Spelling doesn’t have to be boring or tedious. Spelling can be fun! Toss those work sheets and spelling tests aside and give some of these resources a try for spelling fun in your homeschool. Spelling is important. Because spell check doesn’t catch everything!
SpellQuizzer
SpellQuizzer is great for any age, especially if your child loves to type and hates to print or write. Drill spelling words on the computer by recording the words (and a sample sentence or definition for your child), OR let your spouse or a special guest do the recording for even more fun. My daughter used to adore being a special guest for her big brother’s spelling words. You can also use it to drill vocabulary words, foreign language words, and more! Learn more, check out our SpellQuizzer review and get your free 30-day trial here.
The Homophone Machine
Homophones (words that sound the same but are spelled differently) are fun to learn about and they’re even more fun with the free online homophone lesson. Check out the free homophone machine at the bottom of the page! Your elementary age child will enjoy typing in words and phrases and seeing all the homophones appear. Try all the wonderful ideas and games suggested on the page for even more spelling fun.
Board Games for Spelling Fun
Board games play a big part in our everyday homeschool. Of course, Scrabble can be a great help to practise spelling. But there are many more games for spelling fun, such as Pick Two (which I adore) or Boggle. What’s your favourite?
Rummy Roots for Spelling Fun
Card games can add fun to your homeschool day, too! We’ve owned and used the Rummy Roots card game for many years. It is recommended in The Well-Trained Mind. We find it a terrific help for spelling words with Latin roots, studying Latin, and expanding vocabulary.
At first, when our kids were younger, we used it as a matching card game – simply matching Latin/Greek roots to their English definitions. Then we began playing the game properly – making compound words out of the various Latin and Greek roots, at first with two roots, and then with two or more. Recommended for ages eight to adult, I find anyone who reads well can play it.
Spelling Bees and Spelling Bee Resources
I wish I could have participated in more spelling bees when I was a child – I only had the chance to enjoy one spelling bee in my Grade 4 classroom. My son enjoyed competing in spelling bees when he was elementary school age, although I don’t think he ever quite enjoyed spelling as much as I did.
Spelling bees aren’t as proliferous as they once were, but they are still around. Check out your nearest spelling bee and use their resources to study! Start studying now and consider entering the Spelling Bee of Canada in future. Even if your child doesn’t want to compete in a spelling bee, you can join the Scripps Spelling Bee Word Club for free spelling bee materials!
To practise, let the child who just can’t stop moving jump rope, bounce on an exercise ball, or jump on a mini trampoline for some extra fun while they spell. The spelling words will even stick in their brain better with the exercise!
Learning to Spell for Little Ones
There are many enjoyable resources available for your little ones who are learning to read and spell. My daughter thoroughly enjoyed The Phonics Road to Spelling and Reading. Spelling rules are so easy to remember when sung to the well-known tunes included in the program as “Rule Tunes.” And there are many more spelling games, including Bingo.
And check out the JingleSpells spelling songs CD by Talking Fingers. It includes 20 incredibly well done tunes. They’re catchy and fun to sing along with, including everything from country to rock.
Are you making spelling fun in your homeschool? What resource makes it fun for you? Please let me know in the comments below!
Love, Luck &
Laughter,
Kimberly
Please note: This article was originally published in April 2017 and has been revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
This post may contain affiliate links. If you click through and buy, I may make a few bucks to keep up Homeschooling in Nova Scotia. Thanks for your support!
To get smart, kind kids, you don’t have to sign your kid up for expensive tutoring. There are two, simple things you have to do together: reading and playing chess. Research shows reading aloud is the powerful keystone habit that will raise smart, kind kids. This is what happens when you read aloud to your child every day. Your child will hear a wider variety of words. You grow your child’s brain, literally. You put her on the path to be a lifelong reader. Your child’s behavior will improve. You build a stronger bond with your child. You increase your child’s capacity for empathy. Unique thing about chess is that it develops both sides of the brain. Researchers analyzed this back in 2010 and found that more advanced players use the right side of their brain to recognize patterns in the game and their left side to analyze and make the most logical move. Regardless of the child’s age, chess develops concentration, increases patience and positively affects the intellectual and emotional development of the child. The rules of chess are very simple and children can learn them already from around the age of three. Not everyone can or wants to become a professional chess player but everyone can use chess for learning. For this purpous I can recommend a book (net-bossorg/chess-puzzles-for-kids-by-maksim-aksanov) with bunch of great exercises, which will help you and your kids to be better in this 🙂