TundraAcademy Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 My 1st grader is very eager to start cursive (like his brother). His manuscript is OK (not great), but I ordered New American Cursive curriculum for him to try. My sister thinks I'm doing him a disservice by not perfecting his manuscript first. Any opinions? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medieval Mom Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 We're using cursive in Kindergarten, and my son LOVES it! He's more proud of his cursive than anything else he's learning. Anywhere we go, he'll write a perfect cursive "g" (or another letter) and show it to a friend or family member with pride. If receptive, he'll just sit down and write letter after letter for them. We're going with it!:thumbup1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snickelfritz Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 My dd (k'er) REALLY wants to learn cursive. I was thinking of starting it next year. My thought was that we would keep on doing some things in manuscript (We really like the Draw Write Now series), but start working through a cursive writing book. :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K&Rs Mom Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 We did, also because she was asking for it, and it's been better than I had expected. I just went through the alphabet slowly, and now make her practice once a week (just a couple of sentences) so she doesn't forget. I don't require any other work to be done in cursive yet, though I may later; her printing still needs work, so I figure she gets to practice that in her other subjects. She does write some things in cursive on her own, and is SO proud of that. It's also helpful when she gets mail that's in cursive or has to read it somewhere else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CookieMonster Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 My sister thinks I'm doing him a disservice by not perfecting his manuscript first. It's not like you'll drop manuscript all together just because you begin cursive. I know of at least one major publisher who introduces cursive in first grade. I know children who have gone through the program. Their cursive is beautiful and their print is neat. You see, both cursive and manuscript require fine motor skill development. Work on one, and you'll see improvement in both. It's not either/or. My feeling would be to keep up with the manuscript, introduce the cursive, and whenever necessary work on whichever seems weak as the years roll by. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snickelfritz Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 You see, both cursive and manuscript require fine motor skill development. Work on one, and you'll see improvement in both. It's not either/or. It's also the reasoning behind "Draw Write Now." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malenki Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 We did and we've loved it. DS started right after turning seven because he wanted to learn it. He's been motivated and it's been easy to teach him. His manuscript printing improved as well, btw. There are still plenty of places he can use the printing (even in math!) but we do a sentence a day in cursive right now until it becomes automatic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ummto4 Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 I'm doing cursive right now with my first grader ( a boy). We didn't start with cursive though. We first started with HWT when he was in K (6 years 2 months). It was HWT which made him a 'writer'. Before that, he wasn't even able to draw. I tried cursive first by Liz Fitzgerald with him when he was in K but it didn't work. On August, he finished the first grade HWT and I asked him whether he would like to try cursive because I've heard that cursive is actually better for writing. He tried it and he loves it. We're using http://www.worksheetworks.com cursive. I make our own worksheet. We haven't finished going through all the letters, but his cursive looks quite good and his manuscript improves. At the moment, he writes manuscript writing for his school work and cursive for penmanship. I'm hoping by the end of first grade he can switch to cursvie completely as he likes it more than manuscript. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tillie Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 We used Cursive First with ds when he was just beginning 1st grade. He was desparate to learn cursive so he could read it. He learned it in 3 weeks and hasn't looked back. He has wonderful handwriting for his age. He prints when he wants for his own tasks, but uses cursive for all school work. I plan to teach dd over the summer prior to her start in 1st grade. I recommend finding a program you think will work for your family. I love Cursive First, but I am also an SWR user so it was a natural fit for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julesnpebbles@suddenlink. Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 Didn't read all the responses, but just popped in quickly to say, yes. We started cursive as soon as I saw the readiness and interest. Abeka has cursive for even 4 yr olds! We started around 5-6 and have worked through all the VP classically cursive workbooks. My daughter is using the Queen's Homeschool Cursive series which is wonderful! She wants to do all 5 lessons at a time. :) That's that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneC Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 She is 5 and we are using HWT. Her manuscript has improved as well. It is also something that she can hold over her brothers;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 I got her Abeka's workbook and taught her how each letter is formed and she was fine. She got her manuscript skills in her Christian Light language arts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancora_Imparo Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 dd wanted to learn cursive early so as soon as she knew how to make all of the manuscript letters we started cursive in 1st, she is now in 4th and for some assignments I require printing, for others cursive. She has done fine and I would let him start early. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TundraAcademy Posted October 23, 2008 Author Share Posted October 23, 2008 My 4th grader has been working on cursive for 2 years and is still pretty slow, so I thought I would go with my 1st grader's enthusiasm and get him started early. I didn't think about how his manuscript could improve along the way. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 Becca is working on NAC right now - I bypassed the workbook in favor of the Startwrite. She went through 2 full HWOT workbooks and is just bored and fed up with practicing print handwriting. She does work on it, but in the form of grammar copywork, spelling lists, etc. The "fancy handwriting" was my little "bribe" to her for making her printing nice. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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