If your kids do cursive

[Xilka]

could you explain why it's important to you?

[edeemarie]

I am teaching my son cursive because his manuscript writing is not very good. He is a lefty and cursive seems to be easier for him and I can actually read what he is writing :)

[lillehei]

I want them to be able to read notes from their grandparents and other adults. I also think it is neater than printing because they have to slow down.

[Karen in CO]

Take a look at this. If our students can't read cursive, they will never be able to read their own history; they'll be doomed to have others tell them what historic documents say. I don't want to limit their future to second-hand knowledge.

[Aurelia]

Ariel wanted to learn to do "fancy writing" and was trying to imitate my handwriting. I write almost exclusively in cursive and only print if necessary. I wanted her to learn correct letter formation so future writing would be faster and more comfortable.

[RoundAbout]

Because he is interested and it seems like something every educated adult should know. I don't think my son is less capable than students of 100+ years ago who learned beautiful cursive at young ages.

[swiegers]

My dd's cursive writing also seems to be better than her printing and she's picking up the letters really fast. She's also very excited about the prospect of doing all of her writing in cursive.

[didadeewiththree]

I just got the program "Cursive First" in the mail and spent last night reading why its important to teach cursive in the early years. It says if a child is not fluently writing in cursive by third grade they will resort back to manuscript writing if allowed to by fourth grade. Its very true because my 6th grader writes in manuscript all the time and his writing is somewhat hard to read. I aim to take more time to teaching cursive with my younger ones so that they will have a lifelong use of cursive, since its faster than manuscript writing. And yes, I think they need it even though we can now use computers for typing because without a computer, I dont want my kids to be lost on how to write without it.

[taffnus]

I agree with all the reasons here but want to add that my family is big into genealogy and I want my children to be able to read our family history (letters, diaries, census records, etc.). I can't imagine NOT being able to read and write cursive. I think it's yet another way to dumb down our society.

[didadeewiththree]

Here's an intersting article from LOE website...

 

http://www.logicofenglish.com/media/downloads/Samples/Essentials/TM-i5-Why_Begin_with_Cursive.pdf

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

IMHO I believe that cursive helps with eye-hand coordination, focus and attention as well as improve the brain connections:D I also think that if one is truly proficient which only takes a little bit of time everyday that cursive is faster.

 

I think cursive is critical and well worth the time:D

[HLDoll]

I am teaching my son cursive because his manuscript writing is not very good. He is a lefty and cursive seems to be easier for him and I can actually read what he is writing :)

 

 

This and the other reasons mentioned. I've got three lefties, although only two are of writing age. My son expressed an interest in it in 1st grade, so I figured why not? His sister (K at the time) also wanted to "write fancy". Their cursive is much neater. Now in 2nd grade, my son writes exclusively in cursive. My daughter does her copywork in cursive, but her other writing (creative and spelling) in a mix.

[KristenR]

I did a brief poll and post about teaching my 5 year old cursive. She has been asking to write "fancy" ever since she saw Nanny's pretty font.

She started a lot earlier than I had anticipated teaching her but her cursive is coming out very nicely.

 

I agree with all the main points on here. I want her to be able to read cursive- even if it is a dying art. History documents, family diaries, etc.. Plus I agree- on the few times I do write for extended periods of time, cursive is much easier to do.

[Trilliums]

DS didn't learn cursive until he was almost 12. His print was poor and we thought cursive might help. He writes faster now and it is all around less of a chore for him. He is also proud of his handwriting. I believe he will continue to write in cursive as he finds it easier to write that way. He writes on italics cursive.

 

Older DS does not (never learned) know how to write in cursive and yet he can read it fairly well. He has practiced this and it has not been difficult for him.

[In the Rain]

I have a gut belief that educated people need to know cursive. Even if they can't or don't write it, they need to be able to read it.

 

It goes back to when I was director of a preschool. One of the teachers brought me a cursive letter a parent had given her with information about the child. I was floored that an adult couldn't read cursive, and was embarrassed to have to read it to her. I guess it really made an impact on me, because I don't consider cursive to be optional.

 

On Sunday, someone laughingly told me that her fourth grader referred to it as a "secret code" that adults use. :confused: Apparently her children don't even know what it is. :001_huh:

[Xilka]

Take a look at this. If our students can't read cursive, they will never be able to read their own history; they'll be doomed to have others tell them what historic documents say. I don't want to limit their future to second-hand knowledge.

 

I had never thought of this.

So far, it's the only argument that might change my mind.

 

I pulled my ds out of a Waldorf school that he went to for K-2.

He could only write in cursive, which really freaked me out, so I made him go cold-turkey and switch over to print 100%.

[alisoncooks]

I'm definitely on the "you need to learn cursive" team (for the reasons listed above: being able to read historical texts, etc).

 

Just curious: for those that teach cursive from the beginning...do you go back and teach print later? :confused:

[SunnyDays]

We started with print, then taught cursive. (My son went to PS K-2, so that was how they did it anyway.) I think it's important to know cursive, and others have shared the reasons: read historical texts, read letters or journals from others who write in cursive, etc. It just still seems to be important, even if we are a texting and "tweeting" world now.

 

DS has gone through a cursive book and knows it. He still writes mainly in cursive and we still occasionally practice both. As he gets older, I don't care which he generally uses, as long as he's familiar and comfortable with both options.

[boscopup]

I don't care much if my kids can write it, but they need to be able to read it, and learning to write it covers that well.

 

My 5 year old asked to learn it. We've started with his name. For my oldest I'll focus on it during our 3 week break between school years.

[Ellie]

I would like someone to explain to me why it isn't.

 

Cursive is how we write English. It is how we have written for centuries. It is how people write in other English-speaking countries. It is how our source documents were written, and if our children cannot read and write cursive, how will they be able to read those source documents? Or the letters their grandparents wrote to each other? And why wouldn't I give my children every possible tool for literacy?

[meggie]

I just got the program "Cursive First" in the mail and spent last night reading why its important to teach cursive in the early years. It says if a child is not fluently writing in cursive by third grade they will resort back to manuscript writing if allowed to by fourth grade. Its very true because my 6th grader writes in manuscript all the time and his writing is somewhat hard to read. I aim to take more time to teaching cursive with my younger ones so that they will have a lifelong use of cursive, since its faster than manuscript writing. And yes, I think they need it even though we can now use computers for typing because without a computer, I dont want my kids to be lost on how to write without it.

 

 

Oh this is so interesting. I wonder if that's why I reverted back to print when it was no longer required in school. My handwriting is a mixture of print and cursive. Most letters I just print, but if I can connect them I do. Cursive to me is so much slower. Heck, when trying to teach Pigby, I really struggle remembering the correct way to form letters.

 

 

IMHO I believe that cursive helps with eye-hand coordination, focus and attention as well as improve the brain connections:D I also think that if one is truly proficient which only takes a little bit of time everyday that cursive is faster.

 

I think cursive is critical and well worth the time:D

 

I can definitely see this being true. Pigby is much more focused and I think it's doing his hand/eye coordination a LOT of good. For a kid who a year ago was behind in fine motor development, I think he's doing really well.

 

To answer the original question: I'm teaching him because he asked. He wanted to be able to read adults' handwriting. He's always been a bit obsessed with letters; he started demanding to know what they were when he was two. Now he sees samples of cursive writing and is demanding to know what they are. I think being unable to read something is more than he can bear :lol:. I've heard lots of success stories about people teaching cursive to young children so I figured I might as well go for it. Plus, we began struggling with HWOT. He knew how to form all the letters correctly, but fitting the capitals into the gray square was extremely frustrating for him (and me).

 

Right now he's only tracing cursive letters, not doing any freehand. But he's doing really, really well. Much better than I ever thought he would.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

I had never thought of this.

So far, it's the only argument that might change my mind.

 

I pulled my ds out of a Waldorf school that he went to for K-2.

He could only write in cursive, which really freaked me out, so I made him go cold-turkey and switch over to print 100%.

 

IMHO I would strongly consider switching them back since cursive is advantageous.

[Bluegoat]

I'm definitely on the "you need to learn cursive" team (for the reasons listed above: being able to read historical texts, etc).

 

Just curious: for those that teach cursive from the beginning...do you go back and teach print later? :confused:

 

Yes, we taught cursive first, and now dd is learning to print. That used to be the normal progression.

[Bluegoat]

I had never thought of this.

So far, it's the only argument that might change my mind.

 

I pulled my ds out of a Waldorf school that he went to for K-2.

He could only write in cursive, which really freaked me out, so I made him go cold-turkey and switch over to print 100%.

 

I don't understand why that would freak you out?

[nmoira]

Take a look at this. If our students can't read cursive, they will never be able to read their own history; they'll be doomed to have others tell them what historic documents say. I don't want to limit their future to second-hand knowledge.

I'm sorry, but I don't buy the argument that one need spend hundreds of hours learning to write cursive in order to read it. Learning to read cursive shouldn't be difficult for anyone with the motivation to do so: Someone planning to study history or wanting to read their grandparents' love letters could do so in a short time, just as someone wishing to read ancient manuscripts adapts and learns to read antiquated scripts.

 

I have my kids practice reading cursive documents. There's a wealth of them to be found in Google Images. However they learn joined Italics instead of cursive because it is elegant, highly legible, and can be read by someone who has not learned to read cursive. Writing is about communication, and our audience is comprised of the living, not the dead.

[Xilka]

I don't understand why that would freak you out?

 

I personally haven't needed to write or read cursive for years.

I think doctor's notes are the only cursive writing I've had to deal with in the last couple of decades.

It seemed weird to me that they were focusing so much on cursive and not at all on print.

It just seems like a thing of the past to me.

But like others have said, about reading historical documents...

that DOES make sense to me, but other than that, I don't really see the point.

[stripe]

I'm sorry, but I don't buy the argument that one need spend hundreds of hours learning to write cursive in order to read it.

 

I agree. My kids learned to read in two writing systems before learning to write it.

 

My grandma's letters provide practice in cursive.

[Karen in CO]

I'm sorry, but I don't buy the argument that one need spend hundreds of hours learning to write cursive in order to read it.

Golly - I guess I'm just not working at it hard enough - I've not spent hundreds of hours teaching cursive even if you add up the time I spent on all three kids.

 

We work on reading and writing cursive at the same time; then we practice as part of our copywork - easy peasy and minutes a day. I add in source documents into my history teaching when appropriate. I taught my ds joined italic to correct his terrible handwriting which he learned in ps. I let each of my girls choose which handwriting style appeals to them. They each chose a different style, but they are all pretty.

[nmoira]

Golly - I guess I'm just not working at it hard enough - I've not spent hundreds of hours teaching cursive even if you add up the time I spent on all three kids.

:001_smile: I was including things like copywork and other practice, not just instruction. We do ten minutes best writing practice a day, and other work must be reasonably written. I don't see the point of learning and practicing cursive when a significant number of my kids' peers and future generations won't be able to read it.

 

We work on reading and writing cursive at the same time; then we practice as part of our copywork - easy peasy and minutes a day. I add in source documents into my history teaching when appropriate. I taught my ds joined italic to correct his terrible handwriting which he learned in ps. I let each of my girls choose which handwriting style appeals to them. They each chose a different style, but they are all pretty.

[stripe]

My son wants to learn cursive and is quite excited about it. I write in a merged style. It's faster than straight printing.

 

But I do think having non-childish writing looks better.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

My son wants to learn cursive and is quite excited about it. I write in a merged style. It's faster than straight printing.

 

But I do think having non-childish writing looks better.

 

:iagree: This about sums it up for me. My older son wanted to learn cursive. I think they should at least know HOW to do both. I don't care which one they choose for the majority of their writing.

[Alicia64]

I want them to be able to read notes from their grandparents and other adults. I also think it is neater than printing because they have to slow down.

 

I don't know about slowing down, but I decided to teach cursive so that my kids could read grandma's letters.

 

My kids will go back to printing. Not a doubt in my mind. And one son's printing is extremely neat and tidy.

 

BUT, I was in a Susan Wise Bauer workshop in Feb. and she said loud and clear in no uncertain terms to teach cursive -- maybe -- until fourth grade and then get the kids onto a keyboard. If I understood her correctly, her youngest son doesn't do any cursive.

 

Alley

[Mrs Twain]

I agree with many of the reasons here for teaching cursive.

 

Here is an anecdote:

My kids have been memorizing a short excerpt from the Declaration of Independence and the Preamble of the Constitution. The other day, I pulled out our mini-replica copies of both of those documents for fun. The kids were excited when they located the excerpts that they had memorized in those documents. We also read through the names at the bottom to see whom we could recognize. The kids would never have been able to do this if they couldn't read cursive.

 

I start teaching the kids to print when they are small until that is mastered. Then we start cursive in 2nd or 3rd grade. Once they have mastered cursive, I don't care if they would prefer to use printing. I mainly want them at least to have the ability to write cursive if they prefer and above all to be able to read it.

[MidwesternMom]

I've also taught my kids cursive, though we definitely didn't spend hundreds of hours on it--we used workbooks to introduce it during "downtime" in summer, followed by and a couple of years of turning in certain assignments in cursive. I don't feel like it added any extra work to our schoolday since they were writing anyway.

 

As for the reason--I do like the idea that they won't be cut off from historical texts--including their parents' and grandparents' writing, but really, I did it for vanity. My mother was serious about teaching handwriting and having nice writing has been a pleasure for me. I would like my kids to have the same opportunity, in case they will enjoy it, too.

[rieshy]

The Brain That Changes Itself, by Norman Doidge, has an interesting section on the neurological importance of cursive. Mazes make the discussion as well.

 

I used to have a bunch of science links to cursive writing but they vaporized into the cloud that used to be my computer.

[stripe]

The Brain That Changes Itself, by Norman Doidge, has an interesting section on the neurological importance of cursive. Mazes make the discussion as well.

 

This is such an interesting book! Also discusses the importance of memorizing poetry and other classical type activities.

[rieshy]

This is such an interesting book! Also discusses the importance of memorizing poetry and other classical type activities.

 

:iagree:

 

Reading it strengthened my resolve to keep on with memorization for my younger crew.

[Bluegoat]

I personally haven't needed to write or read cursive for years.

I think doctor's notes are the only cursive writing I've had to deal with in the last couple of decades.

It seemed weird to me that they were focusing so much on cursive and not at all on print.

It just seems like a thing of the past to me.

But like others have said, about reading historical documents...

that DOES make sense to me, but other than that, I don't really see the point.

 

They were probably focusing on it because it is easier for kids to learn, which is why it used to be taught first - I noticed the other day when I was reading The Secret Garden to my dd - Mary says that she can't print yet, but she will write a letter.

 

It isn't really a thing of the past - in many places it is still how most adults write.

 

It's also quite beautiful when done well.

[Rosie_0801]

The powers that be changed the way they taught writing four times in my first three years of school so I am determined to pick one and stick to it! I only have two kids so I'm in no hurry. We might as well start with the fanciest and we can always simplify if we need to. That has to be easier than trying to prettify ugly writing, which my mother never managed despite making me practice after school for months.

 

Anyway, we'll see how we go with it. My dd wasn't supposed to want to learn to write for another two years, but we'll start as soon as we can get to the pen shop in the city.

 

Rosie

[FO4UR]

Cursive is more ergonomic than print. That is my #1. I taught my oldest cursive first, and it is truly so much easier/smoother/faster when working.

 

Print is extremely simple to pick up after learning cursive. Only a few letters need any explanation at all. This greatly minimizes the amount of time I spend teaching handwriting in the long run.

 

It is impressive when you have portfolio reviews at the end of the year.:tongue_smilie: It is striking every year...ds9's print is full of reversals (and is generally on the sloppy side), but his cursive is nicer than most adults (with the exception of people over the age of 80yo who happened to go to school at a time when they learned cursive rightly). It looks like 2 different kids wrote the samples.

[In2why]

could you explain why it's important to you?

 

I bet I have the craziest answer. I had a dream I died and that my kids had to go to public school and the youngest was held back because he couldn't write in cursive. I don't believe in dreams, thank goodness because I plan on being around long enough to ride in the back of my grown kids car and kick the seat, and seriously want to make my DH pee on their toilet seats, but I decided that since we decide year to year whether home schooling is our best option, that I should plan for every contingency. I ordered 2 levels of cursive from HWOT the next day and it is my sons favorite thing to do in the school day, whereas he loathed cursive when we first thought about it last year and tried ZB.

[Shellers]

My son is using HWT. I'm not a fan of cursive, but he loves it.

[nansk]

I agree with nmoira and stripe on this one. It is not necessary to learn to write in cursive in order to read cursive. Don't most children learn to read print (in various fonts, with and without serifs) before they learn to write in print? Don't children learn to recognise numerals and mathematical symbols before they can write them well?

 

At the same time, I agree with stripe, that a childish-looking handwriting doesn't convey a great impression. A legible script with print letters joined only where it makes sense is the best option - and the Italic cursive script is that option.

[Xilka]

But what is all this handwriting everyone is talking about?

 

I mean, how often do you hand-write something that is not for only you to read - to-do lists, reminders, notes...

 

When do you hand-write things for other to read?

 

Our kids won't be doing it often either. They'll be typing. Like most of us.

 

I seriously cannot remember the last time I hand-wrote for someone else to read that wasn't a birthday card or a shopping list.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

I'm sorry, but I don't buy the argument that one need spend hundreds of hours learning to write cursive in order to read it. Learning to read cursive shouldn't be difficult for anyone with the motivation to do so: Someone planning to study history or wanting to read their grandparents' love letters could do so in a short time, just as someone wishing to read ancient manuscripts adapts and learns to read antiquated scripts.

 

I have my kids practice reading cursive documents. There's a wealth of them to be found in Google Images. However they learn joined Italics instead of cursive because it is elegant, highly legible, and can be read by someone who has not learned to read cursive. Writing is about communication, and our audience is comprised of the living, not the dead.

 

Honestly, I have found it takes about 15 to 20 minutes a day. Once they are more proficient then they could easily do cursive for spelling and writing, etc..;) It really was not a big time consumer and I do believe it has helped my ds focus more plus his cursive is much nicer than his print.

 

My 2 cents:)

[FlutterbyMommy]

It was easier for my daughter to learn, helped with letter reversal issues, easier to read her writing, makes sense historically (was taught first years previously and to understand historic documents), she is a lefty, she has dysgraphia, she desired learning it and enjoys it...

[...................]

1. Completely ended letter reversals for my son

2. It's fast.

3. It's more ergonomic and less tiring to the hand than print

 

Honestly, I understand why some people just don't bother. But those are the reasons I do it and they are still worth it to me.

[In2why]

But what is all this handwriting everyone is talking about?

 

I mean, how often do you hand-write something that is not for only you to read - to-do lists, reminders, notes...

 

When do you hand-write things for other to read?

 

Our kids won't be doing it often either. They'll be typing. Like most of us.

 

I seriously cannot remember the last time I hand-wrote for someone else to read that wasn't a birthday card or a shopping list.

 

 

Most people still handwrite their notes in college lectures. Listen to yourself type and then imagine that times 30 or 50. A lot of professors and adjuncts won't allow laptops in the class. I know I write tons faster in cursive than with print. If your kids don't homeschool their kids there will be quite a few notes back and forth to teachers. And Thank you notes. I hope people aren't typing those now? And what if they choose a profession where others will write to them in cursive and expect them to write back?

I am not a huge proponent of cursive, teach it don't teach it, either way isn't the death of civilzation as we know it, but I figure it is better to know it and not need it then need it and not know it. If I was having a hard time getting everything I wanted to get done, it would be near the top of my list to drop, all things considered.

[LucyStoner]

My son has high functioning autism and the associated fine motor skill issue and clumsiness. Cursive is very good for helping him with his fine motor skills. The practice time is good for him. He likes it and it helps him focus. It is not an all consuming subject. 10-25 minutes a day of practice plus writing notes as needed to family members.

 

I also want him to read and write letters and notes. His grandparents write to him in cursive. He writes back in cursive. He also is a bit of a family history nut so being able to decipher old cursive (scans of census records etc) is needed for the sort of research he likes to do. While you can learn to read cursive without writing it, I think is is easier if you have the fluency of writing.

 

I also, and this is just me, consider being able to write in cursive to be part of being a fully educated person. It's just important to me. My husband sees teens and young adults all the time who can not sign their names, at all. One girl signed her first name and printed her last name. :tongue_smilie: The neurological development stuff makes sense to me based on the improvements I have seen in his motor skills since he started.

 

The computer/typing thing making it all moot makes little sense to me because by the logic that people don't write anything anymore I should just not bother teaching him to write longhand since he will type those things anyways. I don't write my grocery lists or in a calendar, it is all on my phone. By the time we have grandkids, who knows what we will be using. I am still teaching them to print. :)

Edited March 14, 2012 by kijipt

[Xilka]

1. Completely ended letter reversals for my son

2. It's fast.

3. It's more ergonomic and less tiring to the hand than print

 

These reasons could change my mind, as well as reading historical documents.

Hmmm....