the WRITE Balance: CursiveLogic: A Cursive Handwriting Method Review

Cursive handwriting. Who knew such a pretty yet simple skill would become the object of such debate in the world. Whether or not you think it should be mandatory, I think we can agree that it is a neat skill to have. It is certainly not something that is a huge sticking point with me so I have never made a big deal about it with my kids. However, my 7 year old has been begging to learn cursive since he was 5. So, why wouldn't I encourage him? And we have included cursive in various forms every so often, but it was usually just letter by letter practice just like when he learned the print alphabet. Our latest review is a completely different yet logical approach to cursive handwriting from CursiveLogic. For our review we received CursiveLogic Quick-Start Pack, a consumable all-in-one workbook and The Art of Cursive, a coloring book of cursive. In addition to these two books, I was also given access to a webinar that walks you as the parent/teacher through the concept behind and various steps involved in this handwriting method.

What Makes It Different:
Instead of learning each individual letter and practicing them individually, the logic behind CursiveLogic is to create a more efficient and intuitive method that prevents boredom and accelerates learning. The creator noticed patterns in the cursive alphabet and then started grouping letters together based on shape and teaching each group as a bunch. This focuses on connecting the letters together and jumping right into words rather than isolating letters for a long period of time. It also makes special accommodations for left-handed writers by spiral-binding at the top rather than either side of the notebook.

Who It Is For:

The origin of this program was born from the desire to teach an adult quickly who desired the ability to sign his name. So, it is the PERFECT solution for adults learning or even improving their cursive handwriting skills. However, it is also ideal for kids ready to tackle cursive but might otherwise get pretty tired of letter repetition or a slow-moving approach. It moves quickly, explaining the necessary steps for good shape and connection and dives right into writing words the first week. It is also a multi-sensory approach that is suited to all learning styles because it includes color, movement, verbal and auditory tools, making it a more efficient use of the students' time and energy.

The Art of Cursive book is a really neat addition to CursiveLogic's method. This book is full of beautiful handwriting quotes and coloring pages. The coloring pages, though, are made up of cursive letters in varying sizes and locations. The book begins with an explanation of each letter group so the coloring book could stand alone in teaching cursive if you chose to do so, especially for adults.

What We Thought:

My 7 year old, like I mentioned before, had some cursive experience coming in, but very little in connecting letters into words. From the beginning, the full-color pages and use of color coding seemed really interesting to him and kept his attention. His handwriting proficiency always waxes and wanes with his interest level anyway, but after a couple of days he was very successfully connecting letters and starting to ask about how he would write different names. The first half of the book focuses on lower-case and the second half is upper-case so we have more to work on but it has proven to be a much better teacher than me so we're happy!

If you are at all anxious about teaching cursive, I highly recommend giving this method a try, especially with the webinar they provided. It gives you all the tools you need as well as a better way to teach it! If you decide to try it yourself, you can get 20% off the workbook and webinar with code CREW2018 until March 31st.