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When to start Spelling Wisdom?
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I know Spelling Wisdom is intended to start in 3rd grade but, I’m wondering where/when specifically to work it in. My daughter is 7 and working through Print to Cursive Proverbs in addition to other copywork. Next she will do the Hymns in Prose. So, should I wait until she completes that before starting Spelling Wisdom? Or are they not related? Does she need to somewhat master narration first?
Also, just for future thought, at what point would we work in an actual Grammar curriculum like English for the Thoughtful Child or Simply Grammar? Would it be after all of the Spelling Wisdom books are completed or simply when she is around the age of 9 in addition to Spelling Wisdom? (I remember reading that formal Grammar should not start until about that age).
I’m not wanting to rush her into anything too soon, just wanting to see how and where everything fits into the big picture over time.
My suggestion would be to finish Print to Cursive and Hymns in Prose before starting Spelling Wisdom. No hurry.
You can include some English usage and mechanics points around age 9 by pointing them out in copywork or transcription exercises. (The first half of Spelling Wisdom, Book 1, can be used for transcription for that purpose.) But I would hold off on actual English Grammar/parts of speech until she is at least 10 or until she starts Spelling Wisdom, Book 2.
This is exactly what I am looking for, too! This will be our first year doing SCM and after doing more of a “school at home” technique, I’m slightly afraid I won’t be doing “enough.”
My son is 8, reads very well, narration is still needing improvement as we are just learning how to develop this, and I wasn’t sure what he needed as far as “English/Language Arts” as a subject goes. I am looking at “Delightful Reading” for my second son, 5, but decided that the 8 year old is quite passed this point. I was having a difficult time figuring out what should be next.
All that to say, for the 8 year old, I have “Print to Cursive in Proverbs” and “Hymns in Prose” in my cart. Will that be “enough” curriculum to stand on its own, or do I need something else to supplement?
For an 8yo, you would want to focus on reading fluency, getting handwriting comfortable and fluent, and oral composition (narration).
Reading: If you think he would benefit from practice reading aloud, you could have him read New Friends and/or More New Friends to you over the year. If, however, you’re comfortable with his reading fluency, no need to include this aspect.
Handwriting/Copywork: What you have listed for learning and practicing cursive looks fine. He will be picking up some mechanics (such as capitalization and punctuation) as he copies. If you want to, you could add an informal spelling component to his copywork sessions by asking him to spell a word or two from the portion he copied. If he’s not sure, let him look at it. At this stage we want to gently encourage the habit of looking at how words are spelled as he reads and writes. Spelling Wisdom will help cultivate that habit more deeply, but you can lay some groundwork now informally.
Composition: Focus on oral narrations; they are oral composition. Composition is about 90% mental. Oral compositions give practice in that mental process without adding the extra trappings of writing at this point. Once he’s fluent in the mental process, he can easily transition to writing his compositions when he’s ten or older.
Those areas should cover the main language arts skills. Be sure to include other language arts enrichment aspects with poetry, good read-alouds, and possibly Shakespeare, if you want to.
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