Do your little ones struggle with handwriting? Is it hard for them to hold a pencil comfortably? Or do they grip it very tightly? Learning to write shouldn’t have to be a struggle. There are so many ways we can help, and one of my favorite tools is the Starter Pencil Kit from Draw Your World.
You probably know the folks at Draw Your World from their wonderful series of work books, Draw Write Now. When my daughter was little, she loved writing and drawing in theses books. Especially the drawing! Click here for my review of the Draw Write Now series. The one on Farms was my little one’s all time favorite.
Draw Your World also offers another great resource – the Starter Pencil Kit, which is full of helpful writing aids and devices to make learning to write easier for your kids.
The Starter Pencil Set includes six aids for handwriting:
1. Pencil Grip
2. Crossover Grip
3. Writing CLAWS
4. Jumbo Grip Pencil
5. Twist ‘n Write Pencil
6. TriWrite Crayon
Each of these aids helps the child to grasp their pencil more easily. The best way to use these aids, I think, is to play with them! Handwriting is so much easier if your child is relaxed, and not using excessive effort in grasping his pencil or crayon. Get these aids out, let your child experiment with what they like best, and do some coloring!
Here’s a great aid to start with – the TriWrite Crayon…
It’s easy to hold, and is actually a crayon! All of these devices can help your child to develop a more mature grasp, called tripod grasp.
The Pencil Starter Kit also comes with tips and advice for using these writing aids, with helpful graphics, including the following instructional sheets:
1. Hold Your Pencil
2. Four Ways to Use TriWrite Crayons
3. Draw Write Now sample lesson
There are so many ways to make learning how to write easier….even playing with small LEGO bricks can help build small muscle coordination. And don’t forget the value of pudding finger painting, too!
For more information, please go to DrawYourWorld and be sure to visit the Pencils and Grips page.
If you are looking for help for early handwriting and grasp skills, my family recommends the Starter Pencil Kit. You might also like my review – Handwriting Helps-Play Pack Cards Review.
Betsy blogs at BJ’s Homeschool, where she writes about high school, college,and all the fun of homeschooling the early years, too. As a veteran homeschooler, Betsy also offers homeschool help to families.
-originally published October 2014
Betsy is a long time eclectic homeschooler who blogs about resources and offers encouragement for moms of kids/teen from preK-12. She and her hubby homeschooled their daughter through high school, and helped her get accepted to each of the colleges on her list. Their daughter is now a college grad working in her chosen field of Communications. Betsy blogs about their journey at BJ's Homeschool about the early years, high school and college too. A former O. T, she also writes about special needs, and handwriting helps. Betsy is the author of "Homeschooling High School with College in Mind, 2nd edition" and also is a homeschool coach. Send her your question on homeschooling. (Free)
My five year old is eager to write. He posts notes all over the house. He seems easily discouraged when he discovers that his notes don’t actually say what he wants them to say.
How nice that your son posts notes around the house. He is learning that written language is used to communicate important things. Thanks for sharing, +Angela Vasquez.
My 6 year old son is doing MUCH better this year, but still struggles. Last year he could NOT grasp his pencil for more than a few minutes, and could not hold it properly. He still complains of his hand hurting after writing for very long. His hold is closer to being right, but he still needs to improve. These would be a HUGE help!!
You describe your son’s writing so well! Sometimes it just takes time. My daughter found it was easier for her to write, when her paper was taped to the frig, of all things. That way, with her paper above her, her wrist was positioned better, and she enjoyed writing her words that way. Thanks for sharing, +Rebekah Shaver.
My 5 year old is a decent writer but sometimes gets frustrated with getting what’s in his head to come through on the paper. This kit would be great to try.
Thanks for sharing, +Erin Cyr. That is a common problem of all good writers!
My middle daughter is 9 and still dislikes writing lower case letters and “small”, and has a hard time with pencil grip- so she is using a grip assist tool… my youngest is 6 and is using a pencil grip as well to help work on her holding a pencil- although her handwriting and control has dramatically improved in the last two weeks. My oldest is almost 12 and still just dislikes the process of writing anything onto paper- these tools look like they would help all three get more comfortable with the actual process of writing.
Thanks for sharing, +Rosanna, and it sounds like you have three up and coming writers. The process of learning to comfortably grasp the pencil can take a while, as you know, and you sound like you are already know just what to do to encourage them.
My sweek son is sure struggling to remember to hd the pencil properly. This would be a great help for him.
Thanks for sharing, +Lynn
We practice knitting and working the beeswax. Wonderful to develop those fine motor skills.
My daughter also liked to knit, and that is such a great suggestion, to encourage others as well. The beeswax can also work to strengthen those little muscles, too. Thanks for sharing, +Irina.
My nephew is just starting kindergarten and hasn’t learned how to hold a pencil properly yet. He can color and holds crayons well enough so hopefully it will be an easy transaction for him.
It sounds like your nephew is benefitting a lot from his coloring, so I think it should be an easy transition, too. Thanks for sharing, +Kim.
Biggest problem is that she (4yo) wants to write words! We are learning how to correct pencil grip.
So you have an up and coming writer, +LeAnn! Thanks for sharing.
I think this is something that will definitely help my son. Thank you!
Thanks for sharing, +Stephanie!
My son is 5.5 and has a hard time writing. He wants to but hates it. I think a big part of his issue is that he doesn’t grip correctly. He probably needs more work strengthening those muscles in his hand.
Thanks for your comment, +Aimee. Grasping the pencil takes a lot of practice for many kids.
My 2.5 yo hasn’t learned how to correctly pencil grip yet. In fact, today, I just broke off some crayons so that it’s shorter — to help him with the pencil grip. It’s interesting you mentioned the crayons aren’t part of the giveaway set anymore. But I reckon the others will still help. Thanks for the giveaway!
Thanks for your comment, +Elaine Goh. The kit includes three short beeswax crayons, like your little one is using at home. What a great idea of yours, to make your crayons shorter!
My six year old has Sensory Processing Disorder and i have a very hard time getting her to write I am hoping your writing tools will help her.
Thanks, +Loretta, for sharing. When it is a struggle, anything to make it fun can be a help, such as drawing in fingerpaint, writing letters in the air, using a container of rice, or beans, and make the letters in that, etc. And sometimes it just takes more time, and that is ok too.