American Cursive Handwriting

It happened just the other day. Someone called Rainbow wanting a self-instructing cursive handwriting program that was more elegant than the streamlined program they were using. This is it! Combining historical perspective with motivational challenge, this is a complete curriculum providing instruction and lots of practice. It claims to be the most thorough single-volume instructional source on cursive handwriting currently available, and I’m not going to dispute that claim. Michael Sull is America’s premier penman (yes, it’s a term) who provides calligraphy for Hallmark Cards. He loves handwriting, and he’ll convince you to love it as well – and probably to start practicing again. This single volume includes historical information about the development of penmanship, specific technique information (posture, hand position, paper movement, etc.), lesson plans for letter formation and for moving from primary scale to handwriting scale (i.e. size of letters), and lots and lots of practice sheets as well as a collection of various quotations and excerpts from literature and poetry to be used for practice. A number of appendices provide blank masters for continuing practice, information on using and purchasing a fountain pen, a certificate of completion and a glossary of terms. If you want to categorize the type of handwriting taught, it is essentially Palmerian – which is an adaptation of Spencerian and a forerunner to what we know as “traditional.” This volume can be used in a variety of ways. It is a self-instructional manual for an older (5th grade and up) student who wants to perfect and polish their handwriting. However, it also provides the necessary instructional and technique information needed to start younger children.