One challenge I find when having two children in school is keeping track of their spelling words. Yes, it’s their responsibility to study them, but I wanted to find an easy way to really help them access their words anytime during the week without depending on me and without me having to nag them!

I found these super cute School Tools Pocket Charts at oriental trading. They came in a pack of four.  I’m currently using three of them but need to add the fourth one as my older daughter gets 12 spelling words a week. I use one chart each for the two older girls and one chart for my four year old to learn her site words. I hung the charts in our hallway near our playroom so that the girls can see their words daily. As soon as the girls get their new words, they grab the index cards, write down their words and put them in their charts! Anytime throughout the week, I remind them to study and they go and sit in front of the words and copy them onto their clipboards, which are hanging in their playroom. This has really worked and the girls have been bringing home awesome spelling test grades ever since! Best part of all is that I do not need to nag them to study, and tell them to go into their backpacks and get their words. They are accessible to the girls, making it very simple for them to study a few minutes each night. These are great for homeschooling moms too!

You can also find a similar product at Amazon.com

“Teachers Pay Teachers is the world’s first and largest open marketplace
for educators to buy, sell, and share their original resources.
TpT helps teachers to teach at their best and provides a community where teachers succeed.”

I found the site when my oldest was about 4 years old. I always wanted to be a teacher so I was and still am constantly looking for material and resources I could use to teach my kids. I found this site called teacherspayteachers.com and I’ve been hooked ever since! You simply sign up and download files for free. Of course there are resources and materials that cost money but I’ve never had to pay for anything. The freebies are awesome! I’ve taught all three of my kids their alphabets, numbers, site words, writing and reading with the help of some wonderful learning materials that I have found on this amazing site! Today Lia, my three year old learned a little about Hybernating Animals simply by putting together this little booklet I downloaded from Teacherspayteachers. I printed the pages, cut and stapled the book together and Lia loved coloring the animals and cutting and pasting them by herself into the book. When she was done I had her highlight the words as we read the book together. The project was quick, fun and FREE!

I love teaching the girls! I always wanted to be a teacher and now I get to teach my own children and prepare them for school.

Here is a very simple and fun way to help your child get familiar with site words. First I created a list of site words I wanted my child to learn. There are pre-primer, primer, first, second and third words. You choose the appropriate level for your child. Melina is working on the pre-primer words. I have a paid membership with http://www.education.com (this site is so awesome and so worth the membership) which is where I printed the site word flashcards you see in the photo, but you can search for a list anywhere online. I found one at  www.createdbyteachers.com. Just click on the Site Word List tab once you access the site. You can simply print and copy the list onto index cards and make your own flashcards. To have her practice the words I bought an individual Dry Erase Board at the dollar store and I have her go through the words and write them onto her board. She loves this so much and at the same time she is learning!

I also created a site word practice book for her using a composition book I bought from the dollar store. I made copies of the site words and glued each word onto the top of a page ( you can simply write the word at the top of the page with a marker ). Every week she practices writing a different word. Sometimes I let her look through magazines to find the letter she needs to make the word and I have her glue it down onto the page. This allows her to practice the words in different ways, which keeps it exciting and the repetition helps her to remember the words.