Penmanship, Cursive, and Letter Writing in the News

[Erica McPhee]

Yes - reading and writing - aka English. 

I was impressed - it's the teacher's own handwriting. Of course, I immediately ran to get my somewhat Palmer-based exemplar but my daughter wanted nothing to do with it. 

P.S. Sorry for hijacking this thread! 

[AnasaziWrites]

Yes - reading and writing - aka English. 

I was impressed - it's the teacher's own handwriting. Of course, I immediately ran to get my somewhat Palmer-based exemplar but my daughter wanted nothing to do with it. 

Well, it's a start and good to see she's encouraging cursive, but if that's the teacher's exemplar, it's a pretty poor example of cursive. Some of those letters (small k, capital P) are illegible. Mike Sull has a good book on it. Maybe your daughter would like that?

P.S. Sorry for hijacking this thread! 

It's all good.

[Erica McPhee]

I figured any attempt at getting the kids to write cursive should be well applauded. Trust me - I have given her exemplars from Palmer, Zaner-Bloser, Michael Sull's American Cursive (remember I homeschooled), etc. Nothing has motivated her more than this teacher's attempt for bonus points. 

[AnasaziWrites]

Anyone contributing to a box or have such a box themselves?

[jeanwilson]

My family (mother's side) has a box of letters that start with the letter that encouraged her family to go homestead in Montana, c.1905. There are letters telling of babies born and trips to the Mayo Clinic to find out there is no cure for cancer. My grandmother added letters from relatives in the military - letters from me - etc. My mom added to the box. And now I am adding to it. I print out emails from my kids that contain the same kind of news. To me, there is no difference in hand-written or typed messages. I respond to the words not the vehicle. I have some greeting cards sent by my kids with their handwritten messages - so there is a tiny record of their penmanship.

I am going to scan the oldest letters and post them on a family blog with typed transcripts. They are very hard to read because the writers were English as second language. It's not too late to dig back into the email archives and retrieve meaningful correspondence. If your program has a feature where *old* mail resides - there is a treasure trove. Also - in the [Sent] file - you can find original emails along with your response - which can be fascinating to have a record of an exchange.

Putting the family archives online has been enjoyable. I scan photos, too. You can make blogs private so only family members can access them. I have one blog just for recipes which is great for my kids. I actually find it easier to pull up my recipes on my blog instead of pulling out books or the card file. I use Blogger - and it is super easy - and free.

[AnasaziWrites]

I am going to scan the oldest letters and post them on a family blog with typed transcripts.

That's an interesting idea.That way, multiple family members can read these letters without needing to request access to the originals.

[AnasaziWrites]

Cursive comeback?
https://wjla.com/news/offbeat/ohio-house-passes-bill-requiring-students-to-learn-cursive-by-end-of-5th-grade

[KristinT]

Cursive comeback?
https://wjla.com/news/offbeat/ohio-house-passes-bill-requiring-students-to-learn-cursive-by-end-of-5th-grade

Exciting news!  Atrocious grammar in that article though.  I also desperately want that pencil sharpened...

 

[stenolearner]

As a child of the nineties I remember eagerly awaiting when I could start writing "grown-up writing". I was taught a cut down version of cursive that didn't join many of the letters: y,j,g,x,s,p,b. So I learned how to join those letters by myself.