My sons have begged for typing lessons for years now. Fearing that good penmanship has become a lost art form, I have resisted giving them shortcuts to communication until they demonstrated a basic mastery of cursive writing. It has been a marvelous motivator! We flew through penmanship lessons and were finally able to begin Type Write Touch Typing.

Within one day of using Type Write, both of my boys had the home row of the keyboard memorized. I was impressed! Every day my boys look forward to their 10 to 15-minute typing lesson. It seems so simple, yet their skills are rapidly growing. The program description says it is designed to be easily completed within 90 days, just one semester of studies! Even at only 10 minutes per day, I can see that this is easily attainable. Upon completion, students will comfortably know the position and the correct fingering for every letter on the keyboard.

Type Write relies on real words, phrases, and sentences to help students master the keyboard strokes rather the commonly used nonsense syllables, which have trouble maintaining the students' interest. All ten home row keystrokes are introduced at once. Following this, the rest of the keys are introduced one at a time while still reviewing the previously learned keystrokes. Students learn hand position without ever looking at the keyboard, making it unnecessary to later unlearn the habit of looking at what their hands are doing.

This ebook is a simple download, very reasonably priced at only $8.00 for its 85 pages. Though these could easily be bound together in a notebook, I love the convenience of printing only the pages I need and propping them up on the desk with a clipboard. I also love that for $8.00, I have a program that I can use and reuse with all of my children.

For further practice, Gentle Shepherd also offers a book of Typing Practice Pages. These pages make up another semester of typing lessons, boosting skill and improving speed. These pages are arranged almost like essays on various topics. Students type pages about Deserts, Rain Forests, The Moon, Rocks, Plastic, and much more. These are fascinating essays that are sure to hold students' interest. Not only are they increasing their typing skills, they can't help but learn. For instance, did you know the word plastic comes from the Greek word plastikos, meaning "fit for molding"? This second book is 103 pages long and also costs only $8.00.

Without question, this will be the keyboarding course I recommend to anyone who asks me for typing suggestions.

Product review by Jennifer Harrison, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, February 2010