Practicing weekly spelling lists can get dull fast. To help your child master them:
Tell him to eat his words. Let him spell them out with macaroni, chocolate chips, pretzel sticks, baby carrots, small candies, or goldfish and then eat 'em, says Leiba Levine, a first-grade teacher in St. Louis. Not snack time? Give him straws, pennies, or paper clips to use instead.
Draw word rainbows. Write the word in pencil, then trace over it with different colors using markers, water paints, colored pencils, or crayons.
Practice somewhere new. Use magnetic letters on the fridge, or scribble words with chalk in the driveway or shaving cream in the shower or tub.
