DD9 is having an AWFUL time with her spelling. I thought we had gotten it all straightened out but now I'm seeing issues again. I don't know what to do with her. She still has a little trouble reading but can do it ok. Just not on the level her peers are on. Her handwriting is improving since we finally have been able to correct her pencil grip. Anyhow, She had a short composition to write today. As I went over her work checking for run-on sentances and spelling/capitalization, I came across so many words she should know how to spell but is struggling with. Sigh...... I feel like I'm not doing a good job with her. I REALLY need someone to point me to a GREAT curriculum to help her. Some of the words she misspelled are: mouse~~~ mous Woke~~~~wulck (don't know HOW she came up with this spelling) roar~~~~~rorr stuck~~~~Stuk Yelled~~~~yeld While~~~~~whill caught~~~~cote Someone gave me All About Spelling to use with the girls. I haven't started it yet but am REALLY thinking that we should.. I don't know what else to do.. Maybe explode the code. She likes hands on stuff but also loves workbook type stuff. She especially loved explode the code but for some reason we stopped using it. It's times like this that make me think I should not be homeschooling.... Thanks for your help Angela
I just started vol 1 of All About Spelling with my son, 7. Even though he is actually about mid-level on it, we started at the beginning and just went through the steps quickly to where he is starting to be challenged. I already see an improvement in his spelling. I would certainly start it ASAP. You could do it in conjunction with the Explode the Code books, too.
Sorry not much help, just support :love: I feel that way alot. That I am not doing a good enough job with my girls education. They both struggle with their work, especially reading. When they were in ps they went to special reading recovery classes. But I hold onto faith that one day with enough practice and support, it WILL click. Some things already have, it is just baby steps. That is why I chose to HS, because I will give them time to develop, when the ps didn't. Your dd spelling is written just like they sound, and on most of them she just missed a letter or two. I personally don't think it is that bad. She just needs to practice. I'm still pretty new to HS so I don't have a ton of ideas. In fact I am stuggling myself to find a spelling curriculum. However I have been using some of the spelling lists from this website for my younger daughter. http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/index.html
Explode the Code has an online version (for a fee of course) that might be nice for her and for you. It is something she can just sit down and do on her own. The program keeps track of her progress and zips through the stuff she knows and repeats the stuff she doesn't until she does. homeschoolco-op.com offers the subscriptions at a reduced rate; they are currently out of subscriptions, but I imagine they'll buy another batch soon.
My DS10 spells that way too. We started Sequential Spelling this month and that seems to have helped some. We're not into it far enough to really know, but he likes it. I also notice that when he takes his time and thinks, he tends to do much better at spelling, but when he rushes or just writes to write, we get the "eny" "wuz" etc. Good luck. I'm not overly worried about it, but I do realize it's a problem.
We struggle with spelling and reading here too. In fact it is the main reason we ARE homeschooling. First, even though in the past two years I have seen huge improvements in Jazz's spelling...during a composition it is still just awful (he is 12) and actually I am ok with that. Because: if he thinks too much about his spelling then he doesn't get into the writing, he doesn't find a flow and it is just agony. SO I let both the boys just write...we are going to rewrite everything anyway. I often have them go through the writing with me and often they can look and recognize which words are not spelled correctly. I could have them look them up at that point, but quite frankly I don't because they are such reluctant writers that I am really trying to leave any little tiny bit of pleasure they might be getting from the creative process intact. I sometimes ask them to spell the word orally which for Jazz is much easier. He thinks he should be able to do his spelling orally...but I have countered that spelling is a written task and he needs to be able to spell in writing. but I often have him spell the word aloud and then write it down for his tests. For spelling we use Spelling Power. This has worked well for my terrible speller and my good speller. (yipee) Jazz likes that he can only get 3 wrong. it isn't overwhelming...of course sometimes that means he is learning 15 words a week, maybe not as many as other programs, but it is so much better for him. Dutch, who spells well (and is actually ahead of Jazz in the book) had difficulty with the concept of taking the tests "cold" but when I pointed out how much more efficient it is to only study the words you don't know THEN he got it. Of course a day when he misses none is a good day. (I have tweaked the program a bit...instead of doing 7 min. We do 10 words a day...or 3 misses, whichever comes first.) So those are my competing philosophies. I actually wasn't even going to do any kind of spelling program, just correct writing...but Jazz recognized it as an issue for him and asked for a program. so there ya go. (hasn't stopped him from complaining about doing it though.)
oh, and I forgot to address the reading part. We got into Percy Jackson...for others it was Harry Potter...key being find something that lights her fire. We started the books together, and Jazz was about 2 years behind in reading. But after the 2nd book (both of us reading aloud) he pretty much took off and read the rest by himself. He likes Diary of a Whimpy Kid...captain Underpants...and any graphic novel. I let him read almost anything he is interested in. We try out new magazines...even some of the yu-gi oh and wierd stuff I am not so crazy about, it is words and reading and he is doing it. I still read aloud most of our "school" books, although I am turning more and more over to the boys. Just last night after seeing the Percy Jackson movie...dad was all impressed as the boys were comparing the book and movie and he (dad) looked at the book and said you guys both read this by yourselves? Jazz has read all of the books and Dutch just finished the first in time for the movie. Dad had reading issues too and was really almost overcome with pride that the boys had read such challenging books. (he complemented me too which was nice.)
Good point about finding what "they" like to read. My daughter is into American girl books right now. And is also getting into reading My name is America books. Which I like because they are educational as well. So a double wammy. What I find amazing is that even though she struggles with a lot of words in the book and I really haven't had time to sit and read with her like I need to(have 4 kiddos homeschooling) she still is able to tell me what the books are about. she is wonderful at narration so that has to count for something. And Congrats on impressing hubby.. THAT is GREAT! I've never heard of Percy Jackson.. I may have to look into those for my son who is 12 and has issues with reading too. We are having a hard time finding books on subjects he likes that he can read. Angela
I hope that homeschool buyers buys subscriptions of online ETC soon. I REALLY want to try that with my oldest DD. Angela
All About Spelling has been such a BLESSING for my struggling speller (who has a processing deficit). We started at level 1 and she's now at the beginning of level 3. We're not flying through it but she's "getting it".
It is Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The movie (1st book is just out this month) The boys recommend seeing the movie first, as they said they spent the entire movie waiting for thier favorite parts, most of which were not in the movie. The books are a 6-7th grade level...but my 4th grader did fine with it. Both boys are so much more aware of the greek myths and the monsters and we have gotten into such amazing discussions about God vs the gods...I really feel like it has opened up so many things for all of us. I think some may be cautious about the content...but we have pointed out how disappointing the greek/roman gods were as gods...compared to God. That the mythological gods were just large extra powerful humans, with flaws and faults.
My daughters are reading these. Actually the oldest read all 5 books in less than 5 days The younger daughter is on book 1. I actually bought them for my son :lol: He hasn't read any of them yet. My DD9 who isn't a big reader is begging me for extra time to read:love:
I use The Phonics Road to Spelling and Reading for my 2nd grader and his spelling improved almost immediately. I LOVE this program! It's a little pricey, but worth EVERY penny!
Since I already have AAS I think I'm should jump in and get started with it. I've tried to fit it in all year but there always seems to be more to do than what I have written on our schedule. If you know what I mean.. I'm going to have to juggle some stuff around. Not easy when you have four kiddos to school. Thanks for all your replies. Angela
Keep your child reading books where she is comfortable and let her park there for a while. She has to read every day. For my 8 year old she is reading the books that are for 1 - 3 graders. But it brings up her confidence in reading. I just finished a word family book with her and are moving on to sight words flash cards. As for the spelling during writing class...this is a hard one. If we as a teacher get al over their spelling then the child won't use words in their writing that they don't know how to spell. I have learned to have the child write, whatever the assignment is, to their best ability. Then to take a day (or a set period of time) of rest from it. Then we come back to it and the child edits it, and then I edit it. Then we look at it together, maybe read out loud to siblings for feedback, and then make changes and write final copy. Sometimes not all assignments make it to the last stage, sometimes we park in diferent stages and then need to move on. I use Spelling Power. I like it. My struggling reader is learning to spell.
E-mail them; if they know you are waiting, they might stock up sooner. They have responded quickly to my requests; they'll at least tell you when the expect to order more.
I actually just got Spelling Power from Amazon because I feel like the spelling programs we've used so far for my daughter are not working well. She's not a bad speller, but I don't think she is where she should be. I read the forward and part of the quick start steps today and the story of how she came up with the program (her daughter was a bad speller and the research she did to improve her daughter's spelling) is fascinating. I (obviously) haven't tried it yet to see how well it works, but it has to be better than what we've tried so far.
My oldest uses Spelling Power and it's a good fit for her. My younger daughter just didn't learn well with SP. All About Spelling is working extremely well for her learning challenges and style. I recently bought Sequential Spelling to see how my son likes it and I plan to have my daughter using AAS use it in addition to AAS. NOT because AAS needs any supplement but because I think it'll help hone some of her weaker skills in a different way. I keep putting off starting it though...where, oh where to put it into our day...lol
Two of my children are visual spellers, so traditional spelling lists/programs don't work for them because they quickly forget how to spell the words after studied. We do alot of copywork and dictation and reading aloud. This seems to have made the most difference in my children's spelling, espcially my 10 year old daughter. You daughter is spelling the words the way they sound...pull those words aside and ask her to see how many ways she can spell the word, and choose which one "looks right". Focus on the visual apsect of spelling. Hope you find what works best for her.
www.spellingcity.com gives my daughter tons of practice on her words. You can enter her lists and they will be saved to your profile. She can then play games spelling the words.
