Do I REALLY have to teach my dd to write in cursive?

[Lisalyn]

Well, I do have HWOT already, so I guess it wouldn't be too painful to pull it out and just do one page at a time. I know it's a simple program but believe me, NOTHING is easy with this child

Jen, for the record....I understand. My dd is dyslexic/dysgraphic. She struggled with writing anything. She still (at 19) has a funky grip when writing-she puts her pinky on her pencil! She only used cursive to sign her name-everything else is print. And it hasn't been an issue at all. I'm satisfied that I gave her a bit of exposure.

[Jen in SC]

Lisa, that is incredibly helpful and encouraging. I'll go for exposure unless she happens to love it. You've put me at ease. My girl has dyslexia/dysgraphia too so hearing from you that cursive isn't a huge issue just helped a bunch.

[Jo in PRC]

Our youngest has many LDs and motor problems as a result of her brain tumor. Our education consultant recommended that we start cursive earlier for her. Guess what? She loved it...seemed easier for her than the printing. We do use penagains which make it easier for her to write without getting fatigued.

[stacy z]

obviously keyboarding is the way of the future. and all three of my dc stuggled to some degree with cursive, but i chose to teach it because it is still used in our society and it is a much more efficient/faster way to write (ie: note taking in high school or college, letter writing). i think it is important to know. so IMHO, i would give your dc enough of an exposure to cursive that they feel comfortable reading and writing it, even if they ultimately choose to print or type whatever they write in the future.

[Nedra]

No. You don't.

I remember spending years learning correct cursive in school. Now the only thing I am able to write in cursive is my name.

I don't think it is wrong to teach any child cursive, just don't consider it important.

[Jen in OK]

I agree with the others. I would give her some exposure to it, but I wouldn't sweat it. Dh got through high school, college, and medical school and the only thing he writes in cursive is his signature. I always told my 5th graders that I wanted to see their best handwriting where I could read it and let them choose whether it was print or cursive. I'm not sure if that was my decision to make, but I made it anyway.

[Rachel Jane]

From personal experience:
J can type like the wind. His writing style is to think it all through and then write. This was a problem when he took the SATs. What he wrote for his essay was good, but he didn't have time to finish. We've been practicing timed writing. Cursive is faster than printing most of the time.

[Susan A]

I taught college English for 11 years and definitely DID NOT want students to write in cursive!!!! Printing only or computer...that's it! Cursive is way too hard to read and grade!!!

Skip it...my 19 y/o son is in college and only writes his name in cursive.....no problemo!!

[katied]

Another vote for HWOT cursive here...my 8-year-old has PDD/Asperger and had a really tough time with learning manuscript...however, he is flying right through the cursive lessons. HWOT cursive really is VERY easy to read and very easy to teach. I found the teacher's manual to be extremely helpful for teaching cursive- I think it's around $6 or $7.

[Melissa Crabtree]

Is it now or never? I'd teach her to read it and let her learn to write her name, but you can always teach it to her later. Nothing says it has to be when she's 10 or whatever any more than anything else we teach!