cursive fluency

[workingmom]

DS 5th and 8th both learned cursive and at one time actually wrote their school work in cursive but somewhere last year or the year before they preferred print and that's what they chose to write in unless I periodically required them to do an assignment in cursive. How important do you find it for students now a days to write in cursive. Does it show more maturity on college essays (or since they're all typed not an issue)?  Is it easier for note taking especially upper grades and high school?

 

We had started implementing the one paragraph cursive writing last year a couple of times a day but that slowly stopped after May. I do think its important that they can read cursive fluently but should I get them back into writing it fluently so it becomes first choice?

 

 

[Mom-ninja.]

I just realized that my rising 7th grader does not write cursive fluently. I've decided to get him a separate notebook for practice. Why? Cause my gut says that cursive writing is a good skill. Who knows maybe it's good for brain development.

[Desert Strawberry]

I want my kids to be fluent because until recently, all historical records and correspondence was written in cursive. I require that all written work be cursive to promote fluency. My 10 yr old does prefer cursive, but he struggles with it from time to time.

I believe that the flow promotes creativity. While discussing cursive vs print with the kid, I discovered that I prefer cursive for correspondence and journaling, and printing for practical writing -instruction, lists, and the like.

[workingmom]

any quick summer ideas that will help 

ages 8.5, 11.5

 

 

[Desert Strawberry]

any quick summer ideas that will help

ages 8.5, 11.5

I had my kid keep a summer journal. Every night he wrote something about his day in cursive.

[joie]

I heard from a friend whose children go to public school that they were no longer teaching cursive.  Interesting.  "So, how are they supposed to sign their names?" She said they just print them.  Huh.  Personally, that will look really childish to me.  But hey, if that works for 'em.  However, I do think it's faster to write in cursive it helped a lot during my note-taking years in college since I had such a hard time remembering all that shorthand stuff. lol!

[K&Rs Mom]

I heard from a friend whose children go to public school that they were no longer teaching cursive.  Interesting.  "So, how are they supposed to sign their names?" She said they just print them.  Huh.  Personally, that will look really childish to me. 

 

 

That may not work in all places.  I was talking about this with a friend, who told me she recently got stuck in line behind a girl getting her driver's license - the girl didn't know how to sign her name, so her mom & the clerk had to tutor her through it right then & there.  Apparently it took quite a while. 

 

The rule at my house is that they have to be able to sign their names to get a library card & bank account - things they want by the time they're 6-7 or so, so they work hard on that.  The rest of the alphabet and requiring cursive writing for schoolwork happens over the next couple years after their name.  This spring I had a niece & nephew both turn 13, and my stepmom wrote their bday cards in cursive, but neither of them could read it (two different ps districts).  My 10yo's best friend moved away two years ago, and her mom loves that dd writes letters to her in cursive because it makes her practice reading it (her dd is less thrilled because it's a challenge). 

 

So I don't consider it important that cursive be their first choice, but fluency is very important for lots of other reasons.

[Mandy in TN]

All of my boys went through at least two cursive workbooks each. None of them write in cursive, but they can all read cursive. They can all sign their names. My signature and all of my cursive is just sort of a connected version of my print. I would never choose to write in cursive. Because it is a something that they will never use, we didn't spend tons of time building the skill of writing fluidly in cursive.

 

FWIW, speaking of grandmothers and cursive, I don't know that any of my boys can easily read cursive from my mother. I can. I have seen it my whole life, but it doesn't really look like any standard cursive font. It is sort of what I would call abstract curves and loops and when t's are crossed it is with lines that are nearly as long as the words. All of it is very pretty and fluid, but it does take a little bit for someone not accustomed to her handwriting to decipher.

 

An easy way to build fluency in reading cursive is to print out their schedules in a different cursive font each week. :)

 

Mandy

[Doodle]

any quick summer ideas that will help

ages 8.5, 11.5

Doodle is currently doing one page a day in the 4th grade cursive book from Handwriting Without Tears. He loves it and just this week told his pediatrician that cursive was his favorite subject.

[City Mouse]

All of my DD's college scholarship essays were required to be done on computer. A couple of them even specified size and style of font required. I can't think of any high school (ps and charter) that required anything written in cursive.

My DHs job actually requires that reports that are not done on the computer be printed not cursive for legibility reasons.

 

So I think that it is totally personal preference on what you expect from your own child other than signature.

[workingmom]

http://msthompson5.wikispaces.com/file/view/Cursive+Writing.pdf

 

found the following link online. did the first two pages and reinstated one page a day for ds8 and 3 lines for ds11 (he's dreading it).

 

also told them a few facts about those that know cursive, lets see.