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This evening before bed time I let my daughter have a play with the typewriter I was using, a Royal 10 with an 18 inch platen.
Then I decided to let her try the Royal KMM.
By the time she's ten I want her to ask for her own typewriter.
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It looks as though those two machines each weigh more than she does. And, as old as they are, even the Royal 10 will outlive her--she will be passing it onto her own grandkids. It does my heart good to see someone learning about, and enjoying, typewriters at such a young age.
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My Gawd, I just realized that's not just a Royal 10, it's a Royal 10 ultra-wide! Very cool.
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We have a one month old baby at home, so routine is very important, especially around bed time. So this is our bed time routine. My daughter, Bonnie, plays with her mum's phone while her mum is in the shower and my son, Odin, is in his cot sleeping; after his bed time feed. During this time I finish up any work I have left to do.
Next comes the fun part. Her mum tells Bonnie that it is time to go to bed. She comes into my office announcing that she has come to type.
She usually chooses the Royal 10 because she likes to use the big A3 sheets. At first she just played with the keys, but then started asking how to spell words.
Now she thinks of three random words and I tell her how to spell them as she types them. After that I put them into a sentence. Usually something silly like "The cow rode the pony around in a circle." She thinks this is hilarious.
This whole routine takes up a bit of time, but while she is thinking that learning is fun I want to keep it going.
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Typewriter as learning tool for the very young -- wonderful!
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There are many plastic children's toys involving letters and claiming to help teach spelling and make learning fun, but I think the Royal 10 has them outclassed!
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If my experience is anything, she'll be asking for one far sooner than when she's ten! My eleven-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter BOTH have their own typewriters (both at their own request), and they both use them regularly. I'm especially cherishing the stories that my daughter writes out on hers, since she's so young, she still types words out phonetically, so it can be fun to decipher what's going on in her head!