Sue G in PA Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 My Ker just asked me if she could learn "real handwriting". When she pretends to write, she will use scribbles that mimic cursive letters (just a long line of loops and curves, etc.). That is her "handwriting" she says. She already knows her print letters well (except she often reverses letters and number..like a mirror image). Wondering if cursive would help with that? If so, what should I use? I have A Reason for Handwriting. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorCalMom Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 My dd started cursive in K with Abeka. It worked well for us. It's kind of funny though - her handwriting was beautiful back then. Now that she's finishing up 4th - not so much! :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 Becca learned at 5 with New American Cursive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 I'm teaching my son cursive. We work from the white board 1 letter at a time. Today was the first day he did any joins, he wrote "it." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue G in PA Posted March 11, 2011 Author Share Posted March 11, 2011 I like the white board idea. Thanks. I'll have to keep this a secret from ds8, though...just another area in which dd5 is leaps and bounds ahead of him. Would cursive help a child who has poor manucript writing? Ds8 has really improved in this area over the past 6 mos. But, his writing is still very illegible and "messy". Wondering now if cursive might help that. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinsfamily Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 Cursive First worked great for my 6yo. He was printing fine but wanted to write "fancy." His writing improved drastically. Because of ds6's success, I'll be starting ds4 with CF here in June when he starts Kindy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 I really liked Horizons Penmanship. It has each letter introduced, alongside manuscript lessons, so you can work on cursive while continuing to work on manuscript. If you want to email me--I'll send you the 2nd grade book and the TM, but I've lost your addy! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 My Ker just asked me if she could learn "real handwriting". When she pretends to write, she will use scribbles that mimic cursive letters (just a long line of loops and curves, etc.). That is her "handwriting" she says. She already knows her print letters well (except she often reverses letters and number..like a mirror image). Wondering if cursive would help with that? If so, what should I use? I have A Reason for Handwriting. Thanks. I taught my dd cursive when she was 5yo, and she picked it up very quickly. I would recommend that you use a program that is designed for that age, though. Something meant for an older student may be too much for a child that age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mammaofbean Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 we started with HWOT cursive at 5.5. writing is not dd's strong suit, but even so she had very few days of frustration with the first book, and even more ease when she started the second book. she still reverses letters- i am not sure if i should be amazed or banging my head against the wall. ha!! but she reverses less in cursive than she does in print, and i try to catch it as it happens now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladydusk Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 We're using Cursive First with my 5 and 6 year olds. My "wishes she were already 4" year old is starting to work on numbers .... only because she's started writing letters/words on her own and I don't want her to get into bad habits. We'll be taking it slowly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmschooling Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 I agree about using something that is made for young kids to learn cursive, instead of using a 3rd grade cursive handwriting introduction book for a K'er. I really like the looks of New American Cursive. My son writes much better in cursive (without instruction yet!) than he does in print. He's just seen my DD9 and I writing that way and has picked up a lot. It fixes his reversals and both of my older two write neater in cursive than print. I used BJU 1-3 with my oldest. We did those three levels over about 1.5-2 school years. I like that the print is "pre-cursive" and leads well into cursive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momofeat Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Would cursive help a child who has poor manucript writing? Ds8 has really improved in this area over the past 6 mos. But, his writing is still very illegible and "messy". Wondering now if cursive might help that. Any ideas? Yes. I always teach cursive to the students I tutor because cursive greatly reduces reversals and provides natural spacing of words within a sentence. I teach my own dc cursive first, in Kindergarten. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue G in PA Posted March 12, 2011 Author Share Posted March 12, 2011 Where can I buy cursive first and can I teach it even though they already know manuscript? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 You can buy it here. Yes, you can teach it to a child that already knows manuscript. We made the transition with my dd a few months ago. You can read about our experience with Cursive First on my blog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trish J Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Hi, Regardless of age, I also highly recommend HWOT. I work with dyslexics and as one activity for reinforcement, I have them write the cursive letters on a tactile surface with their fingers...could be carpet, a soft piece of velvet stretched across a frame, anything that they like the feel of. The person who said that cursive should decrease the number of reversals is correct. For younger students, incorporate more kinaesthetic and tactile for stronger recall. Cheers, Trish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachmejoy Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 I started teaching my ds cursive at 5 and used Cursive First. I wasn't extremely thrilled with the program and couldn't find any others I was totally satisfied with, so I developed my own. You can check it out in my signature if you want. I think teaching cursive early on is definately the way to go! My ds is 6 now and I am so pleased with his handwriting. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindyz Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 We started at 5 and I used Cursive First. I taught it at the pace outline in Phonic Road Level 1 which is actually teaching printing, but we did cursive. This method teaching all of the letters very quickly. So he basically learned 3 or 4 letters each day and knew them all within just few weeks. Once he knew all of the letters, we used Abeka K5 Phonics Handwriting books and of course practiced during spelling lists and copywork, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abacus2 Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 This is intriguing to me. I had never considered teaching cursive first. Do you go back and teach printing later? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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