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      | CrunchyMom Forum Moderator
 
  
  
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          I thought this article was interesting!
           | Posted: May 07 2013 at 9:52am | IP Logged |   |  
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 Cursive Benefits Go Beyond Writing
 
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 Lindsay
 Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
 My Symphony
 
 [URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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| knowloveserve Forum All-Star
 
  
  
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          I read all the counterpoints also. Both sides make compelling points.  I think y mode of operation is going to be to teach it, and then let it be optional.
           | Posted: May 07 2013 at 11:16am | IP Logged |   |  
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 Maybe I'm ridiculous but the very fact that the new Common Core Standards have dropped it, makes me want to include it in my home... just to spite Big Brother.
   
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 Ellie
 The Bleeding Pelican
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| 3ringcircus Forum Pro
 
  
  
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          I'm nervously planning to start cursive with my K & 2nd grade DSs next year.  I'm hoping that it will help them w/ word spacing, speed, and composition in later years.  The older one has absolutely no stamina for printing (physical or mental), although his letters are legible.  I don't think starting cursive will be a magic bullet for either of them, but I think the novelty might help us build a little momentum.
           | Posted: May 07 2013 at 4:51pm | IP Logged |   |  
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 Christine
 Mom to my circus of boys: G-1/06, D-1/04, S-4/10
 Started HS in Fall'12
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| CatholicMommy Forum All-Star
 
  
  
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          I don't know if the article addresses this, but a main bonus to learning cursive FIRST is that learning print just comes naturally - it doesn't have to be taught, if cursive was taught first.
           | Posted: May 08 2013 at 11:09am | IP Logged |   |  
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 But learning print first - cursive then has to be taught. And it's an uphill battle because the child is out of the sensitive time in life for readily developing language - just when the child's imagination and moral life and history studies WANT to take off, we make them spend so much time retraining their hands for a new kind of writing. So if we teach cursive first, and young, they pick it up quickly; move into print on their own accord (without any input from us!); and they have so much more available time in those elementary years!
 
 ;)
 
 
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 Garden of Francis
 HS Elementary Montessori Training
 Montessori Nuggets
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| CrunchyMom Forum Moderator
 
  
  
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           | Posted: May 08 2013 at 11:59am | IP Logged |   |  
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  | CatholicMommy wrote: 
 
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            | I don't know if the article addresses this, but a main bonus to learning cursive FIRST is that learning print just comes naturally - it doesn't have to be taught, if cursive was taught first. 
 But learning print first - cursive then has to be taught. And it's an uphill battle because the child is out of the sensitive time in life for readily developing language - just when the child's imagination and moral life and history studies WANT to take off, we make them spend so much time retraining their hands for a new kind of writing. So if we teach cursive first, and young, they pick it up quickly; move into print on their own accord (without any input from us!); and they have so much more available time in those elementary years!
 
 ;)
 
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 This certainly makes sense to me, and I have introduced cursive first to my current 1st grader.
 
 I thought the most interesting part of the article was how our brain works differently when using cursive. I knew that putting pencil to paper was important to me in thinking through things effectively, but I never thought about the difference between cursive and print in that regard.
 
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 Lindsay
 Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
 My Symphony
 
 [URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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| Maggie Forum All-Star
 
  
  
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           | Posted: May 08 2013 at 5:28pm | IP Logged |   |  
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  | knowloveserve wrote: 
 
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            | Maybe I'm ridiculous but the very fact that the new Common Core Standards have dropped it, makes me want to include it in my home... just to spite Big Brother.
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       I'm so right there with you.  That's just great.
 
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 Wife to dh (12 years) Mama to dd (10) ds (8), dd (1), ds (nb) and to Philip Mary (5/26/09), Lucy Joy (12/6/09), and Margaret Mary (3/6/10) who entered Heaven before we had a chance to hold them.
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| RyaneM Forum Pro
 
  
  
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          What book do you use for cursive? We did HWT and then the CHC HW for regular printing.
           | Posted: May 08 2013 at 6:13pm | IP Logged |   |  
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 Ryane in NY
   Mama to ds (3/05), ds(1/09) and dd (4/10)
 
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| CatholicMommy Forum All-Star
 
  
  
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          We used the handwriting books from Our Lady of Victory (skipping the Kindergarten-A book which is print; Kindergarten-B and above is all cursive) when we had to undo some learning issues with my son when he was younger.
           | Posted: May 09 2013 at 9:06am | IP Logged |   |  
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 Garden of Francis
 HS Elementary Montessori Training
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| Trill Forum Newbie
 
  
 
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          Thank you! I have been looking for a cursive handwriting book that's not for third graders. I also plan to replace our sandpaper letters (we have a print set) and start using cursive myself when writing for my daughter to copy, but I wanted to make sure I was using the same font as whatever handwriting materials we'll use.
           | Posted: June 04 2013 at 8:47pm | IP Logged |   |  
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| MicheleQ Forum All-Star
 
  
  
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          I saw these recently at a conference. They look very nice.
           | Posted: June 04 2013 at 8:51pm | IP Logged |   |  
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 Michele Quigley
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| Martha Forum All-Star
 
  
  
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          I use HWT cursive for my lefties, from the start.  I skip all the print HWT books.
           | Posted: June 04 2013 at 9:15pm | IP Logged |   |  
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 |  I like OLVS cursive for my righties.
 
 Cursive is mandatory here.
 
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 Martha
 mama to 7 boys & 4 girls
 Yes, they're all ours!
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| JennGM Forum Moderator
 
  
  
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          There is another article making the rounds:
           | Posted: June 25 2013 at 8:21am | IP Logged |   |  
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 What Learning Cursive Does For Your Brain
 
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 Jennifer G. Miller
 Wife to
  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07 Family in Feast and Feria
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| AmandaV Forum All-Star
 
  
 
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          If using the Lepanto Cursive books from OLVS, does a child have to start from the beginning, or can you jump in at grade level?
           | Posted: June 25 2013 at 11:38am | IP Logged |   |  
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 For example, my daughter is going into 2nd but has not formally learned cursive. I've taught her some letters and words. So should I start with year 1 if I want to use these, and maybe work on it daily as soon as I get it, moving into year 2 when she completes it? We'd also do copywork daily alternating cursive with some print to improve her printing, but focus on cursive.
 
 Other child - my son is about to turn 9, going in to 4th. He has used the Seton 2nd grade book for cursive this year along with cursive copy work 2 times per week, print 2 times weekly, and printing most other writing.  I happened to get the grade 2 book to use last summer and then just continued it over this year. So should get the Lepanto 4th grade for him for appropriate quotes, etc, or 3rd, for more practice and teaching?
 
 My twins are going into Kinder so I'd assume I should get them the second Kinder book that starts cursive.
 
 Thanks! OLVS comes to our conference, but I skipped it this year due to family in town and a lack of interest in the topics or vendors...
 
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 Amanda
 
 wife since 6/03, Mom to son 7/04, daughter  2/06, twin sons 6/08 and son 7/11, son 1/2014
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| Martha Forum All-Star
 
  
  
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          I have the cursive 2 book.  I think you can start with it.  It begins with review practice of individual letters and progresses from there.
           | Posted: June 25 2013 at 6:49pm | IP Logged |   |  
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 Martha
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| AmandaV Forum All-Star
 
  
 
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          Just saw this from The Anchoress: Ranting on the Loss of Cursive Writing
           | Posted: June 27 2013 at 3:49pm | IP Logged |   |  
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 Amanda
 
 wife since 6/03, Mom to son 7/04, daughter  2/06, twin sons 6/08 and son 7/11, son 1/2014
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