Why cursive first?

[abacus2]

I've seen several people mention teaching cursive writing first. Why have you chosen to do this? Has it worked well for your child? Did you go back to teaching printing later?

[RootAnn]

I didn't teach my first child cursive first. I taught her to print using Zaner-Bloser stuff 2nd half of K-year. She was very pencil-phobic. Her handwriting was AWFUL. While I was teaching her cursive (using sidewalk chalk on our driveway during the summer), her younger sister (who had reversal issues but who loves to use a pencil) decided to learn right along with her. Oldest DD has extremely legible cursive handwriting and her print has improved tremendously. She dislikes writing in cursive and will not do so unless I say she has to.

 

So, DD#2 started Kindergarten already knowing how to write many lowercase letters in cursive. I thought this was GREAT as I figured it would be a lot harder to accidently reverse them either in writing or in reading the cursive letter. (It is easier for her to tell the difference between a lower case L and an upper case i, for example, or a b and a d. She still managed to write in mirror image in cursive, but that's another post.)

 

She learned printing on her own because she loves to copy things (words/pictures) from books. Our phonics/reading/spelling program (SWR) has letters in typeface so she knows what lowercase letters look like & sees uppercase ones in her reading. I've never taught her to print yet she can do so just fine at the age of 7. She defaults to cursive in almost everything and has beautiful handwriting.

 

I am going to play it by ear with each child, but I am planning on teaching my DD#3 cursive using sidewalk chalk this summer. Certainly saves a lot of work in 2nd/3rd grade if they already know it, eh?

[FO4UR]

I did cursive first with my oldest (younger two picked up print before I could teach either).

 

It's worked out well. I've only had to do some light teaching of print...most of it has been picked up naturally b/c he has a tendency to copy whatever he sees. For a short while, in Kindy, it was kinda awkward in some situations b/c other people assume all 5yo's are learning print. By 1st grade, his print looked like a normal 1st grader, and his cursive was very nice. He's in 2nd grade now, and his print is very nice too (when he tries...and it's not backwards - possible dyslexia;)).

 

Why?

 

#1 - It's actually more natural and easy to learn first.

 

#2 - What you learn first tends to stick even after other things are learned. I want them to have a nice, natural cursive hand as adults. Muscle memory dictates.

 

#3 - Given that my kids seem to pick up print without much instruction at all, it's highly efficient to spend those early lessons learning cursive formation. I'm very glad that "cursive" is not a subject that we need to tack onto our day in 3rd grade.

 

#4 - I deal with a lot of letter reversals and inversions. It's much harder (though not impossible:001_huh::lol:) to reverse letters in cursive. There is something about learning "sh" as a cursive unit of sound that keeps the letters straight (ds8 will print "hs" and literally not see the problem).

[Tracy]

 

• Cursive is physically easier to do (less lifting and re-placing the pencil, smoother movements).
  
• Cursive automatically corrects both reversals and spacing problems.
  
• What you learn first is what you remember best.
  
• I don't want to teach handwriting twice. (Did that with dd and don't want a repeat with ds.)
  
• The age at which most American children make the transition to cursive is an age that the bar is being substantially raised for other subjects, especially in written work. I would rather not purposely put more pressure on them by making them re-learn something they already thought they had learned. (How frustrating!)