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MommyD
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| Posted: Nov 09 2007 at 12:25pm | IP Logged
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My kindergartener is holding her pencil really wrong. I've tried to help her. I even bought one of those pencil grips that is supposed to make them hold it correctly. I looked over and the poor kid was using one hand to hold the pencil and the other hand to move it!! Is there something else I should try or do I let this go until she is older??
Melissa
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domchurch3
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| Posted: Nov 09 2007 at 3:29pm | IP Logged
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I've got the exact same question posted in the Language Arts section of this forum. :) Is your child forming the letters correctly in spite of the wrong grip or is she having trouble with the formation because of the wrong grip?
Elizabeth
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Michaela
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| Posted: Nov 09 2007 at 3:48pm | IP Logged
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No advice.
 My 6th grader holds his pencil incorrectly. It looks painful, but he prefers it. We've tried EVERYTHING with him to change his pencil hold.
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Momma to Nicholas 16, Nathan 13, Olivia 13, Teresa 6, & Anthony 3
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MommyD
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| Posted: Nov 09 2007 at 4:38pm | IP Logged
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Well, at least I know she'll make it to 6th grade!!
She does pretty well on her letters for a 5 year old. I was just hoping that by now she would have "refined" her approach.
Melissa
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ALmom
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| Posted: Nov 09 2007 at 5:39pm | IP Logged
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How are fine motor skills? Are her fingers tense? will it be possible to for her to have a smooth cursive with the grip? Just the way you mention that she is using two hands seems like something outside of actual writing to encourage fine motor might gently and indirectly encourage the correct pencil grip eventually. I think some of mine were so resistant to pencil grip correction because they simply didn't have the fine motor for it and were compensating. The pencil grip still came back to bite them eventually. I'm not saying that it was devastating or anything - they do find other ways to compensate, but better to find the cause and help them develop it normally - just my opinion after having ignored pencil grip issues with a number of mine.
I know that my children have survived but wrong pencil grip really hurt one of mine - made it impossible to build up speed. We ended up retraining (because it truely was interfering with her ability to get her work done and she never could get a smooth cursive going with her grip) at a much later age and that was painful.
Sometimes I wonder if it happens when they need more fine motor skills before writing. I have been amazed recently at how much improvement we've seen in our 7 yo simply by making some Montessorish materials from practical life available. He has been spooning, pouring, washing windows, tongues, eye droppers, etc. Even insets. By removing the pencil in the equation and demonstrating other things that develop the same muscles we've seen a natural improvement without the battle or stress. We still have a tight grip on the pencil but it is no longer an odd grip (and funny thing - violin teacher has also been noticing and encouraging a more relaxed hand on the bow as well) and continue to encourage and provide these practical life things and insets. There are huge improvements and he is having fun. I'm thinking the tension will lesson as the eye -hand and fine motor all improve outside of writing.
Janet
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Anne McD
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| Posted: Nov 15 2007 at 5:34pm | IP Logged
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Have you tried having her pick up grains of rice with tweezers, transferring them from one container to the next? That would force her to use the correct position of her fingers that would be used in writing. I tried a few times w/my six year old, but he tired of it quickly, but he just needs to be reminded to hold his pencil correctly until its habit.
The part about her using her one hand to move her writing hand was interesteing-- can she use a little more muscle building in her wrists from playing with playdoh, pouring water from one cup to another, etc.?
Good luck!
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hopalenik
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| Posted: Nov 15 2007 at 8:43pm | IP Logged
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Hi,
My son had the same problem last year. I sat at a table for hours watching him hold a pencil and then I would hold the pencil....till finally I figured out what was wrong and corrected his grip.
First I put him in a booster seat, to get him above the table. Then I followed the directions in Handwriting without tears to get him to pick up a pencil correctly. Then I made him slant the paper and pull it our in front of him far enough to keep his wrist from being to bent. Then I just sat there and watched him and compared him to me. Eventually we tweaked enough that he started picking up a pencil on his own correctly. I would recommend going to the Handwriting without tears website and buying a Kindergarten instruction manual to read how to position a kid or see if they have some question answer thing on their website(it is only a page or 2 out of the whole manual). Hopefully, if you really study the difference in his posture and wrist, shoulder, elbow placement versus yours or another childs you can figure out what is out of line to fix it.
Holly
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cornomama4
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| Posted: Nov 15 2007 at 10:35pm | IP Logged
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Does Handwriting w/o Tears address the position for lefties? I'm sure it does, but I'm really at a loss to "know" if my 7yo lefty is doing it right, because it just looks so weird to me. I have a 2yo lefty also, and I have strong suspicions about #4 also being a lefty (he's 7mo so who can really tell, but he chomps the left fist the most)
#1 lefty also, we recently discovered, has perfect pitch so I'll be curious to see if #3 does. Dad has perfect pitch but is ambidexterous.
I think I'm hijacking this thread! Any interest inpostings about lefties with "unusual" other attributes??
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hopalenik
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| Posted: Nov 16 2007 at 9:03pm | IP Logged
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Handwriting without TEars does deal with lefties. I didn't pay attention to it because mine are not. But that is the pleasure of the program. It strips down the script to bare bones and not so pretty but they can teach just about anyone to right with it. The teacher's manuals should only be 10 or so but the pageor 2 you are looking for is just that a few pages. But I learned more from the book than anywhere else.
Holly
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acystay
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| Posted: Nov 16 2007 at 10:51pm | IP Logged
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About fine motor skills. I have noticed that this does make a difference in writing and hold the pencil well.
My nearly 6 year old has been finger knitting since she was 4 1/2. It is a great thing to improve fine motor skills and hand to eye coordination. Mind you, she did have some minor things that were easily corrected in a few lessons with HWT. We especially saw a vast improvement in her grip when did the keep the hand in one spot and make squilly marks w/o picking up your hand.
My nearly 4 year old, due to me intervening, rolls his first finger around any writing element. He just began finger knitting and LOVES scooping and working with trewers and tongs. What is really neat to notice just the other day, I got some bees wax crayons and was talking how special they are and we need to be gentle and use them properly. I showed him how I use my pincher fingers and to go back and forth. You know what!? He did it! I use that term pincher fingers with finger knitting. He held it w/o curlling his finger! But about 20 mins later he went back to it, but we are on a road to correct holding :) I have to get more knitting with him.
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Philothea
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| Posted: Nov 17 2007 at 9:22am | IP Logged
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This is something I've always wondered about -- WHY is there a "right" way to hold a pencil? As long as the letters are legible and the technique works for the person writing them, why is it a problem if their form doesn't match what the "experts" say is best? I feel the same way about "proper" formation of letters -- as long as you can read the letters, why does it matter HOW they are drawn?
-A curious lefty who never learned the "right" way to write, and yet still has decent handwriting.
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hopalenik
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| Posted: Nov 17 2007 at 1:51pm | IP Logged
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I thought some of it had to with speed, some ergonomic issues later on, some control and stamina, some legibility...I know that it physically hurts me to watch my left husband twist his wrist around so much...
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acystay
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| Posted: Nov 19 2007 at 12:12pm | IP Logged
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Yes, it goes with the speed and tiring out of the hand. Funny grips can (not always) but can cause you to have slower writing and sore fingers and hands after long periods of writing. I notice my 2nd doesn't like to work as long b/c he is using his whole arm for the movement. It becomes tiring for him.
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jugglingpaynes
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| Posted: Nov 19 2007 at 10:54pm | IP Logged
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hopalenik wrote:
| I thought some of it had to with speed, some ergonomic issues later on, some control and stamina, some legibility...I know that it physically hurts me to watch my left husband twist his wrist around so much... |
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I am a lefty. So is my husband. Tell your husband to tilt his paper to the left instead of the right, the way our right handed teachers taught us. 
I also have a 6th grader who holds his pencil incorrectly. He was my first righty, so I think he suffered from trying to mirror me.  I didn't worry about his odd grip until his religious ed. teacher told me his handwriting is illegible. I think it's more of a focus problem though. If I stand over him as he works he's much neater. He holds his pencil with all four fingertips against one side and thumb at the top. Somehow he maneuvers the pencil point with his pinky. I tried showing him the "correct" method (according to friends) and he was practically in tears. I am going to try some of the suggestions here. Glad I found this thread!
Peace and Laughter,
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hereinantwerp
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The triangular barrel pencils are really helping my son (8, who still has this trouble). The Waldorf (Stockmar or Lyra Ferby) colored pencils are wonderful, perfect shape. Also Dixon Ticondera is making these black "rubbery" feeling ones that are perfect, I just bought a package tonight for the xmas stocking at Shopko! Not so expensive as the Waldorf ones.
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Topic: Kindergartener hold pencil wrong
