Teach your Child to Spell with 7 Easy Homeschool Spelling Activities

If you’re looking to teach your child spelling words at home and improve their overall skills and confidence, it’s important to remember that the learning process should be made interesting, motivating and fun.

This is particularly crucial for children who already experience some difficulties with spelling words. Children who struggle to spell words and mix up their letters require considerate and loving attention to help them overcome these challenges and avoid getting frustrated, defeated and unwilling to improve.

Spelling games and activities make the process of learning this important skill much more motivating.

7 fun spelling activities to make teaching at home effortless

Here are some fun and simple spelling games and activities to help you teach your child spelling words and improve their confidence:

1. Teach your child spelling words with ‘Lily Pad Letters’

Take a large sheet of construction paper and write each of the letters of the alphabet for this spelling activity. Cut the area around each letter into the shape of a lily pad and lay them out on the floor. You can even ask your child to help you decorate the lily pads and colour them green.

Have two of your children pair up to play this game, or team up with your child yourself. To play, the first person must think of a word and read it aloud. The second must then step on the letters to spell the word. This spelling activity works well if you're homeschooling several children together.

2. Use ‘Stair Steps’ to memorise certain words

This is an easy game to help your child memorise the way certain words are spelled. Have your child write each word as if they are stairs, adding one letter at a time. Get them to sound out or spell the words aloud as they write them. For example:

S

Sp

Spe

Spel

Spell

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3. Toss around the ‘Spelling Ball’

Here’s a fun spelling activity that the whole family can enjoy. Stand together in a circle with a ball. Call out a word, toss the ball to another person, and have that person spell out the word, and so on. If the word isn’t spelled correctly, then whoever has the ball tosses it to another person who will try to spell it.

4. Use magazine clippings to familiarise with letters

Have your child cut out the letters from a newspaper or magazine to spell words. This will encourage them to consider each letter carefully and individually while creating visual representations of the words as a helpful memory aid. This spelling game uses what you have at home, also teaching children to repurpose materials.

Download free homeschool spelling workbooks for Years 1–6.

5. Play ‘Scrambled Spelling’ using alphabet blocks or fridge magnets

Give your child several scrambled words. You can use alphabet blocks or fridge magnets, or even make your own by writing letters on pieces of paper. Then have them unscramble the words within a time limit. This spelling activity makes a great competition for multiple children or a homeschool class. 

6. Create a ‘Spelling Train’ to have fun while spelling words

Read a word aloud and have your child write it down. Using the last letter in that word, ask them to write another word beginning with that last letter. They can continue the ‘spelling train’ using the last letter of the word. For example:

Toe

Eat

Tea

Ant

Tin

7. Play online spelling games for kids

Online spelling games designed for kids are a great way to teach your child spelling words and skills in a fun, low-pressure, and highly effective way. Why not visit the Spelling area in ABC Reading Eggs now? Your child can play over 96 levelled spelling lessons that are colourful, interactive and highly engaging for young learners. Each spelling lesson focuses on a 12-word spelling list. The lessons cover the spelling requirements for the first three years of schooling, with 32 lessons for each year level.