When a child is learning to write we have found that having a large pencil improves their ability to write with better fine motor control. We all remember the jumbo kindergarten pencils and crayons. How can we improve on this time tested system?
PaperMate has succeeded in really improving on the traditional jumbo pencil with a mechanical pencil made just for beginning writers. It has a larger diameter triangular design that makes it easy to teach the proper grip and gives little ones exceptional control. The lead is a larger 1.3 mm, which holds up to the excessive pressure beginning writers tend to exert.
As of the time I’m writing this you can get a package of 5 from Amazon for about 3 bucks and it includes extra lead and a few extra erasers. If you have beginning preschool or kindergarten age kids these are a definite step up for a rediculously low price.
These are a favorite for my early elementary kids. They write easily and the lead is thick, so it doesn’t really break. Pencil erasers work well. After a year of *hard* use, some of the pencils started to have mechanical issues and wouldn’t always cooperate, but I’m thrilled they lasted that long. For reference, my kids using them were 6, 5, & 4 last year. We ordered them again this year.
I wasn’t aware that the larger the pen is , the better it is for fine motor control, good to know! Also, these pens from Paper mate never fail or break. My children love these and I will keep on buying these pens for them. I need to stack up before I forget, they need more, because they just started to learn how to write and I love it when they have good equipment,thank you!
I am a special education teacher in an Elementary, and you learn so many little tricks when your kids are working with the occupational therapist. Eventually, you want kids to move to a standard sized pencil just because of convenience, but I still have fifth and sixth graders that have significant motor skills challenges that use larger pencils.
Kids love to start writing and drawing and if they can hold a pencil that is comfortable, it will help them to master the art of drawing and writing. With pencils that have a grip that is specially designed for kids, it makes it so much easier for them to develop their writing style from a young age.
Papermate has always produced quality pencils and pens, and these mechanical pencils seem to be of their ususal high quality.
Hey, what a great idea for youngsters who are just learning to write. Kudos to Papermate for developing a mechanical pencil that will do the same job.
Being grandparents our children and grandchildren are through that stage already, but for those with young children this is an excellent idea. Thank you for doing this review. I will be sure to share it with others with young children.
When I began using mechanical pencils as a teenager, I remember that the lead broke a lot. So, the best thing about this one is that it has a thick lead for our little ones.
I have also used many PaperMate products, and they have excelled in quality, so I feel they will do well in these mechanical pencils too.
Thank you for your comments, the larger stronger lead size is a definite plus.