Iucounu, I'm curious why you choose to teach spelling so explicitly outside of school. I guess it's my general belief that a bright child who reads way above level and has no actual deficit in spelling will absorb spelling through the ether, as it were. I know I did, and DD appears to be doing the same. I mean, some review of general principles seems like a good idea.
A few reasons, including: to speed up his writing, and make it easier for him to write whatever he wants; to develop his ability to absorb from the ether; to make sure he learns proper encoding rules; to counteract the probability that this year, his language arts instruction at school will be far below his level; and because he picks it up so quickly that we'll be done before too long, for all time. (His writing slowness was originally indicated as one area of concern prior to his grade skip.)
I would agree that it's not required, like lots of the things we provide for our children aren't required. Spelling is such an important communication skill, I want to make sure he's squared away so that he can easily get his ideas across to adults without them taking him for granted.
I'm also teaching him typing, another communication skill that isn't required. I think it's going to help him in the long run because he'll be able to churn out text faster and with less stress.
