We’re reviewing our spelling words this week and I just have to rave a bit about how much we LOVE our Spell to Write and Read curriculum! My oldest, at age 8, has 260 words so far this year so we’re testing 60 a day and she’s acing them! And more than getting her words right, she has a great attitude about the process which means so much to this mama!
My first grader has learned 120 words (she gets 20 new words a week) and is loving the spelling. She much prefers spelling to reading and does a whale of a better job at spelling too, I might add! (We’re still struggling to keep focused at reading time! She can read, and is proud of this accomplishment, but doesn’t yet enjoy it!)
The SWR curriculum is a one time purchase that can be used over and over for each child in your family. The spelling lists included go from preschool/Kindergarten to college level, and they’re accompanied by SOOO many great suggestions and teacher “helps” to reinforce grammar, handwriting, understanding of word meanings etc. The program is built upon the 70 phonograms and a slew of spelling rule cards. Finally, the English language makes sense!
Your child learns how to sound out words to spell them phonetically, enters each week’s spelling words into a self-created spelling book and reads those words to you each day. In essence, they learn to spell before/as they are learning to read. You practice the phonogram cards each day, and teach the spelling rules as they’re introduced and practice using them by illustrating how they’re used in the back of the child’s spelling book.
For example, when you’re teaching the five spellings of /er/, they make a chart in the back of their speller with the headings:
er ur ir wor ear
Then under each heading they file the appropriate spelling words as they’re dictated each week. Under /er/ they’d write “her”, under /ur/ they’d write “church” and “spur”, under /ir/ they’d write “first”, under /wor/ they’d write “worship” and “word”, under /ear/ would be “early”, etc. And it’s reinforced each day when you go over the phonogram flashcards. When they see /er/ they’ll say, “er as in her”; when they see /ur/ they’ll say “ur as in church”. And so on.
We bought the core kit, the learning logs, the clock stamp (for a SUPER fun way to teach preschoolers how to write correctly), and The Alpha List. Great investment. Wanda Sanseri (the author) will have you outside with your preschoolers painting their phongrams on the sidewalk with a paintbrush and a bucket of water. I could go on and on, and believe me, I’m not getting any perks for this glowing recommendation! If your child is older and already spelling, this program is still worth buying. There are placement tests in the back to let you know where your child falls in the program.
Best of all, it’s Christian based! What more can you ask for?