Fluency and Pencil Control

A foundation to writing is being able to control a pencil (or writing tool) with a relaxed hand to form the lines and curves needed to make recognisable letters, numbers or symbols.

We often jump in too early trying to teach kids to recognise and reproduce letters and numbers, when they haven't had a chance to master controlling the pencil for lines, curves and shapes.  Writing also requires the integration of visual skills with motor skills to piece together how lines, curves and shapes stick together to form a letter or number.

Mastering lines, curves and shapes will bring smooth pencil control and fluency is so important with all writing (print and cursive) and drawing.

Asking children to draw over "printables" is beneficial for eye-hand coordination and having a visual guide to drawing. {Refer to this post for free pre-writing printables.}  However, it is also important that children can draw lines, curves and shapes without visual prompts {which is why I like worksheets that fade the visual prompts like these ones}.  It is important for children to "feel" where their arm, hand and fingers are during this movement (kinesthetic learning) as well as plan how to move their arm, hand and fingers to reproduce the pattern.

The end of the school holidays and back to preschool for Mr 4.  Miss 7 and I are having a "mummy and daughter" day as she still has another week off.  

What do you think of when I say "Fluency and pencil control"?  

Fluency patterns available from Your Kids OT Shop.

I have created a "Fluency Patterns Sheet" which has a set of 14 fluency patterns.  Here are some ways you can use this sheet to help your child with pencil control and fluency.  Print, cut out and laminate each fluency pattern.

• Tracing over pre-writing patterns with a finger, paintbrush or  dry-erase marker.
• Provide hand over hand (that is guide your child's hand by holding it) to draw the fluency patterns.
• Draw a set of pictures on a white board and randomly pick out a fluency pattern to draw a path from one picture to another (see photograph collage below).
• Use fluency pattern cards as a time-filler in a Kindergarten classroom for independent drawing on paper.  See if your children can reproduce the fluency pattern by calling out the name.
• Use fluency patterns cards in a pre-school environment for independent copying on paper.
• Make rainbow fluency patterns using different colours for the same pattern.
• Use grid paper/books to draw straight line fluency patterns (such as zig zags or castle)

You can purchase these fluency patterns from theYour Kids OT shop or Teachers Pay Teachers (ps. it costs less than a cup of coffee).  Try them today.