Some children have a LOT of trouble with writing because they are using the wrong hand!  It happens.  A left handed child may attempt to be like everyone else, and use his right hand to write.  In fact, very intelligent kids can make this mistake, because from a young age they notice that we live in a right-handed world, and thus they copy everyone else.  They use the right hand, instead of doing what comes naturally.  These children have a very difficult time getting the words onto the paper, they are slow and sloppy, disoriented, and they may end up failing to thrive in school... and no one knows why.  

I recently met with a mom whose son had this problem.  Instead of teaching him to use his left hand, the doctor encouraged the parents to let him use a computer and type out his schoolwork, rather than use a pencil and paper.  He was only a second grader at the time, but this seemed to work well. 

After hearing this story the mom showed me a little test the doctor did with her son.  To see if he was right or left handed.  I tried the test and realized that although I grew up right handed, I have many left handed tendencies.  That evening I decided to put a pencil into my left hand to see if I could draw.  Well, my left hand surprised me!

Look what I drew with my left hand:

When it was time to start 1st grade Anna was ready to learn!  We quickly learned that she wasn't ready to learn reading, writing and math.  After struggling with these subjects I knew she needed more time to just focus on her talents and special interests.  So we spent a whole year majoring in art, design and science.  It was wonderful!

I believe that homeschooling gives us a beautiful freedom to help our children to become who they were design to be.  We can make this happen by focusing on our child's strengths, gifts and talents (not just their weaknesses).  If you want to have a happy homeschooler give you child a chance to study the things that she enjoys the most. That is the beauty of homeschooling.  If your child thinks outside the box, if your child has a huge imagination, if your child loves to invent, create and play... then give her freedom to explore her world.  Give her the tools she needs to advance in her talents.

I provided Anna with art and craft supplies, and she amazed us all with her creations.  We began to focus on reading and writing in 3rd grade, when she was ready, we used puzzles, games and art to teach her things that were challenging for her.  Anna has always been a happy child, because of our homeschooling style she was not restricted by her dyslexia and in time she was ready to overcome the challenges, without losing any of the gifts of dyslexia..