Tips for Teaching Proper Pencil Grip

My almost 5 year old has been struggling with proper pencil grip. It is very common for young children to hold the pencil in different ways. It is important to teach your child students or children proper pencil grip, because poor pencil grip effects their handwriting legibility and speed.

Here are some different strategies that I have used to improve his pencil grip.

Non-Writing Activities

Completing fun activities that work on hand muscle strength and coordination are a great way to improve muscle grip. Here are some examples:

• Sorting pom poms or other small objects with using large tweezers. Children can sort the pom poms into muffin tins, ice trays, cups or a sorting tray. My son loved doing this activity. The tweezers I linked are great for little hands and large enough to move pom poms or other similar sized items.

• Playing with Play-doh. Kids love Play-doh and it is a great way for them to build hand strength.
• Using a spray bottle. Have your child use a spray bottle to clean or they can do a fun science activity like spraying colored vinegar on baking soda to watch it fizz.
• Beads!! Perler beads, stringing beads to make jewelry, sorting them with their pincher fingers are all great ways for them to improve their hand muscle tone.
• Painting. Getting your kids to paint anything whether it is on paper, rocks, wood is a great way to introduce them to holding a writing utensil and improving their grip.

Strategies to Help Kids Hold Their Pencil Correctly

I have tried many different ways to help students and my own children hold their pencil with proper grip. Here are a few:

• The Pencil Pinch: Place a pencil in front of your child with the pointy pencil tip facing him. Have them pinch the pencil towards the tip using their thumb and pointer finger. Then, swing the pencil back so that it rests on their hand between the two fingers. This method has worked the best for my son. It’s easy for him to remember and you don’t need any extra materials.
• The Rubberband Trick: Put a pencil in a rubberband. Then, twist the rubberband tone time o make a hole. Next, place the child’s writing hand through the big hole and place it on their wrist. Have them hold the pencil. This will help keep their pencil at the right angle and in the right position. My son thought this trick was fun, and it worked. However, every time they need to put their pencil down they have to take the rubberband off, and it takes a little bit of time to get their hand positioned properly.
• Pencil Gripper: You may also want to buy a pencil gripper for your child to place on their pencil while writing. These can be very helpful in helping students grip properly and are easy to use. These are my pencil gripper choice.
• Golf Pencils: Believe it or not, golf pencils are a great way to improve pencil grip. For many years I thought that kindergartners should use the large beginner pencils, but it turns out a smaller pencil is a better choice. A golf pencil is thin which improves muscle strength in hands. It is also short which naturally encourage kids to use the proper pincer form.

There are a few tips to help your children with their pencil grip. Remember that developing a good pencil grip takes time. Also, toddlers and preschoolers may not have the fine motor coordination to pick up the skill right away. I’d love to hear if you tried one of these tips! Let me know in the comments below.