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Pencils: Long, Short, Skinny or Fat?
Perhaps the most frequent inquiry I receive by email and in person involves the length and diameter of pencils young children should use for pre-writing activities. First, let me say that like with most elements of education, one size, style, or type does not fit all. Young children have different preferences and possess different levels of fine motor control. This means that educators and parents serve children well by providing a wide-variety of writing tools to engage children and facilitate increased control of writing tools. However, in general a shorter pencil (2-3 inches) allows for more fine motor control by young children with small, developing hands. A long, traditional pencil in a young child's hand may compromise control - think of yourself wielding a 15" carnival-type pencil to take copious notes at an educational workshop - that would not be very functional. Try it and find out! Provide both wide and narrow-diameter, SHORT tools to assess children's hand control. Reserve the long pencils for the second half of kindergarten or first-grade when fine motor control is more established. |
