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I have 2 questions:

1. My son completed a year of cursive. So from here on out, should I have him complete all his assisgnment in cursive? It seems to me after I learned cursive our school went straight into computer lab and we were given the choice to either write or type our papers but that was for 3rd grade.

2. In Bigger Hearts For His Glory, what category does Storytime fall under (for recording purposes)...language arts?

Honestly, if there was a Heart of Dakota schoolhouse, I would uproot my family and move there in a heart beat! Okay, I don't ever think I could homeschool in highschool but if there was HOD DVDs I know I could do it! LOL!!! My sons are only 7 and 4 and I already have sleepless nights over highschool!

Pam

Wow, you got to start typing your assignments on the computer in 3rd grade? That really makes me feel old. I guess I lived in the boonies, but our school didn't even have computers until I was in high school I think you bring up a good point. I hadn't really thought that much about the writing just assuming that we could continue writing in cursive for many years to come. I know the public schools are doing a lot of keyboard assignments now as soon as 3rd grade and it is a skill that is used more and more these days. I still think it is really important to continue to work on cursive writing so I think the majority of the work that I have my dc do in the elementary years will still be done by hand. We might supplement with some typing programs so they get proficient there, but work on our handwriting in school. I'll be curious to hear everyone's ideas on this.

I think the Storytime in Bigger still falls in the category of Language Arts. It seems I just read a post recently where Carrie said it was more for literature analysis and character development.

I have to LOL about you having nightmares about high school already. I just avoid thinking about it altogether and that works for me!

Hi Patty,

I honestly still have my keyboard template that we had to bring home to practice on! It was a big deal when we hit 3rd grade and were able to go to the comptuer lab. Now our kids go to the computer lab in Kindergarten. However, their is a near by science elementary school where I live where the Kindergarteners are teamed up with a 5th grade at the beginning of the year and before they graduate the Kinder student has to give a power point presentation. I don't know even how to use power point and how is it useful for a 5/6yr old???? I know I'm going to be way behind if I can't keep up with a child in Kindergarten...LOL!!!

Pam

I will have my ds write all of his assignments in cursive once he has learned the entire alphabet. As a fourth grade ps teacher, I always required my students to write in cursive. I felt that they were still in the "practice" stage of cursive. Even the sixth grade teachers required cursive for all handwritten work. My opinion is that by middle school/junior high, they have mastered the use of cursive and are capable of writing the way they are most comfortable.

I would agree that story time fall under the umbrella of language arts.

Laura

Pam,

We used Preparing this year. Are you ready to go into that? Or Bigger? We just followed the guide with Preparing (that assumes the child has completed a year of cursive praictice). It had my son using cursive for 2 things every day, I think. He was allowed to print the rest of the time if he wanted to. So, for example, he would print while doing dictation & English. Then he had to do some copywork in his common place book for independent history that was done in cursive. That same day he may also have had to copy the verse in cursive for his science notebooking page.

I know everything we did in the common place book was in cursive - which usually came from the independent history box and his Bible verses.

If you're doing Bigger... I'd have them copy the Bible verse weekly in cursive. The copywork of the poetry I'd do in cursive as well. (We didn't do the optional copywork all year as learning cursive was enough for most of it.) I think I'd also do the verses on the notebooking pages in cursive from science & history. I would NOT have my son use cursive for dictation, English, vocabulary (with history), DITHOR student book, paragraphs copied on the science & history notebooking pages, science lab sheets. I think this would be about how Preparing had us doing it. Writing ONLY in cursive would have had my son in tears I think. (But writing is still the thing he dislikes doing the most!) He's really improving though! So, if writing is an issue for your boy, I'd make him use cursive sometimes and let him choose other times. (Grant is finally fast at printing...which I thought may never happen. So he prefers to print and I like that he's still practicing his cursive without it bogging him down.)

Kathleen

Hi Pam! You've gotten some great ideas to ponder here already. Our school district had us teach cursive in 3rd grade, a review in 4th, and then in fifth it became a choice offered to the student to pick the style of writing they felt most proficient with - either printing or cursive. However, I know other school districts did require cursive up to sixth, but then in seventh and eighth let them choose. So, in HOD we introduce cursive in Bigger, practice it once daily in PHFHG and CTC, and then in RTR allow dc to choose. In PHFHG and CTC, the assignments not denoted to be done in cursive give the teacher/student the option of choosing. I love the beauty of cursive, and having taught it for 7 years in ps, I used to think it was so important. Having dc of my own has been refreshing though (as with MANY areas of teaching)! I have considered how truly important beautiful handwriting is, and finally come up with "not so much". My dh has a good job, and cannot write a bit of cursive, save to sign his name. And me, well I can write the most lovely cursive when I truly give my total attention to it (all those years of modeling it I guess ), but in the day to day, I still like to print (or type ) because it's quicker.

So, are tears necessary to produce lovely cursive in "x' and "x" grades? I don't think it's worth that. Should dc be fairly good at one or the other? Yes, probably. We follow the HOD guides' plans and have felt like our dc know print/cursive well enough so that by RTR, they get to choose. Just imagine if you had to write in the style that did not easily come to you each and every day, in everything? Probably not worth the struggle when you could happily write it better in the writing of your choice once you've learned them both and know which one you prefer. Being fairly proficient at one or the other though is a must. So, a mixture of print and cursive or all block lettering is a "no" in my book. Handwriting is one of those subjects you can find as many opinions on as you wish, so do what it is you feel more comfortable with! As far as the Bigger Storytime, I'd classify it as LA too. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie