The Development of Appropriate Pencil Grip & Drawing Skills – 1 to 6 Years Old

Year Level: Early Years, Foundation, Year 1 & 2

These milestone and information sheets identify the age-related milestones for hand function, pencil grip (grasp) and drawing skills in children aged 1 to 6 years. They present images of good and NOT good pencil grip and also outline hints for making a good pencil grip easier.

When children first begin to draw using crayons, pencils or brushes they use a dagger grasp. In a natural developmental sequence, they will hold the writing implement in a variety of grasps until they settle on a functional tripod grip for handwriting. The developmental sequence is a result of neurological and physical growth in the child. As we look below at the development of different grasps and drawing skills we can observe that there is a natural progression as the child’s fine motor skills develop. The complexity of the drawing skills increases as the child develops more control over the pencil or crayon in his or her hand.

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