Thursday 16 September 2021

Writing Cursive

 We certainly are reaching the end of Blogging Through the Alphabet 2021. with the letter W for this week.  Today I want to share a few thoughts on teaching our children to write cursive.  My co-host Deidre is sharing W is for World in her her Lego Alphabet Series.

When we started homeschooling I assumed I would teach my children to write cursive when they turned nine years old because that's when I learned it at school.  I was astounded however when I discovered that cursive was not taught to students in New Zealand.  The moment that solidified my decision was when I wrote out a recipe in cursive and gave it to a friend.  A few months later I asked if she had made the recipe to which she answered no.  When I asked why? She responded with she couldn't read it because it was in cursive!  I was astounded it never occurred to me that someone couldn't read cursive.  That was the defining moment I decided that my children would learn to both read and write in CURSIVE.

Taking time to write by hand slows us down and allows truth to seep in - Laurie Bestvater {The Living Page -30}

Advantages of Teaching Cursive

  • It is less fine-motor skill intensive.
  • All the lowercase letters begin in the same place on the baseline.
  • Spacing within and between words is controlled.
  • By lifting the pencil between words, the beginning and ending of words is emphasized.
  • It is difficult to reverse letters such as b’s and d’s.

14 Abilities Needed for Handwriting (Source Brainworks)

  1. Visual focusing: the ability for the eyes to work together
  2. Mental attention: the ability to screen out distractions
  3. Organized physical movements: the ability to maintain posture and hold the writing tool
  4. Receptive language: the ability to perceive abstract concepts and follow verbal directions
  5. Inner expressive language: the ability to think clearly, organize ideas and concepts, and communicate through writing
  6. Memory recall: the ability to remember letter formations and the required movements necessary to make each letter and connection.
  7. Concentration with awareness: the ability to maintain consistent awareness of details and form over a period of time
  8. Spatial perception: the ability to utilize space.
  9. Organization: the ability to organize mind, body, and space to produce meaningful responses
  10. Integration: the ability to unite the mind, body, and space to create meaningful written expression     
  11. Eye-hand coordination: the ability to use the eyes and hand together as a unit.
  12. Motor planning: the ability to plan and carry out an action
  13. Tactile input: the ability to feel the pencil in the hand and apply the appropriate pressure to write
  14. Crossing midline: the movement of the eyes, a hand, or forearm to move across the midsection of the body without moving any other part of the body

My Product Choice to Teach Cursive

Cursive Logic is my favourite product to teach cursive.  You can read my review here.

Penmanship Resources on YouTube

Writing

What are your thoughts on teaching Cursive in your homeschool?

Chareen

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Find the other ABC posts in this series here:

  1. A is for Art Lessons at Home
  2. B is for Books Where do You Purchase Yours? 
  3. Charlotte Mason a Round Up of Posts 
  4. Delight Directed Education
  5. Encouragement for Weary Homeschooling Mothers
  6. For the Children's Sake  
  7. G is for Geography
  8. Homeschool Bloggers  
  9. Instagramers to follow who are homeschooling
  10. Joy in Your Homeschool Journey
  11. Know Yourself - Stop the Comparison Game  
  12. Life Skills in Your Homeschool
  13. Math Resource for Home Education
  14. Netflix in Your Homeschool
  15. Olympics 2021
  16. P is for Podcasts  
  17. Quintessentially Homeschool
  18. Read-A-Loud in Your Homeschool
  19. Science in Your Homeschool
  20. Teaching From Rest by Sarah Mackenzie 
  21. Ubiquitous Homeschooler 
  22. Value Added Learning
  23. Writing Cursive

Featured from last week the letter P...


This Week over at Our Homeschool Notebook the topic is W is for World

 

Please link up your posts starting with the letter W for this weeks ABC Blogging

3 comments:

  1. I have seen people joke about others not being able to read cursive but I honestly thought it was just a joke. I really liked Cursive Logic for my youngest. It worked really well with her. She has reverted back to print but I think that is just how her brain is wired for now.

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  2. I have a very similar story from when I was a girl. My grandmother used to write in cursive and I couldn't read it very well. I asked her if she could stop writing in cursive. She wouldn't comply, and I'm glad she didn't! I hadn't learned to read cursive very much in school. Now I can read it well, and I enjoy writing cursive. My boys are definitely learning cursive, and we love Cursive Logic too!

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  3. I love to write in cursive, especially with a fountain pen. Everybody's penmanship is a little different, it's like a piece of artwork.

    ReplyDelete

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