Monday, September 17, 2018

Creative Adventures In - Cursive - a bookwrap













Having been a teacher, a consultant and a principal in the elementary school system for a long time, and having taught hundreds of kids and every grade up to grade 9,  I am very passionate about this subject of teaching cursive writing.   It is part of our very heritage.  Our magnificent ability to speak, to read and to record our language (both by means of printing and using cursive) distinguishes us humans from every other species on earth.  Why in the world would we want to abolish such an integral part of who we are? 

I feel very deeply that kids should be taught and know all of our language components.  I think we would be doing a great disservice to our kids by not teaching it in our schools.  It's very troubling and sad to me to think this beautiful, unique to each person, and great fun part of our culture may some day be extinct just like the dinosaurs.  


Fight for cursive to once again be held in high esteem and once more celebrated.  Today's book might just be a catalyst to start making that happen. Viva La Script!




Unwrapping







Who knew handwriting could be so cool? Write with glue, string, markers, paint, and icing and develop a signature cursive style with TinkerLab's... 


Rachelle Doorley in "Creative Adventures in Cursive"



* Age Range: 8-12
* Grade Level: 1-5
* Paperback: 112 pages
* Publisher:  Quarry Books; Burst:  Who knew handwriting could be so much fun? 
* Pub. Date: September 11, 2018
* Language: English 



Editoral Reviews




"Where has this book been all my life? From the moment I opened the first pages and saw the cursive warm-up doodles, I wanted to be a kid again." 
—Barbara Rucci, Art Educator, Founder of Art Bar, and Author of Art Workshop for Children: How to Foster Original Thinking with more than 25 Process Art Experiences


“This guide to joyful handwriting takes the curse out of cursive and reconnects young writers’ hands with their eyes and minds. [...] The nearly lost art of handwriting is recovered here with countless activities and exercises designed to excite and engage young learners.”
—Steve Seidel, Director of the Arts in Education Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education



Unwrapping some wonderful illustrations for 
you to enjoy























About the book




This fun book is a celebration of Cursive Writing. The talented author poses 22 fun and interactive projects to take the "curse" out of Cursive and make it cool and fun once again.  She introduces enjoyable ideas for practising writing skills and how you can use script to make posters, design greeting cards, bookplates, decorate balloons, t-shirts, ice cookies and cakes, just to mention a few.  

Brilliantly she uses photographs of real kids writing in script with fabric markers, string, yarn, pastry tubes, pens and crayons and more.  Happily they paint, sew, and work weaving script into their projects.   

Cursive writing is therapeutic and calming once you get the hang of it.  It's style is unique to each individual and can be very creative and playful once you learn the basics. Who doesn't love to swirl those letters and add this and that to claim them as your own?  


"As many educators will attest, writing in cursive provides cognitive benefits in spelling, memory, reading comprehension, language skills, and overall academic confidence. Practicing cursive carries similar benefits when drawing; once you learn the basic shapes, you can play with it by creating your own personal style."

Back in the day when everyone sent Christmas cards to each other our family, who lived in small town, would receive stacks of cards in the mail from friends and relatives.  I was always amazed that my mom would not even have to open up the cards to find out who the senders were.  She was able tell from their script on the outside of the envelope exactly whose signature was inside.  One of the dearest treasures I have is my Grandmother's bible.  She wrote by her own hand little comments through out it in the margins. I often thumb through it and think that those written words were by her from her heart.  It is a treasure to me because she left part of her behind in that small black book. 


May we all fight for the preservation of cursive writing.  It is a  personal, beautiful way to express ourselves and that skill needs to be passed on from generation to generation.  Don't let something so essential to our language and culture be stolen from our children. Some day they will be able to read what you wrote in your books and notes and know that part of you was preserved for them to hear from your written words.  Give cursive a voice...  give it yours... viva la script!  

I highly recommend this book which highlights how positive, creative and gratifying cursive writing can be! 

   



Storywraps Rating - 5 +++ HUGS












About the author








Rachelle Doorley is an arts educator, community builder, and founder of the popular creativity blog TinkerLab. She is also the author of TinkerLab: A Hands-on Guide for Little Inventors, published by Roost in 2014. Rachelle studied costume design at the University of California, Los Angeles, and worked on Hollywood films before finding her true calling as an arts educator. After teaching elementary and middle school art, she earned a master’s in arts education from Harvard, and then oversaw museum-based and education programs in Massachussets and California. Rachelle lives with her family in the beautiful San Francisco Bay area, where she teaches art, visual thinking, and creativity. She enjoys her sketchbooks, taking her kids on adventures, good friends, kawaii drawings, breakfast, hand-drawn letters, hikes in the woods, and ocean air.








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