Pencil Grips and a Give Away!

What is squishy, * "feels like a booger without being slimy" * and comes in some pretty cool colors?  If you guessed a pencil grip you may win a set of your own! When asked by The Pencil Grip Inc. to review their pencil grips, I had just been given two of these same grips by our occupational therapist. She has been at her job for a long time and I feel she is one of the best in the business. She gave them to me saying she had tried many over the years but these are by far the best...So would I be willing to review them? Yes, please!    *Directly quoted from a first grader!*

Look at that concentration! 

I had an eager batch of students ready to try them. Their excitement did wear off when they realized that they would not be able to hold their pencils the wrong way. Over the years I've noticed more and more students struggling with correct pencil grip. I can only guess that it could be that children are asked to do more and more writing at an earlier age than they once were. Perhaps their fingers are not developmentally ready for such small motor skill tasks causing them to form pencil holding habits that are quite difficult to break. I can see that these pencil grips may be a great tool to helping break some of these bad habits.

I would recommend several practices when implementing them into your handwriting instruction. Make sure they are placed low on the pencil. Keep your initial times using the grips short and keep it fun. Sit with your students and show them the right way to grip the grip! I used pens to introduce them making it even more fun! Monitor their grip as they begin using them. The grips won't do what we want them to do if they are not used properly. Our goal of course is to get students to be able to grip the pencil correctly and not fatigue too quickly. I would highly recommend these grips and found them to be an effective tool in handwriting instruction.

 Which grip is right for you?  From the left is the  Crossover Grip  provides support while keeping fingers from crossing over each other. The middle Pinch Grip is possibly my favorite for my students. It guides fingers to the right position without being too rigid.  The far right is The Pencil Grip that worked great for my over grippers! I liked using this one the best myself. I was able to hold the pencil comfortably and had good control all while feeling that my pencil was riding on a pillow!!
And look at all the cool colors...
 The most amazing part is you could win a set of  the three grip training kit for yourself. I'm able to give away three kits. I hope you are one of the lucky winners! To enter, just comment below. Please leave your e-mail address so I can contact you if you are a winner.
Can't wait to get some of your own? You can buy your own right HERE!  Winners have been notified!