The latest printable resource available from the Your Kids OT Shop!

"Word Search Spot It" is a printable resource designed for children to develop early literacy skills, handwriting, spelling, visual perceptual skills and copying skills.

This printable resource contains pages focusing on CVC words, general words, nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and emotions.

The words are situated within circles to help children to focus on a small area at a time when searching for a matching word. This promotes skills in switching and dividing attention whilst developing visual scanning and figure ground skills.

This printable resource also contains word searches based on themes with matching pictures.

A blank template page also enables the user to design words to suit the indivdiual child or a class.

Words have Australian spelling.

Watch a preview of this product on You-tube. Select a playback speed of 2X to watch it a little faster! 

Does pencil grasp matter? !

Well the short answer is yes. Yes it does matter. 

Occupational therapists have a role in identifying when it is important to address it! 

There has been a lot of talk recently, actually probably since 2012 when Schwellenus et al published their article in the Australian Occupational Therapy Journal (reference below).  Their article report the four pencil grasps found to not affect legibility amongst their small sample.  Changing pencil grasp has been seen as unnecessary and unneeded as long as function is obtained. 

If you are a long time follower, you will have read some my previous articles on grasp.  I do agree that function is the aim of the game when it comes to writing. Pencil grasp is just one aspect that we consider. If you are new to Your Kids OT, you may want to head over to read here with reference to the above article for "Dynamic Pencil Grasp Why Do We teach it?". I discuss the Schwellenus article here as well as the question about when grasp has not yet been established.   I also address "What if my child can't use a normal grasp? Should I change it?"  taking into consideration when fatigue, pain, endurance and legibility are affected. 

Occupational therapists use their clinical reasoning all the time to work out what needs to change, what can remain the same, what skills can be taught or how to do we compensate? 

When we look at pencil grasp,  there are lots of things to consider but one of the main things is actually "pencil control".

Where is control of the pencil coming from?  The shoulder? The elbow? The wrist? The fingers?

What if the child looks like they are using one of the four pencil grasps that are seen as "efficient" but really they don't actually have a hold of the pencil? Pencil slips rather than a good pencil grip?! 

As a clinician and a blogger (and not a researcher), I can only share what I see in my own practice, my own experiences and how I make clinical decisions.  I'm seeing an increasing number of children (of all ages) who allow the pencil to slip whilst they are using it. Their fingers touch the pencil but do they actually have a "grasp" or "hold" of it.  Are they controlling the pencil or is the pencil controlling their movements? 

The pencil might slide so that the webspace of the hand closes up. The fingers might slide so that they end up very close to the nib of the pencil (or up too far away from the nib).  The pencil may even slide so that it ends up pointing backwards rather than forwards.  If we look closely are fingers touching fingers rather than the pencil? 

The affect of this, is loss of pencil control. Loss of pencil control can then lead to wobbly lines for some, poor legibility, fatigue or less writing than others of the same age. 

So what do we do about it? 
In these situations, a silicon pencil grip is very helpful! They allow the fingers to be positioned on the pencil for maximum support.  Silicon pencil grips can relieve a child with fine motor skill difficulties to concentrate on the marks being made on the page (ie. drawing and writing). Many of the children (but not all) we see also struggle with the motor planning and thinking skills to make visual motor connections on the page.  You can head over to this article "From Scribble to Drawing and Writing" if this is also a concern. 

At the same time, we continue to work on fine motor skills and hand strength (with lots of the activities that OTs are fabulous at incorporating into sessions).  You can find browse a few ideas from the YKOT Fine Motor Page or Instagram Page. 
​
I've recently shared a few ideas to bring physical awareness to the important fingers needed or grasping in a video.  My OT children have loved "pencil wars"! The "Losing Pencil Control Video" is also available on You tube HERE. 
​

Did you find this article helpful? Let me know if you have noticed an increase in "pencil slips" !

Cindy is a registered occupational therapist practising in Sydney, Australia.  She has two growing children who are a constant source of inspiration and learning.  Cindy loves working creatively to help children to reach their potential, finding opportunities in everyday living and making learning fun. She is also addicted to making printables (even when they take a long time to complete).  Cindy is the author of the Occupational Therapy blog Your Kids OT.  Read more articles from Your Kids OT at https://www.yourkidsot.com/blog

Cindy is a contributing author of the Functional Skills for Kids Therapy Team.  They have together published THE HANDWRITING BOOK, THE SCISSORS SKILLS BOOK and THE TOILETING BOOK.

​The information on this site is general in nature. The activities are safe for most children, however, you should consult an Occupational Therapist or health professional to address specific movement, sensory or other medical conditions. Affiliate links are used throughout this website to promote recommended products. Your Kids OT receives a small commission if any purchases are made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details. ​​​
Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/yourkidsot
YKOT shop:  https://www.yourkidsot.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html
Teachers Pay Teachers: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Your-Kids-Ot
You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZUz_5nYEOCkj32DiOCQo4Q/featured
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourkidsot
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourkidsot/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/yourkidsot/
​
Reference: ​Schwellnus, H., Carnahan, H., Kushki, A., Polatajko, H., Missiuna, C., & Chau, T. (2012). Effect of pencil grasp on the speed and legibility of handwriting after a 10-minute copy task in Grade 4 children. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 59(3), 180-187. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-1630.2012.01014.x