Looking for help learning to hold crayon

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-06-2004
Looking for help learning to hold crayon
6
Wed, 01-18-2006 - 11:40am

My son will be four next month.

Candice, mom to three amazing kids, Maddy, Sam and Owen

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
Wed, 01-18-2006 - 11:46am

My DD turned 4 at the end of December, and she's only now beginning to learn how to hold a crayon the right way. Basically, whenever she picks up a crayon, I put it in her hands the correct way. She still can't do it herself -- if I'm not there to place it correctly, she usually just holds the crayon in a fist -- but she's at the point now where if I put it in her hands correctly she's able to hold it there while she colors. (At the beginning she'd just move it back into her fist again.)

I'd love to know if there are any products/techniques as well -- but right now I'm just working on the notion that if I do it for her enough times, gradually she'll develop the muscle memory to hold it correctly herself...?

Jennnifer

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-15-2006
Wed, 01-18-2006 - 12:10pm

Hi Again...

The OT at Matt's school told me to break the crayon in half, so that they can't hold it in a fist like position..the are forced to use fingers to hold it. Matt is left handed so I always get confused while trying to position his fingers. So as Matt got a little older I put "markers" on his crayons. Basically, you have your child hold the crayon in the correct position and you mark the spots (permanent marker works) where their fingers are supposed to be. If you use different colors its easier. I traced Matt's hand on a piece of white paper and colored his fingertips the colors that corresponded to where they needed to go on the crayon. Keep in mind that the "markers" are for full sized crayons, the big fat kind work best when they are first learning to color and draw, however I was told that the little ones are better for working on their fine motor skills. I bought about a dozen packs of crayons during all the big back to school sales, so I always have plenty on hand when they start breaking.

Hope this helps

Carol

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-19-2005
Wed, 01-18-2006 - 1:10pm

Your children are adorable!

My DS is 3.5 and has quite a bit of fine motor trouble as well as problems with bilateral coordination. He really resists holding crayons, pencils etc., on the one hand. But on the other hand, he is starting to read and has a big desire to write. He gets very frustrated that he can't do it correctly yet.

So our OT uses a system called "Handwriting without tears." They have a website, that has the theory and all the products. I did purchase a couple of the pre-K pre-writing books. But on the webpage there is a "for parents" section that has lots of good ideas. I don't think you really need all the products, but you can poke around the site and get some good ideas. Our OT has all the stuff anyway and I just improvise.

I still mostly do "hand over hand" while using the booklet. I also try to give him time to color however he wants to.

Here's the website:

www.hwtears.com/

Katherine

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-06-2004
Wed, 01-18-2006 - 2:03pm

Thank you all so much for the great ideas, and so fast!

Candice, mom to three amazing kids, Maddy, Sam and Owen

Avatar for kingalex
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Wed, 01-18-2006 - 2:38pm

One more idea - besides breaking the crayon in half as Carol had suggested, my ds' OT used to suggest we have him writing with the paper upright (like on a blackboard or easel). For some reason, this would force him to hold the crayon/pencil more appropriately.

Also, it took Alex until he was about 6 years old to "chose" a hand to write with - not uncommon for kids with autism to be ambidextrous in the early years. At age 8, he now writes with his right hand, but holds eating utensils with his left.

Laurie

Laurie

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 01-18-2006 - 6:21pm

Hi,


A few ideas for this.