Just curious what you think about this. My daughter gets upset because her handwriting is not all that great. I got her a workbook to practice cursive. She can practice in it, but really I don't think it is that important. How many people really write like we were taught cursive in school? everyone develops thier own handwritng style. Plus we type so much.

Am I the only one who thinks this way? Sure, we should have legible writing, but is cursive really that important? I think there are more important things to focus on.

Kids with bad handwriting don't always magically improve with cursive. All those loops and flips can look pretty messy.

I have a messy handwriter that's the same age as yours. She learned cursive last year. Now, we've gone back to the basics and are starting over with italics.

It's much easier on the eye than cursive. Maybe give that a shot?

I don't think cursive is important, but I do believe it's crucial to have nice handwriting in our society. Therefore, we practice every school day, and improvement is slow and steady.

I insisted that my son learn cursive . We did Cursive Without Tears. When he proved he could do it, he switched back to printing and has printed ever since. Occasionally, I make him practice his name, after all, that's the only thing I think he'll have to use it for in the future.

Linda

Yes I think it is important.  I also used handwriting without tears. It is important that people can read what we write. We teach it everyday.

To me it really doesn't matter that much.  Some people are just going to have bad handwriting no matter what. That being said, how often do we actaully write anything important these days? I think being able to type is more important than having neat handwriting. Just look at doctors! lol Who can read their handwriting? And they are doing pretty well! lol

Mr. Pudewa, the man that wrote the IEW writing materials, said that boys need to learn cursive so they 'll be able to read  their wives handwriting.  LOL

Mary, did you decide on what to do? Are you going to continue home schooling?

After dutifully doing cursive workbooks with my daughter in younger years, I decided that her cursive was proficient--but not beautiful.  However, that describes my own cursive penmanship as well, so I can't complain. 

I do, however, think it's important for my daughter to be familiar with cursive for several reasons.  First, older friends and relatives frequently send her letters and card written in neat cursive.  She needs to be able to read those.  (I always take the chance to show her how neat they are when such cards are opened...)  :)  Many historical documents are written in old-fashioned script or in cursive.  We are involved in a lot of historical activities, and it's important that my daughter can read the primary sources herself.  And, of course, she needs to be able to sign her name in cursive.

A note about penmanship before you despair, though.  I was concerned about my daughter's penmanship based on what she wrote for me in her school notebooks.  However, I noticed one day that a letter she was writing to someone else had remarkably neat penmanship.  Hmm.  Sometimes I think our kids need another audience besides Mom to motivate them to take care with their work.

I did, by the way, require my daughter to learn how to type, too.  So much is done on the computer, and so many classes (in high school and college) require papers to be turned in typed.

She will continue to practice in her workbook, but I will not be forcing the issue. As long as she has neat handwriting, that is what I am really concerned about. Mine is atrocious, so I can't really say much. She can type pretty well already at 11 years old.

personally i do not see it as important .... applications say please "print" and well, the world is going to fonts.... i have taught my children cursive through many tears.... i decided last year that as long as they know their name for signatures and such that's really all they'll use, unless they decide to use cursive in there letter writing but even that is next to nil anymore.... i say let the chilkd choose