handwriting style - does it matter? (cursive)

[mamamindy]

Okay, I know there will be differing opinions...  DD1 started manuscript with only my written model, moved to using a book - HWOT - because little sister had one (it helped me teach her - she had problems with reversals).  So, DD1's now finished the cursive book.  I am not in love with the cursive model in HWOT (although her manuscript is flawless).  I am wondering, does it really matter at this point what I use for a model in cursive?  My own cursive handwriting looks similar to the style in my Spalding (WRTR) book - an un-slanted cursive.  Since I often hand write out her copy work (and couldn't for the life of me make mine look like the HWOT cursive) I just write in my best cursive handwriting.  I'm leaning towards this just being "enough" unless her writing gets sloppy.  Does it really matter if she is given other models (say if I got her a Pentime book, or the cursive in her R&S spelling book)?  I know certainly not so much later, but now when she's only *just* learned cursive?  Am I over-thinking this? :p

[...................]

I think the biggest thing is the rhythm, so that the hand and muscle memory are properly trained. Both of my kids needed remedial work on that because they weren't exercised properly in their programs or it was dropped. (Used Calvert Script which is somewhat similar to HWOT) fwiw I think HWOT does a great job of teaching cursive but it does not flow, it is not natural. I think the methods that teach practicing loops, ups and downs and rhythm on on a slight slant are far superior long term. Peterson Directed is the most thorough example but I just receive an Abeka penmanship 4th grade book in the mail which I am using to remediate my dd's handwriting. It's great and not too expensive either. The popular Reason for Handwriting does not provide the right kind of practice and does not have the loops and swirls and the right slant that I think really trains the muscles.

 

I went to public school for a few years. Upon my return to catholic school my handwriting was totally hideous and completely inconsistent. Sister Marie stayed after school with me for a month at which time she made me do all the Peterson exercises.... Rows and rows and rows of loops and circles and ups and downs for weeks before we even started on letters. After that, she did not even have to do much work with me on letters. My handwriting is still complimented to this day. (Funny side note- she called it The Handwriting Club and invited me to come and all my friends giggled- I realized after school that day that I was the only person in this "club".) lol she had a great sense of humor.

 

(However I am to familiar with lefties so I don't know how the slanting applies for them.)

[mamamindy]

Wow, thanks for that info.  I truly didn't think it really mattered/was a matter of preference in appearance only.  I have always cramped up when writing (manuscript or cursive) and just figured it was me.  Maybe I need remedial handwriting!  So far, we don't have any lefties in this house, so thankful I don't have to deal with that.

 

Thanks for your advice!

[Piper]

Adding my thanks for this info.  Things were totally screwed up when I learned cursive.  They made us change style and method halfway through learning cursive, so I write it in a very weird combo way.  (And I never learned many letters the proper way, either - small 'r' is a good example of how they simplified it for us.)  So the last thing I want is my kids taking my handwriting as a model!  My MIL, on the other hand, has beautiful cursive, and I want my kids to have that.  My dd is doing pretty well, but it's still a labor for her, and she constantly has to check her reference sheet for how to form letters.  I will definitely be checking out Peterson handwriting.

[konglish]

Can you use the Peterson Directed method/exercises with a different cursive font?  Or would that not make sense?

[...................]

Well let me see...the OLD Palmer Method (not the 80's re-do) was similar in that in required training of the hand for rythm and muscle memory and someone posted a free online lesson for it...let me try to find it.

 

Here it is.  See these "drills?"  They are the most important thing of all....http://palmermethod.com/introductory/lesson-5/  So as long as you use a slanted cursive and use these drills every day, I think you could make another cursive program work. But, as I said, the Abeka Penmanship is very pretty, not TOO complicated, and the books include the instruction in the drills.

 

The Peterson Method is probably better, if you really want to dedicate yourself to really teaching your children the best handwriting method.  However, it's kind of over-complicated and I don't think too many homeschool moms want to dedicate themselves that much to handwriting.  It's not that it is super time consuming, it's just that we all have so many other things going on.  You'd probably agree with me, that handwriting is definitely on the back burner in comparison to SO MANY other things.  So I think one would have to be super super duper Type A OR really really love the process and idea of correct handwriting to actually use Peterson. It actually teaches not only the muscle memory and rhythm of basic strokes, but each cursive letter is taught to a rhythmic chant...like up, down, loop around but all on a beat.  

 

I am very happy with my Abeka Penmanship book because it really includes plenty of practice plus the drills and the slant is very natural.  I would definitley take a look at the lower levels.  AND now Abeka is sold at CBD.  However, if you already have a slant program you like, just add the drills from the link above.  Or just use the link above.  It's pretty straightforward.  

[Hunter]

If you need something free but good, Don Potter has some good stuff.

 

Scroll down to the handwritten lessons

http://www.donpotter.net/pdf/af_cursive.pdf

 

More here

http://www.donpotter.net/reading_clinic.html

 

and here

http://www.donpotter.net/education_pages/handwriting.html

 

And this was posted on a yahoo list I'm on.

http://www.kidzone.ws/cursive/index.htm

[Korrale]

I have been thinking a lot about cursive and the more I read and think the more I am going back to the cursive I grew up with. (Queensland cursive) i was going to just settle with whatever i could find. But I am choosing not to now. Because my font is too difficult to find I will will just have my son copy my hand. It is super simple to learn as it is an extension of print. There aren't any fancy loops or slants. I don't recall ever having fatigue issues. And the rhythm is so natural just as long as print is taught right. Basically it is just a linking print.

I have sat and tried some of the exercises linked above, I have even tried to copy the fonts. But it is just all so complicated. And as someone said above, there are more important things to focus on. Especially because handwriting wil be split between typing. So I am just going for the path of least resistance.

Although we won't be writing in many fancy fonts, we will have to practice reading a variety of them.

 

Another thing to consider... Although I CAN write in the font I was taught when I was a kid I don't. During my highschool years I made it my own. I modified the hook on the y and made it strait, I changed the style of my a to look just like the one I just typed. I started using old fashioned upper case Ls, Ts and Es. I remember changing my handwriting several times over the years. So I expect that my son might do the same. Makes me wonder about the relevance of what I teach.

[nansk]

I have been thinking a lot about cursive and the more I read and think the more I am going back to the cursive I grew up with. (Queensland cursive) i was going to just settle with whatever i could find. But I am choosing not to now. Because my font is too difficult to find I will will just have my son copy my hand.

I love the Italic style and all the writing styles taught in Australia appear to be based on it.

 

I had downloaded the Queensland print and unjoined cursive fonts and the font joining software when they used to be freely available on the Queensland education web site. It appears that they have stopped supporting the font joining software now and so have taken off the links to the fonts, too.

 

I can send you the fonts if you PM me with your email address.

 

FYI, the Victoria Modern Cursive font is still available for free.

 

ETA: The Queensland fonts, with extra dotted fonts, and with guidelines are available for purchase here.

[Hunter]

It is hard to switch from one handwriting type to another. I've done it a few times now. Twice for student benefits, and once in between because I wanted to write the way I wanted to write, rather than be a teacher first.

 

Creating your own style of handwriting is tricky. If changes are made, they need to be consistent across the entire font, or the results looks messy and weird. Few children are capable fo seeing each adaption in context of how it looks in the whole hand, and should be required to stick to the model until they are capable of developing an organized plan of creating an individualized hand.

 

I've sat for hours with a student, while she looked at hands and tried to combine incompatible letters. Once I pointed out why the individual changes couldn't just be added here and there, she could understand what would be lost by doing that, and chose to stick to the model.

[Ellie]

Y'all, the style our handwriting looks like is called a "hand," not a "font." "Font" pertains to printed material.

 

The older methods (Palmer, Zaner-Bloser, Spencerian) taught letter formation by teaching the way Calming Tea described. Modern methods like D'Nelian eschew the need for that, and you can see--literally--where that road has taken us.

 

And those methods work just as well with left-handed writers as with right-handed writers. The only difference is in the direction that the paper should be slanted. :-)

[...................]

The exercises are not complicated or confusing, and there are only 3 major ones.  If Queensland cursive is an italic cursive hand, then they probably won't go together.  However, if it is a slanted cursive, you can easily work them in.  

 

Adding-yes I looked it up and it looks like an italic font in which case you are correct, I don't think the exercises will help as much. Here's a free download that you might want to look at.  Of course I have no idea if it's the same cursive style.

 

 

https://learningplace.eq.edu.au/cx/resources/file/6ec3c227-4ee7-9d60-91cc-1eb43021a9d4/3/index.html

 

Hand not font Hand not font...Thanks Ellie I think it's in my brain now. :o)  

[mamamindy]

Are Peterson Directed handwriting materials available for purchase?  I have not seen this.

 

I would like to improve my own handwriting as well as help my daughter develop good habits.  She doesn't use the computer, and we probably won't have her use it regularly until maybe 5th grade or even later, so handwriting is important for us to spend time on.  (Not TOO much time, but I think regular practice is important.)

[mamamindy]

Okay, Zaner-bloser is easy to find.  Right?  I could use those exercises/drills, and then practice using Zaner-bloser font as a model?  (For myself and DDs.)

 

ETA: Okay, I see that Zaner-bloser is easy to find, but where best to buy it?  I like the looks of it and the Abeka books.  Is it best to order directly from these places?  (Their website.)  Thanks for any more help!!

[Korrale]

The exercises are not complicated or confusing, and there are only 3 major ones. If Queensland cursive is an italic cursive hand, then they probably won't go together. However, if it is a slanted cursive, you can easily work them in.

 

Adding-yes I looked it up and it looks like an italic font in which case you are correct, I don't think the exercises will help as much. Here's a free download that you might want to look at. Of course I have no idea if it's the same cursive style.

 

 

https://learningplace.eq.edu.au/cx/resources/file/6ec3c227-4ee7-9d60-91cc-1eb43021a9d4/3/index.html

 

Hand not font Hand not font...Thanks Ellie I think it's in my brain now. :o)

Thank you very much for the link.

[mamamindy]

Hey, I also found this "cursive handwriting warmup":  http://donnayoung.org/penmanship/handwriting-worksheet-styles.htm#zbcursive

 

Thought it looked like it might help us.

[nansk]

The exercises are not complicated or confusing, and there are only 3 major ones.  If Queensland cursive is an italic cursive hand, then they probably won't go together.  However, if it is a slanted cursive, you can easily work them in.  

 

Adding-yes I looked it up and it looks like an italic font in which case you are correct, I don't think the exercises will help as much. Here's a free download that you might want to look at.  Of course I have no idea if it's the same cursive style.

 

https://learningplace.eq.edu.au/cx/resources/file/6ec3c227-4ee7-9d60-91cc-1eb43021a9d4/3/index.html

 

 

Thanks for linking this great find! There is so much more on this site than there was before. I am sure moms of beginning learners will be grateful for the free handwriting workbooks. I know I'd have been thrilled if these workbooks were available then.

 

I'll add this to my list of links so that I can share it when this topic comes up again. :)

 

[Kidlit]

I know this is an old thread, but maybe some of you can help me. My girls have been learning Getty-Dubay Italic, but now they've expressed a desire to learn a loopier cursive. My elder dd can wrote fully in Otalic and my younger daughter has begun making joins, etc. Will it be too confusing for them to switch at this point?

[Crimson Wife]

I missed this thread the first time around, but we did NOT have a good experience with Peterson Directed. Peterson's font caused meltdowns in an otherwise compliant student. "Too loopy" and "too slanted" were the biggest complaints. After a year of struggling with Peterson, I came across Memoria Press' New American Cursive book 1 and my DD begged to try it. I *HATE* the look of NAC, but at that point, I was more than willing to go with ugly-but-legible over theoretically pretty but meltdown-inducing. My DD mastered NAC in 3 weeks flat.

 

DS is learning NAC now, and it's been easy-peasy.