How to teach a child to hold a pencil correctly: tips for parents

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Baby begins to master writing skills long before he becomes a schoolboy. The fact is that drawing with felt-tip pens or a brush, the child develops fine motor skills, which directly affects the underline in the future. But at the same time, it is important to explain to the baby even at preschool age how to properly position the writing tools in the hand. In our material, we will share pedagogical secrets on how to teach a child to hold a pencil correctly.

When to start?

Teach your baby to properly hold felt-tip pens or pencils in small hands, you need to start already when the baby first tries to use such stationery for its intended purpose. Adults need to demonstrate by their own example how to grab a tool. Then correctly position the pencil in the baby's hand. But do not hope that immediately after such a lesson the child will learn the knowledge gained. In order to consolidate the skill, you will need regular reminders and additional exercises aimed at strengthening the hand and developingfine motor skills. See below for more information on how to teach your child to hold a pencil.

Example of adults

It is known that small children repeat everything after the people around them. Not sure how to teach a child to hold a pencil correctly? Start with yourself - always hold the pen in the right grip! What is the correct position of the writing tool? The pencil should be held with three fingers: middle, index and little fingers at a distance of 1 centimeter from the writing rod. The ring finger and little finger should be relaxed. In this case, the hand should not be tense.

Should I teach a preschooler?

How to teach a child to hold a pencil in his hands and why do you need to do this? The fact is that this skill directly affects the further progress of the child in school. Incorrect grip on the pen significantly reduces the speed of writing assignments. In addition, the incorrect position of the tool leads to overstrain of the hand and fingers - this negatively affects not only the student's handwriting, but also leads to a decrease in interest and a positive attitude towards the learning process.

Therefore, it is so important to teach the baby to use it correctly in the first stages of familiarization with the pencil.

Choosing writing materials

Stationery stores offer a huge range of different, sometimes unusual, pencils, felt-tip pens, pens. Of course, children like bright colorful writing materials. But while the majorityof them, in practice, turn out to be unsuitable for direct use as a result of the fact that they have an uncomfortable, irregular shape.

How to teach a child to hold a pencil correctly - it is necessary, first of all, to choose high-quality stationery. So, the diameter of the writing instrument should not exceed 1 centimeter. It is advisable to opt for multi-faceted pencils, as they do not slip in your hand.

The most convenient option are pens or felt-tip pens that have a rubberized part.

Develop fine motor skills

How to teach a child to hold a pencil? It is necessary to train the little fingers, in particular, it is necessary to develop a "pinch grip". So, for the development of fine motor skills, the following classes are effective:

• modeling from plasticine and s alt dough;
• tearing pieces of paper;
• stringing and collecting beads;
• button fastening;
• search for small items in the sand.

Such exercises contribute to the development of fine motor skills, in particular, form the grip of objects with three fingers. The acquired skill will help the baby quickly learn how to hold a pencil in his hands.

Effective learning techniques

How to teach a child to hold a pencil correctly - use the techniques below:

1. Invite your child to draw with crayons, no more than three centimeters long. It will not work to capture such a small piece with a “cam”, so the child will take it with three fingers. Explain to the baby that pencils and felt-tip pens should be held in the same way.
2. Let a child play with clothespins. To do this, you can use ready-made templates. For example, talk about the fact that the hedgehog has lost its needles and ask them to return them to their place - for this you need to attach clothespins to the cardboard blank of the animal. Pay the preschooler's attention to how his fingers work while doing this. Offer your child a pencil (while reminding about the correct grip) to decorate the hedgehog.
3. How to teach a child to hold a pencil correctly with an eraser or napkin? This method is suitable for older preschool children. To do this, it is necessary that the baby grab the writing instrument with three fingers, and with the ring and little fingers hold a napkin rolled into a square or an elastic band twisted into a tourniquet.

Special Assistants

How to teach a child to hold a pencil correctly? The photo below clearly demonstrates the use of a special rubber nozzle. Thanks to this device, the baby will easily remember the correct position of the fingers when grabbing the writing instrument. In addition, such nozzles are made in the form of various animals, they are distinguished by bright colors, which cannot leave the baby indifferent. Therefore, learning with the use of such devices is interesting, and most importantly - effective.

Fixing the skill

How to teach a child to hold a pencilcorrectly in the hands - regular exercise is necessary. For example, to reinforce a skill, you can offer your child the following tasks:

• connect the pattern by dots;
• shade shapes;
• circle around;
• draw by cells and others.

We have given some useful tips for parents on how to teach a child to hold a pencil. But it is also worth remembering that the baby learns only the information that interested him. Therefore, training should not take place in a forced form, but should be in the nature of a game activity and an entertaining pastime.