All About Spelling~ How we use it

Today we used our AAS workbook, to go over how to spell simple words with all the short vowel sounds. This is one of the areas that I have a problem with myself since I was never taught phonics in school. So I went to this well used program that includes a CD with the sounds that you can download to your computer and use as reference to make sure you are getting the sound or sounds right for each letter.  In as little as 20 minutes a day I can get both boys done with their lesson (or review in the case of my older son). I have them taking turns on identifying the letter sounds that I call out or I call out a letter and they  tell me the sound or sounds that letter makes. It has helped me along with them remember the sounds because it is something that we do everyday. I do see them using the skills that we work on using this program!

After we finsihed our AAS lesson, I usually have the boys go onto http://www.spellingcity.com/ so that they can use the online games to spell our list for the week.  It seems to be the most enjoyable way for them to practice their spelling lists. And at the end of the week, they do an online spelling test. I have the premium membership so that I can track the boys progress and input the spelling words for each week. This way I can get as far ahead as I want to and the lists will be there waiting for them when we get to it! But this site also has a free membership that allows you to input the words each time you visit and play all the free games, too. Most of the homeschoolers in my local homeschooling group use this site to add a fun alternative to the sometimes boring tasks of spelling.