Practicing Our Curly Q's

    I so enjoyed this post by Ann Collins  http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/mozart/45939/ . I just started cursive with my two little girls this week. We're using the Spenserian approach published many years ago by Mott media. I don't know if it is still avaiable. The capital letters are so lovely. I'm skipping all the theory because to me cursive is just drawing. We worked on A’s and accomplished so much in just a ten minute span of time. It took Elizabeth several frustrating trys to get the slant right, (and she has a good eye) but she fianlly got it. 
    Once my landlady, who is up there in years said, "Nobody has good penmanship anymore." She's right. She has admired my penmanship and so do my children, but what about them? I want them to be able to leave a legacy of their lives in their own handwriting. So we will diligently work on our curly q’s untill we get it down. 
    I collect old readers and primers and I have come to a conclusion. They taught cursive to little children (these are first grade readers). So I have started Anna (6) already. Why not? She did great by the way. I just had her trace the page instead of copying it. It’s so much like learning to ride a bike – once you learn, you never forget, and so much can be accomplished in little increments of time!    

6:35 AM - Nov. 19, 2005 - post comment

So true!!!

My father's beautiful penmanship was his hallmark, and even when he had Alzheimer's, his handwriting, though shaky, was easily distinguished. I have even framed some of what his wrote in the final years of his life. Love ~ Patricia

PatriciaWHunter - 6:56 AM - Nov. 19, 2005

Thank you Jill!

I really appreciate your kind words.
We are kindred spirits!
Your blog is very thoughtful-- I'll be a
regular visitor here.

Blessings on your journey....

Ann Collins

mozart - 5:21 PM - Nov. 19, 2005

Wonderful!

My 6yod has also learning cursive along with my 9yos, per her request. We were looking at getting and using the Spencerian books as well. I think they're printed by Mott Media now, and can be bought from keepersofthefaith.com.

Beth - 7:07 PM - Nov. 19, 2005

good for you!

I found your blog while doing a writer's query on Spenserian hand. Just wanted to put in two cents, though: I failed penmanship until eighth grade--and got a lot of grief over it. It turned out that apparently my fine motor skills just hadn't come in the mail yet. (I have ADHD, but it wasn't being diagnosed in bright little girls back in the 70s.) So just in case you hit a plateau, hang in there.

Wish I'd had this site during the periods I homeschooled each of my kids...you might get a kick out of this: each of them was kept out of mainstream for at least a year, and we followed the less-structured "unschooling" approach. Although I got a huge amount of flak for this from The Authorities, the result for both kids was the same: they re-entered mainstream having each essentially skipped a grade--and both made honor roll almost immediately. Keep the faith.

--Sean

Anonymous - 10:52 AM - Nov. 27, 2005

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