againstthegrain Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 My son finds spelling very challenging (though he does very well at it when he applies himself by oral studying, though he still gets very frustrated and complains about it constantly). He's 7. He will get all his spelling words right but still spell them repeatedly incorrectly in his writing, which is advanced for his age. He will misspell "New Jersey" when he writes when he has a map right in front of him but orally he spells it correctly. It feels like he is trying to get out all his thoughts that he is not paying attention to spelling as its completely phonetic (but only SOMEtimes - othertimes he spells fine). I am heavily considering taking a year off of spelling curriculum and going the copywork route instead. Trying to get him to FOCUS on his writing like he does in his penmanship (which is beautiful cursive). Thoughts? Does anyone else not do a spelling curriculum? Pros and cons you experienced homeschoolers have had with a child who has my child's spelling tendencies? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IfIOnly Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Just posted this on another thread: I've heard that spelling for many starts to click around 9? I recall hearing something like that on this forum several times. We don't really do spelling until 3rd grade here because it's an exercise in futility here. After four tries/kids, I'm just over it. :) It's just Explode the Code until then. ETA: And, yes, we did try AAS. I say go for it. Take a year off and do copy work. But we kind of roll that way. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classically Minded Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 From what I remember either from TWTM or SWB, spelling words correctly most of the time won't show up in writing until around 5th grade and that has been true for us. So if he is passing spelling tests, he is probably fine but if he is having trouble with that, you may want to try All About Spelling - we did and it helped my dd a few years ago, who had issues spelling. AAS includes dictations with the spelling words in them and I think that really helped my dd as well. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 How about trying Dictation Day by Day? I was going to skip spelling but I realized doing this would cover spelling, handwriting, writing, and possibly even grammar if I do it right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
againstthegrain Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 Are you referring the 1909 printing for Diction Day by Day by Wagenen? I want to make sure I am finding what you are referring to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 My daughter is 8 and can't spell for the life of her. I have tried multiple spelling curricula with her and last year I just said forget it! She is also a big writer, although I can hardly read her stories when she gives them to me, due to the spelling errors. (That doesn't really bother her, though.) I think that copywork and dictation are an excellent way to expose them to correct spelling, especially at that age. We did begin All About Spelling this year and she has been doing SO well. Not sure if it is the curriculum or if something has just clicked in her brain (or if AAS 1 is just easy!) but she is doing really well with it. FWIW, there is no way she'd spell New Jersey correctly - written or oral! If I could do over with her, I'd do only copywork and then probably start AAS now (3rd grade). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiara.I Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 I didn't even START spelling until just after the 8th birthday. (Just before? I can't remember now. Within a month or so either way, anyway.) So I think it would be worthwhile taking a break for a while. It really may be that he just hasn't matured into applying the known spellings into the writing he's producing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 My son finds spelling very challenging (though he does very well at it when he applies himself by oral studying, though he still gets very frustrated and complains about it constantly). He's 7. He will get all his spelling words right but still spell them repeatedly incorrectly in his writing, which is advanced for his age. He will misspell "New Jersey" when he writes when he has a map right in front of him but orally he spells it correctly. It feels like he is trying to get out all his thoughts that he is not paying attention to spelling as its completely phonetic (but only SOMEtimes - othertimes he spells fine). I am heavily considering taking a year off of spelling curriculum and going the copywork route instead. Trying to get him to FOCUS on his writing like he does in his penmanship (which is beautiful cursive). Thoughts? Does anyone else not do a spelling curriculum? Pros and cons you experienced homeschoolers have had with a child who has my child's spelling tendencies? Personally, I don't even do a formal spelling until the dc are 9ish (unless I taught dc to read and spell with Spalding), so your plan is not challenging at all. :hat: Also, FTR, "curriculum" is really what you are teaching, not what you are using to teach. So if your plan is to help your ds improve his spelling via copywork, you still have a "curriculum" for spelling; it just looks like copywork instead of Spelling by Sound and Structure, or Spelling Workout, or whatever. And also, I would not categorize your ds's spelling skills as "tendencies." He is just 7yo. Many dc who are just 7yo don't have a handle on spelling, because they're just 7. :001_smile: I would just think of it as the way he's spelling now, and that he'll improve as he matures. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Are you referring the 1909 printing for Diction Day by Day by Wagenen? I want to make sure I am finding what you are referring to. Yes, that's the one. I downloaded it from Forgotten Books and transferred it to my Kindle. I got the Fourth Year. I could have also just downloaded the Modern Speller and I could have used that forever (if this approach works), but I didn't figure it out in time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CadenceSophia Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 My 7 year old doesn't do spelling because he can't write more than a word at a time without fatigue. Your child sounds very advanced to me so I think you are fine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
againstthegrain Posted July 31, 2015 Author Share Posted July 31, 2015 I like the insight into the fact he may just not be mature enough to apply his spelling. Sometimes I forget he is only 7 as he excels in so many subjects. I think we'll take this year off. Thank you so much ladies for making me feel more vindicated in this choice, ha! :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess4879 Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 I agree with Ellie. He's only 7. I don't think it's a case of him not focusing on his writing. It's very normal for spelling mistakes in written work. There's a lot of things happening at the same time when they write. They are trying to keep their thoughts in order, form the letters, write neatly, follow proper mechanics, etc. Something is going to give in those early years, especially. If he spells a word incorrectly, isolate the word and ask him to spell it orally. If he gets it right, it's not a spelling issue. He just needs time for those skills to transfer over. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caviar Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 My 7 year old doesn't do spelling because he can't write more than a word at a time without fatigue. Your child sounds very advanced to me so I think you are fine. This echoes my thoughts exactly. My soon to be 7 year old ds wouldn't be able to write long enough to be able to spell anything, yet. We do some words orally, which is fine and plenty for now. I'm more interested in him reading, then maybe start spelling in a year or so. FWIW, my 5th grade dd is finally beginning to spell with more ease, but it took her this long. Remember, you're in this for the long haul - it will work out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama mills Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 my son is 8 and is starting 3rd grade and this is the first year we will be doing spelling. He just wasn't ready for it and the thought of it made him upset. So I backed off and this year he asked to do spelling :) I think a year of no spelling is fine at their young age. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classically Minded Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Forgot to mention something else that may help you. Have him do a lot of copywork, it will help with seeing and writing words correctly. Not sure if you already have done copywork but we did copywork for 1st and 2nd grade, so she got a good idea of how sentence structure should look and was more aware of words and how they are spelled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mschickie Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Taking time off from spelling at this age is fine. He is still very young. If you want to look at alternative spelling programs you might want to look at a program like Spelling Power. The lessons are short (max of 15 per day). He is only 7 so I would not push it to hard. You can also just provide him lists of common words (or words he commonly misspells) for him to use as a reference for now. At this young age I would not make a big deal about it even if he is advanced in other areas. Between 5 and 9 years of age learning and processing is mainly done in spurts. This is one of the reasons standardized tests are really not recommended before 3rd grade, kid's abilities are all over the scale and can change at a moments notice. It is just the way the brain processes and is growing. If he is getting frustrated tell him it is ok at this point, normal that he messes it up sometimes his brain is just working on something else. You could even just have him dictate his work to you so he can get all his ideas out of his head. You do not want to squash his love of writing in general and if misspelling words is an issue for him then that might be a solution for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbes Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 My 7yo daughter isn't great at spelling either, but I figure it's a function of age, like pp mentioned. I haven't been planning to do official spelling with her until a few years from now. In the meantime, she reads a lot and does copywork and I figure that frequently seeing the words in correct form will do a lot down the road. We discuss spelling in a casual way when she wants to write something and I tend to point out that, 'oh look, the igh makes this sound', etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. B Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 Agreeing with all of the advice above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 Yeah let's have a party. I'm sick of spelling too!! Lol JK My advice is that if you have not completed phonics it's ok to defer spelling. However if you are done with intensive phonics it's time to start spelling. I recommend. AAS for kids this age because it is quite intensive yet not overwhelming and it usually works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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