It works even better if you an tie the game into something your child loves — like sharks.  

Over the years we have had fun with lots of shark games for kids. 

This printable shark spelling game has quickly become my son’s favorite way to practice spelling words.  

Do you know a child that loves all things under the sea?  If so, these educational shark games are sure to get them excited about learning.

You can easily modify this activity to fit the interest of you child.  You could use toy mermaids, fish, or even boats with the ocean-themed printable.  

It makes it one of our favorite fun ways to practice spelling words.

Affiliate links have been provided below.  See my full disclosure for more information. 

Shark Spelling Game for Kids

Materials Needed:

• Spelling Game Printable
• Fine Tip Dry Erase Marker
• Dry Erase Pocket
• List of Spelling Words
• Small Shark (or other sea creature) 

Print out your copy of Spelling under the Sea.   You can find it here.  

You can either print it in color, or save ink and print it in black and white.  The choice is yours.

Slide the printable into a dry-erase pocket.  Or, if you have a laminator, you can laminate it.  

This will allow you to use the game multiple times.

Once the kids shark game is protected, it’s time to practice those spelling words. 

How to Play the Spelling Shark Game

Read one of the words from your child’s spelling list.  

Have them use the dry erase marker to write the word on the first bubble space. 

If they spell the word correctly, they get to place their shark marker on the space. 

If they spell it wrong, have them erase the word and move back a space.  Give them a new word to try. 

You can have them retry the word they missed later on in the game.  

The goal of the game is to get to the end space as quickly as possible.  

Multiple Player Shark Game 

Two people can play the game as well.

Print out 2 copies of the game.  Have kids take turns as you give them spelling words.  

If they miss a word, they should go back a space and it is the other player’s turn. 

Who can get their shark to the finish first?  

We had so much fun playing this shark spelling game.  

I hope your child loves it as well.  

You may also enjoy: 

• Printable Shark Math Game  from Classroom Freebies
• Shark Party Games 
• Shark Crafts & Activities for Kids
• Sea Animal Crafts

The post Shark Spelling Game for Kids first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

That’s why I try to come up with lots of new and fun ways to practice spelling words.

This week the snowy weather inspired this spelling word practice for winter.

This simple activity is also a fun sight words practice idea.   Just use your child’s sight word list and let them practice spelling the words and reading them to you.

Affiliate links are provided below.  See my full disclosure for more details. 

Spelling Word Practice for Winter

Materials Needed:

• Letter Tiles
• Snow
• Large, Shallow Container
• Your Child’s Spelling or Sight Word List

Start by putting several inches of snow at the bottom of a large, shallow storage container.

Don’t have snow where you’re at?  You could do this activity using Magic Snow too!  (Put it in the refrigerator first, and it will even be cold like real snow!)

Then get out some letter tiles.  We used our tiles from our Bananagrams game.  (We love using Bananagrams for learning!)

Have your child use their word list to write each word with the letter tiles in the snow.   To add an extra layer of learning, have them say each letter as they add it to the snow.

Once they feel comfortable with the words, you can take the list and give them the words orally to spell.

Sight Word Practice

You can also use this idea to practice sight words.

Have your child use the letter tiles to write their words in the snow.   Then have them read the words aloud to you.

Be sure to give plenty of time to play with the letters in the snow on their own, too!

We had lots of fun writing spelling words in snow.

I hope your child enjoys this spelling word practice for winter as much as mine did.

You may also enjoy these posts:

• Practice Spelling with Kinetic Sand Castles 
• Spelling Practice with Water Beads
• Winter Crafts & Activities 

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Originally published February 18, 2015.

The post Spelling in the Snow first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

Maybe you remember writing the same words over and over again when you were in school.  Or maybe you think about the drama of getting your own child to practice spelling for homework.

This year we are trying a new spelling curriculum, one that doesn’t actually do your typical list and quiz approach.

We are also trying some more hands-on and fun ideas for practicing spelling words.

This simple activity has become one of my daughter’s favorite ways to practice spelling words.

Alphabet beads can be used to practice spelling words and to practice sight words at home.

For preschoolers you can use the beads to work on name recognition.

Affiliate links have been used below.  Find my full disclosure here. 

Practicing Spelling Words with Beads

Materials Needed:

• Alphabet Beads
• Pipe Cleaners (Chenille Sticks)
• Your Child’s Word List

Set up for this spelling word activity is easy.

Cut the pipe cleaners in half and supply your child with enough pipe cleaner pieces for each word on their list.

For younger kids you may want to hunt out the necessary letters ahead of time to reduce frustration.

You might also want to organize the beads by letter using an organizer like this one.  It’s perfect for holding a variety of alphabet beads.

Have your child string the letters of each word onto the pipe cleaners.

They should string the beads in the order the word is spelled, adding the alphabet beads from the right hand side of the pipe cleaner.

To add another level to this spelling word practice, once your child finishes each word, have them read the word and then touch each bead as they spell the word aloud.  We love using beads that are the actual shape of the letters like these.

Afterwards your child can remove the beads from the left, spelling the word once again.

Your child might even want to turn the pipe cleaners into spelling word bracelets to wear, adding a plain bead between each word and stringing several words onto the bracelet.  (Just don’t let them wear the bracelet on spelling quiz day!)

Simple, hands-on learning activities like this one can help reduce the drama when it comes to practicing spelling words.

Check out these posts for more fun learning ideas.

Math Fact Practice with Cootie Catchers

Drive to the Sight Word — Sight Word Practice

How to Make Your Own Wind Anemometer

The post Practicing Spelling Words with Beads first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

It means daily homework of practicing those words, usually by writing them over and over again.  And, quite often, it results in tears and frustration for both child and parent.

But you can skip that drama with these fun ways to practice spelling words at home.  (And for early readers check out these 15 fun sight word ideas.)

No matter if your child is in kindergarten or middle school, these spelling word activities will make homework time less stressful for everyone.   You might want to pin this post to reference in the future!

For early readers check out these 15 Ways to Practice Sight Words at Home.

A few affiliate links have been provided below; see my full disclosure policy here. 

Fun Ways to Practice Spelling Words

Paint the Words — Let your child get artistic with spelling and paint their words.  How fancy can they make it?

Spelling’s a Dream with Shaving Cream — If you haven’t let your child play with shaving cream yet, you’re missing out!  This one will leave them smiling.

Spelling Words with Water Beads — The unique texture of water beads will make practicing spelling at home extra fun.

Hands-on Spelling Practice with Plastic Cups — Use mini plastic cups from the dollar store to create words.

Sticky Note Words —  Kids love sticky notes and they’ll love the excuse to use them to practice their spelling words.

Skeleton Bones Words — A fun way to practice spelling words during Halloween time or anytime of year.

Letter Tiles — Raid that old Scrabble game and let your child use the tiles to form the words on their spelling list.

Salt Tray — Writing in salt is way more fun that using a pencil and paper!

Type the Words—  Turn on the computer and let your kids have a little screen time while they practice their words.  As a bonus they’ll become more familiar with the keyboard.

Building Words with Legos — Put those favorite building blocks to good use with this hands-on spelling activity.

Mix, Dump, & Spell — This one’s a quick make it yourself game your child will love.

Letter Stamps — Using letter stamps with colorful ink pads make spelling more fun.

Sand Castle Spelling — A fun way to use kinetic sand to make learning those spelling words more fun.

Jump and Spell — Take spelling practice outside with this full body activity.

Snowy Spelling — This one is perfect for snowy winter days.  (No snow?  It works great with Insta-Snow, too!)

Kinetic Sand Stamping — Take using letter stamps to a whole new level of fun with this idea.

Play Dough Words — Let your child get creative forming the letters for each word out of play dough.

Window Writing —  What child can resist writing on the window?  And once spelling practice is over, they’ll have fun cleaning your window.  (Bonus:  One window cleaned, only  a dozen to go!)

Rainbow Words — This simple trick makes writing those spelling words a little more colorful and fun.

Practicing Spelling Words with Beads — Let your child get crafty with this fun activity using letter beads.

Dinosaur Spelling — Who says kids can’t play while learning?  Dig up some fun with this fun way to practice spelling words.

Building Words with Nuts & Bolts — This spelling activity is perfect for working on fine motor skills.

Bendy Stick Words — Whether you use Wikki Stix or pipe cleaners, this idea will help make spelling practice at home fun.

Letter Beads Spelling Game — Use alphabet beads in a fun spelling game.

Get more fun learning ideas like this delivered to your email by subscribing to our newsletter. 

Which of the ways to practice spelling words will you and your child try first?

You’ll also like:

• Lesson Plans for Disney Movies
• Fun Ideas for Practicing Math Facts
• Take Your Child’s Love of Building to New Heights with Up! 
• Dr. Seuss-Inspired Crafts and Activities 

The post Skip the Drama with These Fun Ways to Practice Spelling Words first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

Does your child grumble when it’s time to practice those spelling words?  We had lots of fun with this spelling practice activity that is perfect for a dinosaur unit (or just your typical dinosaur fan to do at home).

What I love about this activity is that it is super easy to set up.  Plus, once the kids see the set up, they actually WANT to practice those spelling words!

Spelling Practice Activity for Dinosaur Unit

Materials Needed:

• Letter Tiles (We love using the tiles from our Bananagrams game.)
• Kinetic Sand
• Rimmed Cookie Sheet (or other container with sides)
• Plastic Dinosaurs
• A List of Your Child’s Spelling Words

Using your child’s spelling list, find letter tiles to create each word.  If you don’t have enough tiles to make all of the words all at the same time, your child can easily make a word, take it apart and reuse the letters for the next word.

Place a few letter tiles on your cookie sheet.   Cover the letters with sand and add more letters, until all the letters needed have been placed on the tray.

Arrange a few plastic dinosaurs on top.  Place the spelling word list next to the tray for reference.

Your child can use the dinosaurs to help dig up the letters, or they can use their fingers.  You might even spot T-Rex helping to put the letters in the correct order to form those spelling words.

Tips:  

• When using kinetic sand I usually have the kids sit on the kitchen floor instead of at the table.  It actually helps reduce the amount of sand that gets on the floor because it puts the child at a level higher than the tray so they can see/control the mess a little more.    Once they are finished it is easy to sweep up.
• You can further reduce the mess by using a plastic table cloth under the activity.
• Want to increase the difficulty level?  Instead of giving your child the spelling word list, give them the words orally to spell with the tiles.
• You can also add in unnecessary letter tiles to increase the difficulty level a notch.

Practicing those spelling words doesn’t have to be boring.  This simple spelling practice activity will have the kids smiling and begging to do it again.

For more spelling and sight word fun:

• Sandcastle Spelling Practice
• Water Bead Spelling Practice
• 15 Fun Ways to Practice Sight Words at Home

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The post Fun Spelling Practice Activity for Dinosaur Unit first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

Do your kids hate practicing their spelling words each week?  Does homework time become a battle when it comes to having them write out their words once again?  End the drama.  Hands-on spelling practice is more fun, especially when kinetic sand is involved.

Materials Needed for Spelling Practice with Kinetic Sand Castles:

• Kinetic Sand
• Letter Tiles
• Sand Castle Mold
• List of Spelling Words
• Cookie Sheet or Tray

Before setting up your super fun spelling practice activity, you will need to gather the letter tiles needed to make each spelling word.  (We love using our Bananagrams letter tiles.)  Don’t panic if you don’t have enough letters to create each and every word all at one time.  For instance, if your child has several words with “oo” in the middle you may not have enough “o’s.”  You can have them create one word at a time and reuse those letters.

Once you have the letters needed, start by putting a small layer of kinetic sand into your mold.  Then add a few letter tiles, followed by more sand.  Continue layering your kinetic sand and letter tiles until the castle mold is filled.  Be sure to press your sand in firmly!

Once you are finished, flip over the mold onto your cookie sheet.  Then slip off the mold to reveal your sand castle.  It’s time for some fun hands-on spelling practice!   (This was perfect for our castle unit.)

I added a knight to our invitation to play and learn because it fits into what we’ve been studying in homeschool.  Your child may choose to use a toy dragon, car, or just his hands to dig out those letters.

Give your child their list of spelling words and have him/her go on a search for the letters and use them to create each word on the list.

Be ready for plenty of smiles and maybe a touch of silliness as they have fun practicing spelling.    Once they have finished creating each of their words, don’t be surprised if they ask you to practice spelling this way again (and again, and again).  This has been one of our favorite ways to practice spelling lately.

Spelling practice doesn’t have to be boring.  It doesn’t have to inspire groans and tears and a battle each night.  Using a variety of hands-on ways  to practice spelling keeps it fun, and you will be surprised how fast they learn those words!

More Fun Ways to Practice Spelling and Sight Words at Home:

• Spelling in Water Beads
• 15 Fun Ways to Practice Sight Words at Home
• Dinosaur-Themed Spelling Practice

The post Make Spelling Practice Fun with Kinetic Sand Castles first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.