Unschooling Writing and Spelling

Alexa has a new obsession: spelling. She asks us to write down words, and then she'll type them on the computer. She loves the computer and is pretty proficient on it for 3 1/2. She can go in the Favorites tab,  find her favorite sites (Starfall.com, Storyline Online, and PBSkids.org) and navigate the sites without my help. Jared isn't interested in doing this for himself right now and is content to sit next to Alexa while she reads and plays games.

She is really great at electronic things. Since turning three, she can put in her favorite DVD's, search for favorite scenes and press play. She also loves spending hours putting in different CD's, skipping to different songs, and singing along.

When they were a little under the age of 2, I started writing words on the sidewalk with chalk. They liked this and would request words for me to write. Then it changed to writing words on paper. Now Alexa wants us to write down entire sentences.

What's amazing to me is how organic this process has been. She's just naturally learned that words that begin a sentence start with a capital letter, without me ever telling her. When she asked what the dot was at the end of the sentence, I told her it was a period. She is beginning to grasp what a sentence is without me ever defining it for her.

Typing on the computer is a great way for kids who are still not developmentally ready to write on their own. Although both Jared and Alexa will write, unprompted, individual letters while drawing, they have shown no interest in writing full words, yet. But Alexa has typed many, many sentences on the computer. Plus, she is getting valuable experience with a keyboard.

The things my kids do daily amaze me. I'm so looking forward to see where this journey will take us.