Hallie’s Calligraphy…
Last summer I started taking an online course on modern calligraphy. Hallie showed some interest so I immediately got her watching videos with me. In true Hallie fashion, she quickly got frustrated that her strokes and handwriting weren’t perfect.
She wanted hers to look refined after watching just a few videos. But I encouraged her to stick with it. Last fall when she would come to me looking for something to do I suggested she should practice her handwriting. And she did.
More recently, I helped her to understand the importance of strokes. I’ve got several containers of markers sitting on my desk and we just sat and practiced one stroke. Over and over and over again. A couple weeks ago she wanted to start using my very favorite brush pens (Tombow dual brush aff link) which are a little harder to work with compared to the crayolas she’s been using. I told her once she mastered the single down stroke with a tail she could use them. Two days later she came to me with this page. She earned her right to my favorite markers.
After one day of using the Tombows she came downstairs with this page. I was seriously impressed. Of course I realized she had taken some of the markers to school which I quickly put a stop to.
This last weekend we made a visit to Michaels where she purchased her first set of Tombow markers (and I’m sure they won’t be her last) with her very own money. They’re not cheap and she was reluctant when she found out how expensive they were compared to Crayolas. But I can assure you she’ll take great care of them. I found this notebook she’s been practicing in for the last three days.
I think she’s passed me up. The teacher now becomes the student! I asked her if I could post these pages and her immediate response was, “Well, not the bad pages.” She wanted to showcase what she’s done in the last three days. But I wanted to show progression. I wanted to show improvement. Most importantly I wanted to remind her what not giving up can look like. She’s come so far and she’s found a passion for it. Can’t wait for her to start addressing Christmas cards! 🙂
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