Spelling

This week we started spelling tests for points.  Points translate into earning a treat.

I gave a spelling rule for the day and then gave ten or so words with that rule.  For example, day 1 the spelling rule or theme was: the letter A, words with the short a sound and a few words with a long A sound and a silent E at the end of the word.  So we did words like: cat, car, cane, far, hand, tape.  The older daughter wrote the words on her writing tablet (handwriting practice with spelling practice!) and my younger daughter told me the letter that the word started with.  I wrote their names on a piece of paper to keep track of their points earned.

The next day, my daughter asked, "Can we do spelling for treats again?"  Sure, I replied, glad that she actually wanted to work on her writing and spelling.  She independently made a score sheet with her name and her sister's name and we got started with the next spelling rule: ee makes the long E sound. So we did words like deep, keep, seen, meet, feet, sheep, etc.

Then, last night, when the kids saw Daddy eating ice cream, they again asked to do spelling so they could have some.  So another spelling rule: EA makes a long E sound.  So we did words like east, team, ear, fear, eat, etc.  My younger daughter just worked on forming letters: E and A.

I'm glad to have found a way to practice spelling in a fun way and to practice by focusing in on one rule at a time.  The English language can be pretty confusing so I think breaking it up into manageable chunks helps build confidence - they really can spell when given some hints on which rules to apply - and given enough practice, they will be able to distinguish/memorize which words use which letter combinations (ie, dream uses ea and seem uses ee). 

Make a How to Video

After watching some videos on crafts and origami on ActivityTV.com, my daughter was inspired to make her own video.  She was showing me, step by step how to make an envelope with a few pieces of paper.  I told her to do it again for the camera - her first how to video.

I'm glad our TV watching inspired something creative .... : )