Copywork is simply the process of copying a passage into a notebook. The passages can be from the Bible, a work of literature, a selection from a poem or song or any written form. The length of the copywork can vary depending on the age of the student.
Benefits of Copywork for Homeschoolers
Copywork has many benefits when it comes to homeschooling. It encourages good handwriting, increases vocabulary skills, helps improve spelling, and teaches grammar all at the same time. The child is to copy the passage word for word, including all punctuation. Writing down passages pushes the lesson into your child’s visual memory.
When homeschooling my kids, we used copywork in all of our homeschool lessons.
Using Copywork in Bible Lessons – During a Bible lesson, we choose one of the Bible verses that goes along with the lesson. The kids will find the verse in their Bible and copy the verse onto paper. If there are multiple Bible verses, I let them pick which one they want to copy.
Copywork for Language Arts – This subject includes a lot of writing. When it came to copywork for language arts, I let my kids pick a theme. We used books called Happy Scribe from Westvon Publishing, which were purchased on CurrClick.com but I can’t find them online anymore. But there are many places online where you can purchase copywork by theme, such as Charlotte Mason websites.
When we were reading literature together, my kids picked a passage from what we read and copied it into their notebooks.
Adding Copywork to Science – Once my kids were high school level, we bought DVDs for their science lessons. The DVDs included a textbook, so I would have my child pick something from the lesson that interested them to copy into their notebooks. For example, when we studied Biology, we would often learn an interesting fact. My kids would copy that into their notebook. The textbook has sidebars with information that also could be copied into their notebook.
Using Copywork in Math – I will admit it was later into my homeschooling years that I thought of adding copywork to math. My kids and I are not fans of math, and it has been a subject of dread no matter how creative I try to make it. But, as my son struggled with learning his multiplication tables, I found an article online about having the child copy the facts into their copy work notebook. Sure, kids can solve problems over & over again, but they also learn when writing down problems that are already solved. My son has told me he used this method when studying math in college.
Copywork for History and Geography – History & Geography do not have to be about boring dates and facts. You can make it come alive as a child writes out quotes and life stories of those they learn about in books. Geography can come alive as your child describes the land or those who live in it. My son enjoyed copying down facts about gun history as we studied the Civil War. One of my daughters learned about famous dogs from the Civil War and wrote passages about them.
Oh & don’t forget to add drawings to the copywork. If your child enjoys drawing, encourage them to draw a scene to go along with the passage, decorate the edges with borders, and go all out. If you have young kids, do this with stickers. Stickers are fun at any age.
Final Thoughts on Homeschool Copywork
As you can see, copy work can easily be worked into any school lesson. You can buy your child a separate notebook just for copywork. As you read and learn, if you find yourself saying, “Well, I didn’t know that.” Or “That is interesting,” take a moment and copy it down. Encourage your child to look for those awe moments as they study. You may even want a copy work book of your own.
