Cursive Handwriting In Recption

[Guest]

Hi

Just wanted to know if anyone else teaches cursive handwriting in Recption. I will be starting in September. They will join up their names and all other letters will be written ready to join.

Any advice, stories, etc would be a great help.

Thanks Becky

[Lorna]

We use cursive writing from the start- joining all letters as soon as the children are ready- we do not loop the decenders though.

 

It can seem to take ages for the children to grasp and it doesn't seem to be until the summer term or later that all that effort, practice and constant reminding pays off.

 

Just remember the bigger the children can practice the movements the better.

 

L

[Guest]

Can I just pick your brains a bit?

 

When you first introduce cursive handwriting to children, how do you do it?

 

Do you write in yellow for them to write over?

 

Do you write it out for them to copy underneath?

 

In our pre-school we don't teach children to write, but often they are keen for us to write captions to accompany their pictures so that they can make their own labels. I would like an informed opinion on the best way to do this (although I appreciate that with most issues raised on the Forum, there are very differing views!).

 

The school most of our children join don't teach cursive handwriting, so we don't use it ourselves.

 

Thanks

Maz

[Guest]

We don't teach cursive writing until our children are able to print competently - for some this is at the end of Reception but for the majority it is when they start Y1. We do lots of air-writing practice and then they trace over cursive handwriting before writing "freehand" - because they know how to form their letters correctly learning to join them is relatively easy.

[hali]

Our feeder school wanted us to introduce the hildren to cursive as thats what they do when they go up to school. Stupid me said ok, what a nightmare...didnt last long!!!! now we just use it in SOME labelling so that the children get used to seeing it.

[Marion]

Hi

Just wanted to know if anyone else teaches cursive handwriting in Recption.  I will be starting in September.  They will join up their names and all other letters will be written ready to join. 

Any advice, stories, etc would be a great help.

Thanks Becky

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We have used a cursive style of writing for the past 10 years, this begins in Nursery and we gradually introduce joined up writing over the reception year. Most children are really eager to do 'proper' writing! Only ones who have any problems are those who have been taught ball and stick style at home.

[michaelle]

We use the Cripps handwriting scheme which teaches correct formation leading up to a cursive (unlooped) style which the children carry on through year 6. It does help the children develop a very neat, distinct style. Having good letter formation now, my reception are now beginning to make simple joins. We do a bit of handwriting each day. Nothing too labourious though.

[Guest]

We use joined up writing from the start in Reception. The children do find it difficult but all the research, etc, shows it is best long term. We certainly don't force them to join - we value and praise ANY attempt at writing and never 'correct' print. Most children (not all by any means) can write their name when they come to us - printing - and we don't make them change this to joined. (However by end of the year quite a few write their namely in joined up writing) Our main efforts are on modelling and scribing for the children. We NEVER NEVER would dream of getting children to write over yellow writing - this IS NOT WRITING! (Sorry for rant!) We do Write Dance and loads of physcial stuff to promote writing - loads of story-telling and masses of role play. We do hand-writing practice on individual white boards (which I would recommend as children are happy to have a go in the safety of being able to wipe it off) and loads of 'writing' in the outside area - sticks on ground, large chalks, squeezy bottles etc etc.

 

I suppose what I am trying to say is we encourage cursive handwriting by modelling & labelling & scribing mainly - our emphasis is on them having a go at writing and valuing every attempt - whether it be joined or not. I recently went to visit Year 1 and was impressed by quality of joined up writing my old class were producing - despite very slow results in Yr R - because they do find it hard. Hope this helps!!!???

[Guest]

Hi

Thanks for all the advice. I'm looking forward to teaching cursive, especially as I had an interactive whiteboard fitted on the last day of term. They will be practising all the time.

When I visited a school recently who taught cursive, by Year 2 their writing was very impressive. I've had to adapt all the Jolly Phonics sheets and the Jolly Phonics wall frieze as well as Action words so that the children are familiar with cursive.

I will have a variety of different print on displays, although one teacher suggested we use cursive on all displays in class.

Thanks again for all your help

from Becky

[Guest]

Reading this thread reminds me of my school days (yes I CAN remember back that far!) In the 'top' infants (would be yr 2 now) I remember children being shouted at for doing 'tails' or 'flicks' especially on the letter 'a'. Imagine that now! I have never got this whole you must ALL write this way thing. If a child can form an 'o' better clockwise does it really matter? If a child likes to put a loop at the end of a 'y' as long as it looks like a 'y' is it a problem? Well when I was at school YEP! DD1 is nearly 11 (going into yr 6 Sept) and left handed and even she had trouble from teachers forcing her to form letters a particular way.

 

 

Any views on that?

 

 

I

[Guest]

We NEVER NEVER would dream of getting children to write over yellow writing - this IS NOT WRITING!  (Sorry for rant!)

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This is great Bungalow - I don't think you need apologise for ranting!

 

I know opinions differ (and the time I saw children writing over yellow was in a school nursery, advocated by a teacher I respect), but I would really appreciate your opinion on how we should approach the vexed subject of children writing in pre-school.

 

If a child is keen to write, how do we introduce it? I don't want to get into the whole worksheet thing (or I might start to rant!), but I do want to do the best thing for our children. We do a lot of scribing for children, and offer lots of opportunities for emergent writing in role play etc, but what do we do when they ask us to help them write?

 

Maz

[Guest]

Hi - it sounds to me as though you are doing wonderful things and encouraging the children to write in fantastic ways already. For those children who are actually asking you to help them well I suppose you firstly need to know your individual children. Would it be possible to sit with them, let them tell you what they want to say (what their message is) if this is possible, and you scribe letting them have a go as well - this could mean letter by letter, word by word. Or set up a writing area where they can access letters, words, alphabets giving them something to go on. Or ready scribed common messages eg "I made this model" "This is my picture" that they can select. Given time they may start writing their own. I am sure you are aware of this and I am not an expert - coming up to 20 years in Early Years and still learning every day. Hope this helps a little. Some children are very unconfident and I believe need the adult to write in the first place before they are comfortable having a go. It's a tricky one! Good luck.