How to spell it

We have a new spelling and English curriculum this year, and I love it.

Like, love it love it.

Seriously. I wish someone had taught me English this way. My daughter is systematically decoding the English language, and it's awesome to watch. We've replaced spelling lists with spelling rules, rules that actually make sense and are actually followed in the English language. My favorite Type A-daughter loves spelling rules. Mostly, she loves being able to figure out how to do something without asking for help. This curriculum is teaching her to do that.

Like when she tried to spell "quack."

"It starts with Q," she started, adding the letters to our word board. "Q always needs a U, so it starts with QU."

"Since Q always needs a U, U is not a vowel here. Every syllable needs a vowel, so the letter for the next sound is....A."

"A doesn't say its name; it makes the short sound here. The last sound is /k/, so since A is a single vowel making its short sound, the /k/ sound is spelled CK."

"QU...A....CK."

I think giving Abby the tools she needs to write without needing outside input might be just the way to get this kid to finally start enjoying writing.