Handwriting curriculum for Preparing Hearts

[mtoback]

Looking to buy my curriculum for next year and I realized there is no handwriting curriculum. Is cursive only taught in Bigger Hearts? Just curious. Thanks!
Maryann

[StephanieU]

Taught - yes, only in Bigger. But Preparing does have copy work and time for them to practice. Here is what the guide says in the introduction about handwriting and copy work:
Handwriting/Copywork
Daily practice of cursive handwriting is scheduled from a variety of copywork
sources. By copying from a correctly written model, students gain practice in
handwriting, spelling, grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and vocabulary.
Copywork also prepares students to eventually write their own compositions.
Work should be required to be done neatly and correctly. It is more
important for students to produce careful, quality work, rather than a large
quantity that is carelessly done. If your student has had no formal
instruction in cursive handwriting, you may want to use one of the
recommended cursive handwriting options from Bigger Hearts for His
Glory.

[my3sons]

StephanieU already gave a great response, so I'll just add that this type of dual practice of both handwriting and printing continues through CTC, at which point in RTR, the student decides which they prefer to write in - this is copied from RTR's Introduction...

At this age, students may choose whether to complete copywork assignments in cursive or in manuscript. All copywork is either written in the Common Place Book or in the Student Notebook, as directed within the Resurrection to Reformation lesson plans.

We have found this to be a solid path of instruction for our sons. They have ironically each chosen various things they want to keep writing in cursive - apparently because they seem special? For example, my high school WG student writes all of his Prayer Journal and Common Place Book entries, as well as his one-sentence summaries in cursive. He prints the rest. My middle ds in RTR writes his Common Place Book entries in cursive, as well as any poetry and special quotes. He writes the rest in print. I'd say my oldest ds's printing is neater than his cursive (though I'm not critiquing his cursive anymore unless it is illegible - time to care more about his 'ideas'!) . I'd say my ds in RTR's printing and cursive is equally neat. Just thought I'd share our experience through the guides in this regard!

In Christ,
Julie