Links to a few recommended articles:
Silicon Valley Execs limiting their children's exposure to devices in the classroom.
"Even after only one hour of screen time daily, children and teens may begin to have less curiosity, lower self-control, less emotional stability and a greater inability to finish tasks, reports San Diego State University psychologist Jean Twenge and University of Georgia psychology professor W. Keith Campbell." https://www.anxietycentre.com/anxiety/research/screen-time-linked-to-anxiety-and-depression-in-children.shtml
Why writing notes is more effective than typing:
- An experiment on word recall and recognition showed that people remember lists of vocabulary words better when they write them by hand compared to when they type them on a computer.
- A similar study on the topic showed that taking notes using the pen-and-paper method leads to better recall ability than typing them up.
- A study on note-taking in the classroom showed that students who take lecture notes by hand generally perform better in tests on those lectures than students who type their notes on a computer.
https://effectiviology.com/handwriting-vs-typing-how-to-take-notes/
Did you know 4th graders are using Juul? If you don't know what this is, you need to read this... https://www.workingmother.com/what-parents-need-to-know-about-juuling-latest-vaping-trend#page-4
Why start with cursive:
"Here are some reasons why you might consider teaching cursive handwriting first:
- Ease of teaching cursive – There are 3 main strokes – under curve, over curve and up and down. Print has at least 6 including various shapes and perfect circles i.e. pre-writing lines.
- Prevents reversals and confusion of letters – “b” and “d” are the most common reversals in print.
- Less potential for errors – cursive is a continuous, fluid movement, which leaves room for fewer errors)
- Enforces skills and patterns for reading and writing – in cursive, all lower case letters start at the bottom, as opposed to print which starts at various points depending on the letter.
- Prevents too much space between letters and words – The flow of cursive handwriting is from left to right which encourages spatial discipline. In print, children often have letters too close together or words spaced too far apart.
- Helps left-handed children – This one really surprised me, but makes sense. With print, the left-handed child will write printing from left to right but will cover what he has written with his arms. This is called the hook position. In cursive writing, the left-handed child learns to write from the bottom up and turns the paper clockwise which increases comfort and legibility.
- (Source: Blumenfeld & Logic of English – see below for links)"
- https://www.growinghandsonkids.com/teach-print-cursive-handwriting-first.html