About Marker Grippers
Hi! Thanks for checking out Marker Grippers! I am a primary grade teacher and know firsthand how much kids love using markers, but also know the love/hate relationship teachers have with students using them!! Markers and lids are everywhere, they always end up drying out because they’re not capped properly, lids and markers both get lost, the cardboard boxes they come in are quickly destroyed, and they are continually having to be replaced. We throw all our loose markers into the marker bin and hope for the best knowing good and well, there will soon be a shortage of the favorite colors and lids will scatter the floor.
Last year, my mom sent me a hack using tape to keep lids and markers together. I eagerly tried it but quickly found it wasn’t a solid long term solution, wasn’t easy for little hands to use, and was very time consuming to tape the markers together. The frustration with this, and dried up markers is how I came up with the idea for Marker Grippers.
My students were my inspiration! I wanted it to be something they could easily use, that didn’t take up much space, and that would keep all their markers together. I drew up some designs as best as I could and made some videos explaining my idea and hired a 3D artist to draw them out for me. Then I worked with some manufacturers to create a sample mold. After lots of praying and waiting my vision came to life!!!
Marker Grippers are designed to be easily manipulated by little hands, using flexible FDA approved silicone safe for everyone, that allows full rotation to pull markers free from the cap while the cap stays securely in place ensuring they do not get lost! Each piece is one continuous chain to hold 10 markers together and keep all lids secured in place, no more lost markers or lids!
It is a flat design that can stand up on desks, lay flat, easily slide into pencil pouches, attach to walls with command strips, attach to magnetic surfaces with sticky magnet strips and easily stack into bins for quick grab and go which also makes them ideal for travel!
Marker Grippers are also ideal for those who have limited motor skills, as well as for individuals with limb differences who might normally be unable to grasp a marker lid. A Kindergarten student at our school with Cerebral Palsy who has limited motor skills and poor grip strength in one hand is very successful using the grippers! When lying on a flat surface, use the weaker hand or limb to push down onto the silicone portion of the gripper, and the stronger hand to pull a marker free. It is a wonderful tool to allow almost everyone to be successfully use markers independently!
Watching all of the pieces of this project come together has been so exciting, but putting them to use in my classroom has been truly magical! We have used them successfully from preschool up and students of all ages love them!! Even my two year old can use them with a little assistance! I feel so very blessed to see this vision come to life and to be able to share it with others! I can see them being a staple for kids everywhere in any facility where markers are!
