Children who are encouraged to write with a variety of utensils at an early age will later learn to execute their fine motor skills more easily, more effectively, and with greater confidence than children who do not have this encouragement.

Though the mastery of one’s fine motor skills take time, they can be practiced and developed throughout the course of one’s preschool experience. Occupational therapists agree that the tripod grasp is the preferred mode of writing in the latent preschool years and into middle childhood.

This grasp provides the most control of a pencil. To refine the muscles required for this grasp, we practiced dabbing spots onto a paper squash with pom poms and clothespins. Since we were learning about squash and other fall vegetables, this fit in perfectly with our theme!