Need spelling help!

[Heartmum2Jamie]

Argh! I am starting to get really frustrated with myself. I must be doing something wrong as ds1 totally does not get it and will be 7 in May. He still spells things the way he would pronounce it. I am sure I could spell adequatedly at his age, or at least spell the days of the week, months ect. I think were we are really struggling is letter blends, he just doesn't understand that certain letters together sounds like other single letters, like oa in boat, he spells it bowt.

How can I help him better. He has plenty of phonetic stuff to do on the computer (he HATES working from books, although we do make him in the mornings).

I guess I am also having some jitters as am expecting our 3rd baby and I just can't imagine being at home with all 3, not when ds1 is very demanding of attention. can't turn my back for a second or he is down from the table or just staring into space.

If I could afford it, I would get a tutor in to help out, but at £20 an hour, it's too much.

Any help greatly appreciated.

[DoodleToYou]

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[DoodleToYou]

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[Mercy]

My dd is the same age and still spells some things phonetically, I think it's usual at their age.

She also has themed spelling tests each week - could be sounds or sunject matter. I think the key is just practice and lots of reading (am no expert though). I'm sure he'll get there!

In fact practice can consist of any writing; writing a list of your favourite toys, helping with a shopping list, writing a letter to family or friend (ie, fun rather than a chore)

[choccypig]

I read (probably on MN) that you have to see a non-phonetic word written 40 times before you will be able to spell it. Surprised me as I always found spelling easy as a chikd...but I was a good reader.
So the key might be to do more reading. Or practise some spelling lists 40 times.
( that sounds too much like going to school)

[avenanap]

you could write the word down on a piece of paper then chop it up. get him to say the letter then put the word back together and see if it clicks.

[MaryBS]

My son does better typing the words into a computer than he does writing them down.

What I do is open up a word document, and if he gets a word right, I highlight it and make it a big font - he thinks that is great!

[VictorianSqualor]

Have you tried the look cover website?

That way they can do different letter combos til they are used to them.

FWIW DD is in mainstream education and was 7 in november, she still doesn't get everything, so try to remember he is young!

[charliecat]

www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/search/?mode=basic_search&pagenumber=1&x=54&y=11&d=all&search_string=year+ 2+objectives
I am just digging out this site to see what my children should know.....if you save the first document and have a look, inbetween the there are some good ideas.

What about having correct spellings chopped up mixed in with wrong ones... 4 lettered words then 5 6 etc?

[Heartmum2Jamie]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will try letting him type on the computer as I have thought about letting him start a blog type journal for a while.

I will also try correct spellings chopped up. The look cover site looks great, thanks for that!

I do sometimes forget his is just young . It seems like he has made great strides forward in some academic areas, like maths and his reading and even his writing is looking good, but spelling has been much harder than I anticipated.

[VictorianSqualor]

The English language is one of the most complex, so it's bound to be harder to spell.
The best way children learn to spell is reading, because the more times they read the word the more likely to remember it they are, so keep up with his reading and spelling will eventually fall into place.

[Julienoshoes]

My daughter left school aged 8 completely unable to spell, read ot write a single word, not even her name.
She was so severely dyslexic.
She had no word attack skills at all, she didn't recognise any word shapes or any of the word blendings/phonetics.
This was confirmed by all of the 'professionals' we spoke to.

First of all we tried the dyslexia programmes-'Toe by Toe' and 'Reading Reflex', both produced the same response of her screaming and crying so hysterically, within just a moment or two.

Eventually we listened to other autonomous home educators.
We stopped all of the "How do you think it is spelled?" why don't you have a go at sounding it out" and all of the "look cover write check" activities.
If she asked what a word was we told her.
If she asked for the spelling of a word, we just told her.
I stopped everyone stressing her over words-even my mother found this difficult.

We continued to provide a wealth of activities, workshops, places of interest and lots and lots of purposive conversations that allowed her education to run ahead, trusting that her reading and spelling would catch up in their own good time.

Eventually it happened as all of the autonomous home educators had told me it would, as it has in other children.

I don't know of any others that it has happened to so late tbh.
Dd2 was 13 before she finally 'got it'
We began to see signs at around 12 years old, when she suddenly 'got' telling the time-and then she began to read signs all over the place.
What is interesting is that she is the one who is interested in the logic of spelling.
Her siblings (although dyslexic, but mildly so compared to her) had learned to read and spell at a much younger age and had just accepted that a particular word was spelled that way.
DD2 has questioned why every word is spelled. She wants to know the root and the language base of every word.
Aged 15 now, she is a fluent reader and a pretty damn good at spelling.

She enjoys Scrabble, crosswords and all sorts of word games with her father.

My advice would be to leave the spelling alone.
Concentrate instead on enjoying games, words and stories.
The spelling will come when the time is right.

there is no rush when you are home educating.

[Skipsmum]

Remember hes only 7!
DS2 is 7, and just started reading - no spelling yet. DS1 is 13 and read late/spelled phonetically but seems to have worked through it. I'm with Julienoshoes, lots of games like scrabble and boggle. Generally when mine are really struggling I leave things completely and try again in a few weeks.

[Cadmum]

You are not doing anything wrong!

All children have different skills, interests and abilities. Human beings learn at their own pace in their own ways.

It can be heartbreaking to watch your child if they really want to tackle something and find it too challenging.

We used this program and absolutely loved it: www.prometheantrust.org/soundfoundationsbooks.htm

Julienoshoes: Thank you so much for sharing your story. I am nearly in tears as our dd1 is 9 and really finding it rough at the moment. Her 6 year old brother just 'gets it' and she fights for every word that she reads/spells. How brave of you to trust that this would resolve itself. You must be very proud of her!

I must learn to take it slowly as well...

[Julienoshoes]

Hi Cadmum.
Yes I am very proud of her. My heart sings as I watch her on msn now, typing really quickly to her friends and reading their replies with no effort.
Unlike others on msn/when texting she spells every word properly, she is still concerned about getting mixed up.

Yesterday she was teasing her father about his pronunciation of a local word and discussing the root/language base of it. I was smiling as I was listening her debating the point with him.
I smiled widely too when her older step sister asked about a spelling of an unusual word-and my dd2 supplied it correctly!

I am eternally grateful to the support we have had from our home ed friends-those who helped by telling us of their experiences and all of the home ed youngsters who went out and about with dd2 and read things whenever she asked them to, without the eternal bullying and sarcasm she had to put up with in school. They gave her the space to learn to read when the time was right for her-and the confidence that she would get there in the end.

[Cadmum]

Hello Julienoshoes.

Thanks again for the inspiring story.

Oddly enough, our dd LOVES to read emails because she is nosey. I often encourage her to have a go over my shoulder if the email is suitable.

I know that she will get there eventually. I just hate to watch her compare herself to others around her and conclude that she is 'stupid'.

The synthetic phonics program through promethean really helps a lot.

I need to find a similar support network here. We have recently moved to Switzerland and it was so much easier to homeschool in Canada (but then again, she was younger and people were less surprised that she could not read).