Should I be worried about my 4 yr old and writing in cursive.?

Question

My daughter had been in a private school since Aug. and since the beginning she has struggled with cursive. The school uses the Abeca curriculim. I was told today that she is the only one who would have to repeat K-4 because she cannot write every letter. I think part of it is that she doesn't want to all the time. I dont think they have even started in print yet. Should I be worried or is the school demanding too much from these little ones. Please any advice would be helpful.

Answer 1

I am in the same boat with you.  my son, who is 4, and is left handed is in a private pre-k that uses a-beka.  I too have been worried because h e is not grasping it at all. he can print the entire alphabet and write all of his numbers.  but the cursive is not coming to him, and i know he is frustrated.  I think it is too much to expect.  i try not to get caught up in the madness, and realize that he is only 4!!  i have also gone to every private school in our county and NONE of them is teaching cursive until second or third grade.  even the other schools that are using a-beka.  I am seriously considering switching schools.  i think my sons confidence has been diminished b/c of this.  The school has not said if he will have to be held back.  That would be it, we already have one foot out of the door....the cursive is just ridiculous to me.  

well i hope this helped, but i think i just wanted to let you know you were not alone.  try not to worry, 4 year olds are not developmentally ready for it.  they just dont have the fine motor skills for it yet.

good luck!

Answer 2

Too demanding.

What's the message for your child if you hold her back?  Is it, "Sorry, Sweetie.  You are a failure."  ...even though many kids TWICE her age cannot write in cursive??!

You are right to be worried.  Be your child's advocate and place her in an environment that will encourage her love of learning.

Answer 3

they are demanding too much    i mean my school didn't teach cursive officially until 2nd or 3rd grade   and im only 12 now

Answer 4

The A Beka curriculum is not considered too demanding, but challenging.  My daughter didn't use A Beka at first.  When we switched her to A Beka in the first grade, she struggled very much to catch up with the cursive writing form.  On the other hand, we used A Beka for our son from the beginning, and now as a first grader, he writes better than his sister -- even me!

If your daughter is attending a private school, the school itself may be putting too much pressure on your daughter since it is only K-4.  A Beka goes over the entire alphabet again from the start in K-5, and again in G1, G2, G3.  The repeating helps polish the writing form, and the end result is very good.

I would recommend addressing that point with the school.  If the school continues using the curriculum in K-5 and onward, your daughter will be reintroduced over and over again.  She -will- get it.  She doesn't need to have mastered every letter in K-4 to progress.

Answer 5

Hello, In my opinion thats way too  much to ask of a 4 yr old. My daughter just turned 5 yesterday, and is in preschool, They are teaching her to PRINT her letters, there is no way that a 4 yr old should know how to write in cursive. I would ask the teacher why they arent teaching the children to print 1st, cursive comes later in Elem!

Answer 6

My son's four and he's still struggling to print his name.

If you're getting this kind of stuff from a private school, plenty of other ones out there.

Do they have a proposal for helping out?

Answer 7

it's not demanding my school started cursive it kindergarden an it's private school, try to make a way to show your child that cursive is fun like........ the d is just a happy face with no face and a line added.

Answer 8

No it is an irrelevant world of CLARITY

Answer 9

No ,you shouldn't worry about a 4 year old writeing in cursive. Just Relax, it will just come naturaly as your child gets older. Don't worry, then if you'll worry. You'll going ending up to push your child . You don't want that becuase they'll give up when they get mad . It will just come. Dosn't matter on drughter or anything. It's only a 4 year old .

Answer 10

They are definetly demanding waay too much. Ask for a program or someone in school to help her

Answer 11

It is not developmentally appropriate for a four year old to be able to write in cursive.  There was a trend, a while back that had the idea that children should learn to write cursive first, because it was easier for them to make circular motions than it was to make diagonals and straight lines.  However, this is not the case.  Developmentally, children are not ready to be able to control their hand motions in such a way.  They are setting the children up for failure, and this is not something that four year olds should be expected to do.   Using traditional print, they can be learning how to follow the lines and the motion that will make the letter, but any school that tells you that your child must repeat because they can't do something that developmentally they are not even ready to do- doesn't know about development.  They've probably adopted the Abeca because it is pre-packaged and the staff do not have to make up their own curriculum.  However, having knowledge of the development of children is critical if you plan on teaching, because you need to know what is something that can reasonably be expected of the age group.  They are asking too much of four year olds to require them to write in cursive.

Answer 12

WOOOOAH.  Cursive, are you kidding me?  What state do you live in?  Ask yourself this, why does a 4 year old need cursive?  A developing 4 year old is usually just learning to read and write.  Most PreK cirriculum is really just about shapes, colors, letters. Adding cursive is probably very confusing for little ones that are just learning the alphabet for the first time! Do not hold her back because of this situation - preschool is a time to be learning to share and learn basic skills.  I am sure she will do just fine in Kindergarden! SWIIIITCH SCHOOLS!

Answer 13

I didnt learn cursive until 2nd grade, and honestly, it isnt used at all in school after that point. The only time anyone nowadays writes cursive is for their signature. Teachers want their students to type everything and typing looks more like print than cursive!

I honesty dont know why its even taught anymore. It's so useless and such a waste of time!

Answer 14

tThe school is demanding way too much! That is not even appropriate for that age! Cursive is taught in 2nd grade! I would get her out immediately! She is only a child once- why push her. She will learn her letters in Kindergarten.

Answer 15

I don't know about you but when I went to school we first learned to print and then write with a pen in cursive the following two years.  I believe they are trying to speed the learning process to catch up with Japan and such.  My grand children come home with tons of home work for the mother and or the father to help with and see that the child can learn it.  I do not believe it is the parents responsibility to have to teach their children when they pay taxes for the school system to teach them.  Most parents work (both mother & father) so when they get home they do well to just get dinner over with and the children bathed and in bed at a decent hour.  Teachers get paid for a job they are no longer doing but shove it on to the parents.

Answer 16

That is NOT a reason to hold a child back. She is 4 years old. I didn't learn cursive until the 3rd grade. But then again, it's all the school's choice.. but that seems a little demanding to me.

Maybe you can work with her at home. I would suggest teaching her the print alphabet. If she knows how to write in print, maybe she will get the jist of writing in cursive. Read along with her, and show her how words are put together. Practice the alphabet if you have some free time. I'm sure with some extra attention, she'll get the hang of it.

Answer 17

the school is demanding to much i learned cursuive in 4th grade!! my brother can barley write in print and he`s 7!!

ADVICE- some advice would be to YOU write it then have her trace then write it a couple more times.

              i hope i helped!  good luck

Answer 18

Cursive has this advantage: the only letters that can be reversed are the uppercase S and the uppercase I.  All the others are distinct.  This is helpful to children who reverse letters.

The nine-year-old son of a good friend is struggling, because he cannot read his own handwriting, and neither can his teacher, so all his written answers are 'wrong.'  Thus, you should encourage your daughter to do her best, but fail her for not knowing all her cursive letters?  I don't think so!

Answer 19

I feel that a parent knows their child the best. If this is asking too much of your child then I would find another school for her. Personally I think four is too young to force any type of writing on a child let alone cursive. A four year old needs to want to learn and enjoy being at school.

Answer 20

They are demanding way way way too much!!!! Come on now she is just three she should not learn that stuff till the grades of 3-5. You should file a complaint and put her in a regular school. They will teach her what she needs to know at that age plus it will save you money.

Answer 21

Don't hold her back. Try to encourage her to write them every day at home. And when she does a good job u should give her a prize. Some examples would be take her out for ice cream, give her a ribbon, and when she does them all right throw her a little party and invite her friends.  And don't worry she is only 4, she has plenty of time to practice.

Answer 22

Oh  my goodness - cursive writing?  Before printing?  that's crazy.  She's 4 years old and the k through 4th grade is all together?  Where are you?  I am not sure I understand this at all.

Answer 23

We use abeka for homeschooling and we decided not to teach the cursive portion.  It just wasn't important to me that he learn cursive so soon.

I don't think there's anything wrong with teaching cursive to 4 year olds, but that is not a reason to hold her back either.  That is the part that makes me think your school is being too aggressive.  That is not good for children and it hinders love of learning.

When my son was 4 his preschool teacher wanted me to send him to handwriting therapy because he couldn't write his name well.  I declined.  We have mostly NOT worked on handwriting, and now (at age 7) his handwritng is fine and he loves to write, unlike some kids who have been pressured and are now discouraged.

Just continue to give your daughter time to develop at her own pace.  Here are some activities that may help her fine motor skills:

http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/...

Answer 24

That is ridiculous.  I learned cursive in third grade, when I was 8 or 9.  Half the kids never got it.

Answer 25

That is way too demanding of a four year old. I didnt learn till i was 7 or 8 and i never use it anyway.

Answer 26

The best advice I can give you is to find another school for your poor daughter.  Cursive at the age of four.  What do they do at six?  Nuclear physics?

Answer 27

Way too overdemanding. I go to a private school, and I was taught cursive in second to third grade.