Four more letters: r, s, p and j. Cursive r and s look quite different from print, so take them slowly. You will use the loops from Loop Letters and the hills from Hill Letters.
- r: undercurve up to a point just above the middle line, a tiny step to the right, slant down, out.
- s: undercurve up to a point just above the middle line, curve down and back to close at the baseline, out.
- p: undercurve, slant down below the baseline, back up, around into a bump, out.
- j: undercurve, slant down below the baseline, loop back up, out. Dot it after the word.
Key idea
r and s peak just above the middle line; p and j go below the baseline.
Why it works
The print shapes of r and s don’t have a way to join. The cursive shapes start and end on the baseline, so they fit in a word.
Worked example: r or n?
Mia’s r has a long step on top. What does it look like?
- A long step on top looks like a hill.
- So r can look like n.
- Keep r’s step tiny.
Answer: It can look like n; keep the step small.
Common mistake
Writing print r or s inside a cursive word, or making r’s step so long it looks like n. Check: does the letter start and end on the baseline?