With my little girl now in elementary school, we are practicing sight words and spelling everyday. This means I am constantly looking for ways to make it new and exciting for her. If you too are looking for ideas on how to practice spelling with your kids, here are 10 tips on to mix it up and make it fun.
Cool Whip…or Pudding…Painting!
Finger painting with sweet treats – always a favorite with my kids. I give my daughter a sight word and she practices spelling in the pudding (or Cool Whip). Yum!
Painting with Water
Give them a paint brush and let them go for it! If you don’t feel like getting messy, let them “paint” the spelling words with a paint brush and water on the concrete outside. Us lucky Southern Californians have that option in this nice warm weather!
Magnets
Need a break from painting? Try this out – get those letter magnets for your refrigerator or white boards and have your kiddo practice with the magnets. Scramble them up on whatever surface you’re using, then call out a word, and see if your child can find the correct letters to spell it.
Glitter and Bedazzle your Words
My little girl is all about the sparkles. So, how fun is this – have your kiddo practice writing their words, then give them a glue stick. Let them trace the pencil words in glue, give them a tube of sparkles or glitter (warning – this WILL get messy). Brush away the excess glitter, and voila! Their spelling words are bedazzled.
I Spy
Here’s a slightly new twist on an oldie but goodie game. When you’re in the car driving, play I spy. When your kiddo guesses the object, have them sound it out and spell it outloud.
Sing a Song
If you’ve read some of my blogs, you’ll know that I’m all about teaching through song. That’s because that is the way my son learns best. So I make up silly little songs and phrases with catchy tunes. Ever seen the movie Elf? Well, I pretty much sound like Buddy…singing random, made-up, silly strings of words together. And my kids love it! Whatever works, right?!
Scrabble Letters
Do you happen to have the board game, Scrabble, at home? We found ours stuck up on a closet shelf. Even though my kindergartner is a little too young to grasp the concept of the game, those little wooden letter blocks come in quite handy! Mix them up on your kitchen table, verbally give your kiddo a list of spelling words, and have them pick out the letters to form the words.
Grab a Magazine
This idea came from my daughter’s teacher – grab a kid friendly magazine, pick out a page of text, and tell them to find whatever words you are practicing (however many times they appear on the page). This is awesome for sight words and recognizing spelling! Have them circle or highlight the words on the page.
Bathtub Paint
If your kids still take baths, let them paint their spelling words in the bathtub…with that bathtub safe paint. My kids LOVE this. Bonus? It immediately washes off!
Flashcards
There are lots of ways you can use flashcards to practice your words. You can have your child practice writing the word on the front, and then drawing a picture of the definition or write the definition on the back. You can also have them write it one time on the front, and then have them write it again on their own on the back to practice.
I hope this post has given you some ides on how to practice spelling with your kids. Want to share some of yours with us?