Pinch and Flip your pencil!

A clever way to encourage a dynamic pencil grasp...without a lot if hand re-positioning and instruction.  Just pinch and flip.

I have seen this idea in several places and I can't remember the original source, however it may have been here at Mama OT.

So what do you do?

• Pass the pencil to your child with the nib pointing towards them.  
  
• Ask your child to "pinch the pencil".
  
• Ask your child (assist them initially) to flip the pencil upwards and over towards their hand.  The arrows in the photograph above show you the direction the pencil should move.
  
• The pencil then rests on the webspace and the pencil sits neatly between the thumb and index finger.

The dynamic pencil grasp is desirable  because the hand is positioned with an open web space (the nice circle made by the thumb and index finger) and it allows these fingers to move the pencil as required when writing.  It is the preferred grasp for writing speed, control and letter formation.

Have you tried the "pinch and flip"?

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