Comments on yarns of the heart: How do you spell homeschool? Is that one word or t...

Thanks for this great post! We are just starting w...

2009-04-14T11:22:24.548-05:00

Thanks for this great post! We are just starting with learning to read and how to spell. This post has been really helpful, thanks!

I am going to use some of the online sources with ...

2009-03-22T10:38:40.180-05:00

I am going to use some of the online sources with my adult ESL students. They are always looking for rules to follow. Thanks Jena.

This is my first time visiting your blog (any my f...

2009-03-21T22:52:39.895-05:00

This is my first time visiting your blog (any my first year homeschooling my 2 daughters 5&7. Wow!!! What a resource you are. It's so nice to find someone with so much experience that is willing to share it. Thank you for that.

We use Spelling City a lot too. Emma loves the ga...

2009-03-20T15:57:28.936-05:00

We use Spelling City a lot too. Emma loves the games. I was one class away from having a (would have been) third major in ESL!

Oh and you might like this post from a writer frie...

2009-03-20T10:27:28.966-05:00

Oh and you might like this post from a writer friend of mine, about the Grammar Police and the Grammar Mafia.

http://www.outdrivingmyheadlights.com/?p=243

Great points everyone. JoVe, you're right--the who...

2009-03-20T08:35:32.891-05:00

Great points everyone. JoVe, you're right--the whole mastery by a certain age thing is ridiculous. We are in process our whole lives. Exposure is the key, like you said, knowing what doesn't look right and knowing how to look it up. Spell-checker is a great invention. I know it's really helped Meg. Heather--I'm laughing about finally getting "their." You're so right.

Also there is that perennial give yourself (and ht...

2009-03-20T08:27:26.211-05:00

Also there is that perennial give yourself (and hte kid) a break. Some people are naturally good spellers. Others always need to look stuff up. their whole life. This is just the way it is.

Seems to me that the really important skill is being able to recognize what you have misspelled so you can look it up. I knew someone in college who had a system for this as she wrote. She used squiggely (a word I apparently can't spell) lines to underline stuff she though might be misspelled as she went so she didn't break her flow. Then went through and looked all of them up.

Also, as with lots of things, practice improves. I do not mean drill (I never mean drill) but just the normal practice of reading and writing. Over time, more stuff will stick. People live for over 70 years these days. You don't have to be a perfect speller by 10.

_How to Teach Spelling_ by Rudginsky is one of my ...

2009-03-19T19:10:16.575-05:00

_How to Teach Spelling_ by Rudginsky is one of my favorite resources for kiddos who struggle with spelling.

We love spelling city too! It makes it so fun and...

2009-03-19T18:45:35.819-05:00

We love spelling city too! It makes it so fun and easy.

y kids LOVE spelling City (they even set my son up...

2009-03-19T16:42:04.611-05:00

y kids LOVE spelling City (they even set my son up with an account.) When they REALLY want to learn they do set out to get it. My middle child loves to read and goes around spelling everything she says so she learns them. My oldest does not naturally grasp spellings but will come to me and ask or use a spell checker--which is how both my husband and I learned to spell--when a spell checker tells you you spelled "their" wrong for the thousandth time you WILL get it. And my oldest, who never even intuitively sounded out to spell--she is finally doing it and getting it--because she WANTS to spell things right (she is 11.)

Great spelling advice! Thank you for your assistan...

2009-03-19T16:08:12.614-05:00

Great spelling advice! Thank you for your assistance on the phone. It is such a help to talk specifically over issues.