My First Tri-Write Pencils with Eraser, Primary Size Wood-Cased #2 HB Soft, Yellow, 36-Pack (13082)

Beat value!! These pencils rock! My preschool aged kids ans 11 month old we’re using these with ease! I prefer to write with these as it’s nice and dark and requires little pressure

The My First Tri-Write pencils are wonderful for little ones who are learning to write. The triangular shape conforms to the hand easier than standard round pencils. As a school administrator and former general education and special education teacher - I can endorse the use of the triangle pencils for many reasons - they do not roll of student desks like the round ones do; they support the motor skills for proper grip on pencils; etc. The My First Tri-Write Pencil is larger than regular #2 pencils - which makes them perfect for pre-school, kindergarten and primary grade students use. As a school administrator I know the importance of having the right materials and tools for children based on age and developmental stage. I order lots of these pencils for student use. I only order the Ticonderoga brand because they are a better quality - meaning the pencils sharpen evenly, they are made so that the lead is larger so the "pencil point" does not break as easily. For parents with children who need to develop fine motor skills, early writing skills, etc. I recommend ordering these pencils for home use as well.

My students are obsssed with these pencils that we kindly refer to as the big fatties. I love how they help students with poor fine motor get a better grip for writing. They are disappearing quick from my pencil tray. Will need to re-order for the fall.

TL;DR If you want a crank style desk/wall mount sharpener, buy the Bostitch MPS1-BLK - DO NOT BUY the X-acto KS. I decided to switch to these "My first tri-write" pencils in my shop, instead of the mixture of standard #2's, and carpenters pencils I use now. The problem is that my X-acto KS wouldn't sharpen these pencils. the hole was large enough, but it would stop sharpening the pencil before it got to the lead, leaving sharpened wood, and no lead sticking out, let alone sharpened. I of course searched the reviews and questions here on amazon, and found people asking about sharpeners, but the answers, as are typical for amazon answering system were maddeningly useless, full of gems like "just use any sharpener", "get one at the dollar store", or "I use a 60 year old sharpener". I wish I could ask those people how on earth they thought those responses were helpful to anybody. I had to ask and delete my own very specific question several times when people would inevitably give useless responses, but eventually some kind soul actually answered the question I asked. So, thank you dear "Bruno H." for being the only person on amazon capable of answering a question with a useful and functional response, and of course for suggesting the Bostitch MPS1-BLK sharpener. Another person answered my question stating that the X-Acto KS works, but I can say with 100% confidence my MY X-acto KS would not sharpen these pencils, as evidenced in the photos I've attached. My X-Acto KS sharpener is about 3 years old, so maybe they've changed the barrel without changing the model number? Or maybe that was just yet another useless answer from amazons most valuable helpers. I've attached 3 photos to my review: 1 - The successfully sharpened pencil with the Bostitch MPS1-BLK 2 - The failed sharpening from the x-acto KS 3 - 3 pencils side by side, with the x-acto sharpened pencil on top, and two pencils from the bostitch below. As you can see the bostitch has a fair amount of slop resulting in uneven sharpening. This isn't ideal, but whatever, it works and it was only 10 bucks.

Product works well for kids that have difficulty holding a pencil