kokotg Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 Right now for language arts, my six year old is doing Explode the Code 3, reading out loud to me, First Language Lessons, and WWE 1. I bought All About Spelling for this year, but we both hated it, and it was a giant time suck, so we gave it up. I keep meaning to add a spelling program back in, but do I really need to? I was flipping through spelling books at Barnes and Noble this weekend, and it really seems like a lot of it would be similar to what he's already doing in ETC. His spelling is decent, as long as it's a word it's pretty easy to get a grip on phonetically. His reading is coming along, but he still has a way to go before I send him off on his own with a chapter book or anything. So....thoughts? Will I destroy him forever if I hold off on formal spelling until he's a stronger reader? My older son is such a natural speller that I haven't done a formal spelling program with him in years, but I suspect this one is going to need a bit more work with it. TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imhim Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 My oldest is in first grade and doing Explode the Code 3 - too easy for her - will start FLL and WWE soon. She wants to try for the Spelling Bee, but she is not a natural speller, so we work for that. She reads very well, but does not enjoy reading yet by herself, thinking it's school... I just got Steck-Vaughn Spelling: Linking Words to MEaning - I think my dd will have fun with that. They teach proof reading, too, and other skills that I would not have thought of by myself. But English is my second language, and always worry my children will not spell well unless I do a lot with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidbits of Learning Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 I am using Steck-Vaughn Linking Words to Meaning with my 1st grader and I love it. It is just enough and not too much. It definitely doesn't take a lot of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 No, you will not harm your child by holding off on spelling. My dd7 is using SWO B at this point (she's in ETC 6), but my older dc started in later SWO levels and did just fine. I think ETC is great for teaching spelling. My two younger kids who've had the benefit of ETC took to spelling much more naturally than my oldest who never did ETC. If I were you, I'd add SWO A sometime in the next 6 months. Plan to do it fairly quickly and get into SWO B around ETC 5 or 6. These early levels of SWO takes about 3-5 min a day if done 5 days a week. One reason I do like doing SWO is that it teaches lots of other handy things (synonyms, homonyms, proof reading marks, etc.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atozmom Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 Were are using ETC right now as well. Ds (1st grade) is just about to start book 3. We will not be using a formal spelling program while doing ETC. I too felt like it would be too repetitive. If you would like to test him on his spelling skills, you could always just use words from each lesson. Use the words that are repeated throughout the lesson. I have not decided which spelling program we will use when we complete ETC. I do not want random lists, but lists grouped according to spelling rules. For this reason I had looked into Spelling Power. However, I am not sure if that method would work for DS. So the search continues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atozmom Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 StephanieZ - I just looked at a sample of SWO at Rainbow Resources, but it didn't give you very much to look at. Is there somewhere else you can get a good look inside the books? Also do you have to start with the first book? Or could we start with a later level next year sometime. Sorry kokotg, not trying to hijack you thread.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coralloyd Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 I don't start spelling until 2nd or 3rd grade. There really is no need, especially if you are doing ETC. When I do start spelling I do it through copywork.Three days a week she copies the same passage, paying close attention to the words she doesn't know. On the 4th day I dictate the passage to her. It works really great this way. I do not care for spelling lists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted November 10, 2009 Author Share Posted November 10, 2009 Thanks everyone! I think I'll hold off until next year, and I will definitely take a look at the programs you guys have mentioned. Spelling Workout was my default choice, but I'll look into the others, too. Both DS8 and DS6 have been begging me to do spelling bees for them (dorks! ;)), so I think I'll try to start doing those, or some variation, using the ETC words for the 6 yo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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