How do you feel about teaching today's kids to write in cursive? With all the print and technology around us, it seems rather outdated. I've heard rumors that several districts in my state are weighing the odds on this one as well. In my case, my ds spent a semester last year learning to read and write cursive. But that's all the time we gave it. I feel it's still around, so he should be able to decipher it, but I don't require that he use it. He has enough trouble with printing. Improving his reading is our overwhelming focus right now. Cursive is the last thing we need to perfect. Typing, which we'll conquer next year, seems much more important. Curious, have others downgraded or skipped cursive writing? Any thoughts for or against?
I like to write, and when I do, I HAVE to have pen and paper. Thoughts simply do not flow for me on a keyboard. I've heard of other (real) writers, who also use handwriting, in this day and age. So yes, I teach my children cursive. Nothing formal, just a single sheet of practice every day. They actually enjoy it, and one of my sons has started using it on his own, when he writes notes, etc. This is, in my opinion, not a skill the NEED to have, rather one that is good to have. That, and the fact that I'm rather nostalgic
I absolutely think cursive is essential, and that's how I start. Print will come in time, but cursive is what I teach first. http://www.donpotter.net/pdf_files/cursivefirst.pdf
Lol, you guys both think differently than I. My teachers insisted I use cursive in grade school, but I've never written since ninth grade when printing was allowed again. I prefer typing to both!
When my son was 3 (turning 4 before the end of December), we enrolled him in Junior Kindergarten. By Senior Kindergarten, when he was 4 turning 5, it was obvious he had a problem with printing. He was homeschooling by the end of that year, but I shelved writing for the time being as it was clearly causing him a lot of stress. He dictated to me for the rest of Kindergarten. First day of Grade 1, I gave him a big sheet of paper and asked him to write his alphabet. He started out backwards, going right to left. Then he realized there was a problem, turned the entire sheet upside down and continued... right to left and inverting his letters. :lol: I realized, watching him, that a big part of his problem was that every time he lifted his pencil off the paper he'd lose focus and forget where he was supposed to put it back down. Forget about writing words - he was struggling just to make it all the way through a single letter! So, I taught him a modified cursive script, using Handwriting Without Tears. Every letter started from the base line and you didn't pick your pencil up until you were done. When he was ready to move into complete words, it helped him stay focussed. Sentences were a problem for awhile, because he'd forget the beginning by the time he got four or five words in. That's still a problem, and honestly the only thing that's really helped there is learning to type. Speed makes all the difference. Cursive, for my son, was SO much easier than printing. He now uses a kind of cursive/print blend to write his high school assignments, and while it's certainly not pretty, at least it's mostly legible.
I feel that untill your child can read & write print well, that cursive should not be introduced. Then when it is, I think it should be taught only if it is not confusing the child.
concerning that article...I read that once before on here I think....it contends that cursive is hard to introduce once they are used to printing. This was not the case for me when I learned cursive in 3rd, and is certainly not the case for my two boys either...They are both printing in regular writing, but do the cursive sheet very nicely every day. My 4 yr old is just starting out learning to write, and he's doing print. Like hsinmom82 said, I am not planning on introducing cursive with him until he's confident in print.
I think being able to use cursive is valuable when written communication is prefered-- thank you notes/letters, hand-written professional communication, etc. I suggest teaching it when the child's motor skills are ready, around age 7 to 9. From my experience, I would avoid cursive italic or cursive D'Nealian. While the ease of of simply "connecting the tail of the previous letter" is attractive compared to learning a new set of symbols, often the writing becomes sloppy as the student mixes printing with cursive. I'd opt for a more traditional option. I also like the way it looks. Curt
I'm on the fence about this one. My girls both have beautiful printing, and my oldest has beautiful cursive. I taught her because she WANTED to learn it and was teaching herself all wrong, so I had to step in because she was determined. I decided to teach my son b/c his printing is atrocious...but his cursive is BEAUTIFUL. Artistic even!!! This year I mostly let him do printing, but his handwriting program is cursive and I make him do all language arts activities in cursive...everything else is as long as I can read it! LOL
I guess I"m a die-hard. I wanted a beautiful Palmer cursive like my parents had, but when I got to cursive in third grade, Zaner-Bloser (and similar) were being taught, so I had to go with that. I worked very hard to make my writing look like the examples in the spelling book, but some letters were just difficult -- r, k, and s, for example. I didn't find my own cursive adequate until about junior high or so, and by high school I was just glad to be able to write fast enough to keep up with notes. When I was in graduate school, I was able to take notes and write nearly every word the professor said in quite legible cursive, so much so that those who sat around me always wanted to borrow my notes. Sadly, now my diabetic fingers aren't nearly as facile as they used to be, so my cursive handwriting is deteriorating. And I now make way more errors typing than I used to, as well. Phone calls are nice, because you can hear the other person's voice, but you can't keep it in a drawer and take it out every so often and relive the first time you read it. Email is fast, but even if you print it out and keep it, there's nothing personal or unique about the way it looks - it could've been written by anybody. A handwritten note, or even a manuscript, or a postcard, is a treasure to keep forever. It is uniquely YOU. I insist on legible cursive in my school.
I believe cursive is important and looking back I wish I had started with cursive in Kindergarten. I probably will for my youngest. I am using a vintage handwriting cursive program with fountain pens for my boys this year. My younger son has had chronic problems with handwriting. I have seen so much progress in his handwriting skills this year. The fountain pens have made handwriting more fun and have helped reinforce correct positioning with the right amount of pressure.
I've been pondering this a lot lately, not because I think it is all that important but it takes up so much time! I know one page a day but each page you do is a page I won't do of something else because time is limited and I won't school all day. Play time, chore time, family time, exercise time are all also important to me. I've been thinking of starting with cursive with my younger two before printing but of course in most correspondence they will do, besides a few cards and letters, they will be typing or printing and honestly, if I get a thank you note in print I appreciate it just as much as if it is in cursive. So I really don't know. I am curious though which program you used if you did start with cursive. Oh I had to laugh at this line, "Also, you can’t carry a two-thousand dollar laptop or a typewriter, everywhere you go." from Blumenfeld's article. It wouldn't surprise me if there will soon be an app the records audio and maybe even translates it into print for you on a little Iphone someday.
I adapted Handwriting Without Tears. However, their cursive curriculum is aimed at 3rd Graders, and I think it only worked for us because my son had been reading for a couple years already. He sure did like practicing on a chalk board, though!
My son has small mussel (spelling is so WRONG) control problems. He is 8, but we are still teaching printing, and will probably continue to do so. I don't see the point in him finally getting good at writing and then changing it. It would frustrate him. My daughter has better handwriting at 6, but i still think we will stick with printing. Cursive is an outdated skill in my mind. But, in 20 years, maybe I'll regret that decision
I'm doing cursive with my 3rd grade dd. She's doing very well, but I too question if it's really nesessary, the way technology is going I can't see handwriting lasting for much longer.
I have taught my son cursive so he will know it when he comes in contact with it. I don't make him write in cursive other than practice sheets or maybe everyone once in a while on the white board. I agree that technology is growing daily but I do not think handwriting will disappear completely. Ya still need to sign the check for the bank! Anyways, after starting him on a cursive practice sheet one day I had to take an important phone call. After I was done, I asked him if he finished writing his h's. HIs answer was, " I don't know, you didn't tell me what letter I was working on before." I then swore that if I was going to go through all the work of home schooling him, he certain would know what letters were in cursive! :lol:
I just used a computer made signature to sign all my papers for the offer I put on my new house. It's crazy. Signatures are seldom neat and legible, they are simply one of a kind marks. I still want my children to learn how to write, definitely. I don't think it will ever become obsolete, just like I want my child to know how to start a fire and all sorts of things that many people don't use daily. It's just interesting to me that we as a generation don't even really know what skills our children will need when they are grown. Imagine having that problem a 100 years ago.
We incorporated cursive this year (my boys are 6 and 8), and they both LOVE it! We don't spend a lot of time on it (10 minutes/one sheet each day covering a new letter with letter and word writing). My 8 year old does some letter reversals when printing-- this is eliminated with cursive writing. It's been a good experience for them.
