Handwriting with ambidextrous 5 year old

[WoolC]

I would like to begin a formal handwriting program with my 5 year old son soon but I'm having trouble figuring out which hand is dominant. He has gone through much of the pre-k level of HWT on his own this year while I'm working with his older brother but he constantly switches his hands. He doesn't appear to have a consistent hand for coloring, drawing, eating, etc. I ask him which hand is most comfortable to write with and he doesn't answer consistently.

 

Does anyone have any experience with figuring out which hand is dominant? Are there any particular handwriting methods that are better suited to lefties or ambidextrous students?

[Rosie_0801]

Look up activities on crossing the midline and work on those for a while. After a few months, he'll probably pick a hand. If he doesn't, you'll know he really *is* ambidextrous.

[Ellie]

I would like to begin a formal handwriting program with my 5 year old son soon but I'm having trouble figuring out which hand is dominant. He has gone through much of the pre-k level of HWT on his own this year while I'm working with his older brother but he constantly switches his hands. He doesn't appear to have a consistent hand for coloring, drawing, eating, etc. I ask him which hand is most comfortable to write with and he doesn't answer consistently.

 

Does anyone have any experience with figuring out which hand is dominant? Are there any particular handwriting methods that are better suited to lefties or ambidextrous students?

 

I would put the pencil/crayon/whatnot in his right hand and show him how to hold it correctly. If he moves it to his left hand, I would show him how to hold it correctly. I would also make sure that his paper is placed properly as well, because whether he's a rightie or a leftie, he should never need to hook his hand over the top of the paper.

[Tsuga]

I agree with Ellie. In addition, though, I would say that it really does work itself out and most kids choose one for writing between five and seven. My "leftie" actually draws with her right. Even she finds that strange. She appeared ambidextrous when little because she would use different hands for different tasks but it wasn't immediately evident which tasks were the fine-motor ones, given how messy everything was in general.

 

I am happy to say that left-handedness has not really had a big effect on her handwriting or much of anything, actually. So don't worry too much. :)

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

I'm in a similar position with my 4 yo.  I thought she was left dominant, but now that we are gently starting letter formation, she tends to choose to put the pencil in her right.  Not sure what to do!  lol.

[The Governess]

My Dd is slightly ambidextrous. She writes with her right hand, but sometimes uses her left when coloring if her right gets tired. She broke her arm a few years ago and did well writing with her left hand, it was just a bit messier than her right. She eats with her left hand more than her right.

 

She had OT when she was younger and the therapist did a test with her for handedness, specifically for writing... But I can't remember what it was. I want to say that she had her do some tracing exercises or something similar, and she was much more accurate with her right than her left, so I taught her to write with her right hand when the time came.

[Arcadia]

My boy decided to stick with right hand for writing around 8 but he can still write with left for fun. His handwriting was decent regardless of which hand he use for writing.

[bullseye]

A tip from my son's preschool teacher: Observe him writing/drawing with both hands and see which one has the lighter touch. That will probably end up being the dominant hand.