This little nugget wanted to try spelling tests today, so tests she got. She blew through the first forty Dolche words, only missing three! After each ten word list was complete she asked for the next, saying that it was so much fun, ha ha. She has had some motivation in spelling because she plays Minecraft online with her cousins and they message back and forth on our server, so she wanted to be able to both read and type more words.
For learning to read, we started with the Bob Books series, which is phonetic building block series that also introduces sight words. It was a really great fit for our family and both children loved working through each box set. Along with the Bob Books I would have familiar verses and songs written out for the children to see so they could “read” along. In addition Paul Galdone has some wonderful fairy tale books with very basic vocabulary that they could read on their own because they knew the stories so well. From there, we slowly moved up books in difficulty. Book series like Little Bear, all the Arnold Lobel books, Billy and Blaze are a few we’ve enjoyed. I’ll make a more extensive post if there is interest. It has been a while so it will take some digging around!
The simple act of copying and reading what you’ve written is a wonderful way to begin to learn to spell. I’ve never formally taught spelling with my children. When my children were younger focused a lot on copy work with me scribing their main lesson book write ups for them to copy out into their books. I was (and continue to be) always available to help with specific spelling requests. My eldest started his own book of words he consistently found difficult to spell. He collects them all in a notebook and practices their spelling, sometimes creating “tricks” to remember the spelling of certain words.
We will (might?) touch on spelling rules in the future, but they tend to be so haphazard and inconsistent, it is much too abstract for this age group. I learned all the spelling rules when I was in school and was a horrible speller until I taught phonics in a private kindergarten. I believe there are so many roads that lead to confidence in reading, writing and spelling, and I’m happy to let my children show me what their journey will be. I think the most important thing is to trust the process and know that it is okay to not only try multiple ways, but to let things go that aren’t working.
Your homeshool. Your rules!
Marina #trusttheprocess #waldorfmagic #homeschoolingrocks
Discover more from Growing Together in Freedom
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
