To ask if "P's" can be joined up to other letters in joined up handwriting.

[Fakebook]

I remember being taught that P's don't get joined up because when you write the letter your pen stops to the left.

Dd has come home from school today showing me how P's are joined up with a little flick. I've told her you can't join up P's but she's telling me her teacher is teaching them how to join them in their literacy lesson. She's in year 1.

Have things changed? Or did I just imagine being told you can't join them?

We used to join them up in my primary days (70's). The bottom of the P wasn't closed, it looped up off the line into the next letter.

Yes, in the cursive we teach the P is joined. Different schools have different policies though. We join every letter apart from capitals.

Yes, in the cursive we teach the P is joined. Different schools have different policies though. We join every letter apart from capitals.

Yes they can be joined, I've always done it since being taught at school. My two DSs are also taught cursive where p is joined too.

I think it looks stupid.

I'm pretty sure I joint my Ps however you're making me doubt myself now!

The cursive q our DCs are taught looks like a g too.

Oh, so they can be joined up. But it looks weird joined up. It looks like an R gone wrong.

Yes, joined with a little flick (lead out stroked).

We are in France and my DD is learning to write and they do cursive writing including the capitals which are also joined! Learning to write is already difficult enough without this as an additional challenge. In the long run her writing will be beautiful but in the short term it's all a bit messy... 'P' doesn't connect to the post it stops on the line and curves onto the next letter!

Teachers have to relearn how to write when they change schools to meet different handwriting policies!

I used to write an open p that joined... my first teaching post was in a school that did closed p unjoined p. Now I have to do closed joined p!

I was taught that you joined the p so it looked like an upside down u with a tail and a flick.

Absolutely and I remember because I was the first one in my class allowed to do joined up writing so I was very proud!!! Flick up from under the circle of the p

Cursive is a catch all term that describes about a bazillion styles of lettering. Schools tend to choose theirs according to what they think is easier to learn/more useful to the kids, but there's no real consensus. To be honest, whatever the choice is at your daughter's school (and by all means ask for a copy of their exemplar materials so you can help her with it), I'd just accept and support it. If she's interested, once she's mastered the school's chosen script, you can teach her what you learnt, but right now it'll just muddy the waters.

Yes, taught the open joined p here, but in some cursive scripts, it's closed and joined. I always print mine now!

We teach joining all letters but x and capitals.