Anonymous wrote:Kids are learning it in some elementary schools, but are they practicing? I’ve been writing/practicing cursive for 30 years and it’s not easy to continue to because I rarely write theee days.

My 12yo asked me how to write in half cursive half print, which is what my notes to her look like? She wanted to know how I know which letters to connect and which ones to write individually! SMH “it’s laziness”

I write in a mix of print and cursive, and it's not laziness, it's just how my handwriting developed over the years -- what's most efficient, what I liked the looks of, etc. If they aren't practicing it, it's because they don't need it. I have mine write letters to her grandmother from time to time, but otherwise she's not writing all that much. Kids type these days much more than they handwrite things.

Kids are learning it in some elementary schools, but are they practicing? I’ve been writing/practicing cursive for 30 years and it’s not easy to continue to because I rarely write theee days.

My 12yo asked me how to write in half cursive half print, which is what my notes to her look like? She wanted to know how I know which letters to connect and which ones to write individually! SMH “it’s laziness”

FCPS doesn’t teach cursive

My kids taught themselves in 3rd or 4th grade. Just get them a workbook and for some reason they think it’s cool and something special.

I taught both my kids myself, because in my home country, kids don't have laptops in school and they still get taught cursive before block lettering, in Kindergarten.

OP, parenting begins at home. You need to fill in all the gaps.

I would love to write in cursive but my arthritic fingers just can’t do it.

My daughter is learning it in DCPS, but not a lot of emphasis on it, and it's a simplified version. She likes it, so practices from time to time, especially her signature. I think it's useful to be able to read cursive, because older documents often use it. My own writing is a mix of cursive and print.

I have always greatly struggled with handwriting across the board. If I write in cursive its even more illegible than usual (which is pretty illegible!). Computers probably upped my GPA significantly.

I don't care one way or another whether kids learns cursive, seems like an antiquated part of history like learning glyphs.

I'm a teacher. I occasionally use the whiteboard for instructions. No one could read it if I wrote cursive.

Anonymous wrote:It was taught in 3rd grade in DCPS. DC mixes the two somehow. The cursive books makes it all too complicated. It does not have to be that fancy as they show.
Keep it simple, almost like printing.

Most books I see are not “fancy”. They are basically connect printed letters, some of which do not look like cursive.

I think it’s an important skill, especially for note-taking. My kids only received cursory instruction in school and weren’t expected to use it. I made sure they learned at home.

Our private does but local elementary does not. As a lefty, I really struggled with it.

Anonymous wrote:My Older child who attended DCPS through elementary never learned. Younger child who attends elementary in another state (not in DMV) is learning cursive now in 3rd grade. I am no longer able to write in cursive myself, my handwriting is a weird mix of cursive and print.

Ditto and my signature is a mess. Yesterday the tablet I needed to sign for my credit card payment was at my waist. My signature is not consistent anymore.

Anonymous wrote:All three of my kids learned cursive in their FCPS elementary school.

As a one week unit? Learning to handwrite isn’t just a unit if it’s taught. It is used from that point forward after a couple years of printing. FCPS teaches cursive like a science lab — if your ES includes it at all.

It was taught in 3rd grade in DCPS. DC mixes the two somehow. The cursive books makes it all too complicated. It does not have to be that fancy as they show.
Keep it simple, almost like printing.