Anonymous
06/09/2026 10:14
Subject: 4yo has crazy, natural spelling ability
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:They don’t have spelling tests anymore. In fact, they don’t even teach spelling. They let kids write phonetically. It’s terrible. Good for you for teaching her young.
I have a first grader and this is just blatantly not true.
+1 My first grader had spelling tests every week this year.
Anonymous
06/09/2026 10:13
Subject: 4yo has crazy, natural spelling ability
Anonymous wrote:They don’t have spelling tests anymore. In fact, they don’t even teach spelling. They let kids write phonetically. It’s terrible. Good for you for teaching her young.
I have a first grader and this is just blatantly not true.
Anonymous
06/09/2026 10:11
Subject: 4yo has crazy, natural spelling ability
They don’t have spelling tests anymore. In fact, they don’t even teach spelling. They let kids write phonetically. It’s terrible. Good for you for teaching her young.
Anonymous
06/09/2026 10:11
Subject: 4yo has crazy, natural spelling ability
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:My dd had hyperlexia. Its an early warning sign for autism.
+1 this was my level 1 ASD DS, phenomenal memory and love of patterns. Was recommended for magnet programs beginning in late ES, now at a WASP and doing very well. I don't know that the spelling facility translated into any particular giftedness with language, more of a STEM kid in the end. But that was where his particular interests lay and that's essential for ASD kids (if your kid is in fact ASD).
Op: That is very interesting. She also likes numbers. DD was speech delayed (articulation) and has/d intermittent hearing loss. ASD was a concern last year, but this year everything is looking to be an effect of the speech/hearing. That being said I’m not ruling anything out. She’s doing really well in the more academic prek. She is social and makes eye contact now. Speech has really come along and helped with connecting to peers. Her teachers this year have no concerns.
Also Re: phonics. She actually loves phonics. That might have actually been the first clue. She learned those rules fast. I think she likes codes. I’ve noticed she is always trying make rules to explain the way the world works.
Anonymous
06/09/2026 09:56
Subject: 4yo has crazy, natural spelling ability
Anonymous wrote:It's not a worthless skill! Anyway, there are many ways that early readers make sense of text, and whole-word reading is one of them. Most children need the support of phonics-based instruction to achieve proficiency, but not all of them, and your daughter is fortunate to a good memory for words.
It might also be worth exploring her memory in other ways.
My kid at 4 knew how long it took each planet to orbit the sun and similar facts. So you could use this to teach her about other things. My kid is finishing up first grade and doing very well but nothing crazy.
Anonymous
06/09/2026 09:55
Subject: 4yo has crazy, natural spelling ability
Anonymous wrote:I think dd sees a word once and memorizes it. We’ve accidentally discovered this on a road trip. We started with easy words. Then we were like “but can you spell castle?” Yes. Water, said, eight, knee, climb, menu, Mrs., people, beautiful, because… we have a really difficult time stumping her. I’m wondering if it’s because we use closed captioning.
Is this ridiculously advanced?
She can write the words or rattle off the letters, but she does the letter sounds which can be confusing. I’ve heard of early reading but not early spelling. It’s kind of a worthless skill in this day and age! Our little Prek-5th grade school doesn’t even do a spelling bee. So she’s just going to be able to ace spelling tests in kindergarten probably.
I don't think that's worthless! I would be super proud of my kid if they could do that. I am a very good speller (won multiple small spelling bees, nothing like Scripps) and it kind of sets my teeth on edge when my kid (perfectly age-appropriately!) spells things in a crazy way.
Anonymous
06/09/2026 09:51
Subject: 4yo has crazy, natural spelling ability
My daughter was a bit like this. She more or less taught herself to read using the bob books and our reading them with her. Compared to her brother, who needed explicit phonics instruction but is now an excellent reader, she knows very little about phonics and grammar, but is able to do most of it on feel.
Down the road you may want to lobby the school to participate in the scripps spelling bee. There are materials online about how schools can join and run the bee. It’s a great activity for kids like this.
Down the road you may want to lobby the school to participate in the scripps spelling bee. There are materials online about how schools can join and run the bee. It’s a great activity for kids like this.
Anonymous
06/09/2026 09:42
Subject: 4yo has crazy, natural spelling ability
It's not a worthless skill! Anyway, there are many ways that early readers make sense of text, and whole-word reading is one of them. Most children need the support of phonics-based instruction to achieve proficiency, but not all of them, and your daughter is fortunate to a good memory for words.
Anonymous
06/09/2026 09:38
Subject: 4yo has crazy, natural spelling ability
Anonymous wrote:My dd had hyperlexia. Its an early warning sign for autism.
I knew this was coming. DCUM moms are so quick to cry "autism" when they're jealous that somebody else's kid is better at something than theirs.
Anonymous
06/09/2026 09:32
Subject: 4yo has crazy, natural spelling ability
Scripps National Spelling Bee
Anonymous
06/09/2026 09:32
Subject: 4yo has crazy, natural spelling ability
Anonymous wrote:My dd had hyperlexia. Its an early warning sign for autism.
+1 this was my level 1 ASD DS, phenomenal memory and love of patterns. Was recommended for magnet programs beginning in late ES, now at a WASP and doing very well. I don't know that the spelling facility translated into any particular giftedness with language, more of a STEM kid in the end. But that was where his particular interests lay and that's essential for ASD kids (if your kid is in fact ASD).
Anonymous
06/09/2026 09:24
Subject: 4yo has crazy, natural spelling ability
My kid could do this as well. He's not autistic fwiw.
It's important not to read too much into this as word recognition and spelling is just part of an overall literacy picture. Sometimes a kid who's great at pattern recognition like this can miss out on something like phonics because they have their normal shortcuts.
Keep reading to her, talk about plots, letter sounds, etc. Sounds like she's doing great, keep nurturing it.
It's important not to read too much into this as word recognition and spelling is just part of an overall literacy picture. Sometimes a kid who's great at pattern recognition like this can miss out on something like phonics because they have their normal shortcuts.
Keep reading to her, talk about plots, letter sounds, etc. Sounds like she's doing great, keep nurturing it.
Anonymous
06/09/2026 09:21
Subject: 4yo has crazy, natural spelling ability
My dd had hyperlexia. Its an early warning sign for autism.
Anonymous
06/09/2026 09:20
Subject: 4yo has crazy, natural spelling ability
Most goals don’t even bother helping kids spell any more. With computers, a natural ability to spell just won’t matter. However it might be evidence that your child has a gift with language that you should continue to explore. How is their comprehension?
Anonymous
06/09/2026 09:01
Subject: 4yo has crazy, natural spelling ability
I think dd sees a word once and memorizes it. We’ve accidentally discovered this on a road trip. We started with easy words. Then we were like “but can you spell castle?” Yes. Water, said, eight, knee, climb, menu, Mrs., people, beautiful, because… we have a really difficult time stumping her. I’m wondering if it’s because we use closed captioning.
Is this ridiculously advanced?
She can write the words or rattle off the letters, but she does the letter sounds which can be confusing. I’ve heard of early reading but not early spelling. It’s kind of a worthless skill in this day and age! Our little Prek-5th grade school doesn’t even do a spelling bee. So she’s just going to be able to ace spelling tests in kindergarten probably.
Is this ridiculously advanced?
She can write the words or rattle off the letters, but she does the letter sounds which can be confusing. I’ve heard of early reading but not early spelling. It’s kind of a worthless skill in this day and age! Our little Prek-5th grade school doesn’t even do a spelling bee. So she’s just going to be able to ace spelling tests in kindergarten probably.