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Hey there,

When doing any sort of writing, coloring, tracing, even cutting, my son frequently switches back and forth between his right hand and left hand. He sometimes even holds one crayon in each hand and switches off (it's kind of funny to watch actually!). I would call him left handed based which hand he uses to eat, but when he is writing, I find myself frequently telling him to "switch hands." We are starting Little Hearts in September and will be doing A Reason for Handwriting, so we probably need to pick one! Should I be telling him which one to use?

Do not tell him to switch hands. Up until a child is about 7, it is completely normal to switch hands. Some kids are truly ambidextrous and they do eventually choose a preference. My youngest ds went back and forth and was prominently left handed for 3 years up until he finished K even. He writes completely with his right hand now and he did it on his own with no prompting from me. I am left handed. My cousin was going to be left handed and my aunt forced him to change his writing hand and he has the most awful penmanship and all. Your writing hand is a sign of which side of your brain is dominant and it can affect things other than writing to not let a child come to the natural conclusion of which hand is the one they wish to write with forever. http://www.brighthub.com/education/earl ... 36677.aspx

my 7yo left handed child does almost as much right handed. He chooses his left when writing but he can throw with either and oddly enough in soccer he kicks with his right foot predominately. He does eat with his left hand too but can eat just as well with his right. I figure it's whatever he chooses at this point.

Great info, thanks. We have a lot of lefties in our family, so I was not at all surprised when he showed that preference. And many of the lefties in my family only write left handed but do other things (throwing and eating) right handed. Anyway, my real question I guess, is what do I do with his handwriting book? Is it ok for him to go back and forth with it?

I think what the ladies are saying is yes. It may seem strange that he hasn't chosen officially yet, but I also would let him choose and go back and forth. I would just encourage correct formation of letters and such, not necessarily which hand. My grandpa is a true ambidextrous individual and could write with each had very clearly and legibly. So I wouldn't worry about it. On a side note - lots of lefties in my family too. My hubby eats and writes left handed but does everything else right handed. I am right handed but predominately left footed and ambidextrous for most sports. My right has more power but my left is more accurate.

The only thing I would stress for him to do is to write a letter completely with the same hand. Like don't let him write an 'E' with one hand doing the straight line and the other hand doing the horizontal lines.

My oldest is completely 100% left-handed and my second writes, eats, and does other fine motor skill stuff left handed, but does gross motor skill stuff right handed. She didn't choose until she was about mid-way through first grade.

My advice to teaching a left handed child to write (if you are right handed) is to sit across from him...

I would just place his pencil at the top of his desk horizontal to his paper each time and let him choose which hand to write with each day. My ds was 4 turning 5 when we did LHFHG. He went back and forth each day with what hand he preferred. He never switched mid-letter or anything like that. He would complete all of the pencil work with whatever hand he chose that day. He did switch hands when coloring the color page on the back. I just made the pencil and crayons accessible without being on either side to sway his choice. They were placed in front of him above his paper and he chose. I did correct his grip no matter which hand he was using.

Good advice here already! I especially think the highlighted portions below are important guidelines to remember...

Tidbits of Learning wrote:I would just place his pencil at the top of his desk horizontal to his paper each time and let him choose which hand to write with each day. My ds was 4 turning 5 when we did LHFHG. He went back and forth each day with what hand he preferred. He never switched mid-letter or anything like that. He would complete all of the pencil work with whatever hand he chose that day. He did switch hands when coloring the color page on the back. I just made the pencil and crayons accessible without being on either side to sway his choice. They were placed in front of him above his paper and he chose. I did correct his grip no matter which hand he was using.

My mother-in-law is left-handed, but she writes pretty amazing cursive with her right hand too!

In Christ,
Julie