While cursive handwriting is no longer a part of the curriculum for many schools, it still plays an important role at St. John the Baptist Catholic School. In fact, students in second grade are still learning to write the entire alphabet in cursive … and are now working on writing the letter R.
At St. John the Baptist, we see the value in cursive handwriting and believe it’s an important life skill needed for reading, writing and language. We also believe it’s more critical today because of the influence that digital devices are having on our children. Cursive handwriting requires students to slow down and engage in a deliberate process. Research has shown that children who know how to do basic handwriting have an expanded vocabulary and even spell better (no device to spell check for you). It’s also an important component of brain development because it activates both hemispheres of the brain.