Frequently Asked Questions

What can I do to help my child enjoy spelling?

When children are happy and excited they learn well. Remember the times when your child came home from school and talked about something exciting that he just learned? More than likely the event your child was excited about was not their most recent spelling test. However that can change with Spelling Success. This revolutionary program makes spelling practice successful and FUN by offering children small rewards for their hard work.

How does Spelling Success improve motivation?

The developers of Spelling Success believe that all children want to learn and can learn many concepts and ideas. One's motivation can assist in learning or make learning more difficult. Spelling Success provides students with a chance to stay motivated and be consistently successful. What a great combination for learning!! Spelling lists can be very short or longer with ever changing rewards that you get to decide. This will keep children motivated to learn and willing to continue to use this program for many years. Spelling Success provides students with as much or as little practice and support as needed in order to be successful in the spelling curriculum that you or a teacher provide. This program recognizes the labor that is involved in learning to spell and offers students a means to keep motivation going week after week.

We have found that many children love to use the computer and indeed are more willing to practice spelling on the computer than when asked to hand write or rewrite words using paper and pencil. Spelling Success also takes away the possible “friction” that may arise between parents and children when children may not want to practice spelling words. The key is an easy to use computer program which makes learning enjoyable and provides immediate rewards for practicing.

Why isn’t my child motivated to learn to spell?

The process of learning to spell takes many years. It requires practice and persistence. And let's be honest, while it is a critical skill, it may not be the most exciting thing many of us have done. It is necessary to have a solid foundation in the rules and mechanics of spelling for success in phonics and reading and many other everyday activities. Although technology has lessened the need for good spelling because of such things as “spell check”, we still must know how to spell at least the beginning portion of the word or at least recognize the correct spelling in order to use “spell check” efficiently.

What types of things are good rewards to offer in Spelling Success?

In a nutshell the list is endless. You know better than anyone does what would bring a smile to your child’s face. Rewards do NOT have to be big or cost money but they must be pleasing to your child. You and your child together could even think up a list and then you could decide the order in which the rewards are offered to provide the element of surprise for your student. Your options are unlimited.

How about some real example rewards or prizes?

agree to let your child stay up ___ minutes later than the normal bedtime

agree to play a card game that your child likes

go to the Dollar store and purchase some dollar items that are kept in a Prize Box.

play basket ball for __ minutes tonight after dinner

agree to have your child pick the type of pizza you’ll get

agree to do a chore that is typically done by the child (kids really love this one!!)

let your child watch an extra __ minutes of TV

purchase a favorite paperback for your child

take your child to his favorite park

play a favorite game with your child for ___ minutes

read a favorite book of your student’s that you might not otherwise read.

give your child an “I’ll pass on that job” type of coupon.

let your child rent a favorite video game or movie

take your child and a friend swimming.

give your child $.05 cents for every correctly spelled word on the practice list.

let your child decide what you will have for dinner

agree to make a special dessert

give your child a pack of sugarless bubble gum

take your child to his favorite fast food restaurant for lunch

play ball with your child

Why Provide a Personalized Reward for Your Child’s Spelling Work?

Most computer spelling programs offer games as rewards after doing a certain amount of spelling. We found that for many children, they quickly grow tired of the games and therefore their interest in practicing the spelling program diminishes greatly. Instead, with Spelling Success, we have you provide motivating prizes that your child will enjoy (see list above for some ideas). This will keep your child motivated to practice his spelling and in suspense about the reward at the end of his spelling word practice.

How much time does it take for parents to enter practice lists of words?

This one is quick and easy to answer. Once you are familiar with entering word lists you can for example, enter a 20 word list in under 5 minutes. Parents have loved the time savings Spelling Success provides for them. Their student can independently work on spelling practice while dinner is being made, laundry is being folded or some other parent job is being done.

Can Spelling Success work for Children with Disabilities?

Absolutely! Spelling Success is particularly helpful for children who might have difficulties with handwriting, penmanship, fine motor control or have letter reversal issues. Pencil and paper tasks often become tedious for children with any of these issues. This program has worked great for children with Downs Syndrome, autism, learning disabilities, language impairments, spina bifida, auditory processing difficulties , motor planning or other developmental disabilities. With Spelling Success you can create spelling lists that supplement any reading program, Dolch sight word lists, or spelling program that the teacher uses. Look for more information under "Will it also work for Disabled kids on the home page.

When can Children Start using Spelling Success?

Spelling Success can be used whenever your child begins to work on learning the letters of the alphabet. For many kids, kindergarten age is probably a good time to start. Parents can help their child’s knowledge and understanding of early reading and spelling concepts such as sound/letter relationships, listening for sounds in initial and final position of words, as well as acquisition of beginning high frequency sight words.