mom4him Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Ok, I have had my two doing cursive, well, off and on, now for about 3 yrs. Neither of them do much of their school work, if any, in cursive. They both hate having to do the drills. I would think that by now it would be more automatic for them but it just isn't. I am thinking of making them sign their names on their school work in cursive but forgetting the rest. Mistake? Ideas? Do they really need to learn cursive? As a side note, I am 63, I was doing all my school work in cursive by 3-4th grade and I rarely write something in cursive now. I have been told that it is first learning's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrissySC Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I would institute copywork that relates to their study in history, science, etc. I use Startwrite software and I teach modern cursive, less loops and curls. This was the only way that I could get my middle child to start using cursive more often. I require all finished writing assignments from LA to be completed in cursive. Work up to using cursive, but they must have something to practice. I really like a large number of the copybooks that are cheaply downloaded, including but not limited to History Scribe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kandty Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I don't think it is too important for a dc to write in cursive. But, they need to be able to read cursive! We do just 5 minutes 4x a week of cursive copywork. My goal is to have my kids writing to be understood by those reading it! They can choose manuscript or cursive when they write whatever it is they are writing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitterpatter Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Besides being able to read cursive, I don't think it's all that important. As soon as I could, I switched back to print. Or, a modified print, that is. My first name starts with an S, which I cannot stand to look at in cursive. LOL! My middle name starts with an L. Can't stand to look at that letter in cursive either. I plan on teaching DD cursive, but if she doesn't like writing that way, I could care less whether she continues to use it. Our society is computer-driven now. Just my two cents, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Well, beauty and all that junk aside, the one argument toward cursive (or a mix or italic) is SPEED. So that's the one thing I'd be concerned about. But I definitely agree that there's some illogic in teaching kids one way and then reteaching them another, just as they're starting to take off. I taught my dd cursive first, and she STILL wishes she could just print. I think it's a bit of a coordination problem. I've started her doing the handwriting 8's exercise from Dianne Craft http://www.diannecraft.org/tutor3.htm so we'll see if that does any good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom4him Posted January 11, 2012 Author Share Posted January 11, 2012 Thanks for all your replies. For my ds, reading cursive is definitely an issue. My dd can read it without a problem. Reading itself is an issue for my ds. He has improved greatly this last yr but cursive? not so much. So where do you get things that are written in cursive for them to practice with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 The handwriting instructions in Writing Road to Reading are so amazingly simple and efficient and they work almost instantly. In 3 hours my handwriting showed DRASTIC improvement. That was after hours and hours and hours of instructional workbook instruction and practice copywork created in SmartWrite, that was showing steady, but slooooow progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 If a dc can't *read* cursive, despite 3 years of explicit instruction *and* is having general troubles in reading, I'd say it's a good time to start checking things like eyes. If that turns up nothing, maybe further evals. But at least the eyes. My dd's handwriting improved dramatically with VT btw. If they have vision problems, they may have poor visual memory that hinders their ability to remember how to form the letters or what they look like. You would want a developmental optometrist http://www.covd.org because a regular optometrist doesn't check all the things that affect school work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrissySC Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 My arguement for cursive. I don't think that your reason for not teaching cursive should be equated to that of not teaching the facts. Just because we have a calulator? Just because we type and have computers? Those are not reasons. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom4him Posted January 12, 2012 Author Share Posted January 12, 2012 If a dc can't *read* cursive, despite 3 years of explicit instruction *and* is having general troubles in reading, I'd say it's a good time to start checking things like eyes. If that turns up nothing, maybe further evals. But at least the eyes. My dd's handwriting improved dramatically with VT btw. If they have vision problems, they may have poor visual memory that hinders their ability to remember how to form the letters or what they look like. You would want a developmental optometrist http://www.covd.org because a regular optometrist doesn't check all the things that affect school work. We are in the process of having him evaluated. I did the search for the vision therapy and there is nothing listed in the area. I know there is one a couple hundred miles from here but that just isn't an option for our family. Hopefully the therapist that is testing him will be able to give us some in :001_smile:site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 If it's really that far, then get a regular eye exam to make sure he doesn't need glasses (actually, I had *2* regular optometrists fail to catch dd's astigmatism, so that's still not foolproof) and get the home vision exercises book on amazon. The title is slipping my mind. You can ask on the SN board. There is such a book on amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Found it. http://www.amazon.com/Developing-Ocular-Visual-Perceptual-Skills/dp/1556425953/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326327955&sr=8-1 Hope your eval gives you some useful information! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classically Minded Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 (edited) I only wrote in cursive for 3-4th grade year as well and then didn't unless a teacher required it. I still to this day write in print and prefer it. I taught my dd8 to write in cursive and she is now starting to be able to read cursive. After the 3rd year however, I will let her decide which one she would like to write her work in. Edited January 12, 2012 by Classically Minded Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasda Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 All of my kids had a tough time with cursive even after years of practice. I finally gave up and had them learn to type. They type faster than they ever could write in cursive. They can sign their names in cursive, so when they have to sign contracts as adults they'll be able to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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