How to Write With a Pencil Grip

A pencil grip may help a beginning writer.

The skill of holding a pencil and using it to form letters and numbers often challenges young children. Because little hands may lack the dexterity necessary to control a pencil effectively, you can modify a pencil slightly to make writing easier for your child. A pencil grip can help beginning writers learn how to hold a pencil and use it to write. When children write with a pencil grip, they may learn this fine motor skill more easily.

Instructions

1. Place the pencil grip onto the pencil. Put the bottom of the pencil on a flat surface with the pointed end facing up. Push the pencil grip down onto the pencil with the narrower end of the grip at the top and the wider end at the bottom, if your grip has this design. Position the grip so the top edge is approximately 1/2 inch away from the sharpened portion of the pencil.

2. Examine the pencil grip for finger placement. Some pencil grips have a special shape with indentations to help with finger placement. Right-handed writers should place their thumbs on the indentation marked with a small "r." Left-handed writers should place their thumbs on the indentation marked with a small "l." Position the first and second fingers on the other side of the grip into the smaller indentations. Instruct the child to keep his fingers comfortably bent on the pencil grip.

3. Provide the child with paper and encourage the child to write while holding the pencil with the pencil grip. Holding the pencil grip, the child should exhibit more control over the pencil and an improved ability to write.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep writing lessons short and positive, stopping before the child becomes tired or frustrated.

• A pencil grip can also assist adults with physical limitations.

References

• Draw Your World: Pencil Grips
• Draw Your World: How to Hold a Pencil