Holding a Crayon and Pencil Correctly
Children like to make marks on paper with wax crayons at an early age.
Look at how your child holds the crayon. There are various stages of development in this area. I show children from the start the best way to hold the crayon or pencil for that stage of development. Please see the video for a full explanation.
When you send a birthday card, let your child make their mark. It will only be a line or a squiggle but that’s ok. When they have paper, they will make more marks and you can encourage them by giving it to a friend or relative. Later you may see something in their picture and ask them what it might be.
There are also some good ‘join the dots’ workbooks to develop pencil control that are suitable for children from about the age of two. Go for a large one as its easier for the child and be careful to use the special wipe-off pens. The workbooks for letter formation are not bad but additional practice is needed.
Later, when your child is ready for the final stage of holding the pencil correctly at the age of three or four, a good method has been developed to teach it. (See video as above).
The child starts off by pinching the pencil (which is pointing towards them) between the thumb and the first finger; followed by lifting the pencil and flicking it up and back. This correct or ‘ideal’ grip is called ‘the dynamic tripod grip’ (see the video please). While it is the most efficient and causes the least strain on the hand, some children are not able to master it and indeed not all adults use it! In years to come of course, a lot of composition will take place on a word processor.
When the writing of their name and simple words starts, the pencil is pointed slightly forward at an angle.
I go into detail here because this aspect of early learning is difficult to grasp in a class of 30 children.
