I spent the morning preparing my daughters spelling lessons for the summer. She is working on spelling this summer because I do not want her using poor spelling as an excuse any longer. She likes to do a half-hearted approach to her spelling and say, “I’m just a poor speller”. For this reason, I searched many books (and even purchased a couple). I also searched several websites. The program I found most suited to her spelling needs was SpellingCity.com.
Spellingcity.com is designed to make spelling fun. Students can type their spelling lists, test themselves, learn correct pronunciation, and play word games to help them prepare for their spelling tests. Parents, teachers and students can also look up existing lists to work on different spelling problems. Searches can be done by grade level, by category (such as math words, or words related to a novel), or by a teacher or school name, if the teacher also uses the site.
To use spellingcity.com, as a homeschooling family, I was able to search existing spelling lists and choose the ones where I felt my daughter needed help. After registering to use the site, I was able to import the lists I liked to my own list. I began with core words, confusing words, vowel blends, word endings, and homophones. I chose 30 lessons in all. When she has completed all of these lessons, I will make my own lists from words that she had trouble with, and then if there is time at the end of the summer, begin working on more advanced words.
Other ways homeschooling families can use these lists is to make up their own word lists according to unit studies, or novels currently being read. As you are going through a lesson or reading a book, you can write down words the children have problems with and add them to the spelling list for the next week. Towards the end of the year, you can use a spelling list for your child’s grade to make sure they know all the words they should know for their grade level.
Summer Homeschool Ideas:
A-Z Summer Activites for Homeschoolers pt 1(A-G)
A-Z Summer Activities for Homeschoolers pt 2 (H-N)
A-Z Summer Activities for Homeschoolers pt 3 (o-z)