happycc Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 one of my kids spelling work has just stopped because I stopped using All about spelling. It is truly cumbersome with very active little ones. Besides she says it is too easy as we were going through it rather systematically...she is now 11yrs old soon to be 12 yrs old. So I am looking for a workbook program that is good and helps retain information. I do not thinking Spelling Workout would work though. Or maybe Phonetic Zoo just don;t know what level to start her with. I need it to be independent at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 Phonetic Zoo isn't a workbook, but it's independent. There's a placement test on the website. I've also heard R&S is good and mostly independent. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 So I am looking for a workbook program that is good and helps retain information.... I need it to be independent at this point. Megawords is designed for grades 4+, with vocabulary words in the word lists that are super for into middle/high school. It is mostly independent; parent dictates a series of syllables or words, or the test, about 1-2 times a week -- takes about 5 minutes. You may want to do the placement test in the Assessment book ($25) which also explains the program -- or check out the table of contents and see if you can skip Book 1, and possible Book 2. The Books do start getting harder at Book 3. Megawords teaches vowel and spelling patterns and syllabication rules, and how to break longer words into shorter chunks for spelling attack. Yes, you do need the teacher book (it has the lists of syllables/words you dictate for the occasional exercise, plus answers for speedy grading). Yes, you'll go through more than 1 book in a typical school year. We did 1 page a day, 4x/week, and went through 1 full book and about 1/4 to 1/3 of a next one. Some families do more pages a week, and go through 1 book per semester. There are 8 books in all, and they do advance in difficulty. See table of contents and sample pages at Christian Book's website. BEST of luck in finding what words best! Warmest regards, Lori D. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amyrobynne Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 Phonetic zoo has a placement test. I've liked using it for more independent spelling with my kids after AAS 3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2_girls_mommy Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 My 11 yr old has always done R&S independently. I just had a baby too, and am reevaluating a few things, or maybe just trying to get back into some things before I totally give up on them. We shall see.... Congrats! When was yours born? I got a Valentine surprise here :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happycc Posted March 10, 2014 Author Share Posted March 10, 2014 My baby is not really a baby. He is a toddler and toddlers in my opinion is harder to homeschool with than babies. I would take a baby anytime. Just sit in my lap and nurse all day and burp, sleep and change diaper and that is it. The mobile baby and toddler-----is really challenging to have around when homeschooling! You not only have to keep them entertained but also safe. But the entertainment is seconds long and they are off doing something else--like throwing snake bedding in the fish tank or throwing your kindle in the toilet or climbing bookshelves and throwing the books down or dancing on the tables and pushing all the books on the ground or stealing older siblings pens out of hands and writing in your textbooks, papers or pounding on your laptop etc!!!!! My house is wide open with no doors or separate rooms per se so baby has access. We rent so we don;t want to add additional holes in the walls to add baby gates and besides no baby gate will reach the width of these rooms. On top of it, he will just climb over the baby gates. Tried that all ready. Tried putting him in a portacrib like a playpen. Forget that. He fell on his head trying to climb out. I really hate this age! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 The mobile baby I giggled at this cute homophone -- I pictured babies happily floating and slowly rotating from a ceiling sculpture. :) … is really challenging to … homeschooling! … You not only have to keep them entertained but also safe. But the entertainment is seconds long and they are off doing something else This might be the time to work your toddler slowly into increasing amounts of chair time -- strapped in the high chair with a rotating variety of activities. You could start with 10 minutes in the morning, and another 10 minutes in the afternoon and work up. Lots of all kinds of ideas in the threads below. Hang in there with your little busy bee! Warmest regards, Lori D. What do you do with toddlers? Homeschooling with a toddler Activities for 17 month old boy for school time Homeschooling with toddlers -- help! Workboxes/bins for toddler ideas Toddlers and physical activity in the house Argh! Toddler! Some websites: 20 easy art activities for a 1-year-old Preschoolers and peace Preschool activities 10 activities to occupy a toddler Activities for a 1-year-old 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 I second Sequential Spelling DVDs. I plan to drop the SeqSpell workbook for them. Also agree with Lori. It takes a chunk of time at first, but setting up some toddler busy bags or stations around your home pays off in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendall Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 This is probably not worth even mentioning. My almost 14 year old had not done spelling very regularly until this year. We use spelling power(which is just list after list and you give then words until they miss 3). I picked up where we left off and we have been really diligent with it this year. We are flying through it. This is my student that struggles the most in school though her spelling was never horrible. I'm not sure what I should conclude from this, but maybe hit and miss for awhile may not cause lost ground and your child may even gain ground as mine did. I have Spelling Power pages separate so that I could just hold one piece of paper while I was nursing and giving spelling words(though those days are past!). Kendall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happycc Posted February 23, 2015 Author Share Posted February 23, 2015 Update on life: My mobile baby was diagnosed with autism. He is nonverbal autistic and is using sign language to communicate. He has 20 hours of ABA and 3 hours of speech each week and we have three hours of ASL with two deaf mentors a week. PLus my five yrs old has 10hours of aba and 1 hours of speech.. So you can imagine my life now. I have very little time to teach one to one anymore. Megawords...just didn't work well for my daughters. Nothing retained despite all the work involved, testing, writing, scoring, charting etc. Rewards was wonderful but Megawords flopped. I am not sure what I did wrong. Anyways checking into Apples and Pears now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 … My mobile baby … has 20 hours of ABA ... 3 hours of speech … three hours of ASL … my five yrs old has 10hours of aba and 1 hours of speech.. … I have very little time to teach one to one anymore. Megawords...just didn't work well for my daughters. … checking into Apples and Pears now. Yikes! That is a full plate! But, glad the DC who need the therapies are able to receive that! :) For the struggling speller -- you may not have done anything wrong. Spelling just may not click for another year or two; esp. if strongly a visual-spatial learner. Then you might be looking at needing something visual, using color / picture / story to embed in the long-term right hemisphere (see specific techniques from Dianne Craft, and in Jeffrey Freed's Right Brain Children in a Left Brain World). However, these are going to take a lot of parent time to do the daily remediation and oversee the practice. Are there any ADD tendencies? Maybe there is a need for a "fidget" to help with focus in this weak area. Phonetic Zoo is independent working, and helps build weak auditory-sequential skills, which is absolutely a must for correct spelling (hearing the letters/sounds, and placing the letters in correct left-to-right sequence). And if you have a strongly visual-spatial learner, they are usually quite weak in the auditory-sequential area. Apples and Pears could work, but will require a fair amount of daily parent input and oversight. Will you have the time for that? Now that you have helps for the youngers, BEST of luck in finding what helps your struggling speller! Warmest regards, Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Sounds full on. If a child can't spell well enough to drop spelling at 12 maybe it is time to teach dictionary and spell check use. Some people (my mother for example) just never seem to get spelling to automaticity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morningcoffee Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Sounds full on. If a child can't spell well enough to drop spelling at 12 maybe it is time to teach dictionary and spell check use. Some people (my mother for example) just never seem to get spelling to automaticity. I've been wondering about this approach for my 13 year old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Megawords...just didn't work well for my daughters. Nothing retained despite all the work involved, testing, writing, scoring, charting etc. Rewards was wonderful but Megawords flopped. I am not sure what I did wrong. :grouphug: It was a complete flop here as well. Just wanted to chime in & say that despite the glowing reviews and high hopes, it doesn't work for everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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