So, here’s why we need to talk spelling programs — more often than not, parents usually lean towards the “list and let memorize’ method when it comes to teaching the kids how to spell. We usually take a book or any sort of reliable source for words and we “list out” the more important words or words that sound and spell alike.

We’re guilty of the same as well!

Sure a lot of our kids do end up being able to gobble it up and spit it out on the tests. However, a huge chunk of that list just ends up being thrown away in the brain’s garbage dump with the rest of the things our brains deem unnecessary. 

What we’ve understood as parents, trying to implement countless “effective methods” of spelling is that, while trying to make the lesson more effective we’re losing all the fun and simplicity.

Trying to implement rules such as “When two vowels go walking, the first one always does the talking”. There are literally countless words that do not follow this rule than words that do.

This is exactly where a good spelling program can come to your rescue.

A good program and I cannot stress this enough, can save you a truckload of trouble and time.

So, here are some of the best spelling programs we found on our hunt. Hopefully, these online spelling program reviews should help you choose best platform.

6 Best Spelling Programs for Your Kids

All About Spelling

Throughout our search for the best online spelling program that works, there’s a lot of buzz going around about All About Spelling. 

What we like most about the program is that it’s not your typical list, memorize and test curriculum. Instead, their packages are divided into levels and each level builds upon the last one.

This is a great program if your student is just starting out with spelling. In fact, we would highly recommend programs that rely on level-based progression when just starting off. 

It not only gives the kids a strong confidence boost, it also builds a very strong foundation where they can build upon.

To make it even easier to start your journey, All About Spelling offers a nifty placement test. The great thing about this test is that it’s a skill-based test and not a grade-based one so you can place your student right where they belong.

However, despite all its glory, programs similar to All About Spelling do require heavy engagement from the parents/teachers. Most of their lesson plans require both the student and the teacher to work together.

Also, as a cherry on top, if you’re looking for an online spelling program, All About Spelling also has an iPad app that you can easily download from the app store.

Skill-based Placement

Their skill-based placement test is a great way for parents or teachers to identify where to start off with their students. And, starting off with the right foot can make a world of difference when it comes to both teaching and learning experience.

Daily Activities

The worse thing we can do for our students is to make the curriculum boring. It all goes down the drain if the student loses interest with longer practice routines. This is why Spelling You See also does a great job at keeping the routine short and precise.

 

Hey, are you looking for a clever spelling pedagogy? Check out our guide on spelling strategies here.

Training Visual Memory

When it comes to practicing spelling, the sound is not always the best tool. Training the visual memory to identify word patterns can also pay off if given enough time and effort.

The teacher’s Handbook

Do we really need the teacher’s handbook?

Yes! Yes, we do.

There are so many areas of the program where we would have been lost if not for the nifty little handbook they provide. 

 

BJU Press Spelling

The next one on the list is BJU Press Spelling — one of the better spelling programs that follow the traditional workbook-centric approach.

But truth be told, some students really do a lot better with these traditional spelling programs compared to the online counterparts.

Also, these spelling curriculums are also less parent/teacher involvement demanding. If you want to foster independence, BJU Press seems like a perfect option.

This spelling program can do wonders for the working parents with a young child.

This is essentially just a workbook. Students get their word list on day one. They memorize these words and each day they have a small worksheet to fill out using those words. They also have several tests on the workbooks.

However, you may say that BJU Press is outdated.

Kids-these-days love spending time on their devices — introducing them to educational programs could do wonders.

 

Check out this detailed guide on online spelling curriculum for struggling students!

Spelling Power

Another popular spelling program preferred by many parents is — Spelling Power. 

Despite its popularity, we’ve seen many parents struggling with this spelling platform. The spelling program developers failed to provide a clear set of instructions. Also, the methods mentioned in the book could be too overwhelming for the younger children.

We’d suggest to steer clear of this book if you’re looking for spelling programs for elementary students.

Instead, a lot of the parents and teachers tend to break it up and turn it into bite-sized pieces to make it a bit easier on the students.

Apart from a thick book itself, there are a lot of extras that go along with this program. There are DVDs, cards, workbooks, printables and so much more. Fortunately, though, you can get away with just getting the book itself as many parents do.

Spelling practices, in our opinion, can be as simple or as complicated as we make it. 

The great thing about this book is that it only takes 10-15 minutes a day. The key to how to use this book effectively is the placement test really. Once you find out where your child’s skills are at you’re probably good to go.

As we’ve mentioned before, Spelling Power is a pretty thick book and can be a bit overwhelming at first but truth be told, it only covers 5000 words.

In any case, 10-15 minutes a day is really all the time most kids actually need to get through this book.

So the bottom line is, don’t get intimidated by the sheer presence of this book itself. Just give yourself 45 minutes to an hour and things should start to unravel pretty neatly onwards.

 

Interested in learning spellings? Check out this in-depth guide now!

Spelling You See

Next on the list is Spelling You See. It’s also probably the top competitor for All About Spelling.

Like every other long-term skill, proper spelling patterns develop through repetitive practice and experience with time. The goal should be to enable students to spell each word naturally and effortlessly in everyday writing. 

This is where Spelling You See takes the cake. Starting off with level a, all the way up to level g the Spelling You See curriculum really does takes care of everything you need to get started with your students. 

What’s great about Spelling You See is — it focuses heavily in leveled learning. Initially, kids learn about listening, writing, and nursery rhymes. Then, as they grow up, they begin to explore American history and even, ancient human history.

We strongly recommend using Spelling You See for elementary students. You can learn more about this spelling program in our in-depth Spelling You See review.

Spelling Workout

If you’re on the hunt for a straightforward and simple program then Spelling Workout can be the way to go. 

This is probably one of the most easy-to-use simplistic curriculums on this list if not amongst all the others out there. Spelling Workout is also the most inexpensive spelling curriculum on this list.

With this program, you usually get about four pages per lesson and about 20 words per lesson. With your typical fill-in-the-blanks and completing words with suffixes given this program is as simple as it gets.

You may also find a couple of puzzles every now and then in the lessons and that’s about as much interaction or engagement you get with the lessons themselves. However, this did not make it on the list because of its somewhat stale nature. 

This book can be a great alternative for parents or teachers who prefer to have “fewer” engagements with the students. Even for the students who do better on their own.

To keep it short, Spelling Workout is the easy-to-use inexpensive alternative for most of its kind out there.

SpellQuiz

Best spelling program

When it comes to best spelling programs, there’s hardly any other program come even close to SpellQuiz.

The spelling tests in SpellQuiz are designed and developed by linguistic experts coming from the USA, Canada, the UK, and Australia.

Kids can find grade-wise spelling exercises and practice special spelling bee words using dictation. The practice sections are designed in a fashion that a child can develop his/her —

• Spelling skills
• Vocabulary skills
• Listening skills
• Typing (writing) skills

Plus, you can track your child’s progress using the results dashboard. The SpellQuiz results page tracks — mastered and non-mastered words, attempt counts, and other critical metrics.

Easy to interact and work with, SpellQuiz has it all planned and laid out for you. It’s basically as simple as heading over to the website you’re halfway done.

However, if you’re still unsure about where to start, SpellQuiz has gone and made it even easier to start off with their assessment test.

Just head on over to the Vocabulary test section and it tells your where your skills stand on a level from 1-12 to Adult. Just take the test and start where you need to, we all start somewhere right?

But what if you’re bored of just playing with words? 

What if all your brain wants is a little stimulation? Something to get the brain worked up and excited about?

For that, you can participate in online quizzes. Or even better, crank up the excitement with the Spelling Bee Online. Here, you can compete with other spellers in a virtual Spelling Bee competition in real-time.

Final Thoughts

To sum things up, when it comes to finding the right spelling programs, there is no one size fits all. 

Throughout our journey of finding the best, what we’ve really discovered is that it’s really a matter of finding out what works for you and your kid.

Every kid learns at a different pace and in different ways, so if you really are on the hunt for the best, we suggest you go through at least a couple of these programs to find the one that suits your need.

 And the best part about most of these spelling programs is that most of them offer a full refund if you end up deciding not to use them!