My DD had problems with grip(she was at school so more pressing) but her teacher gave me loads of ideas to improve her motor skill to help her hold the pencil.These are at least fun and might help,I know with DD she was mad to write having an older DB who could same with reading.I cut and paste this from what I was given.
Hope they help
- Moulding and rolling play dough into balls - using the palms of the hands facing each other and with fingers curled slightly towards the palm.
? Rolling play dough into tiny balls (peas) using only the finger tips.
? Using pegs or toothpicks to make designs in play dough.
? Cutting play dough with a plastic knife or with a pizza wheel.
? Tearing newspaper into strips and then crumpling them into balls. Use to stuff scarecrow or other art creation.
? Scrunching up 1 sheet of newspaper in one hand. This is a super strength builder.
? Using a plant sprayer to spray plants, (indoors, outdoors) to spray snow (mix food colouring with water so that the snow can be painted), or melt "monsters". (Draw monster pictures with markers and the colours will run when sprayed.)
? Picking up objects using large tweezers such as those found in the "Bedbugs" game. This can be adapted by picking up Cheerios, small cubes, small marshmallows, pennies, etc., in counting games.
? Shaking dice by cupping the hands together, forming an empty air space between the palms.
? Using small-sized screwdrivers like those found in an erector set.
? Lacing and sewing activities such as stringing beads, Cheerios, macaroni, etc.
? Using eye droppers to "pick up" coloured water for colour mixing or to make artistic designs on paper.
? Rolling small balls out of tissue paper, then gluing the balls onto construction paper to form pictures or designs.
? Turning over cards, coins, checkers, or buttons, without bringing them to the edge of the table.
? Making pictures using stickers or self-sticking paper reinforcements.
? Playing games with the "puppet fingers" -the thumb, index, and middle fingers. At circle time have each child's puppet fingers tell about what happened over the weekend, or use them in songs and finger plays.
? Bake cookies with your children. Stirring batter provides workout of the arms and muscles and cutting and spooning out cookies can improve hand-eye co-ordination. Besides, the children get to eat their creation as well.
? Show them their favourite CD on the computer and encourage them to help you put the CD in the CD Drive. They can also use the mouse and keyboard which improves finger, hand and eye co-ordination.
? Encourage your children to paint and draw. Alternate between thick and fine brushes. Another trick is to paint with a cotton swab, this improves the pincer grip which later on aids the child in writing.
? Play with building blocks such as Lego. Start with larger blocks and then move on to smaller blocks.
? Play connect the dots. Make sure the child's strokes connect dots from left to right, and from top to bottom.
? Trace around stencils - the non-dominant hand should hold the stencil flat and stable against the paper, while the dominant hand pushes the pencil firmly against the edge of the stencil. The stencil must be held firmly.
? Paint at an easel. Some of the modelling activities as suggested above can be done at the easel.
Scissor Activities
When scissors are held correctly, and when they fit a child's hand well, cutting activities will exercise the very same muscles which are needed to manipulate a pencil in a mature tripod grasp. The correct scissor position is with the thumb and middle finger in the handles of the scissors, the index finger on the outside of the handle to stabilize, with fingers four and five curled into the palm.
? Cutting junk mail, particularly the kind of paper used in magazine subscription cards.
? Making fringe on the edge of a piece of construction paper.
? Cutting play dough with scissors.
? Cutting straws or shredded paper.