Seriously Hard to Break

Every first grade teacher probably knows that bad handwriting habits are seriously hard to break, especially when it comes to how pencils are held.  In the past I've always started the year with some kind of pencil gripper and am later left with the question, "Did it really work?"  Hmm, well, not exactly.  So far this year I haven't pulled them out.  I tried this idea from Pinterest one day though.  No offense to the person who invented it, but it didn't really work for me.

The child holds a tissue that's supposed to help them grip the pencil correctly.

I found something that else that seems easier to incorporate.  Check these out.  

Option 1

 Option 2

My district is moving towards a Handwriting Without Tears approach, which is where the above pictures came from. I didn't make it to the training and haven't fully bought in yet, but this is one of the things that I'm giving a whirl.  So far I've been trying Option 1.  Is it possible that after a good 100 times of hearing it, my writers might actually hold their pencils the right way?  Habits are hard to break, but it's worth a shot. Click here for copies of both options.

(When it all comes down to it though, the way they write their letters is more important than how they hold a pencil.  If you'd like to know about the purple and green handwriting strategy that works for me, go here.)