The JumpStart Blog

The following information is from a series of parent tips by Knowledge Adventure. The tips are meant to be used as fun ways of bringing learning into the home and everyday life. We hope you enjoy them!

Make learning fun by practicing spelling with the following tips. With practice, your child will become a better speller and reader.

• Word Search: Create a word search puzzle for your child (write ten letters across and five down). Include words that have the following vowel combinations: ai, ay, ee, ea, ie, oa, ow. Ask your child to circle the words. If your child needs assistance, say the word aloud, then ask him or her to repeat the word and find it in the puzzle. Below is an example.

• Tic Tac Toe Spelling: Draw a tic tac toe board. Instead of using an X or O to mark a square, create words that end with the following letters: ame, ake, ate, ave, ive, ice, ite, ine, one, ose, ail, eep, each, eat, oat, ain. Have your child write a word in one of the squares, and circle the word so you both know which ones belong to him or her. The first person who gets three in a row is the winner.
• Magnetic Spelling: Give your child magnetic letters and ask him or her to spell words with long vowel sounds that end in silent e—for example, rake, kite, hope, mute. Set a timer and see how many words your child can put together in one minute for each vowel combination.