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Enjoy 1,034 words of homeschool inspiration below. ⬇

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The first time we tried to read The Story of the World, I failed. I probably shouldn't say that word - but that is how I felt. Then, a year or two later, I tried again. Still failed. I couldn't even exactly tell you why it didn't work because I loved the curriculum, but then, during our fourth year homeschooling, we tried AGAIN - and this time WE DID IT!!! And, I think I know why it clicked that time. My kids were older.

Now, we have a similar conundrum with spelling. I tried to teach my oldest a separate spelling curriculum early on. Didn't keep up with it. Realized it was not necessary until he could read really well, so I waited another year or two. Finally, we were finished with All About Reading 1-4 and ready to do Spelling. So, I tried again and FAILED. Y'all, we tried 3 different spelling programs this past year. NOTHING is wrong with any of them - they are great! And, I'll list them below. But, I realized that I need my fifth grader to do spelling independently as much as possible. I have two younger kids and just can't teach all the things independently to each kid every day. So, I need him to take ownership. Thus, I landed on what I'm going to try this year - Purposeful Design Spelling Plus. You can read more about it below.

Here’s what's new this week...

📝 Fresh Picks

​Purposeful Design Spelling Plus - The 4th-6th grade books go through a large list of root words (think Greek and Latin). Since I didn't want to skip out on important building blocks, we will back up a year and start with 4th grade spelling. I think my son can complete the pages each week mostly independently. I bought the teacher's guide as well because it has the answer key and I wanted to see what else it included. However, the student workbook has actual instruction in it. So, I think it would still be usable without the TG. I plan to write a blog post about it soon & will share more with you all then. (BTW this curriculum is specifically Christian just FYI.)

​All About Spelling* - I'm a huge fan of All About Reading​*, but when I tried All About Spelling, it was too teacher intensive along with all the other stuff (and kids) I had to teach. If you want a very phonics-rule-based program (which I do!!) and your kid loves games and manipulatives, this is perfect! OR - I have a friend who has used AAS and loves it for her older child, but they skip the games. I just found that as I went along I was looking for a workbook that I could hand him and let him do independently. Call me boring, or old-school. (This curriculum is "neutral" or maybe you'd call it "secular.")

​Spelling Plus: 1000 Words Toward Spelling Success* (NOT the one above!!) - Yes, I tried a DIFFERENT "Spelling Plus" curriculum previously. This one is very economical (around $20). It took some time to read all of the teacher's guide introductory info to prepare, but then it was pretty simple to implement. Another wonderful but also time-consuming aspect of this program was that the word lists are somewhat personalized for your child - by you! You use lists and pretests to decide which ones your child needs to work on. However, my son didn't seem to enjoy the procedure for practicing the words each day. Yet again I was left wanting a workbook.

​Scholar Within - We most recently tried this one. It is computer-based and also phonics-intensive. I had hoped that it would provide the independence that my child needed to be successful with spelling. Perhaps I just didn't give it long enough to really try it out, but he didn't love it, and the school year was ending. Nevertheless, I think this program, like the others above, is worth a look to see if it would be a good fit for your child! (This appears to be neutral/secular as well.)

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🧰 Teaching Tools

Here are a few more that I have recently heard of...

Simply Spelling- This one is FREE. And computer-based. And apparently pretty independent. A friend just recommended it to me this week, so I haven't checked it out, but it might be worth a look as well. My friend has been pleased with it; I think she used it as a supplement or for review. It is produced by The Good and the Beautiful. (I know this company is Mormon, but from what I've heard it tends more toward neutral.)

Steps to Superb Spelling - I just received an email about this program from another homeschool mom I follow. I have never heard of it before, but it looks like yet another phonics-based spelling curriculum. Apparently it is not an independent curriculum, parent help is required for prep and playing games, checking work, etc. It covers multiple years of spelling instruction, which would be nice if you'd rather not have to buy a new book each year. The blogger I mentioned wrote a review of it here, if you want to check it out. (This one is definitely Christian.)

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📚 On My Bookshelf

For you, your kids, or read-alouds.

​The Oregon Trail 4 book set* - A friend recommended this choose-your-own-adventure set this week and I ordered them from Amazon. Her kids enjoyed them, and within hours of receiving the package, my 10 year old had already started book one and was loving it.

​Mercy Watson* - My new reader has recently picked these back up, this time to read to herself! They are the cutest, funniest little books with fantastic colorful illustrations. Think mini-chapter books.

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💰 Deals and Steals

​All About Learning Press* - monthly GIVEAWAY signup

​Tuttle Twins Bundles* - bundles of their history and economics books

​Critical Thinking Co. - current deals 15%-30% off

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❓Question of the Week

Do you use a formal spelling program in your homeschool? If so, which one?

Happy Homeschooling!

Emily

​TeacherTutorMom.com​

P.S. Don’t miss my latest post on TeacherTutorMom for encouragement, strategies, reviews, and more.

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