Is cursive necessary?

[Sue G in PA]

My 10yo son has horrible manuscript handwriting. Horrible. Illegible, sloppy, capitals mixed with lower case (even though I make him redo each sentence if I find capital letters b/c he knows better...I've explained ad nauseam). If he takes his time (and by that I mean 10 minutes for one silly sentence), it might come out legible and readable. I have to constantly remind him about spaces between words. It is so frustrating. He did HWT cursive last year and did well. But he cannot write anything in cursive on his own. He must use a model and even then it is like pulling teeth to get him to even do that this year. So, should I force the cursive issue? Or, should I just let him write in manuscript and practice that? Or...??? I'm at such a loss and so tired of the fights.

[Mrs Mungo]

Maybe he will be a doctor? ;):D

[wapiti]

This won't help, but I'm trying to get dd10 to use cursive at least once per day. It's not working (i.e., she's not doing it), and I think I'm going to have to require cursive for everything. (pardon me, I'm just having a moment when I'm sick and tired of making other people in my house do stuff :glare:)

 

IMO, lots of practice is the key. More practice = faster and easier, less practice = slower and harder.

[TechWife]

My son's OT told us that cursive is much easier to write for kids who have difficulty with fine motor skills. The starts & stops happen only in every word, not every letter. Those who have difficulty with spacing, capital letters vs. lower case and letter reversals often can write in cursive because the fewer starts & stops they make, the less opportunity to mix something up.

 

Even though it's highly endorsed, perhaps HWT isn't the right program for him. The manuscript letters look so different than the cursive letters in many instances. I know that D'nealian has a lot of similarities in the letters, so much so that students are mainly learning connecting strokes when they get to cursive.

[Sue G in PA]

Maybe he will be a doctor? ;):D

 

Or his father! :lol:

 

I have heard that cursive is easier for kids like him and that is why I have been pushing it. His cursive WAS neater than his manuscript. I think he's just forgotten how and is frustrated. Perhaps I shall try the RFH Transition book that I have for my ds8. Hmmm...

[higginszoo]

He needs to be able to read cursive. He needs to be able to sign his name. Other than that, it seems to be less and less used. Our local schools don't even teach it anymore. My boys also have horrible handwriting, but their cursive is better than their print (not nearly as good as in their handwriting books, though :glare: ).

[eternalknot]

He needs to be able to read cursive. He needs to be able to sign his name.

 

:iagree:

 

My nephews are the same age as my kids, and they're not learning cursive in their school. We make them do it at home, though. Many of their friends can't even read cursive! I love cursive, and most of my notes to the kids are written in cursive. In our home, familiarity -at minimum- is necessary.

 

We're making our kids learn and practice cursive. We do copywork, and that's required to be in cursive; no other schoolwork is required to be in cursive, though. When the kids write letters or thank-you notes, we require those to be in cursive as well. My older nephew appreciated cursive more once he hit middle school. It made note-taking easier. His still isn't a true cursive, more of a hybrid script, but nonetheless ... learning cursive was helpful.

 

I say do one small, easy cursive thing on a regular basis - just to keep it familiar. I imagine it's a lot like learning to read - it may take a while to fully click, but once it does ... it really does. He won't need a model forever!

[Ellie]

Yes, of course. It is how English is written, and how it has been written for hundreds of years. English-speaking people in other countries write in cursive; why shouldn't Americans?

[Sandra in FL]

I'm in the minority here. We don't stress cursive here - the youngest ds doesn't write in it. The little cursive he can read is what's in Spelling Workout. Older dd can write cursive but doesn't. She, however, can type about 65 words per minute. She takes notes by typing (faster). Middle ds can write cursive but never does. They all used italic handwriting which is pretty much print joined together.

 

One ps teacher at the elementary after-school Spanish program that dd used to attend once told dd that her italic cursive was not cursive. Dd couldn't care less.

 

I'm much more concerned with whether they type quickly, can handle themselves in MicroSoft Word and are computer savvy.

[NanceXToo]

He should at least know how to sign his name in cursive. And it would be helpful if he could read cursive.

 

But other than that, is it "necessary?" At 10? Nah. Let him try again if you and he want when he's 13 or 14 or 15. I bet it's a lot less stressful for you both then!

[FO4UR]

I find cursive is easier, especially for spacing/sizing issues.

 

 

It sounds like he just needs more practice with cursive. Maybe have him review the letters individually again before diving into writing other assignments in cursive. I make copywork for mine with Startwrite...having them copy a sentence, several lowercase letters (similar strokes), and several capital letters....even after they know (I KNOW, mom!:tongue_smilie:). IOW - we practice the basics long after it seems the basics are learned.

 

My oldest started the school year copying on graph paper, focusing on sizing/slant. (He had too long of a break this summer, and I thought I could get away without focused time on handwriting, but alas...a short session was needed.) His cursive is very nice (if I do say so myself), but his print:001_huh: His print looks typical of an 8yo boy.:lol:

 

With all this practice, I go for 3 fantastic copies of each letter. (No more!) If it takes 10 tries to get 3 fantastic copies, that's fine. If the first 3 are fantastic, great - that was easy! Handwriting is muscle memory...build it a little bit, everyday.

[Serenade]

My son's OT told us that cursive is much easier to write for kids who have difficulty with fine motor skills.

 

 

I believe this! My son who has an awful print, is writing cursive beautifully. Well, maybe that's an exaggeration, but it seems beautiful after reading his printing, LOL. He didn't even start cursive until he was in fifth grade, because I felt he had so much to work on with his printing (I wanted to get it at least legible.) I'm guessing he will never print neatly, writing at a normal clip.