Wasn't planning to teach cursive yet!

[Tracy]

I need some advice from veteran cursive educators.

 

Grasshopper, my oldest, started printing with Kumon books at 3yo. For the past few months, we have been practicing writing through copywork. She writes two full lines, landscape, in a few minutes, and I think that her writing is quite good for her age.

 

A couple of months ago, she asked me to teach her to write in cursive. Although I am very intrigued by programs like Cursive First, I didn't think that 5yo would be a good time to make the transition to cursive given that she was taught to print first. I wanted to her to get very comfortable in her printing before moving to cursive. She had already learned a cursive "a" on her own, and this past week, after increased pleading to teach her cursive, I gave in and taught her how to make an "o." Now, when she does her copywork, she makes every "a" and "o" in cursive.

 

So now what? :001_unsure: There is no way that I am going to be able to hold her back. She has decided that she is going to learn cursive. Do I continue the copywork and let her mix printing and cursive? Do I insist that she do not mix the two? Do I scrap the copywork and work full time on cursive?

[JMDRAD]

I have actually switched to teaching cursive. My dd's (6) print was awful:tongue_smilie: I found a very cheap program called Cursive First and I started her with that. Cursive is much easier for her and her handwriting is actually pretty in cursive. :001_smile: She has only learned a handful of letters so she still prints when doing copywork, and she mixes the two. I'm really not worried about it at this point. I figured that when she has learned all her letters I'll work on getting her to do only cursive and not mix the two.

 

That's my experience. :D

[DarlaS]

Do I scrap the copywork and work full time on cursive?

 

My 6 yo has been wanting to write in cursive also. I'm thinking of doing just that. He's started inventing his own special style of cursive--and it's not what I had in mind. :tongue_smilie:

[Tracy]

I have actually switched to teaching cursive. My dd's (6) print was awful:tongue_smilie: I found a very cheap program called Cursive First and I started her with that.

 

Have you had any problems with using Cursive First after printing? Or is "cursive first" just the philosophy but can be used to teach cursive at any stage?

[Annabel Lee]

Oh wow, I thought my youngest one's desire to learn cursive was an oddity. He's been begging since around Christmas. I showed him how to write a and i in cursive, and he does the same thing - writes every one of those letters in cursive, alongside other manuscript letters.

 

I like Abeka's teaching method for cursive, I just don't like the super-loopiness of it. I detest capital Qs that look like the number 2. But, I use it b/c it's a great program for getting proper formation down. I just teach from another source (or make my own) when it comes to the few that I don't like. Their 2nd grade Writing With Phonics Manuscript/Cursive penmanship student book is the one that makes the transition, and they do it so smoothly.

 

D'Nealian and Zaner-Bloser are pretty good too - easy to transition from print because of their less-loopy styles.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

My first grader keeps trying to link his print letters together because he so badly wants to learn cursive. I told him we would start this summer, although I hadn't originally planned on starting quite yet. I say go for it, if she really wants to.

[JMDRAD]

Have you had any problems with using Cursive First after printing? Or is "cursive first" just the philosophy but can be used to teach cursive at any stage?

 

No problems at all. The author of cursive first believes that children should learn it first because it is actually easier than print. She gives the history of why kids are taught manuscript first now, etc. For $20 I got reproducible pages and instructions.

[Arch at Home]

When my 6 year old does copywork, he does a combination of cursive and printing, 2 words in cursive and the rest in cursive. I didn't have a cursive problem. I just had him copy the words. If there was a letter that he had troubles with, I would show him how to do it.

[AngelaNYC]

When my dd (now 13) was 5, she saw me write her name in cursive on the winter clothes bag that was going in the basement. She said, "Is that my name?". I told her it was and she begged to learn how to write like that, too. She was adamant about it, so I gave her a cheapo cursive book that was her older sister's (unused). She zipped through the whole thing in about a week. I was astonished at how gorgeous her handwriting was. She was so proud of herself, that she did some Kindergarten work in cursive (at school). Would you believe she got reprimanded because "we don't use cursive in Kindergarten!!". She was heartbroken. I wish I would have homeschooled her then.

 

Oh, wait, sorry, I went off on a tangent. YES! Foster that incredible love of learning. I say, let her do the copywork with whatever she feels like. Adults don't give a thought to what handwriting they'll use. Kids should be free to choose. :D

[Amy Jo]

I just switched my 7yo to cursive. I had him trace the letters and he said that this writing "made him happy". We just received Cursive First in the mail, and there are plans for both starting with cursive, and transitioning to it.

 

And I wouldn't let the child teach themselves. The big reason I ordered CF was to teach my 6yo to form letters properly. I don't want to undo bad habits.

 

So I vote go for it, make it fun!

Amy

[Midwest Pixie]

We have enjoyed using "Cheerful Cursive."

 

http://rainbowresource.com/product/Cheerful+Cursive/018482/1274767611-1961829

 

Good explanatory intros and letters are grouped by type of stroke. Instead of tracing over a dotted version, the tracing portion is actually inside of cursive letters (done "bubble letter style" (for lack of a better way to describe it). This has actually made it easier fro my kids because they can still see the letter shape outline around where they are writing, instead of it disappearing under their pencil/pen, etc.

 

We took our book apart and laminated the pages so we can use a Vis-a-Vis pen and wipe clean when finished for the next kid.

[Tracy]

We have enjoyed using "Cheerful Cursive."

 

http://rainbowresource.com/product/Cheerful+Cursive/018482/1274767611-1961829

 

Good explanatory intros and letters are grouped by type of stroke. Instead of tracing over a dotted version, the tracing portion is actually inside of cursive letters (done "bubble letter style" (for lack of a better way to describe it). This has actually made it easier fro my kids because they can still see the letter shape outline around where they are writing, instead of it disappearing under their pencil/pen, etc.

 

Thanks so much for this recommendation. I have been printing pages with that style from the internet, but it is not a complete program, and dd has to ask me to print it (and then wait for me to get around to it). She really likes the "bubble letter" style. I did not want to spend any more money on another program this year, but this is really inexpensive. So it might be worth it.

[Dmmetler]

I taught my DD to write her name in cursive at age 5, while she was still in K, and then when she came home to hs, moved to teaching cursive exclusively because that's what she wants to do. I also figured that even though I hadn't planned on teaching cursive first, it kind of makes sense for her to work on writing when she doesn't have a lot of heavy writing assignments in other subject areas, instead of at age 8 or so, where the workload is going to be less oral and manipulative and more written. We're using HWT cursive, but doing it mostly on the chalkboard and on the wide-lined paper, rather than in the workbook, since the lines there are narrower.

[FriedClams]

My DD begged to learn cursive at 6. We used Handwriting without Tears cursive - just the workbook. She has beautiful handwriting now. I am using it with my son now and it's really painless and a great easy transition to traditional cursive.

[Tracy]

I also figured that even though I hadn't planned on teaching cursive first, it kind of makes sense for her to work on writing when she doesn't have a lot of heavy writing assignments in other subject areas, instead of at age 8 or so, where the workload is going to be less oral and manipulative and more written.

 

I have been trying to hold back on giving her too much. She is doing work beyond her grade level already, and I am trying to make sure I don't take away her childhood. But this is a good point that I will have to consider.

[nansk]

Thanks so much for this recommendation. I have been printing pages with that style from the internet, but it is not a complete program, and dd has to ask me to print it (and then wait for me to get around to it). She really likes the "bubble letter" style. I did not want to spend any more money on another program this year, but this is really inexpensive. So it might be worth it.

 

Hi,

 

I liked the samples on RR. Just curious, which handwriting style is "Cheerful Cursive"? Is it D'Nelian?

 

Where do you print the worksheets from?

Edit: Never mind, I found your post where you've linked the site.

Edited June 5, 2010 by nansk

[abrightmom]

I liked the samples on RR. Just curious, which handwriting style is "Cheerful Cursive"? Is it D'Nelian?

 

:lurk5: I'd like to know the same thing!

[brewer13399]

I have been wondering the same thing. My 7 year old wanted to know how to write in cursive but I am not sure he is ready. I have taught him how to write his name so far and he thinks it is so cool!!

[tillie]

I used Cursive First with my ds and my dd. Both asked to learn long before I had planned to teach either of them. So I took my ds through the program at his pace (3 weeks) in the late summer before his first grade year (age 6) and my dd went through it in about 8 weeks in the middle her first grade year (this current year). Both have beautiful cursive and love it. They loved the program completely. It is so inexpensive and easy to teach. Both children knew how to print upper and lower case letters before learning cursive so it wasn't really their first handwriting instruction.

 

I encourage you to capture the enthusiasm and see how it goes.

[Midwest Pixie]

Hi,

 

Just curious, which handwriting style is "Cheerful Cursive"? Is it D'Nealian?

 

 

Yes, it's closest to D'Nealian, even though it doesn't come right out and call itself that. It does teach both styles of capital Q though--the one that looks like a curly 2 (yuck!) and the O-based (much better :D).

 

HTH!

[Georgia On My Mind]

From another perspective, cursive helps students with the idea of whole words rather than individual letters. Spelling improves when students write in cursive. Reversed letters disappear when students write in cursive also. Cursive is a large motor (from the shoulder) activity if done correctly so it is actually written in the brain as well as on the paper. I could go on and on. I see no reason to hold a child back from writing in cursive if they are ready and wanting to do it. What next Spenserian Italic Hw? Go for it!

Carolyn (Educational Therapist)

[Dmmetler]

My 5 yr old is working on cursive using HWOT, at her request, but we do the rest of the time in manuscript, including copywork. Once she's learned all the letters and is solid, we'll probably switch entirely.