Spelling can be a difficult skill for some children. If your child has trouble spelling, here are some suggestions for ways you can help him improve in this area.• First, don't be overly concerned about the spelling errors he makes. Some experts recommend that children make up their own spellings to words they don't know. This helps them practice playing around with the sounds of letters and develops other skills necessary for good spelling later on.• Second, play word games with your child. Games like Scrabble, anagrams, and even Wheel of Fortune help kids experiment with different spellings and get instant feedback.• Third, encourage your child to read and write frequently. Reading exposes your child to correct spellings. Writing gives your child the opportunity to apply his existing knowledge of spelling rules.• Finally, if your child wants to help with a word, write it down for him so he can see it clearly and refer to it later on. Remember not to judge or evaluate. Even Leonardo da Vinci and Henry Ford were poor spellers. The important thing is to help your child improve his spelling gradually. If you follow these suggestions, then certainly he will over time.

Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D. is an award-winning author and speaker with twenty-eight years of teaching experience from the primary through the doctoral level, and over one million copies of his books in print on issues related to learning and human development. He is the author of nine books including Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom, In Their Own Way, Awakening Your Child’s Natural Genius, 7 Kinds of Smart, The Myth of the A.D.D. Child, ADD/ADHD Alternatives in the Classroom, and Awakening Genius in the Classroom. His books have been translated into sixteen languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Hebrew, Danish, and Russian.