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!