Triple lined journal-like notebook for handwriting practice

November 29, 2012 7:33 AM

Looking for a penmanship practice notebook.

This is for an 11-year old who is self-conscious about being behind her peers in writing. Her "r" is taller than her "l" (which is the same height as her "o"). She has started working on it lately but is unhappy with her new babyish extra-large handwriting.

I've found great printable sheets online, but I'd like to get her a nice similarly narrowly lined notebook that doesn't make her feel like a first grader (ie. that doesn't have a title like "My first notebook"!).

When I was learning to write in Europe in the seventies I had a simple hard-cover notebook lined like that, which looked more like a journal. I'd love to find something similar.

posted by Dragonness to media & arts (4 answers total)

What about making your own? You could print and bind a small book of lined papers at FedEx/Kinkos and design a cute cover she can decorate and customize to her liking.
posted by These Birds of a Feather at 7:46 AM on November 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

How about this? It's narrowly lined "like an adult" but has the middle line in it.

I think the keywords you want to look for is "Cursive Ruled."

Good luck -- I was a really verbal perfectionist kid whose poor penmanship held me back for a while. (Thank God for AppleWorks and my parents winning an Apple IIe)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:22 AM on November 29, 2012

How narrow do you want the lines? Older elementary school students typically use "wide" rule, whereas high school and college students use "college rule."

If you want guidelines in the middle in a composition book, I'm almost completely certain no one sells anything thinner than grade 3 composition books - this "transitional" book looks like it's about as wide as grade 3, maybe a bit smaller, but it has vertical lines.

I also found these kinds of things (2, 3) in the "assistive writing" kinds of stores, but they're all spiral notebooks or plain paper.

I'm thinking These Birds of a Feather is on the right track, in terms of binding it yourself.
posted by SMPA at 9:02 AM on November 29, 2012

"Cursive Ruled" rules! Found this and called them to confirm - it's exactly what I need.

Thanks so much.
posted by Dragonness at 9:03 AM on November 29, 2012