go to the handwriting without tears website.
I am a first grade teacher and we have rubber pencil gribs that we give to students that have this problem. The grib forces them to hold the pencil the right way. They are very neat! A teacher that I work with ordered them out of a teacher magazine but I bet you could find them at a teacher store or google, handwrighting pencil gribs, or something similar to that and I bet you could find them.
Mother of 2 yr old boy and First grade teacher
I actually got a bad mark in kindergarten as well for holding my pencil 'wrong'. That still hasn't changed, and my handwriting is just fine. In fact, my family brings cards and other papers for me to handwrite for them. The only difference is I have a 'writing bump' on a different finger than almost everyone else. If your daughter is more comfortable holding her pencil the way she is, and her handwriting is legible and as a 6 year old's handwriting should be, my vote is to let her win this battle. Good luck!
Hi Katie, the kindergartens here use large triangle shaped pencils to help the kids hold them right. You can buy these at an office store. Also, to build up her finger muscles let her string beads, cereal, or pasta onto yarn (you can make a "needle" on in out of tape). You can also make her some sewing cards out of thick paper or cardboard. Punch holes in a shape on the paper and let her sew in and out of the holes with her yarn. As her fingers and hands get stronger her handwriting will improve.
You can buy the pencil grips the other woman mentioned at any homeschool store. There's one in Lewisville on Main St.,called Home Educators Resource and I think Lakeshore by the Galleria has them. They're cheap and fit over any standard pen or pencil. We use them at the school where I teach. It helps.
There are several different kinds of pencil grips available at a teacher supply store. I would recommend trying a few to see if it gives her more control with her pencil. Also, any hand strengthening activities would help with her fine motor control; ex. bath squeeze toys, water guns, play dough, etc.
From a hand therapist.....
Well not sure what you call strange, but wait for a little while and see if she corrects herself. You might want to show her how you hold her pencil. Place her hands on the pencil the right way to show her, but if she is still wanting to hold it strange, then let her.
Is she using her left or right hand?
Can she write anything that looks like it should. If so again leave her alone.
If she is going to school, ask her te tacher about it.
Not everyone does the same thing, nor do they hold a pencil the same way.
If she is left handed do not switch her to her right hand.
for I've been told it can mess up the brain. Let her do the switching.
hopefully this helps.
Hi Katie!
To help correct the grip, let her use crayons that you have broken into thirds. This way you are on making her do it. It's just that the crayon is so small it will automatically correct her grip. This strategy is from "Handwriting Without Tears". Many public schools use it!
This may sound silly and since my daughter is only 1 1/2 I have not yet had this issue, but another mother I know told me this. Her daughter was having trouble grasping the pencil (she said her fingers got tired). She bought modeling clay for her to play with. Something about the kneading and shaping of the clay helped her to better control her hand and finger movement...and built strength, I imagine. It worked for them.
Hi Katie.
You can try some of the techniques from the website below. Our son had the same issue. Placing a cotton ball in the palm of his hand while writing did the trick for him.
http://www.drawyourworld.com/grip.html
She'll do great in no time!
Take Care!
Debbie
Hi Katie! I have been a pediatric OT for over 10 years. You have received some good information in your other responses; however, I want to tell you to NOT IGNORE it. Now is the time to make corrections and get on course for a lifetime of handwriting success! Bad habits are VERY HARD to change! Our children are writing more and more, earlier and earlier.
The 4 things I would recommend to try first are: 1. Hand strengthening/fine motor activities (playdoh, lacing beads, etc.) 2. Show her an appropriate grasp and give her small writing utensils (broken crayons, short pencils, PipSqueaks markers by Crayola, small pieces of chalk, etc.) I probably would wait on a pencil grip that goes on a pencil. 3. Get vertical....try writing, coloring, painting, etc. on an easel or on paper magneted to the fridge, etc. This vertical position helps with wrist position and lots of other important aspects of handwriting. 4. Definitely go to www.hwtears.com This is an OT-developed handwriting program which is EASY to teach and use, and it is FUN! They have a lot of tips and tricks as well as a very affordable cirriculum you could use. And, yes, it is an approved cirriculum in the state of Texas which some public schools have already adopted.
As you can see, some of these tips have already been recommended by your fellow mamas here at Mamasource! I praise you for your attention to your daughter's education!! Good Luck, make it fun, give lots of praise for your darling as she works on it!!
Let us know if you need anything else!
Little Hands OT Services
214-906-3217 or 469-855-3895
Making up a song could help. My teacher friend taught my son how to use his fingers correctly with a song that says:
1, 2, & 3 do the work, 4 and 5 go for a ride...
meaning the numbers of the fingers,
fingers 1, 2, & 3 do the work and fingers 4 & 5 aren't involved and just go for a ride :)
Cheers,
Alexis
Hi there,
I had a similar problem when i was a little girl and it was because i am left handed and not right handed. I had a problem using sissors and eating with fork until my mother realized that maybe i should try the other hand. Now i get compliments all the time on my beautiful handwriting. Just a suggestion.
manual dexterity does not come early in children - it comes over time - it cannot be forced or rushed - she is too young to be forced to hold a pencil correctly and try to write - try putting her in a Montessori School where they do not rush it.
Is your daughter using a "fat" pencil? Using these chunky pencils is necessary to help young muscles develop. I definitely suggest that you get these for your daughter. Also she needs to be coloring with the chunky crayons.
Another thing you can do to help her develop her small motor coordination is get her play-dough or make it with flour and salt. It is a really easy recipe. I don't know the proportions off the top of my head, but you can easily find it online.
Do show her how to hold the pencils and crayons correctly and encourage her to try these finger positions. It will probably take her awhile to become comfortable with this new way to hold a pencil/crayon, but it will be worth it in the long run.
About me: Elementary school teacher for 30 years.
Hi Katie,
My 11 year old struggled with handwriting and fine motor skills in Kindergarten too. It took her years to catch up. Can you get some Occupational Therapy for her? Perhaps through the school? You need to intervene now. Also, an easel would be good. It forces her wrist and hand to be in the correct position while writing.
She just needs a little bit of extra help - and lots of patience and love!
Good luck!
Emilie
Unfortunately, the only way to fix handwriting is practice. The good thing, however, is you just need about 5-10 minutes per day. There are several websites that allow you to print worksheets that teach a slant, circle, line, all letters, and you can even create your own. One website that I use is www.handwritingworkheets.com. if you just correct your child and work with htem, it usually works out, but developmentally, it is usually just a fine motor skill that has to develop with age. Hope this helps.
I used to hold my pen/pencil incorrectly as a child. I don't know how i learned to do it that way, but I got used to it. I rested the pen on my right ring finger instead of my middle finger. I had to purposely train myself to use the correct finger because my ring finger was getting a bump and it's permanently a little crooked. I think I was about 8-10 when I made myself do this. I used little rubber cushions on the bottom part of the pen to help me. It softened the grip and made it easier for me to not notice that I was holding it with a different finger than I was used to then. I don't know where we bought the grips, but I'm sure any of the teachers would know since this is something that many kids go through. Good luck with everything and God Bless You. :) Valerie
She just needs to build up the muscles in her hand. There is a company called Little Giant Steps, here in North Dallas that has many idea's and even little games that will strenghten those muscles. You can try putting something like a rubber band around her 5 fingers and have her open and close her fingers several times, do this daily. Then give her one of those squishy balls and have her squeeze the ball several times, every day. You can buy big pencils, or even pencil "cozies" (little cushy things that slip onto the pencil and they are shaped so that the correct fingers fit in the correct spot - Mardel's has these). Good luck and good job working to correct this before it becomes a problem!
My daughter had the same problem, and she is left-handed like some of the other posters commented. Using a pencil grip was the best thing for her. This website shows what the correct pencil grip looks like:
http://www.thepencilgrip.com/cat.php?k=27468
We purchased ours at Mardel. Very inexpensive, and they really helped a lot.