Our Homeschool and Other Such Happenings - Blink and the Great Pencil Grip Giveaway

Apr. 25, 2007

Blink and the Great Pencil Grip Giveaway

Today I learned to play BLINK! Wow, what a fun card game!!! It really is the "fastest card game" in the world. The box says ages 7 and up, but I played it with my 5yo and we both had a great time. Seriously. It is F-U-N and fast! Takes about 2 minutes to play a game (or faster). You can count it as your math or critical thinking for the day. :-)

Did y'all read The Homeschool Minute last week? I really appreciated the handwriting theme...it is exactly what Dash has been struggling with this past year (okay, really since the very beginning of our homeschooling journey). I never understood why his handwriting was bad, especially since he tried SO hard. Tank, who is 5 years old, even has waaay better handwriting! The tears, complaining, dawdling and whining were too much for us. It made every day a misery...at least any day that required very minimal writing.

It took a lengthy but extremely interesting conversation with Nancy to realize that it all goes back to his grip. His incorrect grip. Since then, we've tried several different grips for his pencil to help retrain his hand and make a new (and proper) habit of holding his pencil correctly-- currently, the boy puts his thumb and THREE fingers onto his pencil. Uhhh...son, that is why your hand is hurting!

Anyhow, the foam grip didn't work. The triangle was uncomfortable. And then Nancy recommended the Stetro Grips in the Homeschool Minute. I cringed at the cost...especially the cost of shipping! But desperate times call for desperate measures. I ended up ordering the bag of 100. Yup, 1-0-0. After all, you never know when you might lose a few, need some for the next kid or (as in this case) have some friends that might like to try one before they order a bag of 100 and have to pay over $6 for shipping! I must say, they are nice! I really wish I had this a few years ago-- it totally makes sense and forces your hand to hold the pencil the right way.

So dear friends, if you have a child struggling with a proper pencil grip and would like to try this really cool pencil grip, just send me an e-mail with HSB pencil grip (or something similar) in the subject line, along with your full name and mailing address. I will be more than happy to send you one or two grips in the mail, free of charge-- so long as you don't mind it coming in a generic, non-padded envelope. Oh, and I guess this offer is good for a limited time, while supplies last, yada, yada, blah blah blah... Let me know if you need one or two.

Wow, this is the first school-ish post I've written in a very long time. I should make this more of a habit, don't ya think?

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Comments

Apr. 25, 2007 - Hiya Marsha!

Posted by deedeeuk

Yes these grips are great - if you are right handed! We bought some while we were in the states for our struggleing writer (who just happens to be left handed) and then found out that they are molded in such a way that they only work with the right hand! So we are using them with Monkey who is right handed and just starting to learn to write letters. I figured that it will help him prevent problems - right? Just thought I'd add my two cents! :-)