Cursive first resources for kindergarten?

[tankgirl73]

I know that there is "Cursive First" from SRW (or is it SWR lol)... but they don't actually seem to have any samples of the text so it's impossible for me to judge if it's the right choice for us. Are there any other good resources out there for learning cursive first?

Background -- DD is only 3.5yo but fairly advanced, incredible fine motor control and wants to write. She can do many letters quite well, and she can do them quite small -- none of this 1" tall beginner letter stuff for her. But, for most letters and numbers, she needs something to trace, she can't do them on her own. Some she can... 1, 7, 4, i, l, o, m, n, a... probably a few more, and several where she gets pretty darn close.

What we're doing for now, is I write something in a light coloured pencil and she traces over it. I wasn't sure whether or not to do cursive first, even though I've been convinced for a long while that that's what we wanted to do, in my mind we'd be starting that at like 4.5-5yo. It wasn't in my brain that I'd have a 3.5yo wanting to write so much. So I wasn't sure if cursive first would actually be best for a kid THIS young, fine motor control or not... she can do single letters, but would she be able to maintain the focus and clarity of a complex pencil stroke through an entire word? So we've been doing d'Nealian and/or italics style print so far.

Well, today I tried it. I wrote her name in cursive. She recognized her name, even though she's not really familiar with cursive. Then she tried tracing it. At first, she kept lifting her pencil after each letter, like she's used to, but after I'd mentioned a couple times to just keep going, she got the idea. She did the loop of the 'l' and the 'e' the wrong way around, but otherwise she kept the pencil going, did the ups and downs and retracings and didn't lose her place. Pretty darned good for a preschooler trying it for the first time, if you ask me!!!

So now I'm almost totally convinced to continue this path with her. I just need some good help for it. One option would be to use the Italics (we have Penny Gardner's e-book) and just start right away with the cursive, but I think I've have to do a lot of mom-made practice sheets for her to include the tracing aspect for her for now, and because that point in the book assumes the kids already know the letter shapes from the first part of the book...

But I'm totally open to other ideas as well! Anyone used Cursive First with their youngsters? Other cursive resources good for a kindergartner-level?

[WhaleinGaloshes]

My DD is 4.5-turning-5. She knows how to print, but has begun doing cursive this past month with Handwriting Without Tears' cursive book.

It's gone really well.

We use the lined chalk board and follow their suggestion for a procedure...I wirte it (large) on the chalkboard, she first uses a tiny bit of sponge to erase it by tracing over it, (then we blow on it like crazy and laugh ), the she traces with chalk over the faint gray smudge left behind.

Then she does them on paper.

The trick I've learned from watching her is knowing which direction to strike off in next. After 4 letters, she had the hang of how they connect...write the letter; travel away, move to the starting point of the next letter...and now she is just practicing each letter form.

I've watched other kids teaching themselves/trying cursive cursive on their own and I find the same, that they follow the line but at the intersections don't know which way to go. So the HWT seems to have cleared that up for my DD nicely.

The workbook is $7.25 so I figured 'what's the harm?' I was intrigued with the Cursive First program but didn't really want to invest in it, truthfully.

[sbgrace]

I did not do this but because I'm struggling with my son's fine motor (opposite of your issues) I've researched a lot of cursive programs. I'm thinking I might want to use this because of his issues but I'm thinking it might be good option for your daughter because of her age. Worth considering anyway! http://www.pearsonassessments.com/HA...0&Mode=summary

That said, HWT if it works would be a cheaper way to go!

[tankgirl73]

Has anyone used A Beka's K5 Cursive with Phonics book? I know they're a Christian company, we don't mind some religious stuff, as long as it's not over the top, you know? It's definitely a cursive text aimed at kindergartners... I wish there were more sample pages!!

EDIT -- oh hey, they even have cursive for K4! We might just go with this and skip any religious stuff we don't need... hm...

[kristin0713]

I have the A Beka K-4 stuff and we are going to start it in September. My DD is 4.5. You're right, it is very hard to get a feel for the curriculum online. I looked through it thoroughly at a conference where I could see everything before deciding. (They do have curriculum shows all over the country, throughout the year, at hotels and things in addition to homeschool conferences. You can find the schedule on their website.) We are doing the phonics, reading, and writing curriculum and I have the teacher's guide (bought used ) and new phonics and writing workbooks. Initially, I was just going to use their stuff for cursive and do phonics separately (Explode the Code) but then when I looked at everything and saw how it all connects as one reading and language arts curriculum, I decided to just use this for everything.

If I just wanted something for cursive and was doing my own thing with phonics and reading, I would probably choose something else (such as HWWOT) and here is why. The order of letters in the handwriting book is based on the order they are presented in the phonics book. As the child is learning how to combine sounds in reading, they are also learning how to write them. (I do love that cursive gives the child such an obvious visual of connected letters and blended sounds.) The phonics and handwriting are very complimentary and I love how it works together, and it is laid out very well in the teacher's curriculum guide, but I just don't know how much sense it would make in my mind and DD's mind if I were just winging it with the workbook.

As far as religious content, the workbooks and reading books do not contain religious instruction, but there is a Bible verse or quote regarding God and/or Jesus on the bottom of every five pages or so in the ABC Writing Tablet. For example, "No matter how small we are, God loves us."
"The hummingbird is God's helicopter."
"Be kind to one another." Eph. 4:34

The Writing With Phonics workbook does not seem to have any religious references.

As far as handwriting, phonics, and reading goes for my 4.5yo, I think this curriculum is solid and will work beautifully for her. (I am a former teacher with lots of experience in emerging literacy.) I think it would also be easy to ignore the religious content if you wished to do so.

One thing that I noticed and that I do not like is that they use the word "Indian" and a picture of a Native American individual for the letter "I." I was so surprised to see that, it is totally politically incorrect and culturally inaccurate. I am going to tell DD that the girl is an Iroquois Native American. I also noticed the same thing in a Fancy Nancy book recently. WOW! That would not fly in public school.

[kristin0713]

I just read your thread again. For some reason, I missed the part that your DD is only 3.5.

Personally, I would stick with Montessori materials at this age--cursive sandpaper letters and a moveable alphabet: http://www.kidadvance.com/Store/Cate...Id=1&offset=12

There is a lot more that needs to be developed in her brain and motor skills before a formal writing program, IMO. Let her play, write and draw as she wants, and maybe offer a cursive workbook for her to trace if she wants to. Montessori starts with cursive first but they do so much in the younger years to develop a good foundation.

[tankgirl73]

kristin0713 -- thanks, but she's actually already way beyond the sandpaper letters and stuff. I'm happy to let her play, write, and draw as she wants, and we do -- but what she wants is to learn to actually write. I know it's early, and believe me I'm not the one pushing it. Her dexterity skills are very advanced, she's already reading simple CVC words and also words with s-blends... I think she's pretty equivalent to an "average" 4yo.

In 99% of cases, I would totally agree with you, and usually I'd be the one doing that preaching!

I definitely will do stuff with the moveable alphabet or an equivalent, and she loves typing on the computer too (already has the locations of most of the letters memorized), so she can play with making words without the physical skill of writing being necessary.

But she does also want to write, so I'm just looking for a program that would be suitable for her. And please trust me that we're not going to be overly formal about it either! We're also doing "formal" math -- Right Start level A -- but we've been doing it for, oh, 4 months or so now and we're up to lesson 15. We just do it once in awhile when she's interested, the rest of the time is just play. So it's a similar sort of thing for the handwriting -- not in order to push it, or schedule it, but in order to have something suitable on hand for when she does want it.

To give another reference point, we just finished a lapbook the other day. It was a Teacher's Book Bag "Exploring the Oceans". She loved every bit of it and begged to work on it every day. Part of it did involve some optional writing -- you could print out pre-filled in pages or have the kid write their own. She wanted to write it herself -- I wrote it lightly and she traced over it. She's just that kind of kid.

I made the mistake of too much and too early academics with my son, I pushed and he rebelled and we're still recovering from that and he's 12 now! So I have been completely turned around to unschooling/child-led/natural/etc for up to at least age 7 and was looking forward to doing things "right" with my daughter now that I "know better". Then she turns out to be this crazy "give me more worksheets mummy!" kid. You can't win, ya know? lol...

[tankgirl73]

Wanted to add -- your mentioning the Montessori materials DID remind me that I should pull out the metal insets again for her. When I first got them for her, it was a bit too early -- she liked them but obviously wasn't ready for them yet, so I put them away. I think she would get WAY more out of them now, and like you said it's good development for writing skills.

I place much credit for her perfect pencil grip -- which she has had since age 2 -- on the knobbed cylinders, which she still loves to play with.

And I also meant to thank you for your review of and information about the A Beka books, very useful, thank you!!!