Should Your Child be Learning Cursive Writing?

So why would learning cursive writing still be relevant to students today?

1. It improves fine motor dexterity and coordination. Many occupational therapists agree that there is a definite advantage for children to practice cursive writing. The same muscles that children use to guide the pen smoothly across the page are the same muscles they use to manipulate clothing fasteners such as buttoning a coat or tying shoes.
2. Cursive writing helps children learn to read. Reading skills improve as kids learn to see how letters form to connect words rather than writing individual letters. The act of gripping a pencil and practicing the connections of cursive handwriting activates the part of the brain that leads to increased language fluency. Empirical evidence shows that writing cursive letters helps build pathways in the brain while improving mental effectiveness.
3. Children who learn cursive writing can read important historical documents (and birthday cards from Grandma!). That family trip to the The National Archives in Washington, DC will be much more meaningful when your child can actually read the priceless documents on display.

For more information on the benefits of cursive writing, refer to works by Marion Wilm, an occupational therapist in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Dr. David Sortino, a psychologist and the current Director of Educational Strategies.

We teach cursive writing to our students here at Pinecrest Academy, but if your child doesn’t attend Pinecrest or another school with this type of instruction, there are resources to help you teach your child. Cursive writing books by Zaner Bloser are great resources and can be purchased on Amazon.

Tiffany Brotheridge is a third grade teacher at Pinecrest Academy, and has been an educator for over 20 years. She can be reached at tbrotheridge@pinecrestacademy.org.