Homeschool SpellingTeaching your child to spell using a homeschool spelling workbook can sometimes help them be a good speller, but often children need more spelling reinforcement than just a workbook. Some children are natural spellers and need very little spelling instruction and other children require lots of help and still struggle. Here are some aspects of homeschool spelling instruction that you can use to help your child become a better speller: 1. Copy anything they can get their hands on. Your child can copy Bible passages, famous quotes, poems, or anything else that might interest him/her. Writing correctly spelled words over and over again will help them get in the habit of spelling words correctly. If your child doesn't copy words correctly, then you may need to address that issue with other methods. Most children can copy words from a book to their paper without any trouble though. 2. Check their writing when they write a story or note. If you see your child misspell a word, make either a mental note or physical note to go over the spelling of that word. You probably shouldn't do it right away, but at some point in the future when you are working on spelling words. You can include it with his/her weekly spelling list or just keep a running list with you so that you can orally quiz those words when you are in the car or waiting for an appointment. 3. Use a computer to write a story. Although children need to learn good handwriting skills, the occasional use of a computer word processing program can be very handy for learning how to spelling words correctly. Have your child write a story or an email and let the program find the misspelled words in their document. Your child will wonder why a particular word is underlined in red. This will be a perfect opportunity for them to look up that word and figure out how to spell it correctly. Who wants to write an email or paper with a bunch of words underlined in red? This will provide a natural correction process that will help your child want to spell correctly. 4. Write lots of lists. If your child is getting ready for a trip or overnight visit to Grandma's house, have them make a list of what they want to bring. Look for opportunities to make lists at other times too. If you are in the car and remember something you need to buy, have your child get out a piece of paper and pen and write down the item for you so you don't forget. You can get your grocery list made this way too. Just have your child write down everything you say and let them add some items of their own that they want you to buy. I got this idea from the book Any Child Can Write. I highly recommend this book. It gives lots of great suggestions for helping your child write effectively using a low stress approach. Here are some homeschool Spelling programs that we have used and liked:
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