DH can't spell...

[MilestoneMum]

...so how do I tell 4 yo DD not to ask him about words? His recent errors accompanying her drawings include beatiful and staid.

DH was diagnosed in late childhood with a condition (I forget its name) to do with words jumping around the page when black on white. He is a graduate with a professional job and likes doing crosswords so I don't want to make him too conscious of the issue.

Get him a pocket dictionary. Assuming he knows he struggles to spell, he should be happy to use it to check words he's not sure of. Knowing how to use a dictionary is a useful skill to have, so it will be beneficial to your daughter too.

Dd tested her Daddy last night on her homework (vocab stretching) he got a withering look when he struggled with half of them. I remain in the "clever camp" though as I got them all right

My DH is the same but acknowledges his weakness so we just laugh about it when DD forgets and asks him to spell something. Just make it lighthearted and explain to your DD that we can't all be good at everything and that her DH isn't great at spelling....

Use it as a 'teaching experience'?

So, have a rule that she can't just ask for the spelling. If she wants help with a spelling, whoever helps her has to get a dictionary.

She has to say the word slowly, listening for the initial sounds. They will look that sound up together, then move on the next part of the word.

When they have found the word together, she will copy the spelling from the dictionary.

It will take the focus off whether the adult helping her can spell and put the focus onto good methods for finding out an unknown spelling.

Why not just be honest?

DP is dyslexic and English is his second language, so his spelling is atrocious.

It's a good chance to have a conversation about how some people have difficulties with reading and writing etc., and it doesn't mean they are stupid... Just look at daddy.

there are loads of different names for it, it seems to change all the time. i have it so does one of my boys

i cant use a dictionary far to many words in small print nightmare for the eyes.

as said i wouldn't make a big deal out of it. if i couldn't spell something i would substitute another word for it. this i think is better than spelling the word wrong.

My dad couldn't read or write until he met my mum, she taught him aged 17.

Whenever me or my brother asked him how to spell something, he would get us the dictionary, find the word and also make us look at the word above and below it, so we learned three new words each time we couldn't spell one.

This is why I kick everyone's arse at Scrabble

Can't they just look up the word together? Ten they both learn something and your DD learns that it's ok not to know something and its ok to ask for help in learning!

Oh and if the dictionary is a no go, what about an online dictionary?