Fun Spelling Games for Kids

Children's Spelling Milestones

Before kindergarten, your child likely began writing letters, recognizing some letter sounds and understanding that words are written from left to right. Throughout elementary school, he or she learns more complex letter sounds, blends and patterns. Students in upper elementary school study prefixes, suffixes and homophones, as well as spelling multisyllabic words. Use the following spelling games, which can be adapted to multiple grade levels, to boost your child's skills.

What Spelling Games Can I Play with My Kid?

Magnetic Letter Scramble

Display words from your child's spelling list on a metallic surface using magnetic letters. Mix up the letters in each word and invite her to unscramble them. When she finishes, remove all the letters and ask her to spell out the words correctly as you read them off the list.

Spelling Error Scavenger Hunt

Challenge your child to compete against you in finding spelling errors. You can include homophones, which are words that have the same pronunciation but different meanings. Look through printed materials at home or find mistakes on menus, advertisements or signs while you're out together. Have him keep track of how many errors both of you find.

Acrostic Poem Activity

Your child can turn each word from her spelling list into an acrostic poem. This requires her to write a word vertically on a sheet of paper so that each letter begins a new line of the poem. Encourage her to have fun with it and make the poems silly or abstract if she wants. When she's finished, have a poetry reading so she can share her work.

Colored Dot Decoding Game

Find a box of crayons that contains at least 26 colors. Create a decoding sheet by assigning a color and making a dot next to each letter of the alphabet. Use these colored dots to 'write' out your child's spelling list. Ask him to use the decoding sheet as a guide to spell out the words.

Spelling Word Race

For this game, your child can either play by herself or compete against you. Gather some print materials and highlighters. Set a timer for ten minutes and challenge her to find as many spelling words as she can within that time frame. She can highlight the words and rip out the pages that contain them. If you play with her, see who can find the most words in ten minutes.