homeschool typing program

Homeschool Typing Program

Last week I took my 15-year-old son to the Drivers License Division last week to get his learners permit. He aced the test, but then he panicked when the woman behind the desk asked for his signature on the document.

He whispered to me, “I don’t know cursive!”

In my defense, I have provided him opportunities to learn, but he has declined, telling me he had no need because he is a fast, accurate typist and he wants to be a software engineer. Now he knows better and he’s been practicing his signature on his math papers.

But he’ll have to live with his block letters that look like they were written by a 5-year-old on his drivers license until he has to renew it. Oh well!

This boy is a product of the 21st century! Typing is truly the new handwriting, although I do feel remiss about the signature thing.

(This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosures for more information.)

When Should Kids Learn To Type?

Of course kids should be proficient readers before they learn to type, but once they’ve mastered reading, there is no reason they can’t learn to type. Children as young as five or six-years-old have sufficient attention span and are motivated to learn to type because they are so drawn to computers and electronic devices.

If they learn to touch-type (typing without looking at their hands) properly at a young age, your kiddos won’t have to unlearn bad habits later. Children catch on so easily that it really isn’t very difficult for them.

Homeschool typing programs

5 Reasons Learning To Touch-Type Is a Critical Skill:

  1. Touch typing increases efficiency. Kids who can touch-type produce twice the amount of work as those who “hunt and peck” at the keyboard.
  2. Touch-typing is more accurate. Typists who can read what they type while they type don’t have to stop to read what is on the screen or go back and make corrections.
  3. Computers are the future. From AI to cyber security to web development, the majority of future careers require typing proficiency.
  4. Kids who can type can just focus on the content. Writing papers is hard. Typing them should not be. Actually, word processing will make drafting and editing easier, but only if kids can type.
  5. Like riding a bike, touch-typing is a skill that will last a lifetime.

How Do I Teach My Children To Type?

Are you asking yourself how in the world you will find the time to teach your children to type? Or are you wondering where to even start?

Fortunately, there are several high quality typing programs out there that will teach your children to type for you. All you have to do is set up an account and make sure your child works on it for a few minutes each day. If you choose to use a gamified program like Typesy, you may not even have to nag your child because he will be so excited about the stories and the gamification he will play voluntarily.

Touch Typing Programs for Homeschool

Over the last 18 years of homeschooling, we’ve used several different homeschool typing programs. We recently discovered Typesy Homeschool, when I noticed my 8-year-old was hunting and pecking at the keyboard. They offer one version of their typing program for government schools and another version for homeschools.

We’re using the homeschool version. I like the way it’s structured to take my children from beginner to complete proficiency within about ten weeks of daily work. Kids work incrementally, starting with the basic hand position, through the material in a very logical way.

Typesy parent dashboard

3 Reasons We Love Typesy Homeschool Typing Program

  1. My daughter likes that Typesy is story-based and interactive. She enjoys the time-based challenges (she calls them typing games) and I appreciate that the games encourage her to work toward typing accuracy as well as speed, via muscle memory training. They even manage to slip in some grammar!
  2. Typesy typing lessons use clear, concise video instructions, explained by a teacher and demonstrated on a keyboard. Yay! Parents are off the hook!
  3. Typesy makes it easy for parents by setting them up as the teacher of their own little homeschool class, where they can assign learning and monitor the progress of multiple children all in one very intuitive dashboard (parent dashboard is pictured above).
  4. Whether you use Mac, Windows, Chromebook or iPad, Typesy stores your student’s progress in the cloud so they can work from any device and easily pick up where they left off, which is incredibly convenient for busy homeschool families. You get unlimited installs across all of your devices.
  5. They use adaptive technology to monitor your child’s progress and customize the lessons to their current skill level. This makes learning to touch type more efficient.

My Favorite Thing About Typesy

My very favorite thing about Typesy is that it’s 100% child led and gamified so that I don’t need to nag my daughter to practice her typing skills every day. She nags me! And when she is finished each day she excitedly gives me her stats (accuracy and speed) and figures out how much she has improved since the previous day!

She feels accomplished, which makes her even more eager to learn each day. And I am thrilled that all of this learning doesn’t come at the expense of a peaceful relationship or my ability to get things done.

online homeschool typing program

Get Started with Typesy

Your kiddos can get started with Typesy Homeschool typing program in just a few minutes! Just choose the plan that best suits your family’s needs, whether you need it for just your family or for a homeschool co-op.

Your purchase is good for FIVE YEARS, so all of your kids can take advantage of it. If you want to try it before you buy it, they offer a 7-day free trial. And they also have a 12-month “refund plus $50” guarantee!

Pin this homeschool typing program information for later!

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