This month, Son #2 has begun a real struggle with spelling. He began the school year with great 100+ scores, but he quickly lost interest. For a kid of his particular, um, let’s say “demeanor,” losing interest is a death knell. In fact, one particular spelling test prompted a Sunday afternoon phone call from his teacher to let us know that he had made a zero on the spelling test the week before because he made up letters and words for the entire test. She did let him retest, though we did wonder at the wisdom of that. Then again, we reasoned, grades don’t mean much to him anyway, so what difference did it make?
Anywho, since that fateful phone call, we have traveled the precarious and challenging road of making second-grade spelling fun. If you have a kid like son #2, you totally know that getting him or her to do anything he or she is not totally in love with is a painful, tear-jerking, exhausting, and downright awful experience.
I won’t even bring up the notion that, in my personal, yet-to-be-officially-in-print parenting and teaching handbook, spelling is a skill intimately akin to coloring and scissor usage. They are all very nice skills to have, but will they really make a difference in a person’s life to the extent that they deserve grand attention and hoopla? I think not. I didn’t think it in preschool when the boys got low marks in coloring, and I don’t think it now as we face this new spelling melee.
In an age of electronic devices and populating text boxes, spelling is an archaic skill. I would much prefer a child have critical thinking skills – an ability to analyze and figure that would benefit him as he approached a world full of problems to decipher, rather than a keen ability at rote memorization.
I can also see clearly now how our educational system takes such a one-size-fits-all approach when, in reality, one size does not fit all. We, girls, know this from shopping, and we also know that no one can really sell us something that doesn’t fit, unless we let them.
I digress…
Back to the spelling issue… I also struggle with the whole respecting-authority concern that arises here as well. I know spelling is stupid, and I know my son will figure it all out some day. However, I also know that he has to have an innate respect for teachers and other adults in authority. And so how do I teach my boys do to what is right if what seems right is really illogical and wrong?
Ugh.
As I continue to wrestle with these baffling questions of parenthood, I will leave you with a list of ideas to help your kids become better spellers – even though, as I list these, I cringe a bit at the extent to which I have gone for a topic I believe so little in:
First of all, there are some really good ideas at this teacher website: http://www.ilovethatteachingidea.com/ideas/subj_spelling.htm
www.spellingcity.com. Most schools use this website, and it does well to create games and other ways to teach the words to kids.
Son #2’s kindergarten teacher, whom I still see regularly and totally adore, suggested jigsaw puzzles. She said there was a connection between being able to do the mental tasks of puzzle connecting and being able to remember things like spelling words better.
Scrabble Cheez-Its. Use the crackers to spell the words. If a few get eaten, no harm, though Son #2 does like to eat the letters he doesn’t need on any given word. Just saying you may want to count this one as snack time. (We also use hard macaroni in math when we need something to count. The eating principle is the same though, so be sure to have extra on hand!)
Bath Tub Markers. I’m not convinced these markers are a great artistic medium, but they are a novelty. Again, you get a “two-fer” – a bath and a spelling practice in one. The “ink” does come right off, and they are easy to find in the bubble bath section of the store.
Magnetic letters and a cookie sheet. I found these letters at our local teacher store when Son #1 was having troubles with phonics in 1st grade. These letters are flat and much smaller than the preschool fridge magnets everyone has, though I suppose those would work too. These fancy ones come with oodles of options so that you’ll never run out of e’s. Son #2 seems to really enjoy them, and this is a great activity for the car because they stay on the cookie sheet wherever you put them. Again, another “two-fer!”
Drawing pad app. You can get these on phones, e-readers, or anything with a touch screen. Son #2 loves to spell his words on the screen, using his finger as the pencil. Warning: This is a great tool, but it does come with a healthy distraction possibility. Son #2 often gets into drawing a picture and forgets entirely about the words.
Start on Friday. I’ve also started asking for the next week’s words on Friday afternoon so that we can study the words over the weekend.
The pièce de résistance… Drum roll please… The Dollar Store. Ta da… This week, I have promised Son #2 that, if his spelling test goes well, he can have anything he wants at the dollar store. (Note that this is a real dollar store, not one of those stores where they say they are a dollar store, but everything is $3 plus; everything in this store is a dollar.) He is totally stoked about this shopping trip, and, though I know the dollar store will also lose its luster for Son #2, I am happy to have a single week where he is excited about – or at least willing to endure – spelling.
Now, if I could just explain to him that extortion is perfectly okay sometimes, I'd have another parenting hurdle checked off...
