We are working on pencil grip for a certain school boy in our house. He has a weird way of using his middle finger where his pointer should be, and he doesn’t like being corrected. So I’m trying to come up with a few new drawing and writing activities that are so cool and different that he won’t mind so much when I ask him to hold his pencil correctly.
Today we got out some new goodies to explore while we were drawing. Today we were drawing and exploring with geometry tools – a ruler, a protractor, a compass, and a ‘curve’.
First we tried the interesting looking compass. A compass is not the easiest thing to use, especially for small hands, but we had fun making some wonky circles. It was interesting to watch Morgan figuring out that the wider you open the compass the bigger the circle you can draw!
Then we played with the ruler and protractor, making various lines and shapes.
Lastly we tackled the very cool ‘curve’. This was by far the most fun. It’s like a bendy ruler and you can bend it and curve it to almost any shape you like. It’s great for making train tracks and mazes and even a map of where The BFG lives (guess which book we are reading right now?)
Noah had fun attempting to use the geometry tools and the girls (who are in grade three) measured angles and tried to make various triangles and precise shapes in their drawings. And Morgan was so busy creating and experimenting and learning new skills he barely noticed me correct his pencil grip and only rolled his eyes at me once!
Have you ever played with a ‘curve’? I confess I had as much fun with that today as the kids did!
Katie @ The Imperfect Housewife says
This brought back some lovely childhood memories of my Dad doing this with me- he even game me his geometry set from his childhood! Fun!
katepickle says
What a lovely childhood memory! Do you still have the geometry set?
Teresa says
Ooooh! This gives me so many ideas to incorporate into my Kindergarten curriculum/art ‘line’ project! Thank your for your creativity!
[email protected] says
I’ve never even seen a curve! Looks like such a great tool! Fantastic way to get him using his fingers!
katepickle says
It is such a cool thing that curve… really heavy yet flexible. I had loads of fun with it too!
Kate - An Everyday Story says
I write the same way as Noah and besides a bump on my finger from where the pen sits it hasn’t ever bothered me. I think it’s quite common in lefties (although it looks like Noah his right-handed). Everyone always told me to hold my pencil correctly but I don’t think my way caused me any wrist strain or slowed down my writing at all. Honestly I don’t think I’d be too worried :) Although using geometry sets are pretty fun :) – you can buy are really cool transparent coloured set from Woolies for just a few dollars. Lots of fun to do with OHT and light :)
katef says
He actually holds his pen with his thumb and middle finger on the pen and his pointer waving up in the air… I just didn’t use any of the photos with him doing that! LOL
Generally I’d tend not to worry at this stage but our girls have lots of issues with writing (for reasons other than just bad grip) and so we want to make sure Morgan has a good start with correct pen grip and letter formation.
I have that bump from incorrect grip too! and how cool would it be to draw with the transparent colored set on a light box… yet another reason we need a light box!
[email protected] Little Bookcase says
This actually brings back memories of Geography class for me. Using my compass and protractor to create pie graphs after collecting data. Oh, the days before Excel ;)
Elise @ Creative Play Central says
Oh my goodness, what a trip down memory lane. I clearly remember my blue tin containing my compass and protractor that I used (and really enjoyed using) in my maths classes. When teaching (and showing) children correct pencil grip, my daughter’s teachers from last year used to say :”Mummy and Daddy at the front and two children at the back”. to remind the class that the thumb and pointer finger should be at the front holding the pencil and rest of fingers at the back.
Kylie @ Octavia and Vicky says
I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of those curves before. This is a cool idea for drawing with a difference.
JDaniel4's Mom says
I haven’t seen the curve before! What a wonderful post! I love the idea of exploring math and art together.
Debs says
I also don’t think I’ve ever seen a “curve” before. How cool. Maddie has always enjoyed stencilling and ruling so giving her some of these tools to experiment further would be great. Thanks :)