[Drewsmom]

OK, so in our new to hs'ing experience the good things have been: unlimited time to read and peak that interest, we've started a unit study on oceans and getting away from all the gunk in school.

The bad thing is that ds has handwriting, spelling problems and is far below grade level for his age (we're working with an OT on increasing his hand strength, he's equivalent to a 4 yr old in writing right now). This morning he was typing an email to a family member and misspelled words like have, are and you. We have started the Spell To Read and Write program which I'm very excited about but we're just learning the phonograms still so maybe it will help with this after we officially start but how in the world can I help him? He also hates to sit down and do any official type school work but I am very concerned about this area.

 

[earthmama369]

Can you reinforce spelling by making it a part of everyday life? For example, you're in the car, you come to a stop sign. "Hey, ds, how do you spell "stop"? OK, how about "go"?" You're in the bank. "DS, can you spell "penny"?" (Hand him a roll of pennies to carry.) "Can you spell "checkbook"?" (Hand him the checkbook.)

I'm just trying to think of how we incorporate ds's speech exercises (he has a speech disorder) into our daily routine so that he doesn't feel singled out and it doesn't get stale or feel like he's doing repetitive drills. We also do some games with both him and dd where I'll take a sheet of pictures and cover them with pennies or seashells and as they say the word correctly, they get to uncover the picture and drop a seashell into a basket or a penny into their piggybanks. It combines a hidden-reveal game with constant physical movement, which really helps him focus. You could try something like that with spelling instead, where you cover the word instead of the picture.

 

[mom2ponygirl]

My dd is 10 and very advanced academically. We still do things like spelling with lots of movement. She will often jump in place, dribble a ball, keep a rhythm as she spells. You might try writing using different formats. Sidewalk chalk, window paint, white boards, etc. aren't as challenging as pencil and paper and help keep it fun. Keep the lessons short, with movement, and things will flow better.

Oh, she is quite able to sit still in classroom situations as needed. Don't worry, that will come in time without 'practice'.