This morning I substituted for a teacher's helper in 3rd grade Sunday school. Out of 20 little rascals, probably 5 of them had a perfect tripod grasp when writing and drawing with a regular diameter pencil. At least two of them had those horrendous supinated grasps and there were many varieties of lateral grasps. The students were able to work for 15+ minutes, writing legibly and drawing, with no outward signs of fatigue or discomfort.
Some of these sweeties had lived all their lives in the USA and several of them had spent at least their early years in the Sudan and other faraway places.
Sure, having an efficient grasp is very nice but my experience this morning showed me that it doesn't seem to make a big deal of difference in handwriting if the student's pencil grasp is not picture perfect. Kinda makes me question which factors might matter more when it comes to functional, legible handwriting in school.
2 comments:
I think this is so important for us to remember. I often get referrals for students because they have an awkward grasp. And, when I observe them I can see that it is functional for them. That's what really matters.
I agree 100% about the grasp. Sometimes it is just ok to let a child be after a certain age if they are functional because it is SO difficult to change and almost a losing battle. Now a days so much is keyboarding or pressing buttons on Smart phone etc. To me, learning to keyboard correctly and quickly is way more important then perfect pencil grasp.
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