The kid begins to master writing skills long before he becomes a schoolboy. The fact is that when painting with felt-tip pens or with a brush, the child develops fine motor skills, which immediately affects the stress. But at the same time, it is important to explain to the child how to properly place writing tools in his hand even in preschool age. In our material we will share educational secrets on how to teach a child to hold a pencil correctly.
When to start?
To teach the baby the right way to hold felt-tip pens or pencils in small pens, it is necessary 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 place the pencil in the baby’s hand. But do not hope that immediately after such a lesson the child will learn the knowledge. In order for the skill to consolidate, you will need regular reminders and additional exercises aimed at strengthening the hand and developing fine motor skills. Read more about how to teach a child to hold a pencil, read below.
Adult example
It is known that young children repeat everything after people around them. Not sure how to teach your child to hold a pencil correctly? Start with yourself - always hold the handle with the right grip! What is the correct location for the writing tool? The pencil should be held with three fingers: middle, index and little finger at a distance of 1 centimeter from the writing rod. The ring finger and little finger should be in a relaxed state. In this case, the hand should not be tense.
Do I need to train a preschooler?
How to teach a child to hold a pencil in his hands and why should this be done? The fact is that this skill directly affects the child's further performance at school. Improper grip on the pen significantly reduces the speed of writing. In addition, the incorrect location of the tool leads to overstrain of the hand and fingers - this negatively affects not only the student’s emphasis, but also leads to a decrease in interest and a positive attitude towards the educational process.
Therefore, it is so important at the first stages of familiarization with a pencil to teach the baby to use it correctly.
Choosing writing instruments
Stationery stores offer a huge assortment of very different, sometimes unusual, pencils, felt-tip pens, pens. Of course, bright colorful writing instruments like children. But at the same time, most of them in practice are 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 multifaceted pencils, as they do not slip in the hand.
The most convenient option are pens or felt-tip pens that have a rubberized part.
We develop fine motor skills
How to teach a child to hold a pencil in his hands? You need to train your little fingers, in particular, you need to develop a “plucked grip”. So, for the development of fine motor skills, the following activities are effective:
- modeling from plasticine and salt dough;
- tearing pieces of paper;
- stringing and picking up beads;
- button fastening;
- search for small items in the sand.
Such exercises contribute to the development of fine motor skills, in particular, form the capture of objects with three fingers. The acquired skill will help the baby learn to hold the pencil in his hands faster.
Effective Learning Techniques
How to teach a child to hold a pencil correctly - use the techniques described below:
- Invite your child to draw with crayons, no more than three centimeters long. It is not possible to capture such a small piece with the “cam”, so the child will take it with three fingers. Explain to the crumb that pencils and felt-tip pens need to be kept the same.
- Let the child play with clothespins. For this, you can use ready-made templates. For example, tell us that the hedgehog lost its needles and ask them to return to their place - for this you need to attach clothespins to the cardboard blank of the animal. Pay attention to the preschooler how his fingers work. Offer your child a pencil (while recalling the correct grip) to decorate the hedgehog.
- How to teach a child to hold a pencil correctly with an eraser or a napkin? This method is suitable for children of preschool age. For this, it is necessary that the baby grab the writing tool with three fingers, and with the nameless and little fingers hold a rolled-up napkin or a gum twisted into a harness.
Special assistants
How to teach a child to hold a pencil correctly? The photo below demonstrates the use of a special rubber nozzle. Thanks to this device, the baby will easily remember the correct arrangement of the fingers when grabbing a writing tool. 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, training using such devices is interesting, and most importantly - effectively.
We fix the skill
How to teach a child to hold a pencil correctly in his hands - regular exercises are necessary. For example, to consolidate a skill, you can offer your baby the following tasks:
- connect the drawing by points;
- shade shapes;
- circle around;
- draw by cells and others.
We gave some useful recommendations to 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 interests him. Therefore, training should not take place in a compulsory form, but have the character of a game activity and entertaining pastime.