Spelling Scramble

We use All About Spelling in our home.  We tried a couple of different methods before this one, but unfortunately they didn't seem to have what I was looking for and my eldest daughter, who is 8, wasn't retaining the words she had learned.  She learns very quickly in everything else, but for some reason spelling is a challenge for her.  So I did some research and prayed about it and I was led to this method.  We prayed about it and felt it was the right one and so we began using it.  It worked wonderfully.  Alexis is doing so well with it.  Spelling is still her challenge in learning, but she's progressing well, now.   Each lesson takes us somewhere between 2 and 5 days depending on how quickly she learns the words and how easy it is.

It always starts with a short review and then it teaches the new concept.  I love that each concept builds upon each other and that it presents clear rules for each new concept.  I've even learned rules I never knew existed!

It uses magnetic tiles to teach the words and allow the child to practice with. 

Then at the end there are phrases and sentences you dictate for the child to write down.  I love this part because it only uses words the child should have already learned and it's a wonderful review of past words and helps increase the child's listening skills since you are only supposed to say the sentence once.  For Alexis I say it once and she repeats it.  Then if she writes it correctly with no mistakes I draw a big smiley face next to the sentence.  If she misses something silly like a punctuation mark or capital letter I tickle her.  :)  And anything else I have her fix and then when she fixes it correctly I put a star next to her sentence.

Along with the lessons I always try to throw in my own spelling games I make up or find online for each lesson.  For this particular lesson we did spelling scramble, which is one of her favorites.  I write out a few of her words from that particular lesson, (especially any she's having trouble with.)  Then I cut them apart by letter.  Then I take the word and spread out its letters all over a particular room.  For example I might choose the living room and then cut each letter from the word "mailbox" and then, using tape, put the 'm' on the wall, the 'a' on the window, he 'i' on the rocking horse, etc...  Then she hunts through the room for all the letters and then puts them together to make the word, (and she does not know which word it is, so that increases the challenge).  I usually do 8 words at a time and using several rooms and hallways I put a different word in each one. She thinks this is so much fun and it helps reinforce the various spelling rules, as well.

Can you spot the letters?  :)