Spelling City

Two times in the last week I have had parents talk to me about nightly homework.  Kids aren’t wanting to practice spelling and sight words.  I used to have that problem too!  In fact, last year my now 4th grader HATED practicing for spelling, and did not do well enough on the test to just practice at school.  After months of battle, we found some middle ground- Spelling City.  Since I have already recommended it twice this week, I figured I would reccommend it to a “few” more people.

Spelling City allows students (or parents) to input a word list and then it will teach you the words, let you play games with those words and then take a practice test.  I have seen this used with kids as young as 1st grade in learning centers, and my 4th grader is still loving it.  In fact, it is in her “top three favorite ’school’ websites”.  Out of her mouth, that is saying a lot!!

Why do I like it?  I no longer do the “spelling battle” every day of the week.  On her own, she will go to the computer and practice.  He scores have risen from the 70%’s to the 90%’s.

I am not a huge proponent of weekly spelling words, and really don’t believe homework does much good, but I also stress the responsibility factor and that both will prepare my kids for a better future.  That said, I am all about games that make kids learn without them knowing it.  These days, teachers and parents alike have to be a little sneaky when it comes to “cramming all that learning” into their little minds!