Cool Cursive: The Fun Game that Teaches Important Handwriting Skills

When I think back on my early school years, there are many things that stand out (aside from recess).  Among those are playing the triangle in music class, learning long division, our Christmas school play, and learning to write in cursive.  (I specifically remember how much trouble I had with the letter F, but that’s neither here nor there).

Learning cursive was one of my favorite school lessons, and I’m so grateful that it was standard classroom material when I was growing up.  You probably already know that many states and school systems are doing away with cursive altogether, and that honestly hurts my heart every time I think about it.  Fun side story: when I was in college, one of my English professors made us do an assignment using only cursive handwriting because he felt so strongly that it was important.  I agreed. He quickly became my favorite.

Back to the point: I know that technology is king now, and most students (and adults) spend far more time typing online than handwriting anything, but there are plenty of reasons that cursive shouldn’t be forgotten.  Not only is cursive handwriting a beautiful and dying art form, it’s also an incredibly useful tool for the development of motor skills and brain stimulation.  Writing in cursive requires different hand motions and muscle use than print, and it also encourages synchronicity between the left and right hemispheres of the brain.  It’s great for those students who may have learning disabilities like dyslexia too, as it introduces a different type of letter. One more thing: it’s also one of our primary ways of staying connected to the past.  All those old documents, hand-scribed books, and letters?  Yeah.  They’re typically written in some form of cursive, and it would be a sad day indeed if no one can read them.  I’ve been doing a lot of genealogy research lately, and if I couldn’t read cursive handwriting, I would be totally lost when looking at all those old records.

Whether your kids are learning cursive in the classroom or if it’s been scrapped altogether, you can teach and reinforce those skills at home in a fun way.  A new learning game called Cool Cursive is all you need!

Cool Cursive is a tool with a super interesting origin.  Its creators were working on a game that would teach users an ancient Jewish script called Rashi; after seeing the success in that original game, they decided to adapt and recreate it as a similar tool for learning cursive writing.

The game itself is easy and fun: it’s a flashcard game that helps players identify cursive letters by matching standard letter forms to their cursive equivalents (both upper- and lowercase).  The goal is to create matching sets, which helps visually reinforce those new writing skills.  It’s great for kids who are just learning, but since it’s a fun competition, parents can easily join in.

I think Cool Cursive is a brilliant idea, and it’s perfect for helping my kids learn what they’re not getting in school.  It’s also a steal at just $14.99.  To learn more and grab your own Cool Cursive Game, visit www.abcandup.com.