If you have a kindergarten going child like me, you are probably familiar with the use of phonics in preschool. Now, while spelling (and the angst of memorizing) isn’t something new to me, the phonics learning method is something I found refreshingly interesting when Shanice first started learning to spell when she was in kindergarten one. I had quite a breeze with phonics with my eldest girl and so I pretty much took for granted that it is a skill easily picked up and requires little parental assistance (so I thought).
With my second child however, learning to spell was a pain (for the both of us). I found myself in a challenging situation with an uninterested 5yo. On good days, we’d manage to get more done and in time for her weekly spelling test. On not-so-good days, I felt pretty much compelled to scream into my pillow (yes,I reckon I need of anger management solution). Sometimes, I would end the session with a full-growth adult size tantrum and my poor kid would seem more lost for words than before. The learning-to-spell journey with Renee had been a winding one, but that is another story for another day.
For today, to celebrate the end of the school year, I am sharing a quick craft I did for Renee to help her spell with phonics. I won’t say it did magic, but it did make lesson time more fun and helped Renee to remember her spelling words better.
I got the idea when Renee came to me with a request to make the paper plate ufo she saw on Mr Maker. I simply tweaked it a little to make it more educational.
Here’s my version:
Step 1: Get 2 paper/plastic plates and mark the center if the plates with the help of a ruler and pencil.
Step 2: Cut out a slice (1/4 or 1/5) of the plate. Be sure to leave a little space from the center mark of the plate. You may like to paint the face of the other plate with a light colour.
Step 3: Paint/Decorate the back of the other plate and join both plates together with pin through the center point.
Step 4: Now ,you are ready to fill in the words and pin it up on a cock board.
I made more with paper plates to help Renee revise the words she has learned in school during the past school term.
To make our lesson time more interactive and fun, we would play a little spin-the-wheel game with the phonics UFO. After we have gone through the sounds and words a few times. I would allow Renee to spin the wheel and say out the words it forms to help her memorise them better.
What are some of the things you do and games you play with your children to help them with phonics/spelling? Please share them with me, so that I can make spelling and phonics more interesting for Renee. TIA! 🙂