Seeking a Good Spelling Computer Program or Games

Have you tried "Kumon"?
LOTS of children, all ages, use Kumon...as in going to a class.
At my daughter's school, they even have one on campus.
It has been greatly favored by many parents that I know... and their children have learned a lot.

Have you asked his Teacher what she can suggest...both professionally AND personally??? In school and outside of school? Try...

here is a link about it:
http://www.kumon.com/

Here's some other links, per my daughter's Teacher:
http://www.littleclickers.com/write.html
http://www.littleclickers.com/skills.html
http://www.littleclickers.com/

The other important thing is to just read to him, or have him read to you, as much as you can. It is so integral to their overall understanding of words and spelling and reading competence.

All the best,
Susan

My kids loved the reading blaster programs for the pc. I don't if they're still available, though.

Here's something else to consider. My daughter has been doing research on spelling dyslexias. Apparently, almost 20% of the population can't learn how to spell using the conventional methods taught in school (just look at the postings on this site confirm that! ;-) ). Spelling acquisition is very complex and it appears to involve several areas of the brain. Some children are not "wired" the same as others and bypass the areas that are used by good spellers. Check out "Overcoming Dyslexia" by Dr. Sally Shaywitz (Yale University).

In my daughter's research, she found that adults who are poor spellers were able to score well by studying words using a combination of listening to the spelling letter by letter and repeating each letter in sequence. The adults never saw the words on the spelling list, except for when they wrote them down for the tests.

This method is very time consuming, but appeared to be effective. Unfortunately, she has not continued with this line of research in children because her course load is very heavy this year (too many APs and honors classes), although she hopes to hook up with an interested researcher at USC this summer after she gets her driver's license.

Good luck with your son.

R.

Jump Start has great programs. You can get them at Target, etc.

Check into any of the Leapster products!

I believe you can find a number of computer games online for free. Starfall.com is for reading, but may have some spelling games. Try doing an online search for "free online spelling games for kids" - I bet a whole list will be presented.

Good luck!

I work with kids who have trouble learning. It sounds like your son needs to work on his phonics. If he knows the different sounds letters make, then it will be easier for him to spell.

Hi
Leapfrog leapster is fun. It is a computer game and there are great educational games
Good luck

Check out Mathletics -- http://static.3plearning.com/mathletics/www/brochure_CAN.pdf --
my kids love it and it's boosted their basic fact competencies hugely. They can play kids in schools all over the world and the competition really gets them excited. I've more success with Mathletics than I have with any of the other programs we've tried. It's little pricey, but then I've gotten more mileage out of it than any of the others. It's cheaper if you get his whole class to sign up. Have a look at the site, it explains everything.

Good luck! :-)

Check out the Reader Rabbit programs - they have them for all ages/grades.

I'd agree very much with Reader Rabbit programs, as well as JumpStart programs. I'm a preschool teacher who has used those for years in my classroom. They are excellent at teaching the basics in addition to more advanced levels. I also had them for my 'now teenaged' daugther, all through gradeschool and she loved them!