to expect correct spellings from adults teaching my 4 yr old in reception?

[ellasmum1]

I am by no means the best speller in the world, but my dd age 4.6 came home from reception class on friday with a picture she had drawn and an adult had written "I like fairys" underneath it.
I doubted myself and checked the dictionary but it should definately be "fairies".
I do not know if the adult concerned was the teacher or teaching assistant but I feel quite worried about this. What, if anything would you do?

Maybe if it wasn't something like 'fairies' then it wouldn't be as bad, but the spelling of that word has a whole rule around it!!
Pluralising a 'y' can be taught quite easily and correcting a word like 'fairys' at whatever age is a good way to teach that rule. IMO

hana what are you going to say to your child when they get told a word they have been spelling the same way for quite some time is wrong??
"Oh, I know dear, but back then we didn't think you were old enough to be told??"

Can someone Clarify this for me. Is it Practice or Practise? My DD always has Practise written in her Comments book.

I'll support you, hana. It's like pulling teeth to get DS to write at all, I'm not going to put him off further with insisting he follow the idiosyncracies of the English spelling system perfectly (not just yet, anyway). As long as he spelling correctly using the phonetics he knows, I let some errors go in hw and other places (yr 3).

depends on the usage see
www.gcse.com/english/practice.htm

Message withdrawn

practice is the noun (Do your practice); practise the verb (I practise violin every day).

I am too slow - advice - advise is the same noun - verb thing

I need to do GCSE English again - and Maths I am so crap at them.

The thinking at my DD's school is that at this stage (same age) it is better for them to feel enthusiam for writing by attempting a word and achieving a page of writing full of quirky spellings than to sit there terrified of making a mark on the page in case the teacher tells them every other word is wrong. Gently correcting spellings can come later.

Teachers and TAs are a different matter. Correct spelling is essential.

Message withdrawn

DeeDeePickles

I don't think we are talking about correcting the spelling of 4 year olds who are only just learning to write. This is about the adults involved in the classroom making spelling errors and seding home documents containing spelling/punctuation mistakes.

Surely no-one would correct al of the spelling mistakes of newly fledged writers, it would take forever to mark a set of books.

there was a lovely student in dd's class today helping with the reading - her handwriting was dodgy but she was lovely listening to the children

so it could be a student

id def leave it - mention it only if it happens again

As I said...

Teachers and TAs are a different matter. Correct spelling is essential.

Umm... hana, the OP's daughter didn't write the word. An adult wrote the word following (presumably) her dictation. So no one is talking about correcting a four-year-old's spelling. It's not "a spelling mistake left uncorrected by the teacher", it's a spelling mistake actively made by the teacher.

Not that I'd go into school over a single instance, though.

Well I am one of those thick Teaching assistant types, and I try to make sure my spelling is correct when writing on any of the childrens work!

It could well have been a student or even a parent helper.

Pinkchampagne, I'm sure you do a great job.

I'm always the first to thank the TA for the great things she does with DD, but by the same token is it not better to let them know if there's something troubling you? How will they know otherwise?

Oh I agree. I would want someone to point out if I had made a mistake.

Just read a couple of posts that were saying it was probably the TA, and it got to me a bit, as some of us do have half a brain!

lol at practice and practise - I was given something to do by my Head of Dept and produced zillions of powerpoints with the word practse on them;she had spelled it practice. I had to check in the dictionary and as everyone said, practice = noun, practise = verb BUT practice = American verb.
I think YANBU and as a teacher, I am happy to have mistakes pointed out. I am a stickler for grammar and spelling but still get things wrong. I get soooo angry when letters/reports go out to parents with mistakes; I've even offered to proof read them!

Actually jimmychoos I would be just really pleased that yr 16mo is eating broccoli (which I also cannot spell, and spelling's my job!) and raisins!

If this were at my DC's school I would watch to see if it is a persistent problem. Also obv spelling tests should be spelled correctly. I would certainly point that out. But yes, teachers have many things to think about and the occasional mistake (if that's all this is) is forgiveable in that context, I think.

hana it's not the 4yo who wrote fairys, it's the teacher or TA!!!

omg!!
apols to everyone here I thought the child has written the word.

oops......well and truly shamed here!!

(but if the child did write fairys herself, I'd be applauding her for trying)

also work experience students ( although a bit early in the term for that)

get loads of mistakes by our TAs, can be embarrassing when it's obvious and I have to point things out, or change them on the board

Well I had to inform the class teacher that Eiffel Tower was double f, before she put up a sign on the French board, so us TAs can be on the ball where spelling is concerned sometimes!