How to Teach Children Cursive Writing
For many people, writing is turning out to be an obsolete art, as most of it is done on computers today. If this is true, even in the smallest measure, it is important to save it in whatever way possible. Teaching children how to write in the right way, is very important. The skill of classic cursive writing has to be acquired at an early age due to a number of reasons. Hence, if you are trying to teach your toddler how to write, take a few lessons in cursive writing yourself. Writing in a flow helps the child to read and learn, much better in later years. It also imbibes a sense of formatting and aesthetics right from the start.
Teach Your Child Cursive Writing
The biggest mistake that parents make while teaching children how to write is forcing them to hold the pen in the right hand. If your child is naturally left-handed, then so be it. Allow your child to develop a natural grip instead of coaxing him into one.
Children normally begin to hold pencils and pens around the age of three to four. However, as their motor skills are in the developing stage they cannot hold it in the right stance and neither can they write properly.
As their natural grip slowly develops they will begin to scribble on papers, flooring and on the walls. Usually when a child just begins to scribble, he or she will allow the pen to flow on the surface, without lifting it. This will look like a series of small joined 'Ls'. Encouraging this flow in scribbling will make the preschooler get used to the idea of holding the writing instrument onto the paper till a sequence (word) is finished.
Initially hold your child's hand to draw over capital cursive letters. Once your child gets used to the movements, he will start doing it on his own.
Give your child a lot of practice, to perfect the pencil's grip and the newly acquired skills of making curls and curves. To reduce the cost incurred by purchasing handwriting improving books, print out a cursive writing practice sheet. Laminate it and give it to your child. Supplement these with a transparent plastic sheet with a marker, which your child can use to trace the cursive letters.
Once your child is well acquainted with single letters, teach your child small case in a similar way. Remember that the extended lines at the start and end of the small case are very important, as they will be later used to connect to each other to make words.
Slowly give your child small words to write. Once your child learns the technique of writing in a flow, without lifting the pencil from the paper, it is only a matter of time till he perfects the skill.
Cursive writing requires a little supervision as children try to create their own strokes. Thus, dedicate little time to your child to help him develop these skills, which are on the brink of extinction, in the age of virtual classrooms.
This sums up the answer for how to teach children cursive writing. The importance of teaching cursive writing over print is felt in the years to come. Your child not only develops a confidence, but it resolves many issues of dysgraphia as well. Issues such as where to place the pencil after writing a single letter, or where to begin the next word, are rarely experienced by cursive writers as the pencil is never lifted and all the words have to begin on the line. Thus, teaching your child how to cursive write is extremely important and it must be taught before your child picks up the bad habit of writing in print format.
