cursive handwriting in reception

[Iggly]

Ds started reception and is being taught cursive print letters.

This is fine except that he learnt all of his letters at preschool in basic print.

So now we have to undo it.

He's already disheartened telling me he can't write his name (he can using basic print) and he's only been in school for ten days ffs :(

So how do I teach him cursive? The school gave us a brief intro in July with one worksheet but I have no idea how to actually help ds (he has to write his name for homework). In particular how do I explain entry points etc or should I just dig out online templates?

His fine motor skills are good (he's nearly five, holds a pencil properly and plays Lego, uses scissors etc so has done all the righy things) so that isn't an issue
Do I need to talk to the teacher?

Yes. I think this is totally OTT, I don't think we did cursive until we were about 10...

I feel exactly the same as you, my DS struggles with writing without changing the goal posts! I too am unsure of how to help we have been given a sheet with the letters on, but previously on the old style they had starting points, I don't use cursive writing consistently so am worried about teaching him the wrong thing.

I'm sure some would disagree but, I don't see the point of cursive writing and the constant meddling with the curriculum, I just get my head around it and they change it, my parents didn't have to worry about all this.

Cursive is much better to learn now so stick with it. Dd1 is now year 2 but was the same in reception. We are on the border between 2 primaries - one does cursive the other doesn't. Dd is at the one with Cursive but is stubborn so refused until her second term.

The cursive wouldn't bother me (my kids school uses it) but the fact that he's fretting about it would. I wouldn't go over board trying to help him at home, he'll soon pick it up as surely this will only make him fret more. He's only little so he's right at the beginning of learning to write and, as you say, only 10 days in to reception. I always let mine write however they wanted to at home but any school work I encouraged them to use cursive when little and insisted on it once they got to junior school age.

For most letters it isn't a massive change. Depends on the exact form of letters they use, but mostly he needs to add a "lead-in" to the beginning of each letter, so it starts on the line with an up-rightwards movement, and a "flick" to the end of each letter so it also ends with an up-rightwards movement.

I'm surprised they've asked you to practice at home without a template of some kind. Could you ask your school for a template? DS's teacher gave us a sheet with the alphabet they use in dotted lines on one side with arrows to show how to write it, and outlines on the other to trace inside, which we photocopied a few times for him to practice. It's improved DH's handwriting no end too

We did find it really helpful to download a font to match, but that was more because DS couldn't write at all when he started reception and had very weak fine motor skills, so it was helpful to print things large in dotted lines for him to trace. If your son can already write you prob won't need that.

I think you're doing the right thing finding out about and supporting the cursive at home. The children in DS class who've struggled have been those who've been encouraged to keep using print at home.

Mine were taught cursive from reception. Their writing was very wriggly for the first year but DS cracked it in Y1 and DD looks like she'll do the same.

We used the Letts Hilarious Handwriting books at home.

They introduced this last year when my dts started reception. And actually its been fine. The important thing is to add the joining loops to the letters, it was only at the end of reception that my two started joining letters together. And they certainly don't do it all the time now 3 weeks into year 1. It makes sense to me, my other dc learnt all the print letters and then had to restart in year 2 learning cursive.

Thanks all

I don't have a problem with cursive as such - I do when the teachers haven't explained it to the parents - even by way of popping a worksheet in his bag. So ds is now reluctant to write because he's doing it "wrong"

I just want to know how to describe things to him - he's quite stubborn and if I go against the teacher he will not take to it well.

I'll have a quick word with the teacher on Monday.

You don't teach him. Leave it to the school. All 4 of mine have learnt like this and although their writing looks like beetle tracks for the first year or two, they do get the hang of it, and then don't have to worry about switching to cursive later on.
I had the same problem with my eldest- taught her to print her name before she started reception and she had to unlearn it all. I felt so bad.
I left the others well alone!

I would leave it for this weekend, and tell him you're going to check with his teacher the right way to do it, and you can learn together. That might appeal! And his teacher will have a particular cursive style, so it's no use just finding an app or sheets off the Internet, as they'll be slightly (but confusingly) different. Can you tell I did?!

Anyway, a laminated sheet showing how to form each letter from the teacher solved it for dd1 who could barely form a huge and wiggly letter at the start of YR. And now (start of Y2) she does proper joined up handwriting quite quickly and neatly.

Has the school asked you to teach him?

My school teaches cursive too. We have given parents a brief explanation but children will be taught at school before being expected to practice at home (later) - parents don't teach.

Also, any attempts to write their own names/do their own writing is accepted at this stage - printing in capitals, backwards letters, random marks.

Our school teach cursive from day 1 too. They start half days in meithrin at 3, so before most of the kids have been taught basic print. It does seem more complicated to start with, but leads to beautiful handwriting so imo it's well worth persevering.

Our oldest has just started year 4 and has a teacher who is new to the school. At the teacher/parent meeting in the second week of term she said how impressed she is with the standard of handwriting in the school.

If you haven't got a guide of how to form the letters, I'm happy to email you a copy (ours is a welsh school though so you'll be missing a few letters!).

it makes sense to go with cursive from the start
its hard at first but they soon pick it up

although they could have given some warning as tbh you would have propbably been better to had not taught him to writa at all because like you say that has to be unlearnt
would have been easier if you knew in advance as you and preschhol could have started with cursvise script

Oh I haven't taught him a thing about writing! All down to preschool. If I even try, he runs a mile. He's happier learning while doing. Sitting down to write does not fall into that camp for him.

I'm going to get him to write his name as he likes then have a quiet word with the teacher. His preschool teacher said to us to be careful with ds - push him too much and he will not do stuff which is why I don't do any kind of sit down learning type stuff.

Exactly the same has happened to DD who started Reception a couple of weeks ago. She is NOT impressed at them trying to make her write the new way. They have sent us a laminated sheet with little guide arrows and she has completed it once but I didn't comment on they way she traced the letters. I think we are going to have to play it by ear and leave it up to the school a bit as the last thing we want is a discouraged child at this early stage.

We can't blame pre-school entirely as we showed her how to print her letters as much as they did.

Is cursive writing a newly introduced thing then? Have the pre-schools just not caught up?