What Homeschooling a Speller Actually Looks Like in Our House

Zeke is in 7th grade this year, and this is our fourth year homeschooling as a speller. I have learned SO much over those four years, and I am still learning every single day.

One of the questions I hear all the time is: What does homeschooling a speller actually look like? How much is academics? How much is spelling? What can they do independently? How do you fit in motor work without spending the entire day doing school?

So I thought I would just show you.

This is quite literally what Zeke did for school today.

We Divide His Day Into “On Your Own” and “With Mom”

Zeke has an assignment sheet that I create for him each day/week with two sections: On Your Own and With Mom.

I actually do this for all four of my kids!

The On Your Own list includes things Zeke can complete about 90% independently. It has taken TIME to get here. These are not all skills he suddenly had when we started homeschooling. With consistency, practice, and a lot of repetition, we have gradually added more and more to this list.

Right now, his independent work includes things like:

• A typing lesson

• Reading for fun for 10 minutes

• Listening to his school audiobook

• Watching the videos for his Dare to Homeschool lessons

• Completing certain art or hands-on activities independently

• His daily Dare to Move activity

Right now, Zeke is reading an anime for fun — which is actually a brand-new interest and skill for him this month, and I am FLOORED by it.

For literature, he is listening to The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass, which is the same book his 6th-grade sister is reading. He listens independently, and then we come back together later for a few questions from the literature guide using his letter board.

Today, his Dare to Homeschool subjects were Language Arts (Foundations) and Science (Explorations B), so he watched a couple of videos for each lesson on his own. He also followed along with an Art Hub for Kids video and created a skyline drawing.

He completed his Dare to Move activity too. There is one activity available each day, but for Zeke we usually choose the motor-skill activities rather than the crafts or other options. Again, the goal isn't to do EVERYTHING. The goal is to have enough options that I can choose what actually makes sense for him.

And then there was all the learning that wasn't even technically on his assignment sheet.

During his downtime today, Zeke spent some time playing the NEX, which is an AMAZING workout for him. He also worked on editing a video that he wants to publish and spent some time drawing.

That matters to me too. Independence isn't just “doing schoolwork without Mom.” It's learning how to use your time, pursue an interest, create something, move your body, and work toward things that matter to you.

Then We Do “With Mom” Work

Once Zeke finishes his independent work, we move into the things that still need more support from me.

Today, we started with some reflex integration exercises and then moved into math.

Zeke is currently using Beyond the Page Math, ages 10–12. He had outgrown the math available through Dare to Homeschool, and this has been a really good next step for him. I like that it still incorporates video instruction from YouTube, and the pages aren't cluttered or visually overwhelming.

We use the number board A LOT during math.

Right now, Zeke is working on coordinates, and today happened to be his test. I read the questions aloud, and depending on the problem, we either work it out together on a whiteboard or I let him solve it mentally and give me the answer on his number board.

For example, if the problem were:

1/3 + 4/5

we might first figure out the least common denominator. Zeke gives me the number on his board, I rewrite the problem on the whiteboard, and then we continue step by step until he gives me the final answer.

Other times, I read the problem and simply ask him for the answer — and he works the whole thing out in his head.

This kid has quite the math brain!

The important part is that the physical act of writing doesn't get in the way of showing me what he knows. We adapt the curriculum to the way he can reliably respond.

Then We Move Into Dare to Homeschool

Next was Language Arts using Dare to Homeschool Level C.

Because Zeke had already watched the lesson video independently, we were able to move straight into the day's activity, which was about Latin roots. We completed the activity together and then worked through one Spell Lesson paragraph.

After that, we moved into Science, also through Dare to Homeschool.

Again, he'd already watched the video. The day's activity was the skyline drawing, which he had already completed independently. That meant that when he came to work with me, we could move right into reading from the unit text and completing two Spell Lesson paragraphs.

This is one of the biggest reasons I structure his day this way. He doesn't need me sitting beside him while he watches every single video or completes every activity. Those things become opportunities to build independence.

Then our time together can focus on the things that actually require me: spelling, adapting work, teaching math, motor work, and communication.

He Spelled About 50 Answers Today

Between Math, Language Arts, and Science, Zeke spelled approximately 50 answers today.

And that is a HUGE part of why I feel so strongly about homeschooling curriculum designed with spellers in mind.

Spelling practice isn't a separate 30-minute block that happens once and then we're finished communicating for the day.

It is woven into his academics.

He spells while doing math.

He spells while learning language arts.

He spells about science.

He answers questions about literature.

Some questions have known answers. Some are choices. Some require recall. Some eventually open the door to more flexible and open-ended communication.

It all gives him practice.

Before finishing for the day, we did a few multiple-choice questions from his audiobook's literature guide — the same guide his sister is doing alongside him — and then he was DONE.

His entire With Mom portion of school today was finished in under two hours.

This Is What I Mean By a Framework

This is why I keep saying that homeschooling a speller is about more than curriculum.

The curriculum matters. Of course it does.

But what has made the biggest difference for us is creating a rhythm where academics, spelling, motor skills, regulation, independence, interests, and life skills can all exist together.

Zeke doesn't sit beside me doing worksheets for six hours a day.

He has things he is learning to manage independently. He has movement built into his day. He has motor work. He has real academics. He listens to books. He reads for fun. He creates things. He practices typing. He works on his own projects.

And then when we work together, we use that time intentionally.

Four years into this, we are still changing things. We are still adding new independent skills. We are still finding new programs when he outgrows something. We are still figuring out what works best for him.

That's the point.

You don't have to build the perfect homeschool day on day one.

You build the framework, meet your child where they are, and keep adding to it as they grow.

And THAT is what homeschooling a speller looks like in our house right now.