Anyone here who *doesn't* do a formal spelling program and what do you do instead?

[EKS]

I am going round and round about what to use for spelling for my 6 yo next fall. I've narrowed it down to Spelling Power or Spelling Workout or maybe... nothing :eek:. Would doing nothing formal be crazy? I gave him the test in Spelling Power and his grade equivalent was 2.7 so it's not like he's behind or anything.

 

Any thoughts on doing nothing?

 

Thanks!

[kokotg]

My six year old does nothing. Well, he does copywork and dictation, and I make sure there are unfamiliar/harder to spell words there. And he writes all the time (on his own) and asks me how to spell things about 29 times a day. But we don't do a formal spelling program.

[WTMindy]

Shhhhhhhhhhh, don't tell the homeschool police, but we don't do spelling. I will say that my kids are pretty decent spellers naturally and I found that memorizing words on a list and getting 100% didn't seem to translate to their writing. Now, I just look for words they misspell in their writing and make a card for them that they have to know. However, I did do spelling Workout when they were younger.

[ArwenA]

We "got rid" of spelling recently and I'm so happy!!:D:D

We used SWO but I feel it is just busy work. I don't think we'll do spelling for the rest of the school year, just copywork. Because I'm me I know that I'll I need my kids to do something. I'm thinking of using words from their writing that they spelt incorrectly and maybe words in the books we're reading. *thinking*

I'm still getting this sorted out.

[Audrey]

We used ETC as part of our learning to read / phonics program. That was enough for spelling, too, in preK, K, & 1. After that, I just would make a list of misspelled words from his writing, or would use words from subjects we were studying. It works well for us.

[Trivium Academy]

We dropped spelling and it's been great, we've been able to focus on reading fluency and comprehension. I will not have spelling for my younger child until 3rd grade or when he's reading fluently and ready to write on his own. We're going to use Simply Spelling by Laurie Hicks, which is studied dictation like CM suggests for 3rd-12th (of course I can't say that for sure but the book covers those grades) and I'm confident this will be enough. Once you start considering all that your child will be doing in every subject, you may find that spelling is a waste of time for youngers.

 

Copywork, phonics instruction, being read to and reading fluency is really all a child needs before they are able to independently write. Of course that is just my take based on what I've read about spelling instruction.

 

Hope it helps, ultimately it's up to you- you can always add it back in if you feel you need to address that area.

[WTMindy]

I forgot to mention that we do dictation and I go over their spelling in that and add those words to their cards also.

[ThelmaLou]

My boys don't do spelling in earnest until 4th grade. My natural spellers do great without it. I find that my non-natural spellers struggle whether they start early or not. My ds#2 was a terrible speller. I tried 3 different spelling programs with him prior to 4th grade, and his retention was atrocious. I didn't have the patience or time to invest in spelling with him, so I tried Phonetic Zoo starting in 4th grade (completely student-intensive). He completed Level A and is now two-thirds of the way through Level B. I don't know if it's the program or just a bit of developmental maturity, but his spelling is now fantastic. Based on my experience with ds#2, I'm holding off on formal spelling with my 3rd ds until next year. He does loads of copywork, and his spelling is not that bad. I'm going to start him on Phonetic Zoo Level A when he begins 4th grade.

[elegantlion]

We use Natural Speller, but rather informally. I don't like having pre-determined activities. So I make lists from their rec, but we touch on them in class 3 days a week. I guess you could call it relaxed. We do test on the words at the end of the week.

[prairiegirl]

We don't use a formal program. I use ETC and copywork for Gr. 1 and then in Gr. 3 we start studied dication. It remains to be seen if this will work as my oldest is only in Gr. 3 but I coudn't stand the busy work of most spelling programs, so this is the better option for us.

[MelissaMinNC]

I started with Spelling Workout this year, but dropped it. I much prefer a Charlotte Mason approach in these early years - copywork, copywork, copywork. Exposure to good literature, lots of it. So, we will use copywork as an all-in-one resource for spelling, handwriting and grammar until 3rd grade. DD also does narrations; she dictates, I write - not sure when I'll start having her write her own, but not any time really soon. In 3d grade, we'll start doing spelling through studied dication, but I don't know what resource we'll use for that yet, or if I'll just pick lit passages for her to study, etc.

 

HTH!

Melissa

[mamamoon]

i am ready to drop spelling workout with my dd (7) myself. i just don't feel she is getting much out of it.

i feel we do so much already that i can't even get to it most of the time w/FLL, math, history, etc..

 

mamamoon~

[Parabola]

I'm also about to drop SWO. Ds loves the puzzles and crosswords, but he's already a decent speller. He writes a lot of stories on his own, and he asks about unfamiliar words, and seems to remember them after spelling them once.

We'll be using FLL 3 in the fall, and that with WWE and all the copywork, dictation, narration, etc that goes with it all should be enough for him.

I also may though purchase the rule cards and phonics cards from SWR because I think the rules would be useful to know, for me too, not just him.

[Tami]

and since then spelling has been hit or miss in deference to copywork/dictation. We have done some Calvert Spelling CD work, but not real consistently. Our constant is daily copywork or dictation. We have found it unfussy, enjoyable and effective.

[susie in tx]

My 12 yo is a natural speller and I have never used a spelling program with her. I've thought about it, but then I figure it would be a waste of time. She consistently spells their incorrectly, which drives me nuts. If she misspells a word in our writing program, I have her write the word correctly twice. If there is a rule involved, we talk about the rule. I am using AAS with my other two non-natural spellers.

[Johanna]

Yup, we were doing Spectrum spelling and I just realized it is a bunch of busy work! She is a natural speller anyways. Copywork, dictation is plenty for her!

We are also doing WT1 and that has some spelling work in it as well.

[cin]

My 12 yo is a natural speller and I have never used a spelling program with her. I've thought about it, but then I figure it would be a waste of time. She consistently spells their incorrectly, which drives me nuts. If she misspells a word in our writing program, I have her write the word correctly twice. If there is a rule involved, we talk about the rule.

 

:iagree:

 

I have a natural speller. In the beginning of 1st grade (when she just turned 6) after writing the word 2X, she could spell Pennsylvania, George Washington, and various other BIG words. I moved to vocabulary. She does occasionally misspell words, and we just write a couple of times.