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Do Schools Teach 'Joined Up' Handwriting These Days?

(87 Posts)
mae13 Sun 21-Jul-24 13:08:54

With almost everything tapped out on keyboards nowadays I was idly wondering if my 3 year old great niece would be drilled through joined-up handwriting lessons as I was at the age of 7?

Or is it no longer on the school syllabus?

MissInterpreted Wed 24-Jul-24 17:49:19

I could read and write before I started primary school - not all children can. Some take longer to learn than others, in the same way that some children learn to walk, or ride a bike or acquire countless other skills at a younger age than others. It's not a competition. Teaching methods are constantly evolving. Just because your grandchild may be taught differently from the way you were doesn't make it 'wrong'.

Chardy Wed 24-Jul-24 21:49:06

Lankyladman

'Cursive' ay?
If there's one thing I dislike, it's new words for the same thing.

I think cursive is what American children is taught. Quite a few letters are now different from before, and it's pretty curly under the line. British children, the ones who aren't taught cursive, use the joined up method which is just taking unjoined letters (slightly extended), and adding a line to join them to the next letter!

Primrose53 Thu 25-Jul-24 09:20:46

Never mind cursive, joined up or whatever we call it - have you seen the way some kids hold pens? We recently saw a youngish solicitor who held her pen in a very strange way that I have seen before in younger people.

Instead of holding it between thumb and first finger she held it between first and second finger sticking up in a vertical position.

Mollygo Thu 25-Jul-24 09:30:14

Primrose53
Our chair of governors holds his pen the way you describe. He had no idea what we meant by tripod grip. His writing is neat, even so.

Janetashbolt Sun 28-Jul-24 10:15:52

I don't know about other countries but Finland haven't taught cursive for years

Primrose53 Sun 28-Jul-24 11:31:13

Mollygo

Primrose53
Our chair of governors holds his pen the way you describe. He had no idea what we meant by tripod grip. His writing is neat, even so.

Doesn’t it look odd and clumsy though?

MissAdventure Sun 28-Jul-24 11:36:16

I'm always surprised to see people hold pens (and cutlery) in strange ways.

It would have been pounced on and corrected at school (and home!) back in the olden days.

Mollygo Sun 28-Jul-24 16:39:31

MissAdventure

I'm always surprised to see people hold pens (and cutlery) in strange ways.

It would have been pounced on and corrected at school (and home!) back in the olden days.

Our chair of governors must have missed the pouncers and correctors, he’s in his seventies..

MissAdventure Sun 28-Jul-24 16:43:30

I had my hand tied around my back, to make me use my right hand!

My mum had to go down to the school about it.

Late 60s, early 70s this would have been.

Mollygo Sun 28-Jul-24 22:15:40

MissAdventure
That’s shocking, but our COG would have been at primary school in the 50s and 60’s. I wonder how he got away with it.

MissAdventure Mon 29-Jul-24 08:55:36

I honestly imagined others would say they were also made to hold their pens in the "right" way, too, although whoever tied my arm took it to extremes.
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