With any subject there can be stumbling blocks that we all fall into. Either we get to our wits end and don’t know how to break through to the student’s mind and get the to grasp a concept or we run out of way to explain something.
With spelling this will happen to all homeschool parents at some point or another. To help keep the hardship out of spelling we have comprised a list of some helpful hints that may be the key to painless spelling at your house!
- Keep a schedule. Do spelling at the same time everyday. Typically students do well with things like spelling and math when their minds are as fresh in the day as possible. There are some studies that show it may help to have children chew gum while they do things like spelling lessons.
- Have a workplace for school or at least the particular subject that is set apart from the rest of the house as a place of study and learning. It doesn’t have to be a hidden corner just a dedicated space. With spelling it is important to note that your student needs enough room to write and have more than one paper in front of them. Ample room, good lighting, the right materials and a quiet place will help make the lessons go easier.
- When teaching certain subject it may be okay to have different interruptions happen in your home. With spelling it is like math, it is either right or wrong. You can’t sort of spell a word right any more than you can add 2 + 2 and get anything other than 4 and get the answer right. With this in mind realize that the student needs dedicated and uninterrupted time with you for this subject. They need to truly be able to focus as well as possible.
- Part of keeping a student’s focus is knowing when to stop what you are doing. You want the lesson to be long enough for them to grasp the knowledge that they need but you don’t want to keep them at something for so long that they aren’t attentive to their work or details. Spelling is all about details.
- Never forget that spelling shouldn’t be put off. It can be daunting so make sure you choose a curriculum that suits the needs of both you and the student. If an instructor or teacher is frustrated and overwhelmed then the student will feel the same way.
- Review, review, review. It is one thing to learn how to spell something and retain the memory from Monday until Friday but you can bet that right after the spelling test on Friday, the information leaves the brain, usually because it isn’t revisited often enough if at all.
Hope these ideas help you in your spelling this year! Good luck!
