Saskatchewan Home Based Educators (SHBE) is the official voice of home-based educators in Saskatchewan. We assist in creating a positive social network and a positive political environment for all those who choose home-based education. We also provide supportive, social and instructional resources for our members.
I let her practice by writing out her spelling words each day, but at the end of the week, she still could not spell all her words, so it did not seem to be working for her. More and more I am starting to see that Princess is very visual, and not as hands-on as her mother is. I am a very hands-on learner, as my other children seem to be too. But I have been trying to learn about learning styles and how I can make sure I am teaching in a way that speaks to my children's own learning styles and strengths.
When I found All About Spelling I chose it because it is visual learning. The student can see the letter tiles and learn how to put them together. It is also hands-on, with moving the tiles around, but not as much as spelling with play-doh. It is also auditory because you say the sounds out loud as you move the tiles around. Using all learning styles is the best way to optimize learning, so this seems wonderful!
Plus, the program recommends starting at the beginning, even with an advanced student. At this point I have to admit that I was a little worried about how horrible her spelling is and I liked the idea of starting over with her to make sure she has a chance to catch on to things that we may have missed along the way.
After our first day of using it, Princess had gone through the first three lessons and she was beaming at how much she had accomplished! She told me that she likes our new way of doing spelling much better :) Because it is easy for her, she is going through it quickly, but I have noticed that the program does cover some things that we missed, so she is learning new things too.
Along with buying the lesson book and student's pack, we stopped at Staples on the way home from convention and I bought a magnetic white board for our new spelling lessons. This way I don't have to set it back up every day and I can just keep all the tiles on the board so it is ready for the next lesson.
With all those purchases, I even managed to stay close to my budget :)
Do you shop at your homeschool convention? Do you go with a list and stick to it, or do you like to browse and see what kind of goodies you can find?
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You might also be interested in this post from Frugal Homeschool Family: 7 Tips for Sticking to Your Budget at a Homeschool Convention.