Yesterday I took the kids to the library. I had to tell my 11 year old how to spell science and my 12 year old how to spell indian!! WHAT is going on?? Shouldn't they already know this??? This is our 2nd year homeschooling and I'm beginning to wonder if I'm actually doing a good job.. I thought I was. But then this happened. It's embarrassing because they ask me loudly and the librarian knows that I homeschool and I'm sure she heard too. On top of that my 11 year old is still stuck on his times tables.. I just don't know what to do.. UGH!!
Take a deep breath! My sons are not the greatest spellers. But I know it is something we haven't focused on in the last two years. This year, our focus is writing, grammar and spelling. If your kids were in PS they would have been tested, possibly failed the test or recieved a not so great grade and the class would have moved on without your children still not being able to spell indian or science. At home, mom notices and makes a change to fix it. It is part of why we all choose to homeschool, so things don't get missed. On a side note, maybe they just aren't meant to be great spellers I know it isn't my strongest area either.
Ask your children to tell you some of the words they are not able to spell. Have them write each word seven times. During the week tell your children to write sentences using the spelling words. You can also make up games using the spelling words. Breaking the words up in syllables seems to help some children. Give your son a times table test. Have him only study what he does not know. Make a game out of it. Do not have him advance to the next level until he masters his times table. He will not be able to do well with division, fractions, or algebra if he does not master it. Hope this helps!
You are doing a Good job. Some librarians have to ask some children to leave the library because of a behavioral problem. Save this post and show it to them 10 years from now or to your grandchildren. This too shall pass... :angel:
These are but drops of paint upon a very large canvas and hardly enough upon which to judge the entire picture.
My 13 year old is perhaps the WORST speller EVER. It is so infuriating. I have posted at other message boards before, regarding this issue, and am surprised to turn up that for boys (because that's what I asked about.. maybe it's girls too) it can be normal.
I have a 15 and a 12 year old,both girls..and very often my eldest will have to double check her spelling where my youngest has no issue at all.As i have to constantly remind the two of them not everyone is perfect at everything and perhaps your son is destined not to be the worlds greatest speller but his expertise will be somewhere else, my eldest while not brilliant at spelling is a whizz at maths and science.
I wouldn't worry too much about it. First, science is a tricky word to spell. Second, maybe the kids just didn't want to take the time to sound it out and think about it. You know it's always easier to ask mom. I agree with what the others have posted, spelling is a tricky subject for most and it's only a SMALL PIECE of the educational puzzle over all! I'm sure your kids are well rounded overall!
I have a 15 year old who has never been good at spelling and a 10 year old who can spell great. My 10 year old is in 5th grade and could not get the hang of times tables until we got Math U See. Now it has clicked and she finally knows them!
I wouldn't say you are doing something wrong, you are actually doing something right because you KNOW what they don't know and now you can work on it. When I brought mine home, I couldn't believe how much they didn't know. All of their work was stellar. Because your children were in school longer than mine, you will probably continue to find gaps. Both my girls are terrible spellers and have poor punctuation skills, but excel in everything else. The content of their writing is amazing, but it's hard to share with others because the spelling and punctuation errors are so distracting. Spell check can't even help them it's so bad. This year is the first year I have decided to focus on it and they are getting it quickly because I found a program that is working for them. They are in 4th and 6th grade. As far as the librarian's opinion of you, our librarian knows we homeschool and she knows the girls are awful spellers. (They don't ask me how to spell something, they ask HER, talk about embarrassing!) BUT she LOVES having them come in because they are such avid readers and they are fun to talk to. She constantly comments on how smart and well behaved they are and on the fact that they know how to find a book using a call number (something most kids can't do apparently.) When I mention their spelling, she says "but you are doing such a great job, they'll get it eventually." Just continue to find those gaps and fill them in.
Thanks for the pep talk! My 11 year old always made 100's on his spelling tests at school and NEVER studied. But when I get him home he has a really hard time spelling. I don't get it. But you all are right,this is only a SMALL piece of their education. They have learned TONS this past year and are doing so good. I've seen my son turn into a science NUT. LOL! ANYTHING to do with science and he wants to do it. So he has been able to focus a little more on that than he would if he were in school. BECAUSE I probably wouldn't even have noticed that he liked it so much. So I'm learning things about MY kids now that I didn't know before. I LOVE homeschooling. I an able to focus more on one thing and get them caught up and I can totally leave something else alone if they get it. THIS is how school SHOULD be.. If my son were in public school he would've been left behind with the multiplication tables by now. And been TOTALLY lost. This is a FOUNDATION in math. So if he doesn't get this he's really going to have a hard time. Sorry to ramble. Thanks again.
Okay in regards to the times tables--my ds is making up one that goes up to a hundred he says because the chart we use ( yes we use the chart in 6th, because it is good to use one) Only goes to tens. I say make the kids fill in times tables periodically, once a month or something, have a reward for whoever can do it without a mistake. with out the chart! Start with them using the chart, then let them peek only if they cant remember one after they have gone through them all, then finally with out one at all. 3 step process. As for the spelling, Don't worry what other people think-- first of all! Not about what your kids know or do not know... i am sure the fact that your child actually asked you aloud showed a lot of good things! Like for instance-- he is not afraid to ask for help. He is looking up Indian in something which shows he is not just looking for Pokemon books but something studious! He has intrest in Indians. all of the above would impress me! No worries! You just showed that homeschooling works!
Something to remember, in every subject there will be parts that your children will forget and have to redo. Even as an adult, there are words I do not use often and I have forgotten how to spell them.
Kids tend to cram and spit back out the right answers for spelling tests but then can't spell the word a day later in a writing assignment. This is part of the reason that I don't do the traditional Friday spelling test. We're using 2 different programs (Spelling Power for the oldest, All About Spelling for the middle one, DS isn't using a formal one yet). Spelling Power you test blindly and then they only study the words they missed (she does well at spelling generally). All About Spelling is a sequential hands-on program that is on a level bases (not by grades) and uses the Orton-Gillingham phonograms and teaches the basic spelling rules that my daughter never learned (either of them actually learned "rules" in their ps). My 8 yr old really STRUGGLES with spelling. She could always learn them for a Friday test but can't spell them later. Someone mentioned writing the spelling words "x" times. This works for some kids but it does NOT work for all kids. My 8 year old could write a words 100 times and still misspell it the next day. Writing expression is an issue for her so more writing for her isn't the answer all the time. But it does work well for my oldest to write out spelling words. That's why I'm glad there are so many great options out there. Rhonda C.
thats why we really liked the ACSI spelling last year. Ds really learned it because there was a page a day, he only had to do a page a day in his eyes that was small fries, and as he got the answers, I tested him on Wed, if he was getting all correct on pages and test he could skip fridays test!
these 2 things are our weeknesses too. my 2 boys are awfull spellers and no matter how i try with them they dont seem to get it, weve done spelling worksheats, spelling tests, i give them word puzzles anagrams, anything so they can try to get the structure of words but a year on and things dont seem to be much better with spelling. I must say that there writing had improved greatly but this is brads last year of primary school and i had hoped that he would have got spelling by now. he does silly things like leaving the e off the end of some and spell there thair ect jake however im begining to become concerned about, yet again his writing had improved so much but hes gone backwards with his spelling and is spelling phoneticaly again, even when the word he needs is right infront of him to copy. He does have dyspraxia but im not sure that thats a reason? times tables are terrably upsetting for jake yet our national curriculum requires that he knows them at this age. he struggles enough to do them in order ( 1x 2x 3x 4x cet) but if there jumbled ( 7x 3x 10x 5x) he panics and we get nothing done. we have times table games and cards but non of seems to be helping. if anyone comes up with a tryed and tested solution pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaase let me know!
I'm an English major & freelance writer, and there are words that I struggle over...like 'vacuum' and 'conscience' and 'recipe'. You would think, questioning how often I misspell them, that I would know them but I don't. BUT I know how to fix them when I am "turning something in"!!
