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Developing Pencil Grip


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I've been doing lots of observations of pencil grip since term started and unsurprisingly there is the usual wide range! My question is for those with a 'less developed' grip do I:

 

- teach them how to 'do it properly'

- let them develop themselves by modelling and letting them get bigger?

 

If the first can anyone give me any pointers about how I could go about it?

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On this note - does anyone have a good info sheet for parents about the development of handwriting which explains the importance of gross motor development etc? I've found a really good article on-line but it says not to copy - it's copy pretected. Just wondered if anyone had one I could use? Also does anyone have good illustrations of the 4 main stages of pencil grip development?

(Sorry to interrupt your post HelenD26) - To answer your question, I would provide lots of fine-motor and gross motor learning opportunities alongside modelling while keeping an eye on each child's progress. Some children will probably need to be shown and encouraged more than others.

Green Hippo x

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On this note - does anyone have a good info sheet for parents about the development of handwriting which explains the importance of gross motor development etc? I've found a really good article on-line but it says not to copy - it's copy pretected. Just wondered if anyone had one I could use? Also does anyone have good illustrations of the 4 main stages of pencil grip development?

(Sorry to interrupt your post HelenD26) - To answer your question, I would provide lots of fine-motor and gross motor learning opportunities alongside modelling while keeping an eye on each child's progress. Some children will probably need to be shown and encouraged more than others.

Green Hippo x

Green hippo- I would like to read this article. Can you tell me what it is??

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Thanks Sunnyday - I've got the same article in a leaflet form which I might use. I liked what the website said as it just focused on pencil grip and control and how that is developed where as this article gives a lot of information about writing and reading and I wondered whether it was too much information at once for parents. May be a display would be a good idea! I wonder whether I could use the information as long as I used it as a quote and referenced it properly?

Green Hippo x

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Guest babyjane31

<p>Thank you for the above information very helpful to share with parents. I have also been looking for something to help my staff in identifying the different grips children use as not all of them are familiar with the correct termanolgy to use in their observations. I was hoping to findsome kind of handout theycould keep in their observation clipboards with diagrams and descriptions of all the grips, don't suppose anyone has something like this they could share please</p>

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  • 3 months later...

Apologies for interrupting your post HelenD26; I note the Development Matters statements, 'beginning to use tripod grip' comes as early as 22-36m. I have some children who can hold a pencil well when they start nursery at 3 years, and I realise it says 'beginning', but this comes much later in the majority of my children - many struggle with this and don't even begin to use tripod grip until they reach 4 years.

There is a very good Sue Lloyd clip on utube for anyone experiencing difficulties 'teaching' the correct pencil grip.

I don't know how to do a link, but if you go into utube with

 

How to show children the correct way to hold a pencil

 

it should come up.

:1b

Edited by Guest
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Here it is: http://www.ot-mom-le...evelopment.html

It says all the info I want to give to parents but I can't use it :(

I have to say that i disagree with this article a little. I don't think that a normal rate of development should expect to see a tripod grip to emerge between 6-7 yrs of age. Some chidlren will develop at this rate but we should be expecting to see a developed tripod grip much earlier than this....if a child has had all the gross and fine motor experiences they need.

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I have to say that i disagree with this article a little. I don't think that a normal rate of development should expect to see a tripod grip to emerge between 6-7 yrs of age. Some chidlren will develop at this rate but we should be expecting to see a developed tripod grip much earlier than this....if a child has had all the gross and fine motor experiences they need.

I agree we should be expecting to see a tripod grip earlier than 6-7 (although I can only find where it says 5-6). I think that the key word is 'mature' - children often use a tripod grip before this age but it is not always consistent or relaxed until later on (e.g. my own little boy is 5 and a half and holds his pencil in a tripod grip, however, it is not yet relaxed.

It was the first part of the article that I particularly liked where she explains the need for children to develop their gross motor skills before their fine motor skills.

Green Hippo x

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