UPDATE: This resource list has become so long over the years that I have decided to break it up by subject as a series of posts.  The posts in this resource series are linked below.

Homeschooling the Dyslexic Child: Phonics and Early Readers

Homeschooling the Dyslexic Child: Spelling

Homeschooling the Dyslexic Child: Handwriting and Copywork

Homeschooling the Dyslexic Child: Grammar and Latin

Homeschooling the Dyslexic Child: History, Literature and Science

Homeschooling the Dyslexic Child: Math

Homeschooling the Dyslexic Child: Resources for Mom and Dad

Homeschooling the Dyslexic Child: Technology

My dyslexic son and my youngest son (who struggles with auditory perception) really need hands on, kinesthetic activities to help them cement spelling into their brains. If those activities can also be fun, then all the better!

Enter “Jello spello”. Pour a package of jello powder into a bowl. Allow your child to trace his letters or spelling words into the powder.

I let my kids lick their finger after every correctly spelled word, but hey, I’m a softie for things like edible cookie dough maps and stuff of that nature. In fact, I told my boys that the more times they traced the words, the more times they could lick the jello powder off their finger. One boy only had 10 spelling words, but if he was willing to spell them each 5 times that meant 50 licks of jello powder. Guess what? He was more than willing.

There are only two problems with this activity. First, it can become mildly sickening, even for the kids…I didn’t really enjoy watching it, and none of them finished their jello powder before they decided it was too sweet. But they had fun getting to that point. Second, the jello tends to stain…faces, hands, clothing. Next time I think I would use vanilla pudding powder!

My childrens’ attitudes toward spelling have dramatically improved since we began using whiteboards instead of writing all their spelling words on paper.

When they were learning to write we used white boards all the time, but once they learned how to write I transitioned them completely to paper.

Spelling became very tedious for them, however, as they hated having to erase words. Paper felt so permanent to them, and they began to dread ever making a mistake.

Once we switched back to the white board, their anxiety disappeared. They actually enjoy practicing their spelling words and writing out sentences on their large white boards. I was able to purchase giant, magnetic whiteboards for them at Walmart for less than $10 per board.  The boards are perfect for holding all their spelling magnets, and there is plenty of room for them to write, as well.

This is not to say that we don’t use paper anymore. We certainly do use it for things like copywork and for other school subjects. But most of their spelling is done on the white board now, at least while they are still learning the words.

Kinesthetic spelling activities are helpful for my dyslexic son.  In this exercise, he formed each letter in the spelling word out of clay.  He likes using a different color for each letter.  He also formed a representation of the word’s meaning out of clay.  This is an important step for dyslexics, who think in pictures.

When he was done spelling this word and making a little fire to go with it, he took a picture of it in his mind.  He likes to actually put his hand up near his face and make a clicking sound, as if he had a real camera.  Later, when he needs to spell the word, he can recall the picture he took in his mind.

This method has been helpful for him, particularly with those little amorphous words that are difficult to attach a meaning to.  Dyslexics often struggle with words like “the”, “a”, “of”, “and”, and a host of others.  The very act of spelling out those little words in clay, and building something to represent them, has been of great value.

For example, to represent the word “and” he might build two people.  It doesn’t really matter what he chooses to create to go along with the word, as long as it represents the word to him in a picture form.  This technique has been effective in helping him with both reading and spelling those troublesome little words.

I came across this idea in the wonderful book The Gift of Dyslexia by Ronald Davis.  If you have a dyslexic in your family (or suspect you might), I highly recommend this book.

My nine year old dyslexic son has been making great strides in his spelling.  I like to use hands-on, kinesthetic methods as he works to learn his spelling words.  One of his favorite activities is File Folder Spelling.

He is given a stack of different colored alphabets, a file folder, his spelling list and some thumbnail pictures printed from a clipart program or *Google Images (one per spelling word).

First, he cuts out the letters he needs to spell the first word on the list.  Next, he glues them down.  He then finds the appropriate picture that goes with the spelling word, and he glues the picture down beside the spelled word.  This helps him to visualize both the spelling of the word and its meaning, which is very helpful for him.  Last, he writes the word out in his own hand.

You’ll notice that the last word on this list is “the”.  Words like these are the most difficult for children with dyslexia, who think in pictures.  This word no longer gives him trouble in reading or spelling, and I truly think it is because of exercises like this one, which help him to visualize a definition for this little word.  For this file folder, he had a picture of a group of stick people, and he circled one of them to represent “the”.

*I always search for images myself.  It is incredible what a benign search of google images can pull up, so you would NEVER want to allow a child to search for images himself, even when your computer is set to “safe search”.