Mechanics of Handwriting

Practice teaching her the correct way. Every time you see her doing it "funny" correct the matter. No need for tanglible rewards. Just say "there you go", "you got it" or "good job, proud of you".

Tell her you want to see how good she is at holding pencil the correct way. Praise, praise, praise and reinforce over and over and over every time you see it.

Hope it helps.

We used the "Handwriting Without Tears" program with much success. http://www.hwtears.com/

Also, this pencil grip is good: http://thepencilgrip.com/

Contact Kim Worthington at Artistic Gatherings (www.artisticgatherings.com). She is a wonderful woman and an amazing artist but she is also trained as an instructor for Handwriting Without Tears, a one-on-one program to help children with their handwriting skills. Good luck!

You might get her tested for dysgraphia. Does she have any reading problems or other issues? My daughter has dysgraphia and it is basically a muscle tone issue. You can try building up her muscles with fine motor therapy. There are many you can try at home and easy to find on the web. We play with these eye popper toys where she pinches a small plastic semi soft toy to make the eyes pop out using her thumb and first and middle fingers. These are the gripping pencils.
Mother of 8 and 6 year old.

I would say do not ignore the "funny" grip.My daughter had a similar issue and when I started to investigate I found out that this should be corrected and sooner the better.
I founded Write to Shine to help children develop those hand muscles and work on mastering Handwriting.

The Write to Shine®program is here to provide Handwriting Tutoring individualized to the child's need based on the highly acclaimed Handwriting Without Tears® program to teach writing readiness, printing, or cursive.

Handwriting workshops and education is available for schools, parents, and community groups in the form of workshops, in-services, or presentations.

S.
Certified Handwriting Specialist
www.writetoshine.weebly.com

Updated

I would say do not ignore the "funny" grip.My daughter had a similar issue and when I started to investigate I found out that this should be corrected and sooner the better.
I founded Write to Shine to help children develop those hand muscles and work on mastering Handwriting.

The Write to Shine®program is here to provide Handwriting Tutoring individualized to the child's need based on the highly acclaimed Handwriting Without Tears® program to teach writing readiness, printing, or cursive.

Handwriting workshops and education is available for schools, parents, and community groups in the form of workshops, in-services, or presentations.

S.
Certified Handwriting Specialist
www.writetoshine.weebly.com

Trace a heart on a piece of construction paper, have her use a push pin to prick all the way around the heart until the heart comes loose. The only way to hold a push pin is the same way you would hold a pencil. Works like a charm! Teaches the children patience. Put a mouse pad underneath so she'll have some cushion. Make sure she is supervised. If you use the push pin as a tool then they will treat it with care. Good Luck

You need to work on her pincher grasp. Start with big crayons or pencils to build up her muscles and work your way down.

There is an occupational therapist assigned to each public school. Find out her name and ask her for suggestions. If your child is receiving special education or just speech therapy services, you can ask for an occupational therapy consult. Occupational therapy services come under the umbrella of special education.
B. D.

Best Pencil Grup in the world www.thepencilgrip.com. Only one I would use (I have tried most of them!) Grip that is not corrected by age 7 is very difficult to correct.

Are there other reading difficulties?
Feel free to go to my site www.readwithkary.com
- would be glad to give reading advice.

We use Handwriting Without Tears and with good success with many dysgraphic children.

May need to consult with an OT - Cook's childrens is a good place to start and insurance covers their services.

Good luck! Now is the time to jump on this!

K.

my son also held his pencil funny, we tried strengthening his fingers by having him pick up small items, like cheerios. also they have kindergarten pencils, the fat ones, they are suppose to be good that.

I am a first grade teacher and we have rubber pencil gribs that we give to students that have this problem. The grib forces them to hold the pencil the right way. They are very neat! A teacher that I work with ordered them out of a teacher magazine but I bet you could find them at a teacher store or google, handwrighting pencil gribs, or something similar to that and I bet you could find them.

Mother of 2 yr old boy and First grade teacher

My daughter has the same problem. I am a teacher and it really frustrates me. She is now 12 and her handwriting is usually yucky unless she puts a lot of effort into it. She holds her pencil wrong too. I have decieded the let this one go. There are many other things to focus on. She will thrive in life even if she has messy writing. If her teachers don't complain then neither do I.

Katie,
I am a teacher (preschool Montessori). The muscles of children's fingers need to develop, so any exercises with the 3 finger grasp, helps develop them. For ex: puzzles with knobs. Finger transfer of cotton balls from one container to another with tongs, etc.I also always tell them: "make Big Bird's Beak" before they hold their pencil, they relate to this concept. Model it for her.
There are also plastic pencil holders with indentations, these will greatly help.
Good luck!
C.

My 7 year old daughter is struggling as well in first grade. She is left handed and hasn't quite found her pencil grasp. A friend of mine had her son see an occupational therapist over the summer and he is doing very well. I am not that concerned yet, but if her handwriting grade goes down I will look into that as well. For now I've just told her to slow down, to give all of the letters their space and place and reinforce that good handwriting is a courteousy to others and always will be.

Katie,
You have had some wonderful advice here. I want to add that we went through agony with handwriting at K level in a private school. I took my son to "handwriting therapy" at a well known hospital here and off the record the OT told me schools are forcing small children to do things they are unprepared for. She hauled out xrays of childrens hands and how they grow and said, "I understand what you are up against in a private school setting and of course we will help you all we can, but I can tell you for a fact, his hands are simply not at a growth stage to do what the teachers expect them to do." It was a revelation. I got him out of the "demanding" school, put him in Montessori and eventually in fourth grade began to home school. I found the past two years of homeschooling we used Handwriting Without Tears --and no pressure. He still holds his pencil "weird" but his writing is just fine now.
Good luck and don't invest a lot of anguish over this. By the time they are in fifth or sixth grade, they will be keyboarding everything anyway. When is the last time you wrote a nice long cursive letter to anyone?? Email and computers rule our lives!
K

This may sound silly and since my daughter is only 1 1/2 I have not yet had this issue, but another mother I know told me this. Her daughter was having trouble grasping the pencil (she said her fingers got tired). She bought modeling clay for her to play with. Something about the kneading and shaping of the clay helped her to better control her hand and finger movement...and built strength, I imagine. It worked for them.

Have you already spoken to her teacher? I would assume that teachers face that kind of thing all the time. I have a huge pet peeve with handwriting in general though. I just don't see that it matters that much! (Sorry, teachers!) So long as her writing is legible, that is really all that counts. Her content and what she knows is so much more important. I'd rather have her spelling things correctly and using proper grammar in a messy way that have beautiful penmanship when she misspells things :) I have always felt this way, even when I was a kid. I'd get straight A's in everything, but a C in penmanship. I think it was a trade-off that my parents and teachers could live with :) Be proud of her accomplishments, which I am sure you are. Don't sweat the small stuff.

As a mom of two, 13 and 8, and a teacher, i can confidentally say that handwriting difficulties in kinder are quite common and nothing to be concerned with.

With my son we used the big pencils which were easier to grip. You can try pencil grips, there are all kinds. Different grips allow a child to hold the pencil in the right way too. When my son got older we changed to mechanical pencils because he pressed so hard...the mechanical pencils reminded him to keep a softer grip.

My daughter has more dramatic writing difficulty so i have tried all the above (grip was not her problem) and then tried going over writing practice in highlighters and then have her trace over it in pencil. My daughter receives occupational therapy to work on fine motor skills and she's improved dramatically. My son's handwriting is now quite pretty.

Try some pencil grips. Handwriting takes time so don't sweat it.

Ok this is a hot spot with me..

At six, I will say that it is probably too early for her to be writing. It bothers me that children are forced to "develop" at prescribed times per "the school." Children are all different, but gross motor skill development is EXTREMELY important and actually leads to better fine motor skill development. Spend time bouncing balls and catching them (jacks are a particularly good exercise).

My son was ok with pencils, but scissors he held like shears...so later we find out he is dysgraphic (the act of writing is very hard and getting the info out of his brain to paper is particularly hard). You might consider having her tested. (timing is important, you want any developmental issues to be resolve themselves first) However, the good news is that my son is 13 now and long ago, without intervention, he moved to using scissors normally on his own...

So, if you are frantic work with a occupational therapist. The OT I talked to recommended the triangular pencil holders as the best way to help a child hold a pencil correctly (TEacher Heaven has them for sure)

Best of luck!

You could give your daughter activities to develope her pincer grasp, such a picking up small beads and sorting them or punching out a design with a small tool on some paper, there are many types of fun activities she can do to devlope her fine motor skills (using chopsticks) as a precursor to writing. My son has the same problem and I also work with him holding the pen and we practice writing letters to family members and decorate them. He loves it. Good Luck.

I have a 6 yr old son that still holds the pencil "funny", but, it works for him. His handwriting was really bad until just recently and we finally figured out what has helped. They need to build up the fine motor skills to be able to control the pencil better. He's been playing his new PS2 the last couple of months, since Christmas. We had a teacher conference just a couple of days ago and the handwriting teacher was in there also. Both teachers and I noticed that just in the last few weeks his handwriting has improved tremendously. We think it's because he's strengthening his fine motor skills by playing on his game. The controls help greatly to build up those muscles.
Good luck!

I just started reading a book about how to help your child in first grade, written by a bunch of educators, and it says that as long as she's writing, the pencil grip doesn't matter -- that's a skill that comes later. If it's preventing her from writing, though, they suggested getting one of the three-sided pencil grips to help, or a pencil shaped that way.

Each of my three children also hold their pencils funny, but they all figured out how to write their letters, eventually. I tried to not force my kids to hold the pencil a specific way. The teachers were not worried about it, so I figured, I should not worry about it. As long as they practice everyday, which is what they do in kindergarden, they progress and later it's not an issue. What kind of trouble is she having? Is it trouble that her teacher has brought to your attention?
D'Nel S

I actually got a bad mark in kindergarten as well for holding my pencil 'wrong'. That still hasn't changed, and my handwriting is just fine. In fact, my family brings cards and other papers for me to handwrite for them. The only difference is I have a 'writing bump' on a different finger than almost everyone else. If your daughter is more comfortable holding her pencil the way she is, and her handwriting is legible and as a 6 year old's handwriting should be, my vote is to let her win this battle. Good luck!

Hi Katie,
My 11 year old struggled with handwriting and fine motor skills in Kindergarten too. It took her years to catch up. Can you get some Occupational Therapy for her? Perhaps through the school? You need to intervene now. Also, an easel would be good. It forces her wrist and hand to be in the correct position while writing.
She just needs a little bit of extra help - and lots of patience and love!
Good luck!
E.

Is it possible that the determination of "right-handed" or "left-handed" is incorrect?

Just a thought...?

The homeschool store in Lewisville on Main Stree (by the old Hobby Lobby) has really big pencil grips! These are what my kids have used! I also do a reward system--when I catch my daughter holding her pencil right, she gets a sticker and after 10 stickers--a toy.
Don't worry about neat handwriting--it will happen, sooner or later :)

From Handwriting Without Tears By Jan Olsen
Thank you Thank you Thank you!
Without this, my daughter never would have learned how to write. She was 4 and couldn't write her name to save her life, now she is five and almost finished with her cursive book!
www.hwtears.com
Great to do at home for extra practice, summer work, anytime. Fast easy..incredible...read on for pencil grip tips, especially the rubber band one!

Why is the grip so important?
Teaching Grip
By Tania Ferrandino OTR/L

If you observe children writing, you will notice a wide variety of pencil grips, many of them awkward. Children may hold the pencil with too many fingers or place their thumbs on top of fingers, or their fingers on top of thumbs. Some of these grips cause fatigue, cramping, and even pain, making writing difficult. This problem can be prevented by giving children early activities and instruction to develop efficient, comfortable pencil grips. The foundation starts with general upper body strength and fine motor skill activities.

Babies in high chairs naturally develop fine motor skills by picking up finger foods such as raisins. Active play on monkey bars and outside games encourage upper body strength and large motor skills. Toys that require children to use their hands to pull apart, put together, and snap help develop eye-hand coordination and strength.

Children are ready to be taught how to hold the crayon as soon as they want to scribble and color with it, not throw it or eat it! Start with crayons rather than pencils and show children how to position their fingers properly. Start with small bits of crayon because children naturally pick up the pieces correctly, just like they pick up raisins. Children eagerly manipulate the crayon to change colors. For children??s small hands, broken crayons are best. Compare the size of a child??s hand to yours. Have you ever used a big, heavy novelty pen or a fat primary pencil? They??re awkward and heavy. It??s the same for children. Writing tools should suit the child??s hand size.

Adult role modeling is as important as the instrument. The adult should use a correct grip and gently help children to do the same, patiently helping them place their fingers correctly.

The optimal pencil grip is called a tripod grip: The thumb, index and middle fingers support the pencil; and the last two fingers are bent into the palm. An alternative hold is the quadrapod grip: The thumb, index, middle and ring fingers hold the pencil; and the little finger is bent into the palm. With both the tripod and quadrapod grip, the fingers are able to move, which is the basic function crucial to handwriting development.

Children love to please teachers and parents. If teachers and parents demonstrate and reinforce appropriate grip, then students will actively try to master it. Here are a few helpful tips for your Preschool or Year One students.

Pre-K Classroom
Have your students practice picking up the broken crayon. Have them practice flipping from one end to the next. As children colour in, observe their grips. Don't be afraid to get involved, bend their thumbs and reposition their fingers until the appropriate grip is achieved.

Hold On...You Have to Teach Grip
Kindergarten Classroom
Pencils generally are introduced in kindergarten. Use golf size pencils to teach and reinforce grip; they are in correct proportion to the child's hand. Teachers can still sing the "Crayon Song" from the Get Set For School music CD by changing the word "crayon" to "pencil." Encourage children to demonstrate their grip for you. Ask them if they can see a 'tunnel' while observing their grip. You should see a hole or tunnel between their thumb and index finger. This analogy helps children visualize and reinforce current habits while promoting the appropriate grip.

Try these exercises to help students and other children with grip:

Keep the little finger and ring finger in the palm.
Have children hold a small sponge or penny in the palm with the little finger and ring finger. This keeps those fingers out of the way while the thumb, index, and middle fingers hold the pencil.

Use the rubber band trick.
Loop two rubber bands together. Place one around the wrist and the other around the pencil. This helps the pencil slant naturally in the child??s hand.

Good habits begun in the early years will last a lifetime. Here??s how you can help:

Provide children with toys and activities to develop their upper body strength and fine motor skills.
Observe their readiness when they are interested in scribbling with a crayon and demonstrate good grip.
Provide the appropriate sized tools: broken crayons

Stay away from Handwriting with out Tears. This has messed both of my kids handwritings up.

Many school systems are using it, but for some kids, it is not a good program. If you talk to some of the Occupational Therapist in these school systems, many of them will tell you they hate the Handwriting without tears program.

Try the First Strokes Program instead.
You can get information about it through... The Handwriting Clinic.
www.thehandwritingclinic.com

My kids have had great success with this program. Easy terms kids understand... like stop and go fingers(term reminds the kids know which fingers to hold the pencil with.

Most of all, keep your daughters confidence up when it comes to handwriting. With Handwriting, its is easy for them to get discouraged when they are having a hard time. Just remind her to do her best, keep trying, and tell her how it gets better every time she practices.
Find ways she would enjoy to make handwriting fun.

EXAMPLE:
Writing down short simple cookie ingredients to a cookie recipe. You can have her help make the cookies right after she writes down the ingredients.

Try getting her a pencil grip from the teacher supply store. I used to be a second grade teacher and this seems to help some.

She just needs to build up the muscles in her hand. There is a company called Little Giant Steps, here in North Dallas that has many idea's and even little games that will strenghten those muscles. You can try putting something like a rubber band around her 5 fingers and have her open and close her fingers several times, do this daily. Then give her one of those squishy balls and have her squeeze the ball several times, every day. You can buy big pencils, or even pencil "cozies" (little cushy things that slip onto the pencil and they are shaped so that the correct fingers fit in the correct spot - Mardel's has these). Good luck and good job working to correct this before it becomes a problem!

Hi Katie! I have been a pediatric OT for over 10 years. You have received some good information in your other responses; however, I want to tell you to NOT IGNORE it. Now is the time to make corrections and get on course for a lifetime of handwriting success! Bad habits are VERY HARD to change! Our children are writing more and more, earlier and earlier.

The 4 things I would recommend to try first are: 1. Hand strengthening/fine motor activities (playdoh, lacing beads, etc.) 2. Show her an appropriate grasp and give her small writing utensils (broken crayons, short pencils, PipSqueaks markers by Crayola, small pieces of chalk, etc.) I probably would wait on a pencil grip that goes on a pencil. 3. Get vertical....try writing, coloring, painting, etc. on an easel or on paper magneted to the fridge, etc. This vertical position helps with wrist position and lots of other important aspects of handwriting. 4. Definitely go to www.hwtears.com This is an OT-developed handwriting program which is EASY to teach and use, and it is FUN! They have a lot of tips and tricks as well as a very affordable cirriculum you could use. And, yes, it is an approved cirriculum in the state of Texas which some public schools have already adopted.

As you can see, some of these tips have already been recommended by your fellow mamas here at Mamasource! I praise you for your attention to your daughter's education!! Good Luck, make it fun, give lots of praise for your darling as she works on it!!
Let us know if you need anything else!
Little Hands OT Services
###-###-#### or ###-###-####

You probably need to strengthen her fine motor skills. Have her use scissors to cut paper. If you can find a squishy ball about the size for her to squeeze, playing with it would help. And puzzles with smaller pieces might help too. I also heard if you have her color with little bitty crayons it will make her hold them with the tips of her fingers therefore strengthening those muscles. Good luck. CS

Hi Katie, the kindergartens here use large triangle shaped pencils to help the kids hold them right. You can buy these at an office store. Also, to build up her finger muscles let her string beads, cereal, or pasta onto yarn (you can make a "needle" on in out of tape). You can also make her some sewing cards out of thick paper or cardboard. Punch holes in a shape on the paper and let her sew in and out of the holes with her yarn. As her fingers and hands get stronger her handwriting will improve.

Dear Katie,
I have three kids of my own. One imparticular had troulbe with handwriting. His teachers at school had him use pencil grippers and he was also taken out of the classroom for extra help. Look into extra help at your school for handwriting issues. There is also a handwriting clinic in Plano, TX which is a great resource to help you out. Above all, do not get frustrated. Every child devlops at there own pace. Also pinching the pencil is a great way to teach your child how to hold the pencil.
Hope this helps a little bit.

let her old it the way comfortable for her. Just practice some kids learn handwriting slower than others. my son 11 is still having problems with his neatness on handwriting but he is a magnet students scores way above average in math, reading, and science. Don't get dicoraged because it's not the way you want it, just encourage them and keeping telling them thier doing good and she will excell in other areas. Just think if you make her do the things the way you want them will she grow up to be an individual or coping others and their bad habits?

I have a five year old daughter in kindergarten and she holds her pencil funny too! Her teacher and I have talked about it and we both decided not to worry about it because she has good handwriting and draws very well holding her pencil "funny". We think that eventually, when her hands grow bigger that she will change her grip on her own.

You could try those pencil grips that are a triangle shape though...I heard they sometimes help.

My daughter had the same problem, and she is left-handed like some of the other posters commented. Using a pencil grip was the best thing for her. This website shows what the correct pencil grip looks like:
http://www.thepencilgrip.com/cat.php?k=27468

We purchased ours at Mardel. Very inexpensive, and they really helped a lot.

There are several different kinds of pencil grips available at a teacher supply store. I would recommend trying a few to see if it gives her more control with her pencil. Also, any hand strengthening activities would help with her fine motor control; ex. bath squeeze toys, water guns, play dough, etc.

From a hand therapist.....

Hello,

I'll offer my thoughts on the mechanics of pencil holding.First of all my background, I taught in public school for 10 years (4 of them in Kindergarten). Improper pencil holding is very common in Kinder/1st grades. In my opinion, it falls into the 'don't sweat the small stuff' category. Some children simply don't have the fine motor skills at that age to properly hold a pencil or crayon. By the way, what is proper is highly debatable amongst educators. Different teachers promote different holds. The most important thing is that your daughter hold the pencil in a way that does not cramp and tire out her hand. Continue to model and correct as you work with your daughter. I truly believe she will grow into a proper hold. Hope this helps! Good luck.

Making up a song could help. My teacher friend taught my son how to use his fingers correctly with a song that says:

1, 2, & 3 do the work, 4 and 5 go for a ride...
meaning the numbers of the fingers,
fingers 1, 2, & 3 do the work and fingers 4 & 5 aren't involved and just go for a ride :)
Cheers,
A.

Hi Katie,

I typed "awkward pencil grip, 6 years old" (without quotes) into Google, and I got these links, all which look really good-- if the only problem she's having in school is with pencil grip/writing. But if you and/or her teacher thinks she is developmentally delayed in other areas as well, then you might want to get her tested for special education (and have an occupational therapy evaluation). If the only issue is pencil grip/writing, then the links below should help. You might want to expose her to a lot of gross and fine motor activities, games, etc. that can help develop this skill--use big chalk on a sidewalk, write/trace letters in the sand, use bilateral scissors to cut. Whatever you do, make it fun! Also, make sure her vision has been tested by a pediatric ophthalmologist. Good luck! jenifer

http://treasureseekers.wordpress.com/2007/10/27/help-with...

http://melissawiley.typepad.com/liltinghouse/2006/09/lear...

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=2008020206531...

https://oa.doria.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/4108/TMP.objre...

Katie, the main thing in handwriting is what she produces and if her hand gets tired or she is uncomfortable. If she is having pain, you might try having her write on something at a slant - the angle that a podium would be.
This was suggested for my son, and it helps me as I have always had fatigue when writing.
My daughter held her pencil in a crazy position - which the teacher tried to change in 2nd grade. I told my daughter just to hold it the way it worked for her. She is now a recent college graduate who majored in WRITING!
If your daughter has weak hands, there are people who can help her with exercises,etc, for her hands.

manual dexterity does not come early in children - it comes over time - it cannot be forced or rushed - she is too young to be forced to hold a pencil correctly and try to write - try putting her in a Montessori School where they do not rush it.

You can buy the pencil grips the other woman mentioned at any homeschool store. There's one in Lewisville on Main St.,called Home Educators Resource and I think Lakeshore by the Galleria has them. They're cheap and fit over any standard pen or pencil. We use them at the school where I teach. It helps.

Well not sure what you call strange, but wait for a little while and see if she corrects herself. You might want to show her how you hold her pencil. Place her hands on the pencil the right way to show her, but if she is still wanting to hold it strange, then let her.
Is she using her left or right hand?
Can she write anything that looks like it should. If so again leave her alone.
If she is going to school, ask her te tacher about it.
Not everyone does the same thing, nor do they hold a pencil the same way.
If she is left handed do not switch her to her right hand.
for I've been told it can mess up the brain. Let her do the switching.

hopefully this helps.

Hi Katie,
I am an occupational therapist so I have a few suggestions. First of all, some kids take longer to develop a "standard" grip. And some develop a grip that differs from the norm but is functional. I would try wide pencils, markers..all writing utensils although she is probably already using these in school. There are pencil grip attachments you can usually find at the store or some medical supply catalogs. (You may want to plug words into a search engine like, handwriting skills, pencil grips) These promote a proper pencil grip.

My niece was in first grade and her teacher noted she still had not developed proper grip. I would physically place her hands on the wide based markers when completing coloring activities and encourage holding it that way by saying that it will help with more defined lines. (in kid languagge of course). She almost always would revert back to her way but I continued to try and re-place her hands.

You could ask to consult the school occupational therapist but I would wait and see if she doesn't naturally develop a proper grip with using some of the above techniques. Also, if her current grip is functional and not impeding her learning then I would just give it time.

I hope this helps!

My mother is a kindergarten teacher and gave me pointers with my daughter. Show her how and encourage her to hold the pencil correctly. You will probably have to position the pencil and her fingers for her if she will let you. It may be difficult at first especially since she's used to holding it incorrectly, but just keep showing her how with with persistence, patience, and praise. If she starts to get frustrated, just take a break and come back to it later or the next day.

My mother also suggests playing with play dough. This helps to build up the muscles needed for fine motor skills. Hope this helps!

Is your daughter using a "fat" pencil? Using these chunky pencils is necessary to help young muscles develop. I definitely suggest that you get these for your daughter. Also she needs to be coloring with the chunky crayons.
Another thing you can do to help her develop her small motor coordination is get her play-dough or make it with flour and salt. It is a really easy recipe. I don't know the proportions off the top of my head, but you can easily find it online.
Do show her how to hold the pencils and crayons correctly and encourage her to try these finger positions. It will probably take her awhile to become comfortable with this new way to hold a pencil/crayon, but it will be worth it in the long run.
About me: Elementary school teacher for 30 years.

Hi Katie,
In my old preschool class, we would get the Crayola skinny crayons, peel the paper off, and break each crayon into three or four small pieces (the smaller the better). The small size of the crayon would "force" the children to hold the crayon correctly and hopefully help them move onto holding a pencil properly.
Also, there are some great pencil grips you can get for small hands.
Playing with playdough is also a great way to help strengthen fine motor skills!
Good luck!

One thing you can do is have her hold one of those pom-pom balls (or cotton ball) in the palm of her hand using her ring finger and pinky while the other fingers are in the pincher grasp with the pencil.
Another idea is to break all of her crayons in half, this will force her to use the appropriate grasp.
You can always voice your concern to your child's teacher and she should be able to consult with the campus OT which in turn will provide her with different tactics that can be passed on to you.

Hope these help!

My son has the same problem and the OT suggested the pencil grips so I bought at Teacher's Tools at 121 on lewisville some pencil grips that help him position his fingers in the right place. Also, sometimes I take off the grip and make him hold a small marble in the palm of his hand while writing, this help's him keep the fingers in position and not use the five fingers to hold the pencil.

Ask the teacher for some suggestions. My daughter's kindergarten teacher had a catchy phrase (can't remember) that encouraged her to hold her pencil correctly. If your daughter just needs help with her fine motor skills, try giving her some clay to strengthen her finger muscles.

go to the handwriting without tears website.

I don't remember what they are called but they sell things that go on pencils that help kids grip them properly-ask her teacher. She will know what they are called and may even have one. It helped my son

Hi Katie.
You can try some of the techniques from the website below. Our son had the same issue. Placing a cotton ball in the palm of his hand while writing did the trick for him.
http://www.drawyourworld.com/grip.html

She'll do great in no time!
Take Care!
D.

Practice with your daughter. Place the pencil in her hand and place your hand over hers. Write with her for a few minutes then let her try it on her own. Be careful not to over due this she will get frustrated and become rebelious. Perhaps you could try with crayons first. Use different colors and make it fun. She is developing her fine motor skills right now so you want to be sure to praise her for progress. Hope this helps.

I have been teaching for 30 years and the first 18 were spent in first grade. One item that helped children with holding a pencil correctly is a small grip you can put on the pencil. It has indentations for finger positioning. I now have 6th graders who still like to use them. You can get them at stores where teacher supplies are sold. You may be able to get them other places but I haven't looked in many years. It seems once they get to 6th grade you can't change the way they hold a pencil without much blood, sweat, and tears.
Good luck.

Have you tried one of those special grips you put on the end of the pencil? There are ones that are funny shaped (not sure what they call them), that are especially made to teach children to grip properly. My son holds his pencil properly, but he has problems writing, so his teacher suggested that I write out his spelling words 3 times, and have him trace them. It has helped tremendously. His writing, and spelling grades have improved greatly. Good luck, and if I can find out what the name of that grip is, or where to find one I will let you know. In the mean time try one of the Teachers Stores, they will probably know what you are looking for.

I just saw in a catalog "One Step Ahead" a pencil gripper 3-pack $6.95 invented by a Physician that teaches how to hold pencils right. www.onestepahead.com (#11942)-just incase-. As a mom with 7 year old I think that would be the eastest way!

Hi Katie!

To help correct the grip, let her use crayons that you have broken into thirds. This way you are on making her do it. It's just that the crayon is so small it will automatically correct her grip. This strategy is from "Handwriting Without Tears". Many public schools use it!

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They sell something called a writing frame that will help her. If you go to the website look under dyslexia materials then click on Dyslexia Training program, under that categories materials you will find the writing frame. They sell for under $10.00; I would recommend one for home and one for school. Also, ask your school to see if they can provide Occupational Therapy for your child. A good Occupational Therapist can be a great way to address her issues. Good luck to the two of you!

One thing you might try is to take a sheet of paper (or 1/2 or 3/4 depending on the size of her hand) and crumple it loosely into a ball. Have her hold the 'ball' while she writes. It sounds strange and I can't really explain why it works, but it is the magical fix for some. (I used to teach 2nd and then 4th grade and this trick worked wonders time after time.)

I used to hold my pen/pencil incorrectly as a child. I don't know how i learned to do it that way, but I got used to it. I rested the pen on my right ring finger instead of my middle finger. I had to purposely train myself to use the correct finger because my ring finger was getting a bump and it's permanently a little crooked. I think I was about 8-10 when I made myself do this. I used little rubber cushions on the bottom part of the pen to help me. It softened the grip and made it easier for me to not notice that I was holding it with a different finger than I was used to then. I don't know where we bought the grips, but I'm sure any of the teachers would know since this is something that many kids go through. Good luck with everything and God Bless You. :) V.

First, don't panic! ASk the teacher if she has any suggestions, and then wait. These things usually correct themself with time as the motor skills continue to develop.

Hi there,

I had a similar problem when i was a little girl and it was because i am left handed and not right handed. I had a problem using sissors and eating with fork until my mother realized that maybe i should try the other hand. Now i get compliments all the time on my beautiful handwriting. Just a suggestion.

Unfortunately, the only way to fix handwriting is practice. The good thing, however, is you just need about 5-10 minutes per day. There are several websites that allow you to print worksheets that teach a slant, circle, line, all letters, and you can even create your own. One website that I use is www.handwritingworkheets.com. if you just correct your child and work with htem, it usually works out, but developmentally, it is usually just a fine motor skill that has to develop with age. Hope this helps.