Are you looking for spelling activities for a child who doesn’t want to do school? Perhaps your child has ADHD or struggles with oppositional behavior. Likewise, maybe your child is demand avoidant and every request turns into a battle.
If this describes you, I feel you, Friend. I’ve been leading an ADHD homeschooling for more than 14 years. It’s hard to demand-avoidant kids to engage in spelling, reading, and writing.
So here are 9 spelling activities for ADHD and other kids who don’t like schoolwork.
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9 Spelling Activities for Kids Who Don’t Like School
The following 9 spelling activities can help you teach spelling skills to a variety of different learners. Yes, these spelling activities are helpful for ADHD, autism, and demand-avoidant behaviors.
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1. Make Wish Lists with Catalogues
This spelling activity has your child practice spelling by making “wish” lists. Pull out the Target Christmas Catalogues and have your child make wish lists of all the toys, board games, books, or video games they’d like to have. When my son asks for anything, I simply say,
“Write it on your list.”
Spelling with Chuggington
There was a season when my son loved Chuggington trains. While he’s typically resistant to “schoolwork”, he was motivated to spell and write by making lists of all the Chuggington toys he wanted.
- Order catalogs from your favorite stores or online marketplaces
- Keep the inserts from Lego sets with advertisements for other kits
- You can even hang on to the weekly flyers from Aldi (they always have something fun for kids)
If you’re okay with your child being online, have them make Christmas or birthday lists directly from Amazon.
2. Use Your iPhone for Spelling Activities
Until they get a phone, most kids are constantly asking to use mom or dad’s. Why not take advantage of your child’s obsession with your iPhone? Use it for spelling activities.
When your child asks to watch a certain show and then asks you to type in the show title, make them do it. Offer the sounds of the title one by one.
Using Chuggington as an example, this is how I’d apply the concept.
“Mommy, how do you spell Chuggington?”
I’d reply with the following:
- “C-H says, ‘ch’
- “U”
- “G” (the hard G sound does NOT say “uh”)
- “G”
- “I-N-G says -ing”
- “T”
- “ON”
After every sound, I wait for him to type in the correct spelling. (See Video Below for more on how to produce speech sounds for spelling.)
3. Use the Roku or Smart TV Search
Using the same principle as above, have your child use the Roku search or Smart TV search option to spell the names of shows they want to watch.
Mom, how do I spell Transformers?
Again, support your child’s spelling, but providing the sounds (or phonemes) to spell the word correctly.
4. Modify the Play of Board Games
Depending upon your child’s age level and spelling list demands, use board games to support spelling practice. If you’re playing Sorry as a family, have your child write a spelling word for each turn. Get creative.
- Write spelling words on large colorful Post-it notes.
- Have your child stick them to their “winner word” pile.
- Alternatively, use bright note cards.
If your child struggles with fine motor skills or is overwhelmed, support this spelling activity by:
- Saying each sound for your child
- Once they tell you the letter or letter combination, scribe the word for them
The point is to pair the dopamine reward of playing a game with the spelling activity.
5. Pass Notes
If your child is particularly oppositional (I have one of these), your days may be hard relationally. One spelling activity has been particularly helpful in connecting my son and me relationally.
We pass notes.
By writing simple notes to one another, we connect on a relational level, and he practices spelling and writing.
6. Play Hide and Seek Spelling Words
This spelling activity is a modified version of the classic Hide and Seek.
- Write your child’s spelling words on colorful index cards.
- Then hide them throughout your living room (or any designated area).
- Provide your child with a list of those same spelling words to seek.
- Have your child hold up each word card he finds and then spell the word aloud.
(Note: even if your child has to “read” each letter of the word to correctly spell it, that’s okay. The goal is exposure to spelling patterns.)
7. Use Letter Stickers
If your child is motivated to practice spelling but is struggling with the physical act of writing, try using letter stickers. In this spelling activity, write out the spelling words in large text on a piece of paper.
Using fun letter stickers, have your child practice spelling by matching the correct sticker to each letter of the spelling word.
8. Practice Spelling by Using Letter Stamps
You can do the same activity as above, but instead, use these fun letter stamps from Melissa and Doug. Write spelling words from your language arts curriculum on a large sheet of paper. Then have your child copy the words using stamps to spell them.
Another idea is to use high-interest words. If your child likes Minecraft or Star Wars, have them stamp out lists of popular characters from Minecraft or Star Wars.
Speaking of Star Wars, check out these fun Star Wars jokes for kids to support your child’s developing phonological awareness skills. Bonus. Have them take turns reading them to the family.
- Deluxe wooden letter and number stamp set with 25-page stamp-and-learn activity book
9. Play Word-Based Board Games
Many language arts board games help with spelling, vocabulary, and reading. Play one of these games to enhance your student’s spelling practice.
Don’t worry about specific spelling lists. The idea is to get your resistant learner to become familiar with spelling patterns through play. For more, check out this list of free spelling games.
Why is Teaching ADHD Kids So Challenging?
Teaching neurodivergent kids (ADHD, autism, dyslexia, PDA) can be challenging. Let’s take a look at some common symptoms of ADHD to help us understand better.
- Inattention
- Lack of focus on non-preferred activities
- Challenges with executive functioning
- Emotional regulation challenges
- This can lead to oppositional behavior.
- Distractibility
This is just a short list of ADHD symptoms. The main piece of advice I share with parents or teachers of Autistic and ADHD kids is this. Teach with the grain of the autistic and ADHD brain.
This means that you consider how your child learns best before you jump into spelling activities and lessons.
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ADHD, Dopamine, & Motivation
People with ADHD often lack a sufficient level of dopamine in the brain. Because dopamine is the reward chemical of the brain, it’s challenging for the ADHD brain to focus on non-preferred activities.
A simple way to help kids with ADHD focus on learning academics is by pairing the academic objective with something inherently interesting.
Topics of interest promote the release of dopamine in the brain which, in turn, helps the brain focus. When teaching ADHD kids, consider increasing dopamine by pairing learning objectives with student interests.
Spelling Activities for Kids In-Depth Explanations
Recap: Spelling Activities
When you’re homeschooling a child with ADHD, it can be a challenge. If your child’s oppositional, it’s even harder. Pairing your child’s interests with spelling activities is a great way to increase motivation to learn.
Additionally, it will help with retention because dopamine helps with memory and learning. So, Friend, what spelling activities do you do with your ADHD or oppositional student?
