Spelling For Kids - Activities to Make Learning Spelling Fun

Spelling for kids is often a chore. How many of you have found that spelling homework comes with unwillingness on the part of your children?

Kids find it boring learning words or maybe they find it too difficult.

Spelling often requires children to learn the words off by heart (rote learned) and there is no fun in saying a word over and over.

I have included some of the activities I used in my classroom practice as well as with my son, to make spelling homework more FUN. It may take a little longer, but they may have more motivation to do it and get more out of it.

• Use magnetic letters on a fridge, magnetic whiteboard, or baking tray. Let them play with the letters and make up their words.

• Use a blackboard - Often children have blackboards at home. They can be great with coloured chalk. Your child can use different styles of writing - bubble, small, large, squiggly letters - or write in rainbow or patterned colours.

• Use a variety of different pens and pencils - you could supply your children with specials pens or pencils to use for homework. Kids love to use gel pens or glitter pens. Here too they can use different styles of writing and different colours.

• Use water and a paintbrush - give your child a cup of water and a paintbrush and let them write their words on concrete or bricks with the water. It is no mess and dries up quickly. However can be harder on a hot day as the water evaporates quickly - here they can see how fast they can write their words.

• Use chalk on concrete - some of you will hate this idea as it is a bit messier, but kids do love it. If you don't mind chalk all over your outdoor concrete, give the children some coloured chalk and let them learn their spelling outside. My boys love to draw and write on the concrete - it goes in a few days and it is even better if you know it is going to rain.

• Use old magazines or junk mail - get your child to cut out (or if you do not like them using scissors - you could do it) letters to make up their spelling words. Magazines have different sized and different coloured letters that are great to use. I used to cut out quite a lot of letters and keep them in a container and then give the children tweezers to pick out the letters - they loved it.

  Only one point here - sometimes the letters - especially a and g can be different and do confuse younger children.

• Use craft materials - it really depends on you - I have used pom poms, sequins, glitter etc for spelling words. Kids love it as it is different but parents may not.

• Use lego or blocks - the kids can use to make out the shapes of letters on the floor.

• Use a Magna Doodle - or a similar magnetic board writer. Kids can write their words - using different styles of writing and then clear the screen. This is good to use for the Look, Cover, Write, Check strategy.

• Use sand - Sand writing can be fun. If you have a sand pit or even some sand in a tray, the children can write out their words with their finger.

• Play word games - these can be played in the car or really anywhere.

  - ask for words that rhyme with cat - pat, sat, mat

  - ask for words that start with the same sound: ball - bed, bag, beg, bus

  - ask for words that end in the same sound: man - pan, pin, hen

  - ask for words that sound the same but have different meaning - blew/blue; hear/here

It is still important to get the children to say the letters and the word as they do the activities. Don't forget to ask them to spell it for you. Always go over the words with them when they have finished. They may be excited to show you as they have created a spelling masterpiece.

There are so many ways you can get your children to learn spelling words - they don't just have to write them out over and over or rote learn. Make spelling fun.

Let me know if you have any other activities to help children with spelling. I would love to be able to include them here to share with others. Just go to Contact Us and fill in the form.

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