Posted in My Homeschool FAQs

Have you ever heard of the term Invented Spelling? 

Invented spelling is "an attempt by beginning writers to spell a word when the standard spelling is unknown"; it involves using "whatever knowledge of sounds or visual patterns the writer has," notes Bank Street College (1997).

The first time I heard the term Invented Spelling I thought it was a made up term. I thought there was a right way to spell and a wrong way to spell.  But, once I started reading about Invented Spelling it totally made sense.  Invented Spelling is a BIG step to spelling correctly for many kids.  Studies have show that it is not in conflict with correct spelling & it plays an important role in learning the skills needed to write. When children use invented spelling they show that they are thinking independently and are using analytical and logic skills. (Click here for sources.)

It is good to keep in mind that Invented Spelling is not something we "teach" to our kids.  It is something they do on their own.  It is our choice as the teachers whether or not we are going to tell our child they have spelled the word incorrectly or accept what they have written and encourage them to write more!  My son who is now 12 never did any Invented Spelling.  He had no real interest in writing even though he could read by the age of 3.  He liked to read, but it was rare to ever find a piece of paper with something written on it.  It was almost like writing was painful for him at a young age.  He would laboriously trudge through whatever writing assignments and copy work I gave him.  But, he certainly didn't spend any of his spare time writing.  (Today he is an excellent & voracious writer!)  My 6 year old daughter on the other hand LOVES to write.  Her favorite "toy" is her journal.  She carries a journal with her all day, illustrating and writing about whatever the day brings.  Sometimes she asks me how to spell things.  (I spend a lot of my time spelling to her actually!  LOL) Sometimes she just tries to figure out how to spell it on her own.  It is interesting to me that usually when she uses Invented Spelling she will point out to me that "I know that's not spelled right, but I tried to figure out how to spell it on my own."  How does she know it is not spelling right?  Well, she can read!  Reading and spelling are both complex skills that require the use of different parts of the brain!

So, if you have a child who uses Invented Spelling remember you have a choice!  You can correct them and tell them how to spell it correctly, or you can let them work through the process of Invented Spelling.  With my daughter if she is working on her own and writing in her journal I have chosen to never correct her or tell her she has spelled something "wrong".  However, when we are doing school and I give her spelling words I expect for her to study and learn them correctly.  I don't think there is a right and wrong way to do this.  A lot depends on the child. This is just one more learning option for us to consider. But I will tell you one thing for sure...It is quite delightful to find out you are "Pritee" even if it is spelled incorrectly! 



Here are some interesting articles I found on Invented Spelling:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inventive_spelling

http://www.naturalchild.org/guest/margaret_phinney2.html

http://www.readingrockets.org/article/267

Happy Homeschooling,

Jamin