Preschool Hold the Pencil worksheets

About this worksheet

Everything else in this strand rests on how the pencil is held, so this is the page to print first. A comfortable hold puts the pencil between the thumb and the first two fingers, close to the point, with the other hand flat on the paper to stop it sliding. There is no single correct grip at three or four years old, and forcing one usually makes a child grip harder. What matters is that the marks are deliberate, the hand stays loose, and nothing hurts. Watch for white knuckles, a fist wrapped around the pencil, a hand that keeps letting go, or paper that spins because nobody is holding it.

Any of those makes a simple stroke feel impossible. Each short trace below asks for one thing at a time: start on the dot, press lightly, keep the page still. A stubby crayon or a golf pencil helps small fingers more than a full-length pencil does, and two minutes of relaxed marks beats ten minutes of tired ones. Grip can only be seen on paper, so print this page for the real thing; on a screen, a finger is for following the path only.

What your child will learn

• Hold a pencil between the thumb and two fingers, near the point
• Make a mark that shows without tearing or denting the paper
• Keep the page still with the helping hand while writing
• Pick up a pencil near the point instead of in a fist

Head Start ELOF standard: P-PMP 3, L.K.1.A