I went to school at a Catholic school that required us to learn a particular kind of penmanship. It’s so distinct that alumna of the school can spot each other just from our handwriting alone. Cursive was so important in my education — the teachers would not check your papers if you didn’t use the required handwriting — that I am floored to learn that some schools don’t even bother teaching penmanship anymore.

Fortunately, this kind of snub is not absolute. I was recently given the chance to view the CursiveLogic Online Seminar on how to teach cursive. My kids are lucky, because my idea of penmanship class is to have nuns hovering over me, barking out, “pointier, pointier!”

This video by CursiveLogic is presented by Linda Shrewbury and goes through practical methods on how to teach penmanship to students. The video is a complement to the CursiveLogic Quick-Start Pack, which contains a 112-page workbook divided into 10 lessons. The company also offers the Art of Cursive, a book for older students who want to learn, or improve, their cursive handwriting.

 

After watching the video, a big takeaway for me is that certain letters have similar ways of being written out. Using the CursiveLogic method, the letters are grouped by shape and connected by letter strings.

For example, the letters A, C, and D have similar oval shapes. Teaching these letters as a group makes it easier for the child to grasp. It’s simple and logical and a complete eye-opening experience for me.

My kids are very young so we’re at the early stages of writing. H is working on improving accuracy and neatness while R is working on his grip. When teaching them, I’ve always introduced the letters sequentially following the alphabet. Now, I realize that there’s really no need to do it that way. It makes more sense to introduce by similar shape, even when working on print letters. Thanks to this video, I’ve restructured our lessons to make use of these logical groupings. Also, “over, back-trace” has become a staple chant around the house.

Another benefit to using this grouping system is that the kids are able to practice the same movement even when working on different letters. For instance, when they write “C”, they are following the same shape as “A”. They are using the same strokes and patterns. It works to reinforce knowledge. When they get better at writing one letter, they get better at both!

Another technique used by CursiveLogic is the use of multi-sensory tools like color, verbal, and movement to emphasize the lessons. For example, the video uses “over, back-trace” as a chant to help kids remember what to do. This is particularly helpful for younger children, who might find the repetitiveness of handwriting practice a chore.

I mainly use the Montessori method when teaching the kids. Interestingly, cursive letters are introduced first in Montessori. The reasoning behind this is that kids tend to scribble first. It’s more natural for them to use connected letters that use the spacing needed in print letters.

Using the techniques taught by CursiveLogic reinforces this idea that learning how to write should cater to how the mind processes things naturally. In many ways, CursiveLogic lives out the expectations set up by its name. It truly is logical. This smart, why-didn’t-I-think-of-that approach makes teaching penmanship much, much easier.

You can connect with CursiveLogic’s Facebook page here. In addition, if you are interested in trying out this method, CursiveLogic is offering a 20% discount on the CursiveLogic Quick-Start Pack this month. It features access to the webinar and one workbook. Please use the code CREW2018 upon checkout.