January 23 is National Handwriting Day!

What a lovely day it is today for Little Pencil ✏️! National Handwriting Day celebrates the need for good penmanship which starts with a proper and automatic pencil grip. The pencil grip is often frowned upon by early childhood educators as too confining, too dictatorial, too impossible; nothing could be further from the truth. Truth be told, an automatic pencil grip is liberating as it gives room and space to create using that important learning tool, ✏️The Pencil ✏️! Not only does a proper pencil grip help with handwriting, it helps with coloring, drawing, painting; just about any and every tool that needs precision and ease of handling. 

  Carla Grobler    an OT expert states the following on Association For the Education and Care of Young Children (AECYC) website 

“An efficient pencil grasp facilitates legibility, letter formation, speed and endurance. An efficient pencil grasp is one in which the writing tool is controlled only through finger movements. This occurs when the pinkie side of the hand supports the whole hand against the writing surface, allowing the other fingers to hold and move the pencil/pen/crayon.”

That’s absolutely right Carla! So let’s celebrate today by embracing excellent handwriting and a good, proper grasp of that pencil. 

✏️  Have a wonderful, handwriting day everyone! ✏️