Break all your crayons
Working with kiddos to help build fine motor skills and improve handwriting? Well then...
Stop everything you're doing. Go to your crayon box. Break all of your crayons.
My number one tip for parents and teachers of young students is to only use crayons until a consistent mature grasp exists, and to break all of those crayons into small pieces...
....."Why??" you may be wondering.. I'll tell you why...
1. Crayons provide feedback that markers do not. If you want a dark line with a crayon you have to push hard. When kids use crayons they can actually see their effort (darkness of color) in the final product. This feedback helps kids change their performance, and will help them make the connection that they need to push down to write effectively.
2. Broken crayons make you use a mature grasp. It isIt is pretty impossible to use a gross grasp with a 1/2 inch crayon — and that's the point. We want kids to develop a mature grasp using their pointer finger and thumb. A little crayon facilitates this grasp and strengthens the fingers.
So go right now and break those crayons!
