Does your child need help spelling new words? Are you telling your child the word and they are spelling it back? Spelling is an important skill because there are certain words in the English language that do not follow a rule and just have to be memorized. These words should not just be practiced weekly but should be practiced often. Home spelling activities do not have to be mundane and tedious. There are so many fun home spelling activities! Children learn best and retain their learning best when learning is fun and uses as many of their senses as possible. Remember children are all different and learn in so many different ways. It can take some time to figure out what works best for your child, so do not be discouraged. To start you off, here are 7 fun home spelling activities that you can try today!
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1. Write in Sidewalk Chalk
A simple yet perfect activity for the warm weather. Give your child some sidewalk chalk and let them write their words all over the sidewalk or driveway. Your child can either write the words from memory or copy them from a list or flashcards. You can also have them read the words to you when they are done.
2. Basketball
Grab a basketball or other bouncy ball! Each time your child bounces the ball, they say a letter of the word. If you have a basket they can take a shot after they have spelled the entire word!
3. Imagination Exercises
This is the same concept as basketball, but imaginary! Have your child pretend to dribble a ball, swim in a pool, swing a lasso, or do some jumping jacks. With each individual movement, your child says one letter of the word to spell the entire word. My students LOVE this one!
4. Use the Bathroom Mirror
This is a quick easy one that can be done after bath or shower time. When the mirror or shower door fogs up, have your child write the words using their finger. You can keep this short and sweet with only a few words. This is a fun and casual way to practice spelling at home!
5. Magnet Letters
First, grab some magnet letters off of Amazon, like these. Then either use your fridge or something more portable like a mini cookie sheet. Give your child the word list or some flashcards and have them make the words using the letter magnets, like the ones below. This activity also helps with letter recognition because they need to find the right letter in the pile and they will notice how letters are similar (like u and n).
6. Rainbow Writing
Grab some crayons or markers and paper. Your child can either copy the words or write from memory. When spelling the word, have them use a different color for each letter in the word!
7. Typing Practice
Use a laptop, iPad, or even an old keyboard that is not connected and have them practice typing the words. Schools use a lot of technology and most testing is on computers so it does not hurt to have extra practice
Try one of these activities this week with your child and comment below about how it went!