It is no secret that handwriting has declined in favor of reading and typing online. While there are many benefits to using technology, there are still many perks to being able to write by hand. One of those benefits is being able to write cursive. Thankfully, not all schools have abandoned cursive writing, so there is still hope for your children to learn how to write this important language skill. You can help them appreciate the benefits of cursive writing by teaching them how to write it correctly. In this article, we will discuss how to teach unschoolers to write cursive correctly.
The Importance Of Handwriting
First, let us discuss the importance of handwriting. More often than not, when people think of cursive writing, they think of writing in school. However, this is simply because modern-day education has shifted towards technology. While technology is important, it is still vital to learn how to write by hand. Handwriting allows for much more variety in the way you write, and it offers a number of benefits to those who learn how to write it.
In addition to the fact that handwriting is unique to each individual, it also allows you to write whatever you want, whenever you want. No one can control how you use your cursor, so if you want to write something in capital letters, you can simply use your right hand to quickly grab the pen from your left hand.
One of the major benefits of handwriting is that you can practice your handwriting while also improving your penmanship. It is well known that handwriting is a skill that you can practice and improve upon, and with practice, your handwriting will become much smoother and more elegant. You will learn how to write with confidence and be proud of your handwriting. This is why it is important to teach your children how to write, even if it is just a simple hello world!
The Difference In Skill
The mechanics of writing are the same, but the artistry behind it is all in how you write. One of the first, and often the most important, things you need to teach your children is how to write neatly. To put it simply, if you want your children to learn how to write cursive correctly, you need to start by teaching them how to write neatly. It is a well-known fact that sloppy handwriting is the root of many problems, so take the time to teach your children to write neatly from the beginning.
Next, you must teach them to write in a straight line. Again, this is simply because the computer cannot interpret the natural curves and loops of handwriting, making it hard for the computer to read. While typing on a keyboard is certainly faster than handwriting, learning how to write in a straight line will make it easier for them to write when they start using a computer later on in life. In addition to being able to write in a straight line, you also want to make sure they are aware of hooks, loops, and tails that make up a cursive “W”.
We have discussed the importance of handwriting before, but it bears repeating. Even if they do not learn how to write in a straight line or how to write with curves and loops, there are still many good things about handwriting that you can teach them. For example, if you want your children to learn to write in cursive, you can start by teaching them to write the alphabet. This will help build their confidence while also teaching them the basic shapes of letters and words. In addition, if you want your children to learn to write better, you can have them practice writing their names and spellings. This will help them find the right muscles in their hands and improve their penmanship.
Teaching Letters And Words
Another important aspect of teaching your children to write is teaching them the letters and words. When teaching your children letters and words, it is important to start with the basics. For example, you can start by teaching them the alphabet. This will not only help them put letters together to form words, but it will also help them find the right letters. Learning the alphabet is also a great way to introduce your children to letters they have not seen before. This will help build their confidence. In addition, you can use this time to practice spelling with them. This will also help their confidence and skill in spelling. You should not only teach your children the “hard” words, but also words that are more common and easy to spell.
Next, you can move on to teaching them contractions. These are words that end in –ing forms like “can’t,” “won’t,” and “shouldn’t.” While learning these words might seem difficult at first, kids will soon realize that they are helping them by teaching them how to spell words correctly. Remember, practice makes perfect, and with practice, they will become natural sounding and ingrained into their vocabulary. In addition, you can ask other adults to check their spelling and help correct their mistakes. This will help their confidence and improve their grammar.
Teaching Phonics
Phonics is the study of how letters are formed and how letters are combined to form words. Essentially, phonics is the sound-based spelling. When teaching your children phonics, you should focus on two things: letter sound and spelling. To start with, you can teach them the “hard” sounds. For example, the letter “b” has two hard sounds: /b/ and /v/. The first sound is similar to the “p” in “pin” and the second sound is similar to the “n” in “can’t.” The “b” sound is formed when the lips are placed in the position of a “p” and the jaw is closed. The “v” sound is formed by bringing the lips in contact with the upper teeth. When teaching your children the “b” sound, you can use the letter “p” as an example. When the “p” letter is sounded out, it has the “b” sound.
The second part of teaching phonics is spelling. Just because a word is spelled differently than how you learned it does not mean it is a different language. For example, the word “cat” is spelled “katt” in English, but in most other languages, it is spelled “chat.” Just because they do not learn how to spell a certain word does not mean it is not a part of their language. Similarly, teaching your children to spell correctly is paramount to building their confidence and literacy skills. Many spelling errors are simply the result of not knowing the right way to spell a word. For example, “cake” is often spelt “cacke,” “bacon” is often spelled “beacom,” and “kitten” is often spelt “ketten.” These are all misspellings that can be easily identified and corrected by simply teaching your children how to spell. It is also important to note that some words are simply irregular, and with irregular words, you should just stick with what you know. For example, when teaching your children the word “cat,” it would be best to write out the letters and teach them the “b” sound. If they are presented with an irregular word, like “cacke,” then they should know that it ends in “ck” and is similar to the “cat” sound. Just because “cacke” is not a word, does not mean it is not a part of their language. The same goes for many irregular words that they may encounter.
As we discussed above, there are many benefits to handwriting. Teaching your children how to write in a way that is natural and confident will give them a head start in life. In addition, being able to write in a way that others can understand is important for social skills and confidence building. Even if they do not learn to write perfectly, they will still be able to express themselves through their writing, and that is a gift.