What age did you start spelling with your early readers?

[bakpak]

We just moved and I started a full-time job, and DD3.5 is adjusting to spending more time with her papa. She's at a Montessori preschool 4 mornings a week and settling in to that okay. Like all her school experiences, her biggest complaint (other than the noisy boys) is that she wishes she had more lessons at school. I know she's a sponge and would love more teacher attention. So, this week I pulled out my OPGTR again and started going over some new concepts (mid-book), as well as working a little with her on adding double digits. She's loving it of course, and immediately turns it around so that she's teaching the new concepts to her stuffed animals. It's very casual, usually ~5-10 min a day on something new if we remember. Otherwise she's off playing.

 

I've been wondering what age folks started working on spelling with their early readers. Did you start early to keep up with the reading level, or just wait until they were more 'school-age', whatever that means. DD spells phonetically. I don't think she's a 'natural speller', if that means she memorizes words that she's seen. I've not asked her to spell too much, although she has spelled short words out loud in the car without any props (letter tiles, etc), and used letter names after thinking through the sounds. I looked at the scope and sequence of AAS 1 and thought it looked just right. But I'm not sure if I should even worry about spelling right now? Is it a fun program? If I got it, I would just use it haphazardly, probably not routinely. She does like worksheets, etc, but doesn't seem as into them as much lately. She'd rather be off singing and dancing, or doing art :) That said though, she's needing some academic stimulation as well...she's seemed MUCH happier now that I've giving her little lessons occasionally.

[Grover]

DS was too scared to write before he could spell because it would be *wrong*, so he learnt spelling right alongside reading. He's 6.5 now, and is just finishing up the AAS programme. Once I gave in and let him learn spelling it made him much happier... he's not an invented spelling kind of guy.

[bakpak]

My DD will write words without worrying about spelling (e.g., pirits for pirates). She writes very well for her age, but only outputs a lot of words if we're sitting down to write a note to someone when I'm helping with spelling (Dear Holly & Trevor, thank you for the legos. Love ___). That's about how long her attention span will last for writing, but I think it's still really good for her age.

 

As for her reading, she can sound out long words phonetically, but fluency is just picking up where she's not sounding out every word. She's on early readers (BOB style, Early Seuss), and loving to read those independently. She's been sounding out words for about a year and a half, so this stuff isn't really new.

[Five More Minutes]

My one extremely early reader seems to be a natural speller; starting AAS when she was 5 meant that we blew through the first couple of levels in a year. I might have been able to start earlier with her if I had really wanted to.

 

My advanced reader also started AAS at age 5. She is not a natural speller, and we are taking our time going through it.

 

I kept the lessons short (no more than 5-10 minutes at 5 yo) and varied them a lot: we might use the tiles to spell, or write on the whiteboard, or just review the cards, or take a short dictation in a spelling book. It has been fun here.

[EKS]

My son started reading at age 2 but I didn't start spelling with him until he was 6.

 

ETA: To clarify, when I say "reading" I mean he was able to apply his knowledge of phonics to read Bob-type books.

[serendipitous journey]

... I looked at the scope and sequence of AAS 1 and thought it looked just right. But I'm not sure if I should even worry about spelling right now? Is it a fun program? If I got it, I would just use it haphazardly, probably not routinely. She does like worksheets, etc, but doesn't seem as into them as much lately. She'd rather be off singing and dancing, or doing art :) ...

 

I wouldn't suggest AAS1 for a child less than 5, no matter how precocious. If you want to address the spelling at all, I would use Phonics Pathways (a phonics book that can also be used as a spelling manual) and do spelling gently, and entirely orally. Traditionally spelling was taught orally and in my experience that's a much easier way for them to learn at that age.

 

Something to address her academic side and be simple and fun would be the Core Knowledge Preschool book, with the Preschool 3-4 (or 4-5) Activity book. You could also add math songs, geography songs, &c ...

[SKL]

We used to do it orally, during car rides, regularly when the girls were 4. Before that, just once in a while for fun. She had some random words memorized and I'd give her a word with a different first letter or a very simple vcv word, just to see whether she could do it. She wasn't big into writing, so I didn't push it.

[bakpak]

Thanks...I've looked at AAS a few times, and I agree that it just seems too much like a curriculum for her age. Hmmm, I would have thought using manipulatives for spelling would be easier than spelling orally? But maybe it depends on your child's learning style. She's a talker, that's for sure, and doesn't balk at all if I ask her to spell a word for me. There's more resistance to writing sometimes.

 

I guess we do work on spelling some anyway on the dry erase board, usually with me writing as she tells me what to write. I see it as part of studying phonics I guess. Maybe I'm just not sure if I am missing something by winging it? I am assuming her spelling level will (always) remain below her reading level...does that sound right?

 

For example, she knows the difference in reading hard/soft c, but I wouldn't expect her to be able to properly spell 'rice' any time soon. Maybe we will just keep it casual, and do some orally when the mood is right :)

[serendipitous journey]

If she likes manipulatives and you have them, of course that sounds excellent!

 

It is my understanding that the generally-accepted best practice in education, for this age, is to simply encourage the child to write and to not worry about the spelling until K at the earliest. Montessori, of course, has its own (also excellent) pedagogy around this, and perhaps you could ask her teachers what they would suggest to extend her abilities? The chief thing is to keep it light, and to not develop over-conscientiousness in a child; you don't want to slow down her composition-writing abilities in early elementary by having her be hyper-vigilant of mistakes.

 

That's just my take; I don't know if it fits what you are seeing?

 

ETA -- I'm spacey (cold or something) and distracted (children!) this evening -- so I think I'm rambling ...

[Lucy the Valiant]

Uhh . . . my early readers (self-taught) are now in 4th grade, and we still haven't started spelling.

[chicagoshannon]

We started at 5. Dd won't write anything unless she knows how it's spelled. I never get any cute notes from her with invented spelling like my friends get from their kids.

 

We use Spelling Workout.

[musicianmom]

I started AAS with my oldest dd shortly before she turned 5. She had been reading since 3, learned to form letters at 4 1/2, but wouldn't try to write things because she thought she didn't know how to spell. After close to a year with AAS, I had to admit that it was worthless because dd has the spelling gene. We don't do any formal spelling now unless you count the dictation portion of WWE, and she rarely makes spelling errors. I think starting formal spelling early just gave her a little confidence boost.

[beaners]

My 5 year old can read *anything* but can only reliably spell short vowel, familiar long vowel, 2-3 syllable words, and familiar longer words. There is an enormous discrepancy between reading and spelling for her. Her younger sister can read short vowels, long vowels, 2-3 syllable words and she can spell nearly anything she can read.

 

My younger daughter has no spelling demands placed on her, but I might ask her how she thinks a word is spelled if it is something she is capable of. My 5 year old watched Akeelah and the Bee (some inappropriate language) recently, and is obsessed with spelling everything at the moment. (Multiplication too.) I personally think that the act of writing is an important part of remembering how words are spelled, and that some of that benefit is lost by using letter tiles, but they are a useful tool for younger students.

[Grover]

I think starting formal spelling early just gave her a little confidence boost.

yup, this is us too, suddenly he would write.

[cmarango]

My dd started reading around age 3. We started AAS when my dd was 4.5 and it has been wonderful for her. We took a while to get through level 1 while we were finishing up phonics. Now we are on pace to complete 2-3 levels each year and I'm using it to cement her phonics (and i really like the syllabication portion).

 

She was an early writer though so the writing portion of the program has never been a problem.

[SKL]

We had letter magnets etc. all over the place, but neither of my daughters really did anything with them. By the time they were able to spell, they were able to write on a whiteboard, and this allowed more creativity.

[MissKNG]

First grade (6 years old) here because it is required by the state.

[Dmmetler]

First grade (5.5). DD is a natural speller, though, so it's turned into etymology and vocabulary (and learning the rules as related to what country a word is from) more than spelling. I think 1st and 2nd grade were just spinning wheels.

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

I actually start with spelling/word building. We begin by orally breaking words into separate sounds and learning letter sounds. Then I break out the movable alphabet and they spell words. I started the movable alphabet with oldest dd right before she turned 4yo, oldest ds was 5.5yo, and youngest dd is about to start at 5yo (she has already sounded out and spelled a few words on her own). Once we've been doing that for a while we start AAS, though the first half of the book is mostly review.

[MinivanMom]

We wait until 1st grade to start spelling. Then we breeze through it at a pretty quick pace before moving onto vocabulary studies instead.

[boscopup]

First grade (age 6) for my oldest.

 

Youngest can read Bob books now, and he can spell some of the words he can read. I'll probably start him in first grade (age 6) also. He's not afraid to write. Oldest was, and while spelling has helped his confidence there, he wasn't physically ready to write in preschool.

 

AAS can be difficult for younger students because there is a lot of emphasis on applying rules. Your younger reader has probably internalized the rules, if she's reading phonetically and not by sight. For some kids, explicitly teaching intricate rules can overcomplicate things when they've already figured phonics out.

[thegirlwhopaintedtrees]

I started AAS with DD when she was 3.5. She had started reading and writing at 2.5 and using invented spellings and I felt it was better to give her direct instruction in spelling before she began to internalize all the "wrong" spellings. She was very eager to begin because it was frustrating her that she was writing the words, knowing they looked "wrong". It was the best thing I could have done for her. We used the tiles, did only parts of lessons at a time and kept it fun for her. If she didn't feel like working on it, we dropped it for the day and tried again the next. It was very laid-back. We continue even now with AAS, even though she seems to be a natural speller, because she just loves it.

[Tracy]

I started SWR when my oldest dd was 5yo, and my youngest ds was 2yo. I am so glad I did, because ds has really grown into this program very nicely. Ds learned all the single-letter phonogram sounds before he was 3yo. Before he was 4yo, he was ready to start writing them. And just before he turned 5yo, he asked for his own spelling book.

[Tanikit]

Started at 5 with my DD as this was when she was showing a lot of interest in writing all sorts of things.

[bakpak]

Thanks everyone. Your variety of responses gives me good food for thought. I think I"ll just keep introducing phonics lessons using OPGTR (as a guide for me). She's internalizing the spelling rules slower than reading, and we'll just slowly keep working on that. This morning she wanted me to write 'silly willy brown cow' and I had her tell me how to spell it. She can easily read those words, but needed lots of help with the -lly and -ow sounds when spelling them. I think it will all come as she continues reading more and starts internalizing words from repeated exposure. AAS might be in her future when she's 4.

 

As for following the Montessori program, I haven't had great luck with getting her teachers to tell me much about how I could be helping at home, other than 'keep doing what you're doing!' (from ANY of the schools she's been in). In the classroom she's always working way behind the types of stuff she does at home, and the teachers assure me she's doing great and they just want her to work at a comfortable pace. I'm happy with that for the most part, as it's reinforcing what she knows and increasing confidence and fluency, but it never quite feels like they understand what she's capable of. I don't push her to do anything she doesn't want to do (well, in terms of academics anyway, cleaning her room, yes!). For instance, I bet she's still reading CVC word books at her new Montessori preschool, while at home I introduced long-vowel words to her almost a year ago and she ate it up. She still makes plenty of mistakes with long vowels, but she usually self-corrects. The same is true for math, science, geography, Spanish, etc. BUT, it's good social interaction for her, and she gets to use lots of novel learning tools in the classroom. I'm sure she's learning plenty, and she craves the stimulation from being in a different environment.

 

So, I come here for good ideas and I'm always impressed with how much you all are devoted to your children's education and personal growth. This forum is a comfortable place for ME to hang out and learn a lot. Collectively, there's a huge wealth of knowledge, and it's wonderful to be able to tap into it. Thanks for your thoughtful advice, as always!!

[Donna]

Dd started reading at 3.5 yo. She started a spelling program (Spelling Power) at 5.5yo.

[amyrobynne]

My middle son has been reading since he turned 3. We started homeschooling this year with first grade and started AAS level 1. He'll almost finish level 3 by the end of the year. If he'd been homeschooled since the beginning, I can imagine I would have started AAS in kindy and put more focus on the tiles and less on the writing.

[fourisenough]

Another vote for using Phonics Pathways-type spelling instruction from the start. If your child can read two-letter consonant blends (and it sounds like she is well beyond that), then she can spell them too, especially if done orally. My 3.75 year old, also in a Montessori school half days, does quick PP lessons whenever she is in the mood for some cuddle-time on my lap. We always read a bit from the book and then whatever she has read, I dictate to her to spell for me (sometimes orally and sometimes on a lap-sized dry erase board). In the Montessori spirit, she says the letter sounds rather than their names. If I ask her to spell "mug", she'll say "Mmmmm Uhhhhhh Ggggggg" or she'll write "m-u-g." This is essentially how they are taught in a Montessori classroom if they employ the moveable alphabet. At my daughter's school, one of the 'works' they can choose in the language area is a small basket of objects which they arrange on the rug and then label the names of them with the movable alphabet - essentially spelling their names with letter tiles/manipulatives. The kids who are able, then copy those words down on a small slip of paper to create their own labels and then compare them to those in the basket, thereby checking their own spelling. My Montessori/PP kids have developed spelling skills nearly at the same pace as their reading skills when taught in this fashion.

[bakpak]

The kids who are able, then copy those words down on a small slip of paper to create their own labels and then compare them to those in the basket, thereby checking their own spelling. My Montessori/PP kids have developed spelling skills nearly at the same pace as their reading skills when taught in this fashion.

 

Good idea...maybe I'll see if she'd like to use our moveable alphabet and then write her own labels. Although I LOVE IT, she's never been much into our moveable alphabet except to make crazy long words for me to sound out. Now that's a riot in her book. She's just recently started using some letter names instead of only letter sounds when spelling, which I think is a more advanced concept (as she has to translate her letter sounds mentally first).

 

I suspect I just don't know many of the phonics rules and need to read up on them so I can teach them to her! (like how do you know to use -ck at the end of a word instead of just c or k??) Not that I expect her to figure that stuff out at such an early age, but it MUST be confusing when I'm always adjusting her spelling in seemingly random fashion. She has exhibited no frustration about misspelling so far thank goodness.

[fourisenough]

 

I suspect I just don't know many of the phonics rules and need to read up on them so I can teach them to her! (like how do you know to use -ck at the end of a word instead of just c or k??) Not that I expect her to figure that stuff out at such an early age, but it MUST be confusing when I'm always adjusting her spelling in seemingly random fashion. She has exhibited no frustration about misspelling so far thank goodness.

 

 

Sounds like she is ready to learn some rules and begin to apply them to her writing. You could introduce one at a time, in the context of her written work. I just did a quick search and found this link with common rules in English spelling. There were many hits and I haven't vetted it for quality, but you could take a look and learn a couple rules yourself that you could then pass along to her. Learn them together!

 

http://www.justmommies.com/gradeschool-kids/kids-education/spelling-rules

[Tanikit]

With my DD I started teaching her spelling almost out of OPGTR as it introduced simple phonetic spelling first then I added the words "the" and "a" so she could do basic dictation. We then moved on to spelling blends which she had no problem with and once I was sure she was ok with all that I then added in things like "ck" and double the l at ends of words like "will" and "hull" etc. and then from there we started to work with the long vowel sounds as well as the "ing" and "nk"sounds as well as "sh," "th" and "ch". At the same time I added in a few more sight words that are not phonetically spelled. Now we are working with sounds like "all" and "ed" at the end of past tense words. The long vowels I now I have a sheet with pretty pictures on that she can look up the sounds when they appear in her spelling - then she must decide which option she wants to use (ee or ea for example) and then write the word and see if it looks correct as there are not always rules for this (see vs sea and tee vs tea are both words) That is as far as we have got up til now (there is loads more!) and I still sit with her every time we do spelling and check it. Most of what we do is starting to come through in her own writing but I think this is because I have used mostly dictation to teach spelling with.

[bakpak]

I think I'll stick to mostly oral spelling due to her age (3.5). She writes well, but is often resistant unless it's for a fun project or she just wants to do it on her own. She's a bit of a perfectionist, as she often won't even attempt to draw anything specific, although will label a drawing after it's completed and it shows certain characteristics. I'm wary of asking her to do much writing at this stage. I could make some words for her to trace though by writing in highlighter or something as she spells them. That would work!