In today’s digital world, there is an ongoing conversation about whether children should learn cursive.
Here at Grace Montessori School, we hold the belief taught by the Montessori method: children should learn to write in cursive! There are plenty of benefits that go far beyond a child’s handwriting ability, and they have consistently proven that this writing style is a worthwhile classroom endeavor.
Children in Grace Montessori classrooms follow a sequence of lessons that progressively prepare them to write in cursive. These lessons start when the child is as young as six, giving them ample time to improve their skills and build upon them throughout their education.
- Students start by tracing cursive letters with their fingers. The movement gives them sensory cues that help with retention.
- Next, they use their fingers to recreate the letters in air if needed.
- Then, they move on to paper. Tracing the dotted letters. After they have a good handle on letter shapes, children begin to form words and practice letter spacing.
After this beginning process, the child practices cursive throughout the rest of their Montessori education. As they practice and improve their writing, they reap many benefits, including quicker writing speeds, improved retention and comprehension, stronger fine motor skills, and more.
Learning cursive can have many cognitive benefits, including:
Brain development – Cursive writing can help the brain develop functional specialization, which is the ability to be efficient. It can also stimulate brain synapses and improve synchronicity between the left and right hemispheres.
Motor skills – Cursive writing uses different hand muscles and activates different areas of the brain than printing. The writing movements also help develop hand-eye coordination and create new connections in the brain.
Reading and spelling – The fluid movements of connecting letters can help young learners improve their reading and spelling skills by building muscle memory.
Neural connections – Cursive writing requires more neural resources than printing, which can improve brain function. These benefits may be especially helpful for students with dyslexia or other reading difficulties.
It has been proven that cursive letters with rounded edges are much easier for children to form than print writing. Having all letters in one continuous line helps children avoid confusion about where to start and end letters.
Additionally, writing in cursive helps students clearly see where words start and end. The letters in each word are connected, and distinct spaces lie between each word. This leads to improved legibility and better spelling ability.
For these reasons, we firmly believe in the efficacy and importance of teaching our students cursive. The benefits of this practice positively influence other areas of their education and their lives. To learn more about our full curriculum, click here.
