My kids all taught themselves cursive when they were between 6 and 8. They all have a few letters they've modified (such as uppercase Z and Q), but they otherwise all use proper cursive.

We give our kids access to workbooks, but we don't require them. It's amazing how many times they have picked them up to learn something new.

Anonymous wrote:Because it isn't a state standard, and teachers barely have time to get through required content.

Yes. It depends on the state. California requires competency in cursive. I believe Indiana also. Virginia does not, despite some pressure a few years ago, it was determined not to be an essential skill.

If you ever want to research your family tree, you need to know cursive. Of course, now they are training AI to read handwriting, but they still need humans to correct mistakes.

It's sad that kids and even young adults have difficulty reading cursive. They have trouble reading greeting cards from their grandparents. My mother sent her granddaughter a card. It got sent back, even though the address was correct. I asked her if she wrote it in cursive and she said yes. We figured the postal workers couldn't read cursive. It's like having a certain kind of illiteracy.

Cursive has gone the way of calligraphy and provides no value. Proper typing classes would be a much better use of the kids' time. Almost anything provides more value than cursive in 2026.

Anonymous wrote:Its ridiculous that they don't teach cursive and barely teach handwriting.

+1

My DD wanted to learn and taught herself. My DS couldn't care less. Their school did not teach it.

I do hear this is becoming an issue when people have to sign things (in our case, their passports). It's kind of funny to see my DD actually execute a signature and my DS write in large block letters.

Anonymous wrote:Teach it at home.

OP here - I did. But obviously teaching it in school would be better.

Anonymous wrote:My kid showed some self interest so I got him a book and he had some fun with it.

But to be honest as an adult I pretty much never use cursive. And I was one of those kids who decided to learn fancy fonts for fun.

I'm in the same boat on my use of cursive and having spent time as a kid learning to write in various fonts. But the research shows there is some minimal benefit to cursive in and of itself and a massive benefit to handwritten notes, which for at least some people cursive enables to go faster.

I think there are some after school programs to teach cursive. Is there a “club” at your school?

My kid showed some self interest so I got him a book and he had some fun with it.

But to be honest as an adult I pretty much never use cursive. And I was one of those kids who decided to learn fancy fonts for fun.

Because it isn't a state standard, and teachers barely have time to get through required content.

Anonymous wrote:Teach it at home.

Too busy setting aside time for kids to read actual books and do outside math.

Its ridiculous that they don't teach cursive and barely teach handwriting.

Teach it at home.

How come some elementary schools do cursive and some do not? My child’s does not and I wish they did.