The K5 - elementary education for parents

“I’m a school based Occupational Therapist, working  in San Diego County for the past decade.  I get many questions from concerned parents and teachers about  students of all ages who struggle to grasp a pencil correctly. Here are a few things you, as a parent, you can do to help your child get a better grip on a pencil. ”  

-Leah

Things you may not know about the hand:

• The hand works in two sides, its called hand separation.
• The pinkie with the ring finger together, acts as the stabilizing force. 
• The rest of your hand, thumb and index finger especially, do most of the dynamic and precision work. 
• As the hand matures- so does this separation. 
• Here is another tid-bit:  You lose this hand separation when your wrist is flexed forwards (try writing like that- its tough!).

So this is what we are looking for in a good pencil grasp:

• The wrist in a neutral position.
• Pinkie and ring finger curled in and resting on the writing surface.
• The thumb and index finger pads neatly pinching the pencil.
• The middle finger can either be a support, slightly underneath the pencil (this is called a tripod grasp) or it can also piggy back onto the pencil with the index finger- this is called a “quadropod grasp”. 

For both the tripod and quadrupod grasp, the thumb and index finger are slightly bent to form an open circular-shaped web space (that fleshy area at the base of your thumb and index finger).

Now that you know what you want to achieve, here are some ways to make it happen!

• Break full sized crayons in half!  Little crayons are the best to work with. A smaller size helps children work their fingers into the correct position.
• Write with golf pencils
• Draw, write or color on a vertical surface.  Easels are a great investment.  Tape paper to windows or walls.  Working in this position encourages a neutral wrist position.
• Playing games that use small pieces supports the skills needed for writing (with supervision for small children)- Lite Brite, lacing beads, and travel sized games are great, too.
• Stamp a maze.  Those little stamps you get as party favors are perfect.  Pull out a maze and tape it to the wall- have your child stamp their way around the maze. 
• Nasal aspirator/cotton ball soccer.  Stand on either side of a table.  Each player has their own (clean) nasal aspirator.  Place a cotton ball in the center.  Squeeze the bulb of the aspirator to create a gust of air- propelling the cotton ball across the table.  Make sure you are bending your thumb when squeezing!
• Play-Doh balls.  Work at rolling little balls out of Play-Doh, using only your thumb, index and middle finger.
• Eat with chop sticks or Zoo sticks
• Sort colored pom-pom balls with strawberry hullers or tongs.
• Lie on your belly and color or write. 
• Use scissors to snip things.  Snip strips, straws, anything.

Leah is an pediatric O.T. in San Diego, she works in both schools and clinics, typically with children ages 3-11.