2.07.2014

Learning cursive with snow!

I grabbed a teachable moment today to teach cursive writing - while playing out in the snow.


My daughters each learn best in vastly different ways (see my post An Individualized Education for all the details). My oldest daughter shines in her penmanship practice, because it is an art form in her creative eyes. And as more of a hands-on learner, she appreciates doing instead of watching.

Today, it hit 20*F. As in, it's been much colder than that for (what feels like) weeks! Most days lately have been much too cold for little ones to be outside. So when we woke up to sunny skies and a hope that it would be in the 20s, we raced through breakfast, chores, AND school in record time and were able to take care of E's health needs - all before lunch. The girls & I got bundled up and spent glorious hours out in the sunny "warmth" of the beautiful February afternoon!

Amidst the snow angels, sliding, snowballs, & fort building, E started running across the backyard. "Look, Mom!" she shouted. "I'm writing in cursive!"

You can kind of see the "L" and the "E" here

And, wouldn't you know, she was trying to make capital cursive letters. And doing a decent job of it, too!

We are still practicing manuscript writing and will begin cursive in a couple of months, but they have seen me write in cursive before. So I joined in the snowy cursive fun, and began showing her how to twise & turn to make other letters! We managed a cursive L (which made us dizzy!), E, A, and H before we ran out of space.

For a kinesthetic (hands-on, or tactile) learner, they learn well when they can involve their whole body in the learning. For example, when she was a toddler, I would show her how to make the letters with her body (T, F, V, O, etc). She counts best on her fingers & toes. Dancing is a substantial part of her learning style. Relay races or using our giant timeline to put historical figures & places helps her remember.

My sweet hands-on learner :)
Do you have any kinesthetic learners? What are their favorite activities?

Playing in the snow,
for His glory!
~Lisha

PS I may be sharing this post with these Link-up parties!

14 comments:

  1. What a great idea! Next time we have snow I'll have to give this a go. Nice to see you at the Moments and Musings Link Up :)

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  2. How fun! Thanks for sharing this with Thrive @ Home Thursday. :)

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  3. We practiced some print letters in the snow once, but I had forgotten all about it until I read your post. It was a teachable moment too :) Don't you just love those teachable moments? Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Teachable moments are some of the most treasured ones I've had with my girls - and they enrich my life so much.

      Thanks for stopping by, Missy!
      ~Lisha :)

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  4. Lish, I love this idea! Anything to make learning fun - really. Plus, we have an ABUNDANCE of snow! Haha!

    I really love this idea. I hope you will be back, but in case you are not - I'm going to feature this on the hop this week. If you don't know, I am very pro - cursive and think that every little kid should learn.

    Thanks again for sharing!

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  5. Ugh, did my comment disappear again? Is this a blogger blog? Every time I comment on blogger, and have to pick how I comment, my comment disappears. Vanishes into cyber space.

    Thank you for sharing this on Mommy Monday. I hope you are back this week, but just in case you aren't - I have incentive. I'm going to feature you. I am very pro-cursive and think that every child should learn. This is especially true in this technological oriented society.

    Thanks so much for stopping by and linking up.

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    1. Thanks, Lisa! I got both of your comments. :) Thanks for the encouragement. I've read about the benefits of learning cursive and can't wait for my girls to learn. And the snow was a great way to make it fun.

      We also have an abundance here - a little over 2ft now, I think, with another few inches coming on Thursday!

      Blessings, and thank you again for the feature and the kind words!
      ~Lisha :)

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  6. How fun!! Thanks for sharing.

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  7. What a fun way to learn cursive! I am featuring this at this week's Anything Goes linky! (sorry it is up so late!)

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    1. Angela, thank you for being such an encouragement! :)

      ~Lisha

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  8. Spontaneous learning at its best! Love it. If only we could get a little snow this year to practice!

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    1. Thank you, Bekki! You should visit southwestern NH...we *still* have about 6 inches of snow on the ground to play in!! (...I'm ready to have more teachable moments that involve mud, dirt, flowers, and greenery!)

      I'm so thankful you've stopped by to visit!
      ~Lisha :)

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