mechanical pencils?

Discussion in 'Homeschooling' started by StoneFamily, Jun 1, 2009.

  1. StoneFamily

    StoneFamily New Member

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    Do you let your kids use mechanical pencils? Do you think a toddler could use one without to much problems? She can use a click ink pen with out problems (and I have the walls to show it... :p)
     
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  3. FourBees

    FourBees New Member

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    We stick to regular pencils. My son has a habit of pressing really hard when he writes, so I think he would wind up snapping the mechanical pencil leads way too easily. Unless your toddler has a really soft touch, you might find she breaks the lead quite a bit too.
     
  4. kbabe1968

    kbabe1968 New Member

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    We used Mechanical pencils for a while.

    I found that we went through lead so fast b/c of what 4bees said. My kids were pressing too hard.

    Also, the erasers don't last long either. And they usually are not designed well enough that you could fit one of those little erasers that goes over the end of the pencil on them. This became a major issue. My kids erase a lot! LOL :D

    I invested in a pretty good sharpener and now just use regular pencils.

    I also found that for some reason my kids gripped a mechanical pencil differently than a regular pencil. I had to buy those special formy things to go over their pencils to correct their grip - neither of them are happy with me on that one!
     
  5. StoneFamily

    StoneFamily New Member

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    Since we are in an RV i was wishin I didnt have to use a pencil sharpener because of the shavings. I guess I can fashion something. Thanks
     
  6. crazymama

    crazymama Active Member

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    Mechanical pencils break too easy and are also thinner than regular pencils so they are more difficult to hold for little hands.
     
  7. Jackie

    Jackie Active Member

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    A toddler would not work well with a mechanical pencil! You might try to get some of those thick pencils. Yes, they will need sharpening, but they're much easier for little hands to hold.
     
  8. FreeSpirit

    FreeSpirit New Member

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    We've had good luck with getting a mechanical pencil with a thick lead point. The thick lead doesn't snap as easily. I can't find the pencil right now to give you the brand.

    We also use a soft standalone eraser instead of the one on the end of the pencil. The soft eraser doesn't tear at the paper, sometimes the workbooks have that flimsy paper that gets holes easily!
     
  9. StoneFamily

    StoneFamily New Member

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    She's does really well with thin style writing utensils like ink pens and crayons. I'll just have to find a way to keep shavings from getting all over the place.
     
  10. midwestmama

    midwestmama New Member

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    Walmart had these standard pencil sharpeners (like the classroom ones) except they suctioned onto the counter. It worked really well for us until we got an electric sharpener. I think it was around $4. It would be easy to put away when not in use and keep the shavings contained.
     
  11. bejs

    bejs New Member

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    I always buy the 0.7mm rather than the 0.5. They don't break so easily, and if you get the ones with the soft grips they are really comfortable to use. I just got tired of sharpening mechanical pencils and having the point get stuck in the sharpener. I keep a separate large white eraser handy.
     
  12. guamhsmom

    guamhsmom New Member

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    Being military we can get mechanical pencils and lead really cheap (they have a dollar bin where I can get 15 pencils for about $0.75). We use them as a reward for the kids. They get to pick out of the "treasure jar" when they don't miss any spelling words and other types of good things so I keep those pencils in there (with other fun stuff).

    You could try a cheap pencil sharpener to use with regular pencils. It will cut down on the shavings, or at least keep the shavings in a contained area.
     
  13. MamaBear

    MamaBear New Member

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    I feel it would be difficult for a toddler to learn how to write and also be conscious of not breaking the lead of a mechanical pencil. I would stick with a regular pencil until older.
     
  14. chicamarun

    chicamarun New Member

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    They have these "liquid lead" pencils which you don't sharpen and look and feel like regular pencils (I think they are even considered #2 pencils!)

    I want to say we picked them up at Walmart and both kids like them.... though their favorites are still the ones I got with their names on them so they couldn't fight and say "He/She took my pencil!!"
     
  15. MamaBear

    MamaBear New Member

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    I always got my boys "special" pencils with their names on them also.
     
  16. StoneFamily

    StoneFamily New Member

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    We gave her a mechanical pencil left over from our high school days. She shook it, she smelled it, she put the eraser in her mouth, and she wrote with it. didn't break the lead at all. We might just let her practice with it for awhile and see where she stands next year. We'll be using a dry erase baord most of the time so she will only have pencil for maybe 20 min a day.
     

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