The Best (and Easiest) Ways to Teach Kids Cursive

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Looking for resources to teach kids cursive? Here is a list of the best tools for how to learn cursive.

Here at Hess UnAcademy, we still believe in teaching kids how to write in cursive. That’s why today we’re sharing the best (and easiest) way to teach kids cursive.

Cursive writing is a dying art. Many schools have stopped teaching how to learn cursive, and even those that do may not teach it in the most effective way.

But don’t worry – you can still teach your kids how to write in cursive!

Learn more about teaching cursive, or skip to the list here.

Top 10 Reasons to Teach Kids Cursive Handwriting

1. Faster note taking
2. Ability to read everything, whether print or not
3. Improved penmanship
4. Higher developed fine motor skills
5. Fun and productive way for visual and kinesthetic learners to adapt their lessons
6. Great for overcoming dyslexia while reading and writing
7. Helps the brain process information
8. Improved neural connections
9. Improved legibility and spelling (also a great way to practice spelling simultaneously)
10. Increased self-esteem

Cursive and Family History

Another great reason to teach your child cursive writing is so that they can learn more about their family history!

Family history, or genealogy, is a wonderful hobby that is growing in popularity. In fact, it is quickly becoming one of the most popular hobbies in the world!

There are so many great reasons to participate in genealogy.

But in order to fully participate in this great activity, your kid needs to be good at reading and understanding cursive handwriting

Teaching Cursive is a Dying Art

While it’s true that learning typing and keyboarding is becoming more and more critical, that doesn’t mean the benefits that come from learning cursive should be forgotten. Typing practice just like cursive practice should be included in a child’s education.

I remember learning cursive handwriting in the third grade. I loved it!

I thought those fancy little letters were so fun. And I absolutely LOVED stringing all the letters of the alphabet together in curvy, scripted ways.

Unfortunately, many elementary schools are doing away with cursive instruction and handwriting practice.

As education standards continue to fall, it won’t be long before public schools completely do away with this skill. Soon only the older generations will be able to write in cursive.

Them and those of us who are diligent in our homeschooling, of course.

And let’s say your kids never end up using cursive. So what! Spend a little bit of time teaching your kids cursive and call it a fun art or history project.

But wouldn’t you rather teach your children cursive and have them not use it than for them to need cursive and not understand it?

The Best (and Easiest) Way to Learn How to Teach Cursive Writing

Honestly? I think the best way to teach kids cursive is just to practice!

Once your child is a good, strong reader, you can get started teaching cursive.

Show your child uppercase letters and lowercase letters in both print and cursive. Show your child notes and advertisements that are in cursive.

My grandpa sends the kids a birthday card every year and he always writes in cursive. My kids love looking at these cursive letters and trying to figure out what he wrote.

And there are plenty of store signs and other advertisements out there that write in a script font of some kind. Pull up Pinterest or go for a drive and see what you can see.

And then? Practice! Handwriting practice is really the best way to learn cursive. Practice writing letter formation, words, and short sentences. Practice using cursive writing copy work and practice using dictation.

Speaking from experience: we hate copy work over here. We usually prefer to learn through experiences and board games. But when it comes to learning cursive, I truly believe there is no better way to go.

My Favorite Paid Resource for Teaching Kids Cursive

After a fair amount of research, I ended up buying this workbook for my kids.

I looked at a lot of cursive writing workbooks and this one had the best reviews for the amount of money I was willing to spend. I bought one for each kid.

The book starts out by teaching both lowercase letters and uppercase letters in cursive. All pretty basic cursive alphabet letter formation. Your child traces the letters and then practices writing on her own.

Then the book moves on to teaching cursive through short sentences.

This particular workbook is filled with funny jokes that your child can practice tracing and writing. I thought some jokes would shake things up a bit and make this copy work more fun.

Side note – There are also some other themed cursive writing workbooks online if you don’t like this generic option. I even saw a Pokemon one and a Harry Potter one!

UPDATE – I found this Crack The Code cursive workbook and I wish I had found it in the beginning! It’s amazing and has been really great for my younger kids (those who hadn’t had a chance to try the workbooks I bought on Amazon).

Or, another great option, my friend Christine from This Bit Of Life has a beautiful nature-themed cursive packet for kids to enjoy. They’re nicely priced, and very cute. Her packet is Charlotte Mason-inspired, which adds to the wonder of this resource. And it’s an instant download, so no waiting for shipping.

And finally, I’ve got a few holiday-themed cursive packets in my shop.

• Christmas Cursive Packet
• Halloween Cursive Packet
• Holiday Cursive Packet (featuring both Halloween and Christmas)

I think it’s a good idea for kids to be exposed to multiple styles of handwriting, and multiple cursive writing packets make it easy.

Every day I have the kids work in their workbook. Some days they work on one or two pages. Other days they feel ambitious and work on half a dozen pages or more.

It’s only been a few weeks and I can already see a great improvement in their understanding of cursive! They are recognizing letters and even a few words they see in the world around them.

Plus, I’m extra happy that this workbook is also encouraging proportionately sized letters and words. Their overall penmanship has definitely improved, which is great!

This is honestly the easiest way to teach your child cursive. It’s a very hands-off system for me and very fun and engaging for them.

Get your own cursive workbook from Amazon or from This Bit Of Life now! Trust me – you won’t regret it.

Free Cursive Writing Workbook For Learning Cursive

Or if you’re looking for a free resource (I’ve been there) take a look at these handwriting worksheets that I made!

Handwriting worksheets are a good example of fun and educational worksheets for kids to use in their homeschool studies or after they get home from their traditional school lessons.

I made a free printable cursive packet filled with cursive writing activities for my VIP Subscribers.

This packet is nowhere near as fancy and fun as the workbook mentioned above, but it’ll do the trick. And you can print it out again and again, as many times as you want!

This printable cursive packet includes 34 pages of cursive writing copy work.

Kids learn and practice basic letter formation with each letter page.

Yes! Send me mine!!!

These pages are in alphabetical order. Master the cursive alphabet with a page for each lowercase letter and a page for each uppercase letter.

After letter formation practice, there are a few pages with words and short sentences. This way your kids can get some good basic cursive handwriting practice in.

If you’re on a budget and not in the mood to spend money on yet another homeschooling resource, these free cursive worksheets are a great option.

And there you have it! A complete guide on how (and why) I taught my kids to write in cursive. I hope you find these resources helpful.

Enjoy, and happy learning!

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