Great Grippers

Great  Grippers

It’s normal for young children to use a fisted grasp on crayons (A,B on figure) however we want to make sure that they progress from holding a crayon in their palm to holding it with their fingers. An efficient grasp is one where the thumb and index finger create a circular webspace. This allows for skillful manipulation. So always look for that open circle between the thumb and index finger. Chances are your child is holding his pencil correctly!

I highly suggest that all kids use grippers on their pencils when starting to learn how to write. This will strengthen the correct muscles and help create a correct grasp on pencils. The gripper can be removed once an efficient grasp is established.

These are my favorite grippers:

You can purchase grippers right here on MissMancy’s Shop or comes included in MissMancy’s Handwriting Starter Kit

1-    The Pencil Grip. This is made of soft plastic and comfortable for kids. For a RIGHT-handed child, have him place his thumb where it’s marked by the letter R (for LEFT-handed children place their thumb on the letter L), index finger at the top and all other fingers tucked inside the palm of the hand. (I like to tell children to pinch and then all other fingers under!)

2-    The Pencil Grip Crossover.  This is the same as The Pencil Grip but it has wings. I use it for children that cross over their thumb over the index finger.