"Sick of school" says! LOL!
My ds6 also gets tripped up with spelling despite advanced reading. They really are completely different skills, I'm learning. My ds6 also HATES to spell phonetically if he knows it's incorrect. I know my ds' class has a frequently-used word wall...seems fair to have a similar tool at home. Dictionary is a good idea. My ds was discussing alphabetical order this weekend, so he'd probably like to just read one.
I think spelling would be the toughest skill for ds to master if we advanced him to 1st.
