.

OnemorningIaskedmymomtotakemetoschoolearly.Iwantedtogetaheadstartonmywritingpracticefor

thedaysoIcouldgetachancetoplaywithFrederick.

Iwasthefirstonetoarrive.

FrederickwasstilLsleeping.

Ipulledafreshpieceofpaperfrommy

redfolderandstartedwritingmypracticesentences.IguessIwasholdingmy

penciltootight,ormaybeIwaspressingtoohard.Forwhateverreason,myfirstsentencedidn'tturnouttoowell.

Someofthewordsweretooclosetogether.Istartedtoerase,butthat

madetheworstsmudge—Likeastorm

cloudfillingthesky.

WhenItriedtoerasethestormcloud,Itoreaholeinthepaper

Onebyonemyclassmatesarrived.Everyonestartedworkingonthehandwritingexercise.IwassureIwouldbethefirstonefinishedsinceIstartedbeforeeveryoneelse.Instead,Ihadahole,somesmudges,andafewwornspotsonmypaper.

Someoftheotherkidswerehavingatoughtimetoo.Benwasalmostfinishedwhenherealizedthathewaswritingonthe

wronglines.Mrs.Thompsonaskedhim

That'swhenIsawStaceyCoolidgegetuptoturninherpaper.

SHEWASFINISHED!

HOWDIDSHEDOIT?

ThenMrs.Thompsonsaid,“Class,Staceyhasfinishedher

handwritingandIwouldLiketoshareherworkwiththeclass.

“DoyouseehowthecurvesofthebandLareperfectlyslanted?

“NoticehowtheaandearejusttouchingthecenterLine?”

Mrs.Thompsonasked.

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“Perfect,PERFECT,PERFECT!”

Isaidquietlytomyself.“StaceyCoolidgeandherfancy-smancycursivehandwriting.”

WhyiseverythingsoeasyforStacey?

AndthenStaceydidtheunthinkable!

ShewalkedrightovertoFrederick'scageand

fedhimacarrot.Thenshehadthenervetoputhiminherlap!

That'swhyIgothereearly!SoIcouldfeedFrederickacarrotandholdhiminMYlap.

Icouldfeeltearsfillingmyeyes,butIheldthemback.

IwasjustwritingtheLastwordofmycursivesentencewhenMrs.Thompsonannounced,“Timeisup.Youcanfinishyourworkduringrecessifyoulike.”

MypaperlookedLikeitwashundredsofyearsold—likeoneofthoseimportantdocumentsondisplayin

thehistorymuseum.Iwasembarrassedtohanditto

“Goodtry,Carolyn,Iamsurecursivehandwriting

willgeteasierforyou.Maybeyoucanspendsomemoretimepracticingathome.”

Ididpracticeathome,butitdidn'tseemtohelp.Ijustcouldn'tgetmyhandtocooperatewithmybrain.

Iknewwhatmyhandwritingwassupposedtolooklike.Icouldseeitinmymind,butmypaperneverlookedthatwaywhenIwasdone.

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Afterafewweeksofpracticing,mycursivehandwritingdidgetbetter,butnotasgoodaseveryoneelse's.

Mrs.Thompsonmadeabulletinboardforallofher“HandwritingStars.”

Everyone'spaperwastackedtothebulletinboardondisplay.

Myhandwritingwasthe

WORST

INTHECLASS.

Anditlookedespeciallybadnextto

Stacey'sperfectfancy-smancywriting.

Whywascursive

sodifficult?

DidMrs.ThompsonseehowhardIwasworking?

DidsheseehowmanyerasersI'dwornout?

Didsheseethebigbumponthefingernexttomythumb?

WouldIeverbeabletowriteincursive?

WouldIevergettogotothethirdgrade?

WouldIevergettoplaywithFrederick?

Oneday,Mrs.Thompsonaskedifshecouldspeaktomeafterschool.Iwassurethatshewantedtotalktomeaboutmyhandwriting.Ijustknewit.

“Carolyn,youseemtobeabitsadlately.Istheresomethingthatyouwouldliketotalkabout?”Mrs.Thompsonasked.

“No,Mrs.Thompson,Ijustdon'tknowwhattodoaboutmy

handwriting.It'stheworstintheclass.IlookatStaceyCoolidge'sperfectcursivehandwriting,thenIlookatmine.Mineisterrible,”

Isaidwithmyshaky,“abouttocry”voice.

“Carolyn,youarequiteasmartLittlegirl.IcanseehowhardyouhavebeentryingandIamsoproudofyou.

“Cursivehandwritingissomethingweneedtopractice. Itisatoolforourlearningtoolbox.Andeventhoughit'sanimportanttooltohave,nooneiseverexpectedtobeperfectatit,”shesaidwithoneofher“serious”smiles.

“Thatdoesn'tmeanyoushouldstoppracticingortryingtoimprove.Eachofusisbetteratsomethingsthanatothers.Staceyhasgreathandwriting,butsheprobablycan'trideaskateboardaswellasyou.Remember,practiceisnotmeanttomakeusperfect.

“Besides,someofthemosttalented

poetsandwritersarenotknownfortheir

perfectpenmanship.They'reknownfortheircreativityandstorytelling.”

WHERETHEFUNTHINGSARE

“SoIdon'thavetohaveperfectcursivehandwriting?”Iasked,startingtofeelbetter.

“Oh,Carolyn,ofcoursenot.Nobodyhasperfecthandwriting.Idowantyoutokeeppracticingandimproving.Butpromisemethatyouwillnotfocusoncomparingyourwritingwithothersandthatinsteadyou'llfocusondoingthebestthatyoucando,”Mrs.Thompsonsaidwithhermostseriouslook.

“Oh,Ipromise,Mrs.Thompson!”

“Ournextassignmentswillbewritingyourowncreativestories,”Mrs.Thompsonsaid.“Doyouhaveanyideasforwhatyou'dLiketowriteabout?”

“Ihavelotsofideas!”Isaid.“Ican'twaittowritethemdown!”NowIwasfeelingexcitedaboutmynextwritingproject.

“Great!”saidMrs.Thompson.“Speakingofideas—Ithink Ihaveoneofmyown.Justforfun,wecantrywritingonsomethingotherthanpaper.Itwillbeanewchallengeforeveryone!Let'scelebratecreativewritinginallitsforms!”

“Now,there'sanotherreasonthatIwantedtospeakwithyou,"saidMrs.Thompson.“Iwaswonderingif

youwouldconsidertakingFrederickhomewithyoufortheweekend.SchoolwillbeclosedonMondayandIwouldn'twanttoleaveFrederickaloneforthatlong.”

“REALLY?“FORREAL?

“IcantakeFrederickhomewithmeforthe

I'mreallygladthatMrs.ThompsonandIhadatalkaboutcursivehandwriting.Iwillalwaystrymybest,butI'mnotgoingtofeelbadaboutwhatmyhandwritinglooksLike.

CreativeWriters

Whoknows,maybeI'llevenbeawriteroneday.

nGuw

Ofcourse,I'llneedtowriteinmysparetimebecause

I'LLbeverybusytakingcareofmyveryown...

GUINEAPIGFARM!

AreY0Uan

EVERYDAyGENIUStoo?

Everydaygeniusesarecreative,STRONG,thoughtful,

andsometimeslearnalittledifferentlyfromothers.

Andthat'swhatmakesthemsospecial!

InStaceyCoolidgesFancy-SmancyCursiveHandwriting,

Carolynishavingalotoftroublewithhercursive.Otherkidsintheclassaremuchfasterandbetteratitthansheis,eventhoughshepracticesalotathomeandevengoestoschoolearlytopractice.

Haveyoueverstruggledwithlearningsomethingnew?Whathappened?

Carolynisgoodatotherthingslikeridingherskateboardorshootingbaskets.Whataresomethingsthatyou'rereallygoodat?

Thereisaphrasepeoplesaywhenlearningsomethingnew:“practicemakesperfect.”Butperfectionisnotalwayssomethingweshouldhopefororexpecttoachieve.Andit'sreallynotpossible.Nobody'sperfect.

CarolynisfrustratedandsadaboutnotbeingasgoodasStaceyCoolidge.Sheworriesthatherhandwritingistheworstinthewholeclass.Butratherthanworryabouthow“perfect”herwritingskillsare,Carolyn'steachersaysthatsheshouldfocusonbecomingacreativewriter.Beingcreativedoesnotmeanyouneed“perfect”handwriting.

Handwritingisjustatoolinthelearningtoolbox.Themostimportantpartofwritingistoshareyourideas,thoughts,andfeelings.

Ofcourse,Carolynwillstillpracticeherwriting.Butit'simportanttorememberthatweshouldntcompareour-selvestootherpeople'sversionsofsuccess.It'soktocele-bratethethingswedowell.Andwedon'thavetostriveforperfection.Aslongaswe'retryingandmakingprogress,wewillaccomplishamazingthings.

Ifyouorsomeoneyouknowisstrugglingtolearnsome-thingorisworriedabouttheirprogress,oryoufeelhope-lessaboutsomethingyou'retryingtodo,pleasetalkaboutitwithacaringadult.

Remember,everydaygeniusesarecreative,strong,thoughtful,andsometimeslearnalittledifferentlyfromothers.It'sneverabadthingtobedifferent—embracingandlearningfromourdifferencesiswhatmakestheworldabetterplace!

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“Thisisawonderfulbookseries.Eachstoryshowschildrenthatsuccessisabouteffortanddetermination,thatproblemsneednotderailthem,andthatadultscanunderstandtheirworriesandstruggles.Myresearchdemonstratesthattheselessonsareessentialforchildren.”

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professorofpsychology

CarolDweckistheauthorofMindset:TheNewPsychologyof

Success.HerscholarlybookSelf-Theories:TheirRoleinMotivation,

Personality,andDevelopmentwasnamedBookoftheYearbytheWorldEducationFellowship.Dr.DweckisoneoftheworldsleadingresearchersinthefeldofmotivationandistheVirginiaEatonProfessorofPsychologyatStanfordUniversity.

“TheAdventuresofEverydayGeniusesbookseriesconveysamessagethatcouldhavebeenliftedstraightfromapsychologyresearchjournal:thereismorethanonewaytodefinebeingsmart.'Asthesestoriesllustrate,foreveryperson,largeandsmall,thereareskillsthatarerelativelydifficulttomasterandothersthatseemtocomemorenaturally.Thesebooksemphasizetheimportantempiricalconclusionthatjustasregularexercisemakesthebodystronger,so,too,doespracticeandtheefforttoimproveacademically—withallthestruggle,fatigue,andinitialfailurethatitentails—allowpeopletocapitalizeonthemalleablenatureofhumanintelligence.”

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.··THEADVENTURES米FEVERYDAYGENIUSES·

AbouttheAuthor

AuthorBarbaraEshamwasoneofthosekidswhocouldn'tresistperformingapressuretestonapuddingcup.Shehasalwaysbeena“freeassociation”thinker,findinglifefarmoreinterestingwhileinastateofabstractthought.BarbaralivesontheEastCoastwithherthreedaughters.Together,inPiagetianfashion,theyhaveexploredtheideasandtheoriesbehindthedefinitionsofintelligence,creativity,learning,and

success.Barbresearchesandwritesfromherhomeoffice,inthesparetimeavailablebetweencarpools

homework,andbedtime.

AbouttheIllustrators

CartooninghasbroughtMikeGordonacclaiminworldwidecompetitions,addingtohisinternational

reputationasatophumorousillustrator.Since1993hehascontinuedhissuccessfulcareerbasedinCalifornia,gaininganominationintheprestigiousNationalCartoonistSocietyAwards.Mikeisthe

renownedillustratorforthewildlypopularbookseries

beginningwithDoPrincessesWearHikingBoots?Mike

collaborateswithhissonCarlGordonfromacrosstheworld.Theyhavebeenateamsince1999.Mike

createsthelineillustrations,andthecolorisappliedbyCarlusingagraphicstabletandcomputer.CarlhasadegreeingraphicartandcurentlylivesinCapeTown,SouthAfricawithhiswifeandkids.

CopyrightO2008byBarbaraEsham

CoverandinternaldesignO2018bySourcebooks,Inc.

TextbyBarbaraEsham

IllustrationsbyMikeandCarlGordon

SourcebooksandthecolophonareregisteredtrademarksofSourcebooks,Inc.

Thecharactersandeventsportrayedinthisbookarefictitiousandareusedfictitiously.Anysimilaritytorealpersons,

livingordead,ispurelycoincidentalandnotintendedbytheauthor.

ThestorytextwassetinOpenDyslexic,afontspecificallydesignedforreadabilitywithdyslexia.

ThebackmatterwassetinAdobeGaramondPro.

Allrightsreserved.

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