Throughout their lives, most people simply take their handwriting for granted. In truth, if the quality of their handwriting has become little more than a scribble over time, then whenever they do have a need to actually handwrite something, it is often followed by the immediate (and inconsequential) comment of “My handwriting is so bad!” And then no further thought is given to improving their penmanship, or even the desire to do so. 

 

In reality, despite the prevalence of keyboarding and the ubiquitous practice of digital communication, good, legible handwriting is still an important skill for a person to have, whether as a child or as an adult. It is your visible language to anyone who may read it, including yourself! Indeed, it is your most personal visible expression of language and emotion, and its unique appearance will always be identified with no one else but you! And taking all of this into consideration, if you wish to improve your Cursive handwriting, then this program is certainly for you.

 

It doesn’t matter if you are right-handed or left-handed. We all have the same muscles in our forearm, wrist and fingers, and we all use similar pencils and pens. American Cursive is the traditional form of American handwriting from approximately 1900-1970 and is based on Palmer Method Writing that originated during the last decade of the nineteenth century. The Palmer Method was itself based on Spencerian Script penmanship. Because of this respected origin, when writing American Cursive, a person is using her or his muscles in the most natural, comfortable, and efficient manner. You will not experience discomfort in your neck, arms, or shoulders as you practice the elements of posture, paper and pen-holding position that may be unique to you, for these aspects are personal. Additional guidance will be given to left-handed students.

 

We will begin our program with the introduction of the Spencerian concepts of Movement, Curvature, Contrast, and Variability, and how they are used in letter formation, letter spacing, slant, and letter size. Then we will cover the special guide sheets and training exercises, and how they should be used in daily practice. Lastly, we will focus on the important factor of how to improve your signature. Our handouts will be from our text reference, “The Art of Cursive Penmanship; they’ll be explanatory, easy to understand, and extensive. For the program and your progress to be successful, it will be important for each student to do their best to complete the homework in between each session.

 

Every student will have the best opportunity to improve their own “visible language”into an attractive form of personal communication that is fun to write, and is a skill in which to feel a true sense of of personal pride. I look forward to you joining us for this very special program.

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Lesson 1

• What Is American Cursive?

• Alphabet: basics of the letters

• Combination Movement: Finger, Wrist, Forearm

• Paper Position, Paper Movement, Posture

• Writing Zone, Seat Height, Pen-holding Position

• Speed of Writing

• Movement Exercises, Cross Drill Exercises

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Lesson 2

• Alphabet: Lowercase Letters

• Cross Drill Practice Sheets

• Cross Drill Warm-up Exercises

• Lowercase Practice Exercises

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Lesson 3

• Lowercase Practice Exercises

• Capitals: Influence of the Oval

• Capital Letters

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Lesson 4

• Capital Letter Exercises

• Signature Therapy

• Artistic Penmanship