Pencil grasp

Now that the school year is in full swing and we are half way through the first quarter (whoa!), there have been several teachers at my schools who have asked about their student's pencil grasp. 

A lot of teachers say...."they hold their pencil funny" and then they try to hold it the same way their student does (that's really hard to do when you already know how you hold your pencil). 

Over the years of working with all types of kids, I have realized that many of us hold our pencil or writing tool in similar ways.  There are those that hold it a little different and when teachers or parents see this they think....oh my gosh we need to "fix" this.  That does not always need to be the case. 

There are many (at least 7) functional ways to hold your writing tool.  They may not look correct, or even comfortable, however, if the writing is legible and the  student is able to produce writing in the same amount of time as their peers, then "why change it if it ain't broken" :)



 

Even though some of these grasps look "funny"....most of them are functional.

 

 

Pencil grasp development.....

 

There are different stages of developing a "proper" pencil grasp.  There are stages for a reason as a toddler or preschooler develops good fine motor skills necessary for the art of writing and drawing.

 

Forcing a child to develop a grasp too early will only do more harm than good.  The natural development of these skills is set in place for a reason and trying to force them on a child whose muscles are not developed will only make it harder to unlearn a poor pencil grasp later.

 

 

 

Correct Pencil Grasp Development

 

fisted grasp

When a toddler first becomes interested in holding a writing tool the grasp shown above is appropriate.  This is called a "fisted grasp".  During this grasp, the toddler will be using more shoulder movement to color or scribble.




palmar grasp

As the child continues to develop so will their grasp.  As they gain more control of their arm and hand muscles, you will begin to see a "palmar grasp" being used.



 5-finger grasp

 

This stage is called the "immature" 5-finger pencil grasp.....this is considered an "immature" grasp because it is not the typical 3-finger grasp that is used in school, but this is a mature grasp for a 4 year old! 

 

 

  

3-finger grasp

 

Finally.....by age 5 or 6 (but possibly later with other children) your student should be using a mature 3-finger grasp.  There still might be some difficulty at the beginning of this stage, as your student becomes used to more refined finger movements and less, wrist and shoulder movements.  Children at this age may also switch between grasp as they build strength in their tiny muscles in their hands.