Handedness question

[SarahAngeline]

Hi ladies!

Another question for ya! I will be starting LHFHG with my 5.5 year old in the fall. He is a little bit fine motor challenged. He went to pre-K last school year and flat out refused most activities involving handwriting or picture drawing (the trouble here was, "journal time" was right before "free time." The kids would draw a picture in their journal and tell teacher a story about it, which teacher would write down. When they were done they could go play. Well guess what, my boy only ever wanted to play. Big surprise there! ) Anyway, I've been working with him at home a lot this summer. I know how to motivate him. He is very eager to please and he is improving daily. Whew! MY QUESTION IS: Today he made more effort with coloring a picture than I have ever seen before (he hates coloring). He actually tried to stay in lines and filled in the whole picture with color. He then traced words (So proud!) In all of this I noticed that he was switching hands back and forth... Sometimes writing with his left hand, sometimes his right. He usually uses his left hand. He eats with his left hand. I'm just wondering at what point handedness becomes really cemented? Should I allow him to write with his right hand when he feels like it, or should I encourage him to stick with the left hand? He seems to be dominant with his left hand, he bats left handed. However with his handwriting being as poor as it is... You see what I'm saying? Any input is appreciated! Thanks! =)

Sarah

[LynnH]

I was a pediatric physical therapist in my pre-homeschooling life. I remember the Occupational Therapists saying that handedness should be developed by kindergarten. One thing you might want to watch for is if he is switching hands because he doesn't want to cross the mid-line of his body. That can be an problem with kiddos with fine motor challenges. If that is the case you can do a search for crossing midline exercises and implement some of those. If that isn't the case then yes I would start encouraging him to pick a hand and stick with it. If you think it is his left hand then I would encourage that one. His fine motor skills, especially his writing skills, will show more improvement if he is consistently using one hand.

[SarahAngeline]

I was a pediatric physical therapist in my pre-homeschooling life. I remember the Occupational Therapists saying that handedness should be developed by kindergarten. One thing you might want to watch for is if he is switching hands because he doesn't want to cross the mid-line of his body. That can be an problem with kiddos with fine motor challenges. If that is the case you can do a search for crossing midline exercises and implement some of those. If that isn't the case then yes I would start encouraging him to pick a hand and stick with it. If you think it is his left hand then I would encourage that one. His fine motor skills, especially his writing skills, will show more improvement if he is consistently using one hand.

Thank you for that tip about crossing the mid-line of the body! I will watch for that! He almost always writes with his left hand, but I wondered if that was something that could change this late in the game.

[chillin'inandover]

SarahAngeline,
I was an OT prior to hs so when my daughter had hand dominance issues I became concerned. What I found out was that she was ambidextrous with left handed Dom for fine motor writing. She is now in college and this has not effected her too much. She is an excellent violin player, knitter, 2nd degree black belt and A student. Found out her maternal grandpa was left handed and paternal grandma is ambidextrous, so obviously in her genes. How about your genes?
If the visual motor crossing is an issue you can try some of Diane Crafts writing activities.
If vm is normal consider dc blessed to be so skilled! My dd did take longer to write neatly & is ok now. She had too much trouble with cursive that she doesn't do cursive. I think that is more a lefty problem. My dd is quite smart and she wouldn't trade get uniqueness to be normal. Praying for such blessings for your kiddo.
Tammy

[SarahAngeline]

SarahAngeline,
I was an OT prior to hs so when my daughter had hand dominance issues I became concerned. What I found out was that she was ambidextrous with left handed Dom for fine motor writing. She is now in college and this has not effected her too much. She is an excellent violin player, knitter, 2nd degree black belt and A student. Found out her maternal grandpa was left handed and paternal grandma is ambidextrous, so obviously in her genes. How about your genes?
If the visual motor crossing is an issue you can try some of Diane Crafts writing activities.
If vm is normal consider dc blessed to be so skilled! My dd did take longer to write neatly & is ok now. She had too much trouble with cursive that she doesn't do cursive. I think that is more a lefty problem. My dd is quite smart and she wouldn't trade get uniqueness to be normal. Praying for such blessings for your kiddo.
Tammy

Thank you so much for your these encouraging words! This is what I am already loving about homeschooling... The encouraging community! Someone in McDonald's today had twin 5 year olds who were playing with my kiddo. She asked where my son will go for Kindergarten and I told her homeschooling... Her reaction was "Homeschooling is going to be very hard for you." Didn't exactly feel encouraged at that time so thank you for your encouragement! =)

As far as genes go, My husband is a lefty, my 5 year old is a lefty, my 2 year old is shaping up to be a lefty, and my mother in-law is a lefty. I seem to remember her saying she used to ambidextrous when she was younger, I'll have to ask her again. I will look into those Diane Crafts writing activities, thank you. I'm not sure if the visual motor crossing is an issue or not, he has participated in tumbling for several years now and is able to do stretches that require him to cross his arms over his body. However it could never hurt to do some exercises just to make sure he's not stuck on anything.

Thank you for the encouragement and prayers, they are much appreciated. I love talking with Moms like you whose children have been so successful... I keep reminding myself I am sowing good seed and I will reap a harvest.

Sarah