Thank You for All of Your Help

I hate to say it, and it may sound completely off the wall, but associate spelling somehow with numbers. I don't know if there's a kids scrabble out there or something. Chances are that if she is not a great speller, she absolutely loves or is wonderful at math. I hope that helps!

You might try making a puzzle for her (like a crossword or wordsearch), or writing down the words with some of the letters missing and have her fill in the missing letters, or give her the letters to a word, but all jumbled up and she has to rearrange them to spell the word. If she is a more active learner, I would recommend that you find some alphabet tiles (teacher's store, maybe even walmart) and have her use these when spelling the words from the jumble, etc. Or you can make letter cards that she can move around as she spells the words. Something that used to work for one of my students who was a poor speller was he'd do jumping jacks, or alternate jumping on one foot while he practiced the words. The fact that you are already an active participant in her education is great! Best of luck!

I have been having the same problem with my nine year old daughter. She does have some learning disabilitys, but she is also very smart. Try not doing all of the words at one time. Depending on the number of words pratice them in small groups, like five words at a time. You can even make homemade flash cards. Taking the words in small groups has really helped my daughers grades.

The only thing I can suggest is make her write them over and over again, like 5 times each. Every night. And when you quiz her, mix up the order the words are in, just in case she is used to the order.

Please get her tested for a learning disablity (really a difference not disablity). I know from my own experience with dyslexia how painful it can be for a child and as an adult. I also love to read and have alwasy read at a very high lever, but I cant spell and math is simply a puzzel.

Dyslexics are people who who think differently and this thought process is not condusive to spelling. Your daughter is special, probably very bright and gifted in other areas.

As a mom dont worry, Im dyslexic, have a college degee, a good job, house and wonderful family and so can she.

If spelling is the only subject she has trouble with, she may have a very specific learning difference. I had a very hard time with spelling early on no matter how much I studied and practiced. Have her tested. It is not fair for her to be told she is going to fail if this is the only area she has difficulty. Also, reassure her that it is not that big a deal. Taking some of the pressure off helps a great deal.

This idea may have already been told but I didn't have time to read all the reponses so I'll send it anyway, just in case. This method works for my daughter every week.

My daughter is 8 and in 3rd grade. She loves math and Science but that Language arts stuff is for the birds in her eyes but she wants to do well with everything. Her spelling is one of the worst subjects though. Her test is on Fridays so this is her week with spelling homework. Monday and Tuesday she does her normal homework and we spell them out loud. We mark which ones she gets wrong and come up with sayings to make them easier, such as, giant...the "ant" was giant because the word "ant" is at the end of the word. Wednesday after her normal homework we spell them on paper and she has to write them 5 to ten times each depending on how hard the word is. Thursday is the same thing but the number of times to spell is 10 to 15. Friday is her test and I tell her good luck on the way to school. She seems to think that is the winning thing because once I didn't tell her and she didn't do so hot. I hope this helps I understand how frustrating it can be.

Have you ever thought that your child might be dyslexic? It is where they unintentionally read right to left and sometimes write their letters backwards or in the wrong order. I have a friend whose daughter is dyslexic and she got special priviliges to take longer on tests at school. I don't know if this helps you or not, but it might be something to read up on.

V.

I've been there with my son. He is 7 years old and I held him back in fist grade. He has a really wonderful teacher and when we had a problem with spelling. His teacher told us to let him type them on the computer three times,he also writes them out three time. Typing them is not only FUN for them, but they have to look for the letters. Since we have been doing this he has been doing excellent even on the sentences.

What kind of learner is she? Does she remember things she sees or hears? If it is sees, then maybe you can have her write the words in different colors or "draw" the words. Maybe make a picture out of each word. I am a very visual learner (I am an art teacher) and I remember "seeing" my spelling words in my head while I took the test. I would write each word in a different fancy way and a different color. If she learns more from hearing, then she can record herself spelling the words and play it back to herself over and over.

My daughter was the same way. She is gifted and even skipped a grade in school but can not spell. When she was diagnosed with ADHD, the therapist said that kids with ADHD tended to be bad spellers and have a hard time with hardwriting. Which my daughter and I both have a hard time with.

I hope this helps!

K.

I know you've said your daughter is doing better in spelling...what wonderful news for you! I just joined this website and came across your post. I hope you don't mind that I'm adding my 2 cents a little late. I am a teacher (now staying home) and my oldest daughter is in 1st grade. One thing that we do to add some fun is use beads for spelling. I found some beads at a craft store that have letters on them, and then had her sort them into a plastic bead container (or a fishing tackle box would work). Now she uses those to spell out the word after I call it out. For extra practice, I make her write the word after she uses the beads. We also use alphabet stamps to do the same type of thing. On Thursday evenings (night before test) she takes a "practice test" at home. We also do spelling words whild driving in the car, and sometimes she jumps on the trampoline while she is calling out the words to me. Each bounce is another letter.

We like to keep learning fun, and I hope you find these suggestions helpful for your family!

Our child has a multipal choice as to what the answer is. 4 are listed, and he chooses the correct one. Also, at the teacher supply store there is a flashcard/pen set that when you do choose the right answer, the pen "knows" and gives very positive feed back to the user. Ex: good job, that's correct! OR a gentle, try again, no, sorry. etc. I got one that was for money. It's helped sooo much, and he can practice w/o me.

I have a seven year old son and he is pretty good at spelling. We try to play games with him to help with spelling. For example, we have a spelling bee between my son and his father, using past spelling words and his new ones, of course we emphasize on the new spelling words. This seems to work.
Have you considered using the Sylvan or Cumon programs, I havent used them personally but I do know a few that have and they said they work great!
Good Luck

I am a SAHM with 2 boys (9&7) and my little one she is 18 mos. The one thing that I found that works for my kids is to write their spelling words from top to bottom of the page. But as they are writing it they have to spell it out loud. Like say one of her words is glad. Then from top to bottom she would write glad over and over but as she writes it you should hear G L A D spells glad. Everytime she writes it. Then once she has done that with all her spelling words test her. I might have been somewhat tuff on my kids but if when I tested them whichever ones they didn't spell right they would have to start writing them over. You don't have to make her do that all in one night if you think that is too much. But the ones that she missed when you tested her then you focus on those words the next day. She will pay attention to what she is writing and hearing it will set in her head, plus she's not going to want to have to keep writing it. But I am proud to say that they don't have to write anymore. And they bring home 100% or better because they usually get the bonus words too. Just stick with her don't think there isn't any hope she can do it you just have to keep with her and see what fits her learning. Take care. Let us know how it goes.

L.,
i would suggest worksheets that would go along with her spellig. try edhelper it may cost to print these off.hope this helps.
S. c.

Hi L.,
I have a solution that has helped my children with their spelling. We stair step our words...for instance if it is a work like beautiful... first start with the b, next line have your daughter write be, next line bea, then beau, and continue on until they have the word spelled out.This seems to work well with getting this in the memory pretty well. If you havent tried this...Believe me its effective. Hope this was helpful.

reapition is the key. how many times does she write them out at night? maybe trying writing them more than once would help her memory.

Try giving her a word a day to look up in the dictionary. There are dictionary's for kids. Or try leaving words around the house on sticky notes and as she finds them have her pronounce and spell.

Being a teacher I have seen many children who have difficulty with spelling. You may want to try some tactile forms of spelling her words. For instance you can use sand, flour, or cornmeal in a tray and have her spell the words by having her trace them. You can also have her spell the words in the air with her fingers and then write them numerous times on paper or even a dry erase board. You may also want to have her close her eyes and spell them outloud so she can actually visualize the letters as she spells them. If she does not have difficulty with reading, then she knows the sounds of the letters. Have her break each word into sounds as she is spelling the word so she is breaking them into "chunks". There are many reason why she can be having trouble with spelling. I have noticed with many of my students that these tactile tips as well as repetition helps a lot. Hope some this helps! :o)

My daughter is in first grade. We downloaded a free program to help her get ready for spelling each week. She really likes it and seems to be doing great in spelling.

Here's the link for the program:
http://blakeware.com/spelltest/spell_down.htm

My 2 sons are 3 and 5 months so have not had problems like this yet but i have dyslexia and it caused the spelling problems for me as a child. the only time i notice it now is if i am really tired (which is all the time lately:)!) Just a thought but getting tested for dyslexia might help. i see such wonderful responses to your post, i will remember all of them if my sons end up with the same spelling problem.

C.

You have wonderful advice from moms and even a teacher. I have an 8 year old who is in 2nd grade who struggled with spelling for the last 2 years. *first grade twice*.
What I have found that works is I have him copy the words on the first night using different color crayons. The second night, I call the words out and he writes them with his pencil. On the third night I get out my little laser pointer and we spell the words on the ceiling in the dark as he spells them out for me. Writing them in a cake pan with corn meal and his finger would be a great idea. On the fourth night *thursday night*, I give him a practice test and have him write the words that he misspells twice.
Keep it interesting, repetition, and doing it together makes it easier. They say that people learn in 3 different ways: Seeing it, hearing it, and writing it. Try all three.
Good luck. I'll be pulling for you as I renew my efforts to help my own son since it is easy to get lax with this tedious concept.