Homeschool Review: CursiveLogic #hsreviews #cursive #ilovecursive

A few years ago we were invited to review the original CursiveLOGIC workbook and my son absolutey loved it.  He was looking to improve his handwriting because he was preparing to open a checking account and had an unreadable signature.  A stroke as a toddler had left his grip impaired and cursive writing had never been a truly mastered skill.  The CursiveLOGIC method made sense to him and greatly improved his confidence.  Fast forward a few years and his sister decided that she wanted to "pretty up" her cursive handwriting. She requested to be able to review both the CursiveLOGIC Quick-Start Pack and The Art of Cursive in order to help meet her goals.

The original CursiveLOGIC workbook consisted of 96-pages of instructional content and dry-erase pages for extra practice.  The NEW Quick-Start Pack consists of a significantly revised workbook AND a 48-minute webinar that actually shows you HOW to implement the process outlined in the workbook.  The workbook now contains 112-pages of instructional content in addition to 3 dry-erase practice pages.  These are laminated pages for students to use with dry erase markers and they offer reviews of the color-coded method of learning loops, ovals, and more, plus give ample space to practice stringing letters together.  The webinar explains the philosophy of grouping like letters together in order to best teach your child in a way that they can learn and helps you to understand how the color-coding process works.  It's a great hands-on way to put into practice the catch phrasing that the book describes and helps your student to develop muscle memory for cursive handwriting.


Coil-bound at the top, the Workbook is perfect for left- or right-handed students.  It reminds me of the old-school typing manuals that we used way back in my day.  Students start at the beginning of the workbook and work all the way through to the end before flipping it over and continuing instruction on the back sides of the pages.  There are 10 lessons in the workbook and each lesson can be completed in about an hour if you choose to do them in one sitting.  My 16-year-old chose to do them this way as she knew the mechanics of cursive writing and was aiming for a better or "prettier" finished product.   Younger students, or students who do not know the mechanics of cursive, can choose to work one short segment of each lesson each day.  The lessons are already divided into 4 days of work for you so this is an easy option to implement.

Students trace letters on three-line ruled paper (just like the writing tablets that I used in school) making sure to touch the dashed midline, stop at the topline, and carefully dip below the baseline when appropriate.  After successful tracing, they write the letters on their own.   You'll notice in the picture below that those "big lines" gave my girl a little bit of trouble.  It's been quite a few years since she used that three-line ruled paper, but the dotted lines in the middle sure do help you see where the letters should stop when correctly formed.

In addition to the 10 lessons on lowercase letters, there are handwriting activites for uppercase letters and proper signatures as well as suggestions for continuing practice everyday in cursive writing.  I love that students are encouraged to write letters to elderly friends and relatives, to craft thank you notes, to begin journaling their thoughts and ideas, and to decorate binders with quotes and poems that they find meaningful.  Extra practice pages are included in the back of the book as well.  I think the entire "package" truly is "an intelligent new way to teach cursive handwriting."  Students understand the color-coding and are building lifelong skills as they practice their skill.   I read an article just today that said we need to encourage students to put down the screens and pick up their pens.  Students who WRITE out their study notes will remember information longer than those who type it out on their keyboards.  I definitely want the competitive edge for my children, don't you?

 The CursiveLOGIC method makes logical sense as letters are grouped according to shape.  Each grouping has its own color.  Saying catch phrases aloud as they form the letters in each colored grouping helps embed the proper mechanics of cursive writing and gives students confidence in their ability.  I like that.

The other resource that has upped my daughter's confidence level has been The Art of 
Cursive coloring book.  Designed for adults (or in our case, teenagers who want to improve their cursive skills), this 64-page coloring book helps you to both learn cursive and improve your handwriting while you color away.  The first 9 pages of the coloring book offer a review of the CursiveLOGIC method.  The remaining pages have designs to be colored on the front and quotations to trace and write in practice on the back.

To begin, you trace and then write the quotation on the back of the page.  After that, you color the image on the front of the page.  The neat thing about the designs on the front is that they are crafted from cursive letters.  It's fun (and relaxing) and you improve skill as you color.  It is recommended that you do not pick up your marker or colored pencil once you begin filling in the design elements as the single strokes will maximize your cursive practice.  You can see example of this in my daughter's colored design below.

A fun note:  We received our CursiveLOGIC books on a Saturday afternoon and I placed them on my daughter's bed since she was gone.  She came in the next night and said "Mom, do I have to do 'school' with the cursive books or can I just do them and enjoy?"  I told her to have at it.  It made me smile big.  She obviously doesn't know that EVERYTHING we do is "school."  I love that she can learn while she "enjoys."

For more information about the CursiveLOGIC handwriting technique, please visit the following Social Media sites:

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I was given the opportunity to review the CursiveLOGIC Quick-Start Pack and The Art of Cursive from  CursiveLOGIC  as a member of the Homeschool Review Crew.   You can check out the Crew Review and see what other members of the Homeschool Review Crew thought of this handwriting resource (or just click on the banner below.)  

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