Below are pictures of how we will now hold our violin hand. I first introduced this new position by placing the thumb out by the scroll. Then I have them put their fingers up like a stop sign* (see below). With some of the children we went right into a rainbow** (see below) but some of the children needed to keep their stop sign. If your child is doing the rainbow PLEASE make sure that the wrist is straight and not flat like a pancake*** (see below).
When the hand is out by the scroll we also need to make sure that there is a small "mouse hole" between the violin and thumb. We will have fun finding this with a pen or pencil (see below). This insures that the hand is not gripping the violin too tightly.
Here is how we start with the new violin hand:
If while doing the rainbow the wrist goes flat, go back to the stop sign until they can eventually turn the stop sign into a rainbow with the wrist nice and straight.
Continue to check for the "mouse hole" to make sure that the hand is not gripping the violin too hard.
A special thank you to Cannon, Ella Claire, and Liza.