Poetry copy work and cursive practice?

[Mumkins]

I seen it in another thread, and I've been meaning to ask. If you're doing the cursive workbook in Bigger, are you supposed to be doing the poetry copy work?

[StephanieU]

Here is what it says in the introduction to Bigger:
Handwriting or Copywork
Cursive handwriting practice is scheduled daily using either Cheerful
Cursive or Getty & Dubay Italic: Book ‘D’. Short, daily practice sessions
are most effective when learning a new type of handwriting. If you prefer
a different handwriting program, just to substitute it in place of those that
are scheduled.

If your child is not ready for cursive handwriting, he/she should do copywork
instead. Students are directed to copy a portion of the poem being studied
in the unit each day. A different classic poem is introduced each unit.
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.

Some students will be able to copy directly from the typed poems in the
Appendix. Other students will need you to write a line or two from the
poem on paper for them to copy directly below it.
Copywork sessions should be limited to 5-10 minutes. 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. Copywork assignments can be done in a notebook or
on loose-leaf paper to be collected in a binder.

[my3sons]

We did do the poetry copywork with Wyatt, as the amount of writing was not too much for him, and he wanted to do it when given the option, even though he was also doing cursive. We did not do it with Riley, as it would have been too much, and he needed to focus more on the other writing to do it well. I think you can base your decision on each child's needs, but in general, cursive is more of the push in BHFHG, as copywork is also often essentially done within science and history notebooking assignments, as well as within vocabulary assignments using the dictionary to be copied from. If your child is not doing cursive, poetry copywork definitely should be done to keep those fine motor skills building. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie