| Lightly pinch the pencil between the thumb and the index finger and support it with the middle finger. |
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Is your child griping the pencil correctly? At first, both my children awkwardly held the pencil; they wrapped all their fingers and thumb around it making writing difficult. With some assistance they eventually learned to hold the pencil correctly. Many kindergarten curriculums will devote some attention to this for those children that are not already holding a pencil correctly; however, most children learn this prior to entering kindergarten. As noted above, using both her tumb and index finger, a child lightly pinches the pencil and then uses her middle finger to support it.
| An alternative method is to support the pencil with the ring finger and pinch with the thumb, index and middle fingers. |
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Since I am accustomed to the first method, I find the alternative method clumsy. But this isn’t about me so teach your child how to hold a pencil based on her needs! If you are like me you prefer some pictures to compliment written instructions. Below you will find some illustrations on how to hold a pencil.
Holding a Pencil
Holding a pencil correctly will help a child write legible.
[…] Holding a pencil correctly, […]