Back in 2018, four of my kids (ages 9-12) were using Spelling Time – Master the top 150 misspelled words. They had so much fun with the silly sentence sections. I was reading their stories and was laughing so hard. The funny thing is that the prompt asks for a silly sentence and my kids are writing as tiny as they can to make really long silly stories. A couple of these kids were my biggest “do-nothing-whiners-i-hate-writing-can’t-think-of-anything” kids.
When Susie and Laura were 8 and 9 they really froze up when asked to write creatively or do copywork. But I just kept up, knowing that it is normal at those ages to not want to write. Since they are dyslexic they really needed to master reading before writing. Now they are having so much fun writing.
It was exciting to see the transformation. If your 8-10 year old is resistant to writing, just be patient. I actually focused on things they loved and didn’t push writing when they were really fighting it. I did require minimal copywork. I would often repurpose writing prompt pages in their journals.
Both girls finished Dyslexia Games B for the second time. They are both dyslexic, and their writing abilities have really jumped. The first time they did Series B they got good at reading, now after doing it twice their writing abilities are moving forward. I was going to give them Series C after finishing B the first time, but they wanted to repeat B because their new sisters were using B.
This is what spelling strategy has looked like at our house. What has worked best for you?
Don’t worry about having children write before they are ready. The Thinking Tree spelling books are really good for children who are not ready for writing, they color the words and write the specific words and they also do a lot of drawing. As the books advance some of them give the child an opportunity to do creative writing. If your child is not ready for the writing the BEST BEST BEST thing to do is ask the child what YOU should write for him. When the child sees you writing it stirs something up in their minds and they begin to develop the ability and desire to write.
If I am writing a story for my child (think 3 sentences) and I arrive at a word that I know that they know, I would say, “How do you spell cat?” They giggle and are happy to tell me how to spell. Next I will stop writing when I get to a word that they can write, and just say “Your turn!” and hand them the pencil so they can add a simple word. One nice thing about this method is that the child will try to mimic your letter size and style. Another fun way to get a child writing is to have the child DRAW a small picture of the nouns in the sentence.
If you do get to a place in any of the Thinking Tree Spelling books Or Dyslexia Games where the exercise is too advanced (for example the spaghetti lady causes dread) I would be an example and say, “You don’t want to do the spaghetti lady? That’s GREAT because I WANTED to do that one! Can I PLEASE do your spaghetti lady?”
This advice may go against everything you have learned from being in school yourself. If your child complains that something is too hard or too boring – DARE to do it yourself. Say, “Oh really? Can I give it a try? It looks interesting to me!” But if it is super boring, agree with the child, give it a try, and have fun. It’s okay to say, “You are right this is SOOOO boring. Let’s have a snack, and turn on some music! Don’t you think that music will make this more fun?” Now, if the schoolwork is totally irrelevant, and you are unwilling to do that kind of work yourself, maybe you should pitch it. I know we worry about the money we spent on nice curriculum – so put it on the shelf and tell your children they can use those books to “play school” with their friends or stuffed animals. If you are trying to FLIP to FUN-Schooling and spent all you had on something boring, and it’s not in your budget to buy a homeschooling journal – let me know. I can help you with a PDF version of a journal.
When I was a kid in 1st to 5th grade I HATED spelling tests. I got Ds and Fs on my report card in Spelling. No one knew it was dyslexia. I could not memorize; but when I would take a spelling test I would forever remember the spelling that I came up with on the test – WRONG or RIGHT. I was so emotional while being tested that the negative feelings burned the misspelled word into my brain. I would have 45% correct on the test, and the teachers NEVER worked with me to correct the mistakes. That is why I now create spelling books that work for visual thinkers. I would advise you not to give spelling tests to a dyslexic child. Just look at their creative writing projects when they are 11 years old – and take notes of all the words that they need to learn. If they write, color, trace and say the letters WITH the correct spelling SEVEN times they will remember the correct spelling…by the time they are 14 years old. Most spelling problems do self-correct by age 14 if the child does a lot of reading. That’s why we have just a few spelling books that cover the words that are foundational to learning to spell – AND are commonly confused or misspelled.
Take a look at some of our beautiful journals, sure to inspire your child to write:
Don’t worry about having children write before they are ready. The Thinking Tree spelling books are really good for children who are not ready for writing. They color the words and write the specific words and they also do a lot of drawing. As the books advance, some of them give the child an opportunity to do creative writing. If your child is not ready for the writing the BEST BEST BEST thing to do is ask the child what YOU should write for him. When the child sees you writing it stirs something up in their minds and they begin to develop the ability and desire to write.
If I am writing a story for my child (think 3 sentences) and I arrive at a word that I know that they know, I would say “How do you spell ‘cat’?” They giggle and are happy to tell me how to spell. Next I will stop writing when I get to a word that they can write, and just say “Your turn!” and hand them the pencil so they can add a simple word. One nice thing about this method is that the child will try to mimic your letter size and style. Another fun way to get a child writing is to have the child DRAW a small picture of the nouns in the sentence.
If you do get to a place in any of the Thinking Tree Spelling books or Dyslexia Games where the exercise is too advanced (for example, if the “spaghetti lady” causes dread), I would be an example and say, “You don’t want to do the spaghetti lady? That’s GREAT because I WANTED to do that one! Can I PLEASE do your spaghetti lady?”
This advice may go against everything you have learned from being in school yourself. If your child complains that something is too hard or too boring – DARE to do it yourself. Say “Oh really? Can I give it a try? It looks interesting to me!” But if it is super boring, agree with the child, give it a tryandhave fun. It’s okay to say, “You are right this is SOOOO boring. Let’s have a snack, and turn on some music! Don’t you think that music will make this more fun?”
Now, if the schoolwork is totally irrelevant, and you are unwilling to do that kind of work yourself, maybe you should pitch it. I know we worry about the money we spent on nice curriculum – so put it on the shelf and tell your children they can use those books to “play school” with their friends or stuffed animals. If you are trying to FLIP to FUN-Schooling and spent all you had on something boring, and it’s not in your budget to buy a homeschooling journal – let me know, I can help you with a PDF version of a journal.
When I was a kid in 1st to 5th grade I HATED spelling tests. I got Ds and Fs on my report card in Spelling. No one knew it was dyslexia. I could not memorize; but when I would take a spelling test I would forever remember the spelling that I came up with on the test – WRONG or RIGHT. I was so emotional while being tested that the negative feelings burned the misspelled word into my brain. I would have 45% correct on the test, and the teachers NEVER worked with me to correct the mistakes. That is why I now create spelling books that work for visual thinkers. I would advise you not to give spelling tests to a dyslexic child. Just look at their creative writing projects. If they write, color, trace and say the letters WITH the correct spelling SEVEN times they will remember the correct spelling, by the time they are 14 years old. Most spelling problems do self-correct by age 14 if the child does a lot of reading. That’s why we have just a few spelling books that cover the words that are foundational to learning to spell – AND are commonly confused or misspelled.
1. If you have a child that has been struggling with reading, writing and spelling it’s important to take a break from any schoolwork that is causing stress for 3 to 6 weeks to focus on therapy.
2. During this break from conventional schooling provide your child with creative learning tools like art supplies, cooking opportunities, audio books and games they enjoy. Don’t push them to do school at home.
3. Once the child is relaxed and enjoying games and creative activities introduce a gentle Dyslexia Therapy. The therapy is most effective when the child is not stressed out by his or her learning challenges. Turn on some classical music and provide the child with a peaceful place to focus.
4. Print out dyslexia therapy pages and provide the child with gel pens. Dyslexia Games is a therapy can be used at home, without professional help. The child will use 3 or 4 worksheets per day, no help is needed because the games focus on the child’s abilities, curiosity, creativity and logic. Find it at DyslexiaGames.com
5. Parents can relax while kids spend about 45 minutes playing games to overcome reading confusion. Dyslexia Games are easy for kids to use without help from a teacher, tutor or parent. Kids will be able to get ahead and improve reading skills without the stress!
