As therapists in the school setting for many years, one of the most common things teachers notice is poor pencil grasp. And they’re at a loss of how to help, also noting that this is becoming more and more common.
Now, you might be wondering why this is important-don’t many people hold their pencils funny? Yup, they do. And many times there are no problems with those alternate grasp patterns, but other times these alternate patterns can cause pain, or they lose endurance for writing and coloring after a short time. Building up strength in the muscles used to hold a pencil properly also translates to improve overall fine motor function. So why not set your child up for success as best you can?
If you are a parent of a toddler, preschooler or kindergartner, you can use playtime at home to target all the muscles for coloring, writing, cutting, and gluing-and all through play.
1. Gross motor play
Using the large muscles of the body (gross motor skills) is often underestimated as a foundation for fine motor skills. The core and arms must be strong to support the smaller muscles in the hands. Activities like wheelbarrow walking, bear walking, crawling through tunnels, climbing, hanging from monkey bars and playing tag are super fun and a very important precursor to fine motor functioning.
2. Vertical Surface Play
Strengthening the whole arm from shoulders to fingers can be done using a vertical surface like an easel or wall. When your child colors, paints, places stickers, or plays tic tac toe on a vertical surface, she won’t even realize that her arms are getting a workout. Working against gravity, she’s building up strength and stability in her shoulder muscles, which form a solid foundation for coordinated hand skills. You’ll also notice that when she colors or paints, the crayon or brush will naturally fall into the thenar webspace (the soft area between the thumb and forefinger), promoting a tripod grasp.
3. Play with resistive materials
The hands themselves also need to be strong. Play dough and putty are great mediums for your child to strengthen the intrinsic hand muscles. Take out some play scissors, rolling pins, and measuring spoons to encourage lots of squishing, squeezing, and cutting.
4. Play games with small pieces
When children pick up and manipulate small objects, they recruit strength from their arms all the way through to their fingers. Legos, Topple, Apples to Apples, and Light Bright are all great games for this purpose (and for some family fun).
5. Color with broken crayons
Why throw away what can actually be put to good use? Broken crayons are the perfect size for small hands and force the use of only the thumb, index, and middle fingers to color. If your child struggles and complains when using a small crayon, it likely indicates that those hand muscles are a bit weak. Try short spurts at first, along with all the above recommendations.
Bottom Line: Prioritizing both gross and fine motor play is essential for school based function!
