Customer Reviews

Natural Speller

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have been homeschooling my oldest daughter for five years, and, due to her learning disabilities, we have spent alot, and have tried everything available. Natural Speller was a breakthrough for us. It is a parent/teacher resource book, with the parent/teacher pulling together weekly spelling assignments from the Word Lists in Natural Speller, based upon the child's specific needs and areas of weakness - no need to teach what the child already knows!

I know of several other families in our homeschool circle who have very advanced children, and they are completely satisfied with Natural Speller. It presents the perfect approach, for any child, for any ability level. Natural Speller presents spelling in the context that our words have patterns and rules, and when a child knows these patterns and rules, he can figure out a new word that he has never seen, perhaps never even heard, before.

From the Introduction pages "...Gradually, spelling lessons should progress from patterns used in reading to paterns that will extend a child's vocabulary. Just knowing that 'un' means 'not' adds a multitude of words to a child's reading and spelling vocabulary. Use the list 'Common Affixes and Their Meanings' to help a child's vocabulary grow."

There are many helps and lists...How to Teach Spelling; How to Study a Word (Great ideas!); Basic Word Lists - Grades 1-8; Activities: General Practice, Dictionary Skills, Grammar Skills, Building Vocab., Writing; Special Words Lists: Abbreviations, Calendar Words, Homophones, Irregular Verbs, etc.; Foreign Words; Phonics, Spelling and Writing Rules; Teaching Helps: Practice With Rules, Spelling Charts, Common Affixes and Their Meanings, Letters, etc.

That may look a little complicated, but Natural Speller is really VERY easy to use - several very good books have gone by the wayside in our homeschool because they were too time consuming to implement. Natural Speller is well organized, concise, and simple to use.

We highly recommend this resource - as if you couldn't guess!!

I've had trouble with the homeschool spelling programs offered in the past. This has been an answer to my prayers. The Natural Speller outlines how lessons should be done each day. It has word lists for all levels at a glance. This is a great feature for a mom schooling 4 kids. It has been a tremendous help to me as a teacher. A lot less frustrating than other programs I've used.

I've tried different spelling programs, and this one is the best! It includes 1-8 grades, very easy to use, and easy to see our progress. I love it!

I have been using Natural Speller for 4 years with 2 homeschooling children, 11 years and 8 years. I think the book is brilliant. The one caveat I would have is that you have to READ the book thoroughly to understand Kathryn Stout's teaching process. It is not just word lists as other reviewers have maintained. At the end of the list of words appropriate for each age is a list of age-apprpriate spelling activities. In the middle of the book there are heaps of ideas. Older children can just work through the book themselves. It doesn't just attack spelling, but dictionary skills, grammar. If you want to be creative and want to design your own program, but just want some ideas and to make sure you don't miss anything out, this is the program for you. If you want all the curriculum done for you this won't suit.

This speller has lists for grades 1-8. It has plenty of activities and includes dictionary and grammar skills as well as vocabulary builders. It's filled with abbreviations, calendar and color words to name a few. There are sections for Latin and Greek word parts as well as spelling and writing rules. There is so much help in this book that you can use it for years because of the way it is designed. Whether you are looking for a speller to take your child through middle school or you are teaching multiple grades at once this is the spelling program you want to have to streamline your curriculum library.

I have found that the Natural Speller is perfect for teaching spelling and saving money in the long run. I am currently homeschooling a 8yr old girl and 6yr old boy with two more children coming up to school age in a few short years. I am trying to buy what I consider to be "Investment" curriculum meaning that it will last me more than a year and can be used for multiple kids. The Natural Speller has spelling lists separated by grade levels and concepts learned. You do not write in this book and therefore can copy out 5-10 words per week to learn and then use these spelling lists for all of your children. The lists also go up through grade 8. This book also contains "extras" like Grammar skills, Punctuation Lessons, etc. I am doing a Classical / Charlotte Mason approach and this fits the advice given in "A Charlotte Mason Education ~ A How to Manual" by Catherine Levinson. I recommend this program to anyone trying to stretch their dollars while teaching their children spelling in a simple way.

This product is easy to use, understand, and incorporate into a learning at home lifestyle. The word lists are sensible and reasonable. Many different grade levels can be taught useing the one book.
I love it.

Here is another wonderful resource for frugal homeschoolers. This book teaches how to teach spelling, teaches children how to study spelling words, has suggestions for advanced and struggling spellers, and has lists all the way from 1st to 8th grades, with Greek, Latin, and French roots included. It is a great, affordable, easy to use resource. I think this will get more and more popular as homeschoolers spread the word.

One of the greatest advantages of homeschooling is that we can give our kids the spelling words they actually NEED to learn, and skip the ones they don't! This book makes it so easy with comprehensive lists by grade level up to 8th grade.
Here is a technique I have used for years with my kids and it has really helped them to develop good study habits. It takes a little help from a parent to make sure they have the correct spelling, but then they study on thier own and practically teach themselves.

1. Go through the Natural Speller word lists asking your child to spell each word orally. If he begins to spell it wrong, go ahead and stop him right away. Spell the word for him and have him write the word correctly on a blank index card (or half index card to save a little paper). If the child is very young, write the word for him. We call these "focus cards."

2. Have him use the focus cards as flash cards and allow him to study them on his own until he feels ready for a quiz. When he masters a word, draw a star on that card. The mastered card is then called a "star card".

3. He will then have two groups of cards: focus cards and star cards. The focus cards are to be studied daily. The star cards may be reviewed biweekly or once a month to be sure the child has not forgotten the spelling of the previously mastered words.

*Some kids won't need to review star cards at all. Others will need to review them more frequently. It is always a joy for a child to look at a big stack of flash cards that they have mastered! Try using this technique with math facts as well, using times tables, division tables, addition and subtraction tables!
Have Fun!!!

The book is laid out in an orderly and well-thought-out format. This book has been very helpful in planning my homeschooling curriculum.