Spelling did not come easily in first grade. It was a continuous battle with few victories, in fact, trying to accomplish spelling was down right miserable. The spelling battlefield left both Andrew and I exhausted.
Andrew could copy words, he knew the letters and their sounds but when it came to remembering letter order or verbal spelling, the concept of spelling words was just not ‘there’. I tried every visual means possible but by the time spelling class was over so was Andrew’s confidence and my patience.
Retreat, Regroup, and Reorganize
We walked off the spelling battlefield about three months into the school year. I dramatically wiped-off the spelling category from our class schedule one morning. Andrew was relieved and annoyingly happy but I was left irritated because the perfectionist in me hated to quit. I wanted to push on. I wanted it done and more than that I wanted it to be understood, right then, not later. For mental health reasons I decided to “Retreat, Regroup, and Reorganize”. I kept first grade language classes focused on reading, sounds, and writing and made every attempt to not focus on formal spelling.
The Battlefield Resolved
Andrew entered second grade the following fall and we started out with the same first grade speller. The parental guilt trip and worry about being behind was over whelming. I was pleasantly surprised! I have no idea if it was brain maturity or what, but suddenly spelling was no longer our daily nemesis. Andrew breezed through his first grade speller and started the second grade speller long before the holidays.
Walking off the spelling battlefield and regrouping was painful (for me not Andrew) but in the long run it was the best decision I could have made. Since then, I have used the retreat, regroup, and reorganize method for other battles. There are definitely times when the battle gets tough and waiving a little white flag is the best for all involved.
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