October 1, 2015 | Primary 1

Using the pincer grasp.

Developing the pincer grasp in a Montessori classroom is a milestone in development for children.

The urge to grasp objects between the thumb and the first and second fingers is a fine motor skill begun typically near twelve months old. It is a natural way of developing a skill in childhood that will be used during an entire lifetime.

Any time you use a fork, a spoon, cut paper, zip a zipper, tie your shoelace, thread a needle, or write a letter you are using a pincer grasp.

The importance of training the hand to comfortably hold a pencil in the pincer grasp can not be understated. Writing is the gateway to reading from the Montessori perspective.

With a developed pincer grasp, a child can practice writing letters and numbers in a left to right direction and begin training their eyes to scan the page in the same way, as when reading text.

One of the most common signs of an undeveloped pincer grasp is when a child holds the pencil with their entire fist, instead of with their thumb and first two fingers.

This is can be remedied with developing the muscles in the hand and giving the child the feel of using the correct grasp while they are stringing beads, grasping pom poms, and transferring small objects from one bowl to another. It is also helpful to gently help the child readjust their fingers to the pincer grasp when they have used their fist to hold the pencil instead.

Another component to developing smooth writing skills is to encourage the child to rest the writing hand fully on the writing surface. Often, a new student is able to grasp the pencil in the right way, but their hand is high up on the pencil instead of having the outside of the hand making contact with the table.

The practical life area of a Montessori classroom is dedicated to developing the fine motor skills and concentration needed to have a pincer grasp. With its array of jobs, including the easier grasping and transferring of objects from one container to another, to pouring jobs, and eventually the more difficult tweezing jobs; the student’s sense of using their pincer grasp is developed and refined.

THANK YOU

Thank you, thank you, thank you to Jessica Nordling and Grace for beautifully stamping the names of our P1 students on their red tote bags.

Visiting our neighborhood fire station.

We are grateful to the parents who chaperoned our first Kindergarten field trip to our local fire station. It was a very positive experience for the children and we appreciate your contribution to making the field trip safe, informative and fun.

After the field trip at the fire station, the Kindergarten class enjoyed playing at Amador Park.

Thank you to our copying, cutting and laminating mavens who generously give to our classroom in helping us make fresh, new jobs for our students.

REMINDERS

PTO’s Fall Festival is next Friday night (October 9th) starting at 5pm. It is the first of our school wide events, and a fun time not to be missed! You may purchase tickets from PTO members who are set up in our quad. Also, there are silent auction items to bid on, many of which are displayed in the office.