We have had such a wonderful week! It is always so nice to get back into a routine. I always feel like I accomplish so much more during the week, when I am teaching my daughter daily. Every week we have second grade spelling words that we need to work on. Each day we do a different activity to help her memorize her ten words. By Friday, she normally is ready for her spelling test!
Rock Tumbler Update
Before I get into what we enjoy doing for spelling, I want to update you on our rock tumbling journey. This is the first time I have ever used a rock tumbler. My daughter is very excited to see the results, but it is a very long process. There are four different grits that you use to get the rocks polished down to perfection. Each grit takes about a week or more.
The rock tumbler we purchased from National Geographic came with a small bundle of rocks to start out with. Below you can see a picture of the rocks that we received and then a picture of the rocks after using the first grit.
If you decide that you want to get a rock tumbler for your child, I recommend purchasing it during warm weather, so you can leave your rocks tumbling in the garage. It is freezing here, so we have our rock tumbler sitting on the kitchen counter. The noise doesn’t bother me at night, but it really gets to be a bit too much during the day while I am trying to teach my daughter and clean. Other than the noise, we love the rock tumbler. You can purchase it at https://www.amazon.com/National-Geographic-Hobby-Rock-Tumbler/dp/B01LQCIL88/ref=asc_df_B01LQCIL88/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198087901857&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15800821208840568091&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=21156&hvtargid=pla-366051398523&mcid=30c88c16bffd30358d50467d36639ebc&gclid=Cj0KCQiA2KitBhCIARIsAPPMEhKHwavNNzRwdHs_BpjtdgRLsxmHmBEbT20YAt5jeaNw9uUVHfv8rI8aArQOEALw_wcB&th=1.
Daily Journal Set Up
I want to start by sharing with you my homeschool set up. We don’t have a designated room for school, so we use the dining room table. I put our extension leaf into the table, so it is extra long. Then I put an easel up on the end of the table with the dry erase board side facing towards the opposite end of the table. Each morning, my daughter starts by writing everything in purple in her journal. This helps her understand the date, practice writing her full name, and getting a little bit of prompt writing in. She is not much for writing, so this is where she can have a little bit of fun with it. The week and the day, also helps me remember where we are in the curriculum each week.
Below that, I have all our emergency information in green. This is so we can practice memorizing these items daily. It is also there so my daughter has the information if something were to happen to me, and she needs to call for help. If you do not have this information up in your home, I highly recommend it. Being a stay-at-home mom, with a husband who is gone often, I think it is very important that my daughter has this information.
Now, below the dry erase board, I added a cork board/dry erase board. On the cork board side, I pin up my daughter’s Awana Bible verses that need to be memorized each week. Then I write the ten second grade spelling words on the dry erase side. When I want them to disappear for a test or practice, I can just turn the board around. This set up works great for us for now!
Second Grade Spelling Words
As I have mentioned before, we use Schoolhouse Teachers for our curriculum. This is the first year we are using it, and we absolutely love it! We will definitely be continuing to use it for years to come. Something that we didn’t have in our previous curriculum was weekly spelling words with a test at the end of the week. I love that Schoolhouse Teachers has this, because it has really helped my daughter feel more confident when writing. I am an affiliate of Schoolhouse Teachers, so if you are interested in this spelling curriculum, please follow this link: https://schoolhouseteachers.com/school-subjects/language-arts/schoolhouse-spelling/ref/119608/.
Spelling Day 1: Monday
On the first day of the week, Monday, we watch the video for the second grade spelling words that week. I read the rules for those specific words, so my daughter understands what is special about this list. For instance, this week, week 16, we have “ea” words. This helps my daughter when she is sounding the words out and memorizing them. During the video, I pause at each word, and have my daughter read the word and spell it out loud. Then we read through the sentences that will be read for the test on Friday. Below is the paper that I print out each week for spelling.
Spelling Day 2: Tuesday
Tuesday is the day that I like to turn the board of spelling words around, and see how many of these second grade spelling words she can already sound out. We pull out her Doodle Pro, and foam magnetic letters for this practice time. I use an old baking pan to store the magnetic letter on in alphabetical order. My daughter likes to spell out the words by placing the letters on the Doodle Pro. Since they are magnetic, they show up great! If this is too long of a process for her that day, sometimes she will just write them out on the Doodle Pro.
Spelling Day 3: Wednesday
On Wednesday, I have found that creating a word search for my daughter really helps her. It makes her really look for how each word is spelled. Sometimes she needs help finding a few of them, but for the most part it has become a great learning tool for her. I use https://www.superteacherworksheets.com/generator-word-search.html to create my word search puzzles. It is very quick and simple, and really helps my daughter learn her second grade spelling words!
Spelling Day 4: Thursday
The day before her second grade spelling words test, I like to test her to see if there are any words that she still needs to work on. I turn around the spelling word board so she can’t see them, and I have her do a crossword puzzle. A crossword puzzle requires her to know how to spell each word. When I create the puzzle, I try to make it fun with clues that are silly or something that I know she will understand. My favorite site to use for crossword puzzle generating is https://worksheets.theteacherscorner.net/make-your-own/crossword/. Most of the time this website will work. Sometimes though, it can’t create a crossword for your specific list of words. When this happens, I use https://www.whenwecrosswords.com/crossword/spelling_week_4/1112074/crossword.jsp. You can use this website all of the time if you would like, because it always seems to work. I just like the Teachers Corner finished crossword better.
Spelling Day 5: Friday
It is finally second grade spelling words test day! If my daughter isn’t quite ready for her test, I have her write her difficult words a few times more below her morning journal entry. After we do a Bible story, and prayer, I turn the spelling board around for her test. I give her a notebook paper numbered 1-10, so she doesn’t have to worry about writing numbers and spelling words. Then I read the word, the word in a sentence, and the word again. When she is done with all ten words, I go ahead and correct it right in front of her. She gets excited seeing what she got right! Anything she got wrong, I put in a review spelling test that happens every 6 weeks in the curriculum.
Have Fun Spelling!
That is what a week of learning second grade spelling words looks like for us! I hope these ideas help your kids, and make spelling more enjoyable for everyone involved. These ideas help my daughter be fully prepared for her test at the end of the week. Nothing is worse than having a test that your child is not ready for, and then ends in tears. This is why I wanted to share with you these ideas. They really have helped us!
Love God Always!
This week, we have been reading the Bible story “Betrayal of the King”. You can find this story in Schoolhouse Teacher’s Bible Adventures curriculum at https://schoolhouseteachers.com/school-subjects/bible/bible-adventures-class/ref/119608/. It talks about the time when Jesus teaches His disciples how to be good servants, before He is betrayed by one of His own and put to death.
The two most important commandments that God wants us to follow is to love Him and to love your neighbors. Both of these will help you become good servants of God. One of my favorite verses that I always keep in my heart is, “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Deuteronomy 6:5. By following His commandments, you will be able to start loving God in this way.
My daughter’s Awana verse goes perfectly with this story this week. “And He said to them, “Go into the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” Mark 16:15. This is also part of being a good servant. I pray that whenever you get the chance, that you share the word of God. Sharing the word with your children and family is most definitely important. There are so many out there that don’t know God though. My daughter’s children’s church teacher had a wonderful experience at Home Depot the other day. She was asking where to find a bag of sand, and they wondered what she was buying it for. Well she shared with multiple Home Depot employees the story of the wise man who built his house on a rock and the foolish man who built his house on the sand. It was a simple children’s story, but it is His word, and it was shared with people who have never heard the story.
I hope you are able to find someone to share God’s word with this week. Love God always, and love your neighbors! Have a wonderful week friends!