Cursive writing in reception

[pinkstar01]

I wanted to post to found out if this is a normal practice or if DSs school are being extra for no reason.

He just started reception 3 weeks ago, he's 4 but a very young 4 and has a mild speech delay if it makes any difference.

His mark making has never been great but we've been really pleased with the progress he's made in just a few weeks with his alphabet letters, he can write his name now, albeit lacking spatial awareness but we'll get there!

His school have said they start teaching cursive writing at this age so the writing practice homework he's been getting includes practicing letters as they would be if being writing cursive, with the squiggles.

Im annoyed at this because DS is getting confused, and is starting to think the squiggles are part of the letters and he doesn't understand what cursive is so I don't blame him!

What should I do? Should I have a chat with his teacher and say I don't want him to focus on cursive until he's gotten the hang of writing regularly first?

It's an independent school if it makes any difference and also I'm not from the UK (Canadian) so I have no concept of this happening there.

This is normal and they are setting them up for joined up writing - go with it

My DCs' school teach cursive from reception. I was not a fan initially as found the writing in DCs' class was much less legible in general than the DCs' writing in my niece's class. I worried this would hinder writing progression as my DC sometimes couldn't read their own writing.

However, I went with it and just encouraged DC. It all came together in the end and DC's handwriting was beautiful and mostly joined up by Y1.

Dniece had to learn cursive in Y2 anyway.

This is purely anecdotal, but it all seemed to work out eventually for the DCs in my DC's class, even for those who struggled initially. Good luck to your DS.

We teach cursive from Nursery. Why wouldn't you? What would the point be in teaching "regular" writing then in Y2/3 saying oh actually everything you've learnt for the last few years is wrong now you need to stop and do it like this.

It's had a measured impact on the quality of handwriting by the time they get to me in Y6

Yeah this is pretty normal - my DCs school also print stuff off in cursive for the children to read and send all school letters him in cursive

We only ever learned cursive. I still can't print letters now as they come out all weird and illegible.

It’s normal, they may as well teach them from the start. To be honest it’s usually the good schools that do this

Is it Your interpretation is that they are squiggles? Is it because you are not confident with cursive. Does your son know how to form a non cursive a? If not he won't know the cursive one has squiggles

Okay it seems this is normal in the UK; what I don't really get is why but I guess I will have to go with it for now.

It just seems old fashioned to be pushing cursive as the only way to write but maybe that's my non UK upbringing talking.

@wallymum where would you get the assumption I don't know how to write cursive? I can write cursive and non cursive very well, it's just that my son is just beginning to learn how to write, he's known the alpabhet since he was 2 but when he sees the extra squiggles on the letters, he writes the letters first and then starts adding the little squiggles as an add on and I think he's getting confused.

I just think it will confuse things in the beginning but maybe he will get the hang of it at some point.

That's a standard response but it's not a barrier, you just teach them that every letter starts on the line and leads in and leads out. It is an extremely effective way to teach spelling and reading sight or high frequency words and spellings especially for Sen children. This is because they see words as continuous and therefore a picture or shape rather than individual images or letters. I'd stick with it. It'll take a few painstaking months but I promise you this time next year or hopefully a lot sooner it be worth it

Both my DC did cursive in reception. DD picked it up from the start DS was a summer born four year old and very typical in the sense he hated to write (although his reading was great). He didn't really get to grips with cursive until Y2 but is fine now. Doesn't have the neatest writing but I don't care as long as it's legible.

I would intuitively have thought that it would make sense to teach children who are just learning to write, to write in such a way that their letters strongly resemble the letters they see when reading.
I know that both of mine, though taught to 'print' in reception, struggled even with the difference between the printed 'a' and their handwritten one, and the printed 'l' (ell) and their handwritten one. Learning to read and to write really could and maybe should go hand in hand, but this is made harder if the letters you read are different to the letters you write.

On the other hand, both of mine were taught a kind of 'print' in reception, just to then be taught cursive from Y1, which seemed strange too. The majority of these 5-year-olds (including both of mine) did not achieve good letter formation (in print) during their reception years. Their letters were wonky, uneven sizes, didn't sit on the line, ascenders and descenders very random. Unsurprisingly so, as not only were they very small children with not very well developed fine motor skills, but also they were never properly taught - they never used that multiple-lined paper at school that shows you how tall each letter is meant to be and how far ascenders/descenders are meant to go. They weren't drilled as to where to start each letter (DD still writes a 'b' by making a circle first, then adding a long line, and hence easily gets confused about which side the line needs to go, and mixes up b and d). Well I personally don't think they ought to be drilled at that age, but equally they should not be allowed to learn it 'wrong' which then becomes an ingrained habit.

So then in Y1 they start cursive, beginning with line-in/line out. That means the children's 'wrong' print writing will never be corrected. But they are drilled, from Y1 onwards, to 'correctly' form their cursive letters - always starting on the line, always ending on the line, and this is the path you take.

So basically whilst it seems very obvious to me to start with 'print', you should then continue with print at least until the children have 'mastered' that and can and do correctly form their letters. Which means you either 'drill' the children at age 4, or give them some time until they are 6 or 7, their fine motor control has matured, and they have managed to learn how to form all letters correctly and evenly and on the line etc.

If you are going to introduce cursive in Y1 or even Y2, you might as well be consequent and start from YR. Then at least you don't leave them with poorly learned printing, with wrong habits that will never be fixed. And you might avoid situations like PP who said that even now she cannot print properly.

I know cursive looks impossibly hard for YR, but honestly it does end up with quick, legible handwriting by about Y3. Things like writing in sand, on avertical blackboard, in shaving foam etc are a good place to start with a summer born - my dd just didn’t have the fine motor control to do cursive on paper at the start of YR and these things all helped her get there.

I’ve seen both done - my DCs school went with cursive from YR and where I work now does print in YR ‘so they learn the letters’, and cursive from Y1.

I’m with PP who mentions that cursive helps with spelling as the whole word flows together; it’s a great motor memory for the child.

Personally, I prefer cursive from YR. They’re writing to learn how to write, not learn their phonics, which is done through songs, actions and reading. It’s in their reading books where I think it’s important that letters be in print so the letter symbols are clear, IYSWIM?

My kids school only starts cursive in Y4.