Helping a lefty write ????

Question

I am homeshooling my son for Preschool (he's 4 and a half ) and He's a lefty. I'm trying to teach him how to write correctly now before he develops bad habits but I can't even figure out how to help him learn to hold his pencil correctly. I know he is a lefty byond a doubt and I am lacking the coordination to figure this out and help him. Has any one else gone through this or does anyone have any advice?? He is already easily frustrated when his letters don't come out perfect I don'twant me not being sure how he should grip his pencil (since it's kinda backwards from how I do it) to make it worse. Hope I don't sound like an idiot here. I'm not blonde but pretty badly uncoordinated. Thanks!!

Gee thanks for your OPINION ucmas200 . I don't want to CHANGE him !!!! He is who he is and he has a right to prefer his left hand especially if thats whats comfortable to him . I just want to know how to help him it's not about making it easier for me to help him by making him use the hand I do.
To all the others thanks for the advice. I know he's young but he asked me to help him write "real" letters not scribble and when I handed him the pencil he said he wanted to know how to "pinch" the pencil like I did. When I showed him he said yeah but in MY hand and switched it to his left. He does EVERYTHING with his left hand .

Answer 1

Having left-handed children ourselves, we know that discovering the world around them can be exciting and fun, but frustrating if things don’t work for them. Children’s hand preference is sometimes slow to develop, but if your baby or toddler experiments with using both hands for feeding, holding and placing objects etc, you can ensure they have items that work well if used left-handed, making the task a rewarding and positive experience they will want to repeat. If your child shows any preference for their left hand, you can be certain our range will be great for them.

http://www.anythingleft-handed.co.uk/acatalog/childrens_products.html

Answer 2

My daughter was the first lefty in our family for Lord knows how many generations. At 4 and a half, most children can not hold a pencil correctly and they can't write perfectly. Let him do what is comfortable for him. Don't try to "make him" use his right hand, you can't. It's a brain control situation, and that is the way he is "wired". My daughter had trouble at first because she wanted to mimic what right handed people were doing. Tell him to hold the pencil however he wants, he will work it out on his own. Practice is the key, it has nothing to do with which hand he is using. Practice and tell him that. By the way, my daughter is blond, and she is an honor student with absolutely beautiful penmanship....hair color doesn't matter either. :) There are many famous people throughout history who were left handed, Michelangelo, Raphael (not the Turtles, the painters), Lewis Carroll, Charles Dickens, Tolstoy, H.G. Wells, the list goes on and on. Left handed people tend to be more creative artistically. So, if he can't write his letters perfectly, get him a paintbrush, and have him paint them. Encourage his creativity and don't focus so much on doing things like everyone else! I don't know anyone who didn't graduate because their penmanship was poor! Good luck!

Answer 3

Well, I am a lefty and I had the curse of the ancient kindergarten teacher who tried to force me to write with my right hand(in 1984!!!). I hold my pens funny and I can write sideways, upside down and sort of straight....I adapted to a right handed world...I cannot use lefty scissors, I have to use spiral notebooks a certain way, I pretty much use my right hand for almost everything else. My daughter is also a lefty. She holds her crayons the same way I do, and refuses to even attempt to use her right hand for anything other than using a spoon or fork to eat. And for that one chick, the one who thought you should change your child's hand preference....get out of the dark ages lady. There are a lot of people who can write with both hands, but not all of us can do that and choose a dominant hand. Idiot.
Honey, if you have another lefty in the family, have them help a little bit. The way a right handed person holds a pen is a lot different than how us lefties hold pens. It may not look like the "right way" to you, but it is comfortable for your child. And his penmanship will improve over time, he is only 4 1/2. Do not discourage him and compliment his letters even if they come out sideways.

Answer 4

Since he is not holding the pencils and pens in an orthodox way, take them away for now. You don’t want him to get used to holding a pencil in an unorthodox way or else he will develop poor writing skills. I am a lefty and still do not hold a pencil or pen properly and have poor penmanship. It is pretty common for children at his age, especially boys, not to hold pencils and pens properly. He needs some time to develop some hand strength to hold a pencil. Find some ways to strengthen his hand. Get him some small manipulative toys like Lego’s and Knex. These are great for developing hand strength. Have him use other manipulatives like play dough, tweezers, hammer small nails in a tree stump, puzzles, and use a small scrub brush to scrub potatoes, windows, tables. Anything with small pieces that he has to grasp are great. You can also check out some Montessori practical life items that help develop hand strength at http://www.montessoriservices.com Instead of having him learn writing using pencils or pens have him trace letters in a small dish of sand or cornmeal. Write out some letters for him to trace in the cornmeal. This helps eliminate frustration because with a simple shake it can be erased. Make sure you are teaching lower case letters first (except when appropriate as in writing the first letter in his name). Once he has developed some hand strength, get him some pencil grips like these http://www.thepencilgrip.com/cat.php?k=25774 It is a rubber mold where a child can find the exact position of where to place their fingers. Stay away from the triangular pencil grips. They do not help children learn where to position their fingers. The molded grips will help him to learn how to hold a pencil in an orthodox way. You can start by moving his fingers to the right position and place your hand over his. You can then draw letters using a yellow highlighter on some card stock or cardboard for him to trace. This will be much easier to follow than trying to follow dot to dot. Give it some time and don’t push it. Hope this helps! Good luck!

Answer 5

I'm left-handed, and although I've never mastered artfully beautiful handwriting I can print letters very nicely (best with the help of lined paper and the right pen) and do cursive writing in a non-beautiful but very readable and clear style.

You don't need to worry about how he holds his pencil or how he ends up forming the letters. What you need to do is show him what the letters look like and let him copy them in whatever way he chooses to copy them.

My first-grade teacher (years and years ago) used a method of just having the class write a straight line down. She called it "scoot". Then (in the case of upper case 'L") she added to the "scoot" a "foot". For round letters she called it "adding a belly". For the number 5 she called the top part a hat.

My point is that I think if you concentrate on showing what each part of the letters looks like and talk about them, I don't think you need to involve yourself in how he holds the pencil. I know I'm only one left-handed person in a world of "zillions" of them, but no teacher ever showed me how to hold the pencil.

Finally (just a note): Even as a left-handed person, I don't write the way many left-handed people do (with the twisted over hand), so maybe it was good nobody tried to show me how to hold the pencil and just let me do what came naturally.

Answer 6

My mom was left handed and I am right handed...She was never able to teach me anything. my dad had to teach me how to tie my shoes, and gramma had to teach me how to sew and embroider ect...

Although I think kids need to know a lot before they enter kindergarden...it is a nightmare how much homework my first grader has, I think you shouldn't worry about how perfect his letters are. I don't think a four year old is meant to be a perfect writer, but you know...lol...it just occured to me...I am having this same problem because my four year old is left handed....hmmm...maybe I should go help her practice. I don't have an answer on how to help you, but just to let you know that things work out eventually, and at his own pace, he'll soon be a terrific writer! And if he's getting frustrated, I would back off a little, and practice something else...oral stuff. It would be a disaster if he hates school before he starts...:)

But you are a conscience mom, and are smart to give him a good start...especially when the demands on their little brains starts so early...but with a little time, and love, you'll get results that you both will be satisfied with.

Good luck!

Answer 7

I teach 4 year old preschool, and have a 4 year old of my own. We use the abeka curriculum which has a TON of tracing and printing.

My son is strictly left handed. He never uses his right hand for anything. I normally have one child a year that is left handed.

I find that I don't really have to correct the way they hold their pencils. It is a developmental milestone they reach on their own. I'll say to them, "Kylie, hold your pencil correctly please" and then show her how I am holding mine. If they have reached that developmental step then they will have no problem getting their hands in that position, but if they aren't quite there yet then they will still grip their pencils with all of their fingers.

Just tell him to hold his pencil between his thumb and his pointer finger. If he has it up to high just push it down on the pencil some.

Always put his pencil in the middle of the table so he can grab it with whichever hand is comfortable. I have had many parents come in and tell me their children were left handed but their school work was very messy. Their coloring and tracing were very sloppy. I found that when I put the pencils in a neutral area they started to pick them up with their right hand. It took them time to get adjusted to the right hand but eventually it became much easier and more natural for them to use the right. They still did other things with the left hand but that isn't unusual. Children at 4 still are very ambidextrous.

If he is still having trouble try doing some activites to stregthen his fine motor skills. Have him sort buttons in ice cube trays, string small beads, play with small legos. Also playdough is great for building those finger muscles.

You can also buy the first pencils. They are fatter around so much easier to hold than the regular pencils. I get mine at Wal Mart.

Good Luck! SD

Answer 8

As a lefty (and an educator,) I'm not sure you should tamper too much with his hand position. Concentrate on the writing product rather than hand position...I realize it looks odd the way that many of us (myself included) write with that contorted "upside down" wrist action, but the reality is, it's what feels the most comfortable. Practicing tracing is a great way to reinforce and build confidence. Good luck!

Answer 9

Being left handed in actual schooling is so tough, especially under the Catholic system. For some reason it was a sin for me to be left handed. Anyways, I was forced to learn like a right handed person. At this point I am good with both hands. In third grade I was switched into public schools and used my left hand because I liked the way my letters looked. But since I had learned to be right handed I actual didn't write like most left handers do curving their hand around the paper. Take notice next time you write right handed, that's how I do it. It puts not strain on your wrist. Tilt your sons paper slightly to the right, and just hold your hand over his. The formation of the words is much neater, but not perfect.

For his later years when he goes to use the computer, I would suggest teaching him to use the mouse right handed, my grandmother uses it left handed, how she does it I'm not sure, and to get anything specially made for left handers is so expensive. My best friend is a bass player, and left handed, I couldn't believe how much more it was to get a left handed bass then a right handed one. Watch out for that.

I suggest putting your son in soccer, to get him really coordinated and used to using his left and iright feet, and maybe get him used to using his right hand for stuff, like at goalie. When I play soccer, I do play goalie on occasion and can throw much farther with my right then left, and kick harder with my right. It will help him being so coordinated.

I hope any of this helps.

Answer 10

I agree with Jake7874..I'm a lefty and when I was a kid people tried to get my mom to make me use my right hand, said it would be easier to help me write.. She didn't of coarse and I turned out fine..