Cursive?

[Night Elf]

In your every day writing, do you use cursive or print? I tried to teach my kids with workbooks when they were younger, but we didn't stick to it because they thought it was stupid. Oldest dd learned in school as she wasn't homeschooled until 11th grade. Youngest dd taught herself before she went into public high school because she wanted to be like her peers. But DH, ds, and I only use cursive when a signature is required, like on a check. Of course, I haven't really needed to write anything serious since the last time I was in college and I only printed then anyway.

[HomeAgain]

I use cursive all the time, but I never learned ZB print, only D'Nealian, so it was logical to keep the pen on the paper between strokes.  For important things, though, like taking notes, I've developed a shorthand method that blends 2 alphabets to take advantage of both cursive and the shortest stroke to get the sound needed so I write twice as fast.

 

[UCF612]

I use cursive at least half the time. I love cursive. It is prettier and faster for me. Both my boys are learning and really enjoy it.

[Sarah CB]

I didn't have a reason to use it for years and then I went to a conference where I was taking notes as fast as I could get them down and I switched to cursive.  Since then, I've found myself doing a lot more writing longhand and I use cursive.

[kroe1]

Daily, quite a bit for taking notes.

[MercyA]

I always print. My cursive is atrocious.  :o

[kewb]

I actually do a cursive and print hybrid. Many of the words will have a mix of traditional cursive letters and print letters in a cursive like way, if that makes sense.

[OneStepAtATime]

Cursive/print hybrid here, too.  I have to concentrate and write slowly for either my print or my cursive to look nice but my hybrid version is legible and I can write quickly that way.  I don't do a lot of straight cursive writing and haven't for years and years.  I love cursive, though.  I was just never that great at it, and certainly not quick.

 

DD learned cursive in school.  They got extra credit for writing in cursive.  DS started homeschooling just as he would have learned cursive in school.  He has really pretty cursive compared to his print but it is so painfully slow that he switched back to print or typing for most output.  Schools here no longer teach cursive now.

[Zinnia]

I do a hybrid, too.

 

When my oldest was 1-2nd grade, I wrote everything in cursive.  He could read print, but not cursive, and I got to keep secrets a little longer.  It was highly motivating for him, too, and he learned to write and read cursive well by the end of 2nd grade.  He uses mostly print for everyday, cursive for handwriting practice. 

[ashfern]

Another print/cursive hybrid here. 

[Nan in Mass]

We all print except middle one, who had such a bad experience in ps learning to write that I taught him cursive the summer after 2nd grade and told him he never had to use print again. Which was true until he had to fill out college applications. Then the flaws in my brilliant approach became apparent. His printing looks like a second graders. It was horrible.

 

Oldest was ps'ed and can't write in cursive because it wasn't taught. Youngest was homeschooled after kindergarten and I taught him cursive because it is widely used in Europe and I didn't want him handicapped. I made him do all his writing in cursive in 3rd grade (like I had to) and then he went back to print but I continued to make all his writing be in cursive for anything he wrote in French, which meant that he didn't forget it. I had to relearn cursive when I taught middle one because I had switched back to print in 4th grade.

 

If your children are likely to travel, it might be a good idea to make sure they can read and write cursive.

 

Nan

[SparklyUnicorn]

cursive/print hybrid 

[Rachel]

Mostly cursive but I tend to print lists. No clue why.

[AmandaVT]

I use print pretty much exclusively. I was taught cursive and was required to write in it from 3rd-8th grade, but my cursive was and still is, pretty terrible. I bought ZB cursive books for me over the past 2 years and I practice my handwriting while DS works on his. It's getting marginally better, but it's still nothing I'd want anyone else to see!

 

My print is quite nice though, and I can write much quicker when I print.

[tm919]

Cursive... although I am finding more and more that younger people can't read it, so at some point it could become impractical for thank you notes and so on.

[Lady Florida.]

I don't do a lot of everyday writing anymore, but when I do it's a cursive/print hybrid.

 

I was taught the Palmer Method in Catholic school in the 1960s. We did push-pull exercises where all you did that day in handwriting was make lines on the paper. The nuns also insisted I position and angle my paper the same way as everyone else did, despite the fact that I'm left handed. It was all about regimentation and conforming. My cursive is absolutely horrible. I blame those nuns and the Palmer Method.

Edited February 23, 2016 by Lady Florida

[Ellie]

In your every day writing, do you use cursive or print? I tried to teach my kids with workbooks when they were younger, but we didn't stick to it because they thought it was stupid. Oldest dd learned in school as she wasn't homeschooled until 11th grade. Youngest dd taught herself before she went into public high school because she wanted to be like her peers. But DH, ds, and I only use cursive when a signature is required, like on a check. Of course, I haven't really needed to write anything serious since the last time I was in college and I only printed then anyway.

 

Cursive, mostly.

[redsquirrel]

Once I hit 7th grade or so, teachers never said anything if we printed or used cursive. I gradually stopped using cursive and would call what I do a 'hybrid' but it is mostly print, tbh.  And I was in school a loooooong time ago, lol. 

 

I cannot remember the last time I have had to write by hand beyond a signature. Even notes left for dh or ds are now be texted, not left on a post it on the table. I shudder to think of what my handwriting must look like. I should throw a practice book in with next year's school supplies just for me.

[Lady Florida.]

I used Handwriting Without Tears with ds because it was the only way I could teach him to write...um... without tears. He only uses cursive to sign his name. When he takes notes in his CC classes, he prints. He's able to do it quickly. I would take notes in cursive because for me that's faster, but I think it's a matter of what you're used to. 

[happi duck]

I prefer printing though I might connect a few letters here and there.

 

We all tend to print though we all can write in cursive.

 

At one point in his late teens ds wanted to improve his cursive. Daily copywork, we used song lyrics and quotes, improved it quickly.

[Lady Florida.]

 

I cannot remember the last time I have had to write by hand beyond a signature. Even notes left for dh or ds are now be texted, not left on a post it on the table. I shudder to think of what my handwriting must look like. I should throw a practice book in with next year's school supplies just for me.

 

I had to write a check this morning because ds is going to the doctor and I don't have cash to give him for our co-pay. As I was writing it, I was shocked at how bad my writing looked and how difficult it was to actually write. It made me think I should start a hand written journal or something just so I could stay in practice. Then I came here and saw this thread. 

 

Even when I write my signature it's not often on paper. It's usually on the electronic payment thingie at a cash register. You don't even have to make your signature look real on those things.

Edited February 23, 2016 by Lady Florida

[3 ladybugs]

I had my mother, grandmother, step father, and husband write the same sentence last November. I was the only one that printed. That is just how I write, but everyone else used script. Grandma uses a script that I assume is Palmer, but I am not sure. It was interesting to see the differences in the writing. I may ask my MIL and FIL to do it when they come out again. 

 

I should also add that I was taught VERY wrong how to write. I was well into writing when someone thought that the reason I had bad handwriting wasn't because I needed to practice more, but because I was holding a pencil wrong. My handwriting took a nose dive and it is no wonder I don't write in cursive because of that. It has taken me years to get my handwriting (manuscript) to the point where people can read it. Cursive would have been too much for me. 

[HeWillSoar]

I always use cursive in every day writing.  If it's just for myself, it's a very sloppy hybrid type of cursive.  If it's a card for someone, I put forth more effort to make it look pretty.  I also write all of our agenda in our homeschool planner and put forth my best to try to improve my handwriting.  Just something nerdy I like to do. 

 

DH writes in an odd (to me) block type of print.  I don't think I've ever seen him write any other way. 

[SKL]

I write in cursive.  Almost everyone I know writes in cursive.

 

I do have one relative (a doctor!) who must print because nobody can read his cursive.

 

Even if I didn't expect my kids to need to write cursive, I'd still teach it, so they are able to read our nation's founding documents and a of other old papers.

[heartlikealion]

Yes, I still use it. Mostly for notes. Like if I mail a greeting card.

[Reefgazer]

I use cursive almost exclusively.  It's a much quicker way to write; print is slow and typing doesn't solidify what I need to learn (when I am writing in the course of learning).

In your every day writing, do you use cursive or print? I tried to teach my kids with workbooks when they were younger, but we didn't stick to it because they thought it was stupid. Oldest dd learned in school as she wasn't homeschooled until 11th grade. Youngest dd taught herself before she went into public high school because she wanted to be like her peers. But DH, ds, and I only use cursive when a signature is required, like on a check. Of course, I haven't really needed to write anything serious since the last time I was in college and I only printed then anyway.

 

[Tsuga]

Cursive except for when I am writing out code. I like cursive. It's easier to write.

 

However, when learning foreign language vocabulary, I had to write it in print. Don't know why.