How to Use Finger Spelling to Help Your Child Become a Better Speller

March 16, 2023

How to Use Finger Spelling to Help Your Child Become a Better Speller


If you have ever been frustrated with trying to help your child with their spelling

words, you are not alone. Spelling is hard for many students, but especially difficult

for dyslexics. If you have ever really looked at their spelling, many times there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to why they spell the way they do. Many teachers have their students write their spelling words five times each or more. I used to do this as a classroom teacher until I discovered that the students for whom spelling correctly came easily didn’t need to do this, and the students who struggled with spelling may have written the word correctly only one time out of five.


There are much better ways to conquer spelling.


Finger Spelling, especially for beginning words is amazing. This is how it works.

Let’s use the word cat. Ask your child (or student) how many sounds are in cat. Have

them hold up one finger as they make each sound /c//a//t/. Then ask, “How many sounds are in cat?” Hopefully, they can look at their three fingers and know that there are only three sounds in the word cat.


Next, have them write the letter for each of the three sounds: /c//a//t/. Let them know that they do not need to add any other letters to the word. This may seem strange to some; however, in my experience, I have seen many students spell a word correctly only to add two or three extra letters to the end of the word because it seemed too short or didn’t look right to them. Therefore, they misspelled the word. Counting the sounds by using their fingers, and then writing just those sounds is a great way to spell correctly. Of course, English is complicated and not all words can be sounded out this way, but it helps a young child to spell correctly and not just give it their “best guess” as the Whole Language approach to reading dictates.


When the words become longer, I like to help them hear and spell each word one syllable at a time. This helps them break down the words into smaller pieces. Again they can start by counting the syllables with their fingers so they know how many syllables they must write to form the word. Many teachers use “claps” for each syllable. This also works well, but they need to remember how many “claps” they had so they can break down the word to spell correctly.


Here’s an example: “How many syllables are in the word backpack?” It would be divided /back/ /pack/ so that would be two syllables. In this case we have a compound word. Now how many sounds are in back? Three: /b//a//ck/ and there are also three in /p//a//ck/. Now have your child write down the sounds for each syllable.


This may seem a little confusing at first, but the more it is used, the easier it becomes. The reward is more words spelled correctly the first time around. I have used this method with many students who could never spell any words correctly on a spelling test. The look on their faces when they spelled most of the words correctly is priceless.


Being successful in such a small thing for us can be a huge win for them. This is a true self-esteem builder.


Remember, this is a starting point for spelling. There are many other little tricks to spelling as the words get longer and harder. I often think how lucky we are to live in a time where technology can help us become better spellers. I always wondered why we were told as kids to look up the word in the dictionary so we could spell it correctly. If we didn’t know how to spell the word, we didn’t know where to find it in the dictionary. I bet a lot of you reading this post heard those words as a child only to be frustrated.


Happy Spelling!

Ten Things to Help Your Child Be Prepared to Learn

August 6, 2025
Do you remember the beginning of each school year when you were young? I do! I loved school, or at least elementary and junior high. High school was not as much fun because of all of the drama probably due to raging hormones. During the summers, as kids, we would play school. Actually, it was a good thing. It helped us remember our math skills, and kept us reading throughout the summer. I’m of the age that home computers did not exist yet, and you were lucky if you had a wall phone without a party-line (when you share your phone line with someone else because there weren’t enough lines to go around). Obviously, we didn’t have cell phones to distract us. We played some of the standard games of that time period like Monopoly and Scrabble, but mostly we made up our own games to play outside. But today is much different. Hopefully our children are still excited about a new school year, but our children today face challenges that did not exist when I was in school. We have technology in most classrooms that can either be a huge blessing or for some a curse. But regardless of how our classrooms are structured, either at school or at home (for homeschool families), one thing remains the same, our children are there to learn. We, as the adults in the room, need to bring structure and the cohesiveness needed for the best learning outcomes. So, here are 10 things that parents can do to help their children be prepared to learn? Make sure they have enough school clothes that fit so that they are not self-conscious about how they look. If you can only afford one week’s worth of clothes that’s okay. Laundry can be done on the weekend, and the order in which they wear their clothes or the way they pair shirts and pants can change for new combinations. Get the most important school supplies ahead of time and have them in their backpack. Other supplies can be purchased as needed. (In many places the two or three weeks before school starts, all school supplies are really cheap comparatively, so if you can afford it, it’s nice to stock up on what you know will be needed.) Have a plan for an easy, healthy, high-protein, low-sugar breakfast they can eat each morning. If they take lunch, it’s helpful to fix it the night before and put it in the refrigerator to eliminate a lot of morning stress. Make sure homework or anything else that needs to go to school the next day is in the backpack the night before. Arrive at school a little early, so they won’t feel embarrassed by walking in late. You want them to get off to a good calm start every day. In the evenings, talk about what your child learned that day. Ask appropriate questions about each subject. If they need help, it’s okay to help them. Children learn in all different ways. Sometimes they may need some input from you to be able to do the assignment. If you feel they are struggling in school in general, schedule an appointment to meet with the teacher right away. If it’s just one subject that’s hard for them, I would personally schedule an appointment to meet with the teacher. Most teachers want to know if there is a struggle, so they can meet that individual need. Be aware of what your child is learning in school. If you have questions, ask the teacher, but don’t be a “helicopter” parent. The best place to do homework for a younger child is the dining room table. It helps them stay on track, and it lets you know what they should be learning. Actually, in my home we all did homework at the dining room table all the way through high school. It eliminates isolation and provides immediate help when needed. Happy New School Year!
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