My oldest son is 4 and is starting to write/spell words on his own. He writes them as they sound which, to me, is amazing in itself for a 4 year old. My question is this: Should I start correcting his spelling? I don't want to discourage him as he's an amazing self-learner and perfectionist. For example, he spelled "clean" as "kleen" (all by hismelf, and spelled "Colorado" as "Klrado." Is it important at this time to correct him, or is it more important to just let him explore writing and enjoy himself and to encourage the effort he's making? He won't start kindergarten until next year. I am so very proud of him and really don't want to discourage him to keep self-learning and I think some of the rules of the English language might be too complex for him to grasp, but I could be underestimating him.
Thank you, ladies, for your responses! My son points at signs and reads off the letters and asks me what they say. I'm confindent he will pick it up in time. For now, I'm just letting him take pride in his accomplishments and showering him with praise and anwering his questions as they come.
Just let him go with it. Spelling isn't a huge thing until 1st or 2nd grade. They don't even really get into a lot of the detail about spelling until 2nd and 3rd grade. Let him enjoy learning before it becomes a chore. You will create a great love of learning if you can keep it fun.
My thought would be to not correct his spelling. As he is bright and inquisitive enough to have learned the letters and their sounds by 4, he will most likely soon be noticing words that he is spelling may look different than how he is currently spelling them. Then you will get the questions, "Mom, why is this spelled like this?" or, "Mom, why does my word look different than this one?" I agree that a lot of the rules are complex for a 4-year old, although some like "silent e makes the vowel say its name" he could likely grasp quickly (my early reader did at 4). Another simple one that may help him is "When two vowels go walking (ex. "ea" in meat)the first vowel does the talking". Enjoy and delight in him and make spelling and reading a fun time for the entire family and he will continue to learn as he has up to now (through osmosis, it seems :)).
I would say you may be underestimating him. Make sure he has very good reading. I could read adult novels, print, and write in cursive before kindergarten. I am also an only child, no day care or preschool (self taught). I learned the words in my reading, so that is why I say to make sure he has good reading - what he likes at his own reading ability, or a little higher. Make sure his imagination is stimulated too. Ok about the spelling. Here is the weird thing about me - I spelled correctly from the get go... so I think it's good to correct him - you could just show him the word in a book even, and say, "look this is the same word. I can see why you spelled it that way and it's a good way to get your story across to the reader, but it is also spelled like this" I think he will understand that the book is the "correct" way without you telling him his way is "wrong". On to the weird part about me. What is weird about me being able to spell correctly is that I am dyslexic. Oddly, I had a highly memorized vocabulary from reading. I never even discovered I was dyslexic until college when I ran into words I had never seen before (Greek and Latin) and it was by then impossible for me to pick it up!! (Well, nearly)
I am not a professional, I only speak from my own experience. KEEP HIM CHALLENGED. The enemy of a fast learner is boredom. Good luck!! Have fun with it! It's a special time for the two of you. I wrote a lot of books when I was young, like around 2nd grade. It was my entertainment - writing the book and illustrating it for my mom. Things like "How to Take Care of Plants" for example!
Phonetic spelling is widely accepted in kindergarten, so I wouldn't correct him unless he asks about it- at which time you can be honest by telling him that sometimes letters are silent and letters can say different sounds in different words, and so sometimes words are spelled different than you'd think, but not to worry about it now unless he wants to-- you could offer to correct his spelling if he wants (like in a card for grandma or something, which would be a great way to introduce the writing process (draft, revise/edit cycle), but I wouldn't do that unless he wants it to be corrected.
good luck- it sounds like he's doing right.
I am a 2nd grade teacher, (on leave right now, have taught since 1991). Don't correct his spelling! If he asks for help, have him stretch the word slowly and write down the sounds/letters he hears. If he's a perfectionist, you definitely don't want to correct his spelling or he might be afraid to even try.
If and when he does start asking how to spell something, one technique I use with my 2nd graders is "Have a Go". When a child wants to know how to spell a word, I have them write the word 2 different ways. Then they bring the paper to me. Often times one way is the correct way. I ask them which one they think is correct and often they know. If neither way is correct, I write the "dictionary spelling" in the 3rd column and they they copy the correct spelling in the 4th column. (This is a page they keep in their writing folders, titled "Have a Go".)
I think it's amazing that your son is doing this! He's one sharp cookie!
My sons teacher always told me not to. They will learn how to correct themselves in time. Thats amazing hes learning so young!Just encourage him to use his imagination!
