My ds has always struggled with spelling, and I expect it will never be a strong point for him. However, I followed the HOD guide advice (with the encouragement of some seasoned HOD users who had been in my shoes) and started working through the dictation levels starting at the beginning, 3x/week as scheduled. In earlier years, I have tried several different spelling programs, 5 days/week, and nothing seemed to be sinking in! Well, as my ds matured this year (now 10yrs. almost finished w/ Preparing) and continued to use dictation (only spelling curriculum he doesn't complain about), I started to see improvement in the spelling of his written narrations. This was what other moms had already experienced, but I was so excited to see it happening for myself!
Then last month I administered the Canadian Achievement Test (standardized), and was thrilled to see the results. Last year he was below average in spelling, but this year he pulled ahead into a rank well above average! In fact, he only got 4 questions wrong on the spelling part. Now, part of that may be due to multiple choice questions this year (whereas for gr.3 he had to pull the spelling out of his head to write down), but even with that boost it goes to show that he has learned to "see" the words in his head and recognize the correct spelling. Which is the pathway to being a good speller! So, as I said, I am thrilled, and I'm excited to start my dd on the first level of dictation next year!
My youngest - I don't think is going to be a natural, but we'll see. If he's not, I'm not worried. We'll just move through dictation. He'll be ok. Thanks so much for sharing this important update as it is such inspiration and encouragement to those on the other side of dictation!