Quick Tips

I'm going to start posting "Quick Tips" as I come across them. If you search for "Quick Tips" at the top of the page, all of the tips will show up there.

Today's tip is pencil grips:

Who knew that 2E kids are notorious for incorrectly holding their pencils. Half the time, they hold pencils in a somewhat painful (or cramping) position. There are several types of pencil grips out there. We believe the best grip is the "Star Grip". Available at our local teacher supply store for a whopping $0.39 each, it's a bargain! For right handed children (ask for left-handed instructions), slide the pencil at the downward pointing arrow. The thumb is placed on the star and the other fingers naturally go where they should.

We also got these totally awesome pencils, the Pen Again Pencil. It's Y-shaped design corrects grips. Besides that, it's totally cool looking and the space aged look makes it a popular pencil among the kids. It made my 2E the 'kid with the cool pencils' instead of the only one forced to use a grip. We found ours at Staples or you can order online. There is a back order that is expected to start filling in April 2009. (The shipment is being held up at the customs port.)

Better finger placement is rapidly taking tears out of writing and homework assignments. He still has a strong aversion to handwriting, but we've noticed a huge improvement within the first week of purchasing these products.