As parents, grandparents, teachers, or guardians, do you remember learning cursive in school? The graceful lines and connected letters are harder and harder to come by these days.

While it may seem like cursive is falling out of favor culturally, more and more states are mandating cursive instruction in public schools, Alabama and Louisiana being among the most recent to do so according to CNN.

To teach or not to teach cursive is a somewhat controversial choice for public schools, but it’s interesting to note that the Montessori classroom teaches cursive before print letters. So what does cursive offer for young students?

For starters, the connected lines and smooth path of a cursive letter is easier for a student just learning how to grasp a pencil. Just like children scribble or doodle in smooth lines, so too can they begin to form the loops on an ‘e’ or ‘f’.

Secondly, cursive begins on the left and ends on the right. This helps a child just learning letters because there is a clear path to follow. Printed letters are written one stroke at a time, and it’s easy to get confused between the left, middle, or center of your writing.

Lastly, cursive has an added visual appeal. Again from CNN: “Norzim Lama said he prefers cursive writing to printing ”cause it looks fancy.’ Camille Santos said cursive is ‘actually like doodling a little bit.’ ”

Do you think every child needs to learn cursive? Share your thoughts in Chat or on social media @guidepostparent!

If your family utilizes an iPad at home and your child would like to practice cursive, give Intro to Cursive by Montessorium a try. Learn to trace, read and write letter sounds, names and phonograms, all in cursive.

Recommended for you: