Introducing Cursive Before Manuscript

[happynurse]

I am curious to hear experiences from those of you who introduced cursive to your children prior to teaching manuscript. I've read all the supposed benefits of beginning with cursive, and the classical school in our area uses SWR with Cursive First (the curriculum) beginning in kindergarten. 

 

I'd love to know whether you chose to introduce cursive to your children prior to printing. Why or why not?

 

Also, if you did opt for cursive initially, what was your experience? Positive? Negative?

 

Thanks!

~Monica

[raristy]

My child seemed to have a tendency to reverse words. His oldest brother had struggled with handwriting with manuscript and I wanted a more enjoyable experience for my second. Thus I researched and learned that teaching my second son cursive first was advisable. I used Cursive First and loved it. It's very easy to teach and student friendly. My son learned cursive handwriting smoothly. He has a fairly positive attitude towards handwriting. In second grade he asked if he could learn how to do manuscript and it was a good transition. Cursive First worked well for us.