Get A Grip...Write Out Of The Box!

Today's guest blogger is Dr. Marianne Gibbs, EdD, OTR/L, the creator and presenter of Write Out Of The Box

Dr. Marianne Gibbs is an occupational therapist and dynamic, national early childhood educational speaker. Dr. Gibbs received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1985 from Claremont McKenna College, Master of Occupational Therapy Degree in 2000 from Texas Woman’s University, and Doctorate in Educational Leadership with a Specialization in Curriculum and Instruction in 2010. In addition to being the owner of Gibbs Consulting, Inc., Dr. Gibbs is also a contributing author to the Frog Street Press Pre-K curriculum and Benson Handwriting programs. As an entrepreneurial educator since 2004, Dr. Gibbs supports the appropriate development of young children by providing once in a lifetime workshops - every time!

If you like what you read here, join us at the Annual Conference for her session on Saturday, March 13 at 12:35 pm!

The development of a functional pencil grasp is a lengthy process that occurs between three and six years of age in typically developing children. See the three-finger, or tripod pencil grasp shown in pictures to left and right. Guide the development of pencil grasp in an engaging manner! As an occupational therapist, I recommend expressing the tripod pencil grasp position in the following fun, child-friendly terms to build interest and fine motor skill patterns: Busy Fingers, Sleeping Fingers, and Pillow.

The Busy Fingers: Thumbkin, Pointer, and Middle Man. The Busy Fingers hold and manipulate tools such as tweezers, strawberry hullers, mini tongs, and eventually pencils with proficiency.

The Sleeping Fingers: Ring Man and Pinky. The Sleeping Fingers stabilize the hand in order for the Busy Fingers to play with or manipulate tools in a muscularly efficient way. The Sleeping Fingers “sleep” in the palm of the hand on a Pillow. Separating the Busy Fingers from the Sleeping Fingers allows for “mobility upon stability” in the hand and the approximation of tripod pencil grasp in purposeful play activities.

A Pillow is any object that can be held comfortably in the Sleeping Fingers thus emphasizing the separate roles of the two sides of the hand. Pillows can be a pom pom,  cotton ball, make-up sponge, penny, piece of candy, marble, etc…

Sleeping Fingers stabilize the hand so the Busy Fingers can efficiently manipulate implements, toys, and eventually writing tools such as pencils and pens. Think tools and toys before pencils and worksheets to develop efficient, functional pencil grasp skills that last a lifetime!

Tripod Grasp Developers:

• Wind-up Toys
• Spin Tops
• Short (golf) Pencils
• “Nubs and Stubs” of Crayons and Chalk
• Crayon Rocks
• Tongs, Tweezers, and Picker Uppers (with a Pillow!)

Get a GREAT Grip…Write Out of the Box!

Dr. Marianne Gibbs, EdD, OTR

See www.writeoutofthebox.com for more information, products, and services on fine motor development!