Spelling City

We've been living in Spelling City for a while now, but I haven't thought to blog about it.

Spelling City is an actual program, although we've modified it a bit.  It doesn't seem to be related to the Spelling City website which provides spelling lists and games.

Our Spelling City is a logical method of teaching spelling rules.The general idea is that words live in families (with similar spelling) in their own houses, often forming streets of related houses.

Naughty words that don't follow the spelling rules live in the jail!

Believe it or not, this is the first time we've ever directly taught spelling. Most of our kids just seemed to pick up how to spell as they went along, but we have a few who were having a hard time, and this seems to be a fun and effective way to learn.

It does require a dedicated wall in your house, someplace the kids see often, but seeing your city grow is part of the fun!

What actually got me to blog about it was the Emperor's idea of making  pictures out of the homonyms!

Brilliant!!