Question re Spelling for Carrie or anyone...

[Natreez]

I'm sort of at a loss for what to do about my son with his spelling. My son is what you call a "natural speller". My problem is that I'm having a difficult time finding words that he doesn't already know. I have a 3rd edition of Spelling Power that I've been pulling words from to create a list for him but I really don't like doing that as I have to pretest him on about 2dozen words prior to finding 10 that he can't spell. Nor do I think he needs the in-depth word study that Spelling Power offers. Should I simply forget formal spelling and instead do the dictation? Should I just keep pretesting and pulling words from Spelling Power? Should I continue with the Bigger spelling although he seems to naturally already know how to spell most or all of the words at least up until unit 14?? I'm at loss and would greatly appreciate some feedback. I love the method Carrie uses in Bigger spelling and that is exactly what I've done with the words I've pulled from Spelling Power however I just am looking for something a bit easier on both of us.

Thanks for your input!!
Natreez

[Carrie]

Natreez,

I can't quite recall the age of your son or if you're using the dictation passages in "Bigger" or not? If you haven't ever done dictation, I'd recommend using the dictation passages in "Bigger...". I would definitely move on to dictation no matter what. If you're already doing the passages in "Bigger..." then I can give you advice on how to do studied dictation with harder passages, if needed.

Just let me know a few more details, and I can advise you better. By the way, this is a great problem for you to have!

Blessings,
Carrie

[Kathleen]

Spelling is a breeze for my 8 yo guy, too. I totally understand your question about wanting to find that good balance of challenging, but not frustrating. We've never done dictation before, and have started with it this year. Even though none of the words are challenging so far, we're going with it, and I'm trusting that it will give him practice writing passages with correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and spacing...we've been smooshing words together recently. I asked a question about this recently that Carrie answered for me... viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1923&p=14917&hilit=dictation#p14917

I'd say to give the dictation in Bigger a try. (I know there are several levels of dictation in Preparing, too...but I didn't want to purchase the guide yet, so we're going with what's in Bigger. )

Kathleen

[Natreez]

Thanks for the advice. My son is 8yrs old and in 3rd grade. I have tried the dictation passages and they seem to be too easy for him so, I would appreciate your suggestion on how to study dictation with harder passages. Thank you!

Natreez

[6timeboymom]

With my 12 (13 on thursday!) boy that's tagging along in Bigger, we do the dictation and then I pull a few sentences out of either his extension pack reader, the science reader, or the history reader. Sometimes I dictate the bible verse, too.

[Natreez]

Thanks Darci but we don't have an extension to pull from and even so I am afraid I'd be back to the same as I am currently doing testing him on over a dozen words find 10 that he has trouble spelling. Thanks anyway.

Natreez

[Carrie]

Natreez,

Here's a nutshell version of how to do CM-style studied dictation:
At our house, we use the Charlotte-Mason style studied dictation for spelling. You can choose several sentences from the literature your kiddo is reading reading. Allow him to study it. Then, you dictate the sentences a phrase at a time, without repeating them. He would write them, and then check it himself against the passage in the book for mistakes (marking any mistakes) and immediately fixing them on his paper. If the sentences are perfect, he gets a new passage the next day. If not, the same passage is dictated the next day, until it is perfect. You can slowly work up to dictating a paragraph at a time in this manner.

Blessings,
Carrie