Phonics Road or WWE, FLL, AAS

[HollyM25]

I cannot decide for the life of me which way I want to go for my sons LA program for 1st grade. I love that PR is all in one. But I am also drawn to FLL, AAS and WWE. This year for phonics we have used Hooked on Phonics and Explode the Code. He is reading ok, and the programs have worked but he just doesnt have the desire to read more than required. He doesnt have the love for learning I guess that some kids have, he just does his work as fast as possible to get it done so he can play. Maybe its the age but I just want a solid LA program so maybe he can start to love to learn and see that it can be exciting to learn new things.

 

I am a new homeschooler and could use any advice you may have!!

Thanks so much!! :)

[tennismomkelly]

:bigear:

 

Listening in. I'm having a hard time deciding too. :001_smile:

[boscopup]

I haven't tried PR. It does look good, but I do worry about the fact that my son is all over the map in skills (way ahead in reading, not ahead at all in writing), plus I am using WWE, FLL (just started today though), and AAS. I LOVE LOVE LOVE WWE and AAS, and I think I will love FLL, but it's too soon to make a judgement (we both liked today).

 

I have a hard time getting a feel for how Mrs. Beers teaches writing. I fully agree with SWB's writing philosophy for my son, and I've seen the benefits of WWE in just a short time.

 

For spelling, I love the way AAS is done. The tiles, the dictation, everything. We both enjoy spelling time. I don't know that I'd want to worry about marking words.

 

I wouldn't be using the handwriting method, as I like HWT-style and GDI-style handwriting. So that part of PR I wouldn't use.

 

And then literature study... Again, skills are all over the map. My son's reading is above grade level, but his readiness for literary analysis is definitely not.

 

All in all, I really like the way things are working with what we are using now. I use WWE ideas across the curriculum. FLL and WWE should go nicely together. AAS is just a wonderful program and my son is applying what he knows.

 

You can go either way and have a great experience, I think. I went the separated way, because I just *really* like each of these programs. And I'm ok with all of language arts not being integrated (though grammar and writing kind of will be now that I've switched to FLL). I do reserve the right to change my mind later, of course. :lol: If I did do PR in the future, it'd probably be with a younger kid, not my oldest, because we started homeschooling halfway through first grade, and I don't want to have to play catchup with yet another program. And the startup cost would be horrific, having to buy two levels at once. As it stands, I have the WWE instructor text to pick my own passages for levels 2-4, and FLL1 and 2 average about $10 each and can be reused by my other kids (3 and 4 are a little more, but still not that bad). So language arts will be much cheaper for me going the separated route (AAS being the only expensive part, and again, I can reuse it - I'm not even buying extra student packs or anything). PR is pricey to begin with, and then you are supposed to spend like $70 for each subsequent kid to replace materials? Maybe you can somehow reuse the materials though.

[HollyM25]

Thank you for your advice boscopup. I agree with everything you said. For our budget Im afraid of buying PR and not liking it. The cost of the others are more up our alley! I also really the individual programs, all of them look great. I think I just maily like PR because it is all in one, I dont actually know as much about PR as I do the others.

[guateangel]

Thank you for your advice boscopup. I agree with everything you said. For our budget Im afraid of buying PR and not liking it. The cost of the others are more up our alley! I also really the individual programs, all of them look great. I think I just maily like PR because it is all in one, I dont actually know as much about PR as I do the others.

 

I'm new too.

 

I keep going back and forth too. I bet I've looked at PR 30 times online. I love WWE, FLL, AAS, ETC...but love that PR is all in one (and so many rave reviews lately.) Maybe this is another instance of thinking the grass is greener, I duno.

 

I'm sticking to what's been working, plus the cost of PR is a bit much, imho.

 

I find myself questioning math as well with all these new threads on Singapore. Ahhhhhh!

 

I will not cave, I will not cave, I will not cave!!!! :rolleyes:

[3littlemonkeys]

We are also doing the FLL, WWE, AAS, HWT (and a little ETC) route.

 

I looked into PR briefly, and I will be honest...the intro video online, bored me to tears. I "get" what she says and why...but I really understood TWTM and enjoyed the learning process as I was reading through the processes and the "why's". So I just stuck with what they suggested and had written themselves. If you haven't done so yet, Listen to SWB audio lectures and that might help a bit.

 

Just wanted to tell you why we chose to go the separate route.

[Satori]

Another one who does the separate route. I ordered a PR demo CD and stuff a few years back and it didn't appeal to me over what we were already using. I've learned that we go super fast through certain subjects and normal through others.

 

Here's our separate LA mix:

AAS, GWG, FLL, HWT, ETC, WW

[Hedgehogs4]

I am doing FLL, WWE, and AAS with my ds9. I love this setup. It works so well for us.

 

I am doing PR with my dd5. It also is going very, very well, though we are just getting started.

 

Truth be told, I am still not decided what I am going to use with her next year. I am so comfortable with and sold on PHP (Peace Hill Press) products that I may end up using what I've been doing with my ds9 with my daughter next year. I'm not sure I like being locked into the all in one, and I like the flexibility of the PHP stuff.

 

If I had to state my preference, I think I like FLL, WWE, and AAS better, having used them for the last 3 years (we are new to AAS, but so far we are VERY happy with that ). BUT...remember that I am a PR newbie, and cannot give you a long-term assessment of the program.

[DragonflyAcademy]

We did FLL.. levels 1 and 2 and 3.. by level 3.. it brought us both to tears..

I switched to AAS..the kids liked it but it seemed hard for me to implement.. I needed more guidance.. I didn't understand some things.. or the "why" for some things.. and we didn't stick with it.

 

Right now we are using Phonics Road to reading.. I have a 4th and 1st grader.. they are both doing level 1 accelerated. They LOVE it.. we are in week 7 right now. My oldest said the other day "NOW I understand spelling...."

[Mommee & Baba]

I don't know anything about PR so my opinion could be unfair but I wanted to say what my thoughts on FLL, WWE and AAS are.

 

Currently we are doing WWE 1 and I started it with my dd7 at the beginning of this school year and she is doing so great with it. We'll do WWE 2 next year and dd5 will begin WWE 1 next year :) It's really helped with her handwriting PLUS I love the small language lessons it implements that follows right along with FLL. For example "point to the title of respect in the first sentence"....and she gets it right away. I love it.

 

As for FLL...we started FLL 1 at the beginning of this year. I'm spreading it out MUCH more than I thought I would because it's so packed full of great lessons, small and brieft but SOLID and the kids remember! We'll begin FLL 2 for dd7 here in a couple weeks but for dd5 I'm going to have her start FLL 2 next year and focus solely on her reading and just do review games for the grammar aspect.

 

Ohh now on to AAS. We heard alot about it. It was a bit of an investment up front since I got each of my children their own student material packets...but I started them both on AAS 1 back in February. My dd7 LOVES it and rarely works with the tiles for the spelling part but uses them for new steps and for review...she enjoys using the marker board and writing the words and phrases. I'm hoping to move into AAS 2 with dd7 in the next month. And depending on how fast we move through that will depend on when we begin AAS 3. DD5 is a struggling reader and once we began AAS 1 her reading got so much better!!!! I was soooooooooo happy!

 

Although I don't know anything about PR...We all enjoy FLL, WWE and AAS so much that we plan to continue this path for the rest of the year and next year....who knows what can change 2 years from now but I'd love to stay with them then too :D

[HollyM25]

Thanks everyone so much! I think I will stick with my original plan of FLL, WWE, and AAS. I guess I just started second guessing myself after seeing all the great reviews of PR. If in the future I dont think what we are using is good then we might try PR.

[Lovedtodeath]

Here are some threads from the PR social group:

 

Comparing Phonics Road to All About Spelling

 

The Phonics Road approach to grammar compared to FLL, Shurley, GWG, etc. This is where we can compare Phonics Road to other grammar programs that we have used.

 

Phonics Road vs. WWE, FLL and All About Spelling

[johnandtinagilbert]

I wanted to get some PR clarification in here. Dear Ladies, you don't understand the flexibility of PR levels 1&2. There is no reason you have to be in the same place (week or day) in levels 1&2 of PR, so if your dcs skills are all over the place (a commonality amongst 1st and 2nd graders) that is A-OK! We went halfway in spelling, finished up the literature selection solo, then went back to the spelling in PR 2. We jumped all over the place in level 2 as we were excited about different aspects at different times. Since there is a Daily lesson plan written out, in separate sections of the teacher's notebook for each subject, it was as simple as writing a checkmark next to the day we had completed. No stress. No worries. No inconsistencies. It really is easy.

 

The literature analysis is not deep...it is intended for a 2nd grader. The literature study is a tool of Application. In the lit. study, you will understand the basics of lit. analysis (character, plot, setting...not hard to understand), but it is also used as a tool to model excellent writing style and to make connections between the many subsets that design the whole of language arts. It's not complicated. My son, who was Not a great reader had no problem.

 

The Writing portion of the program, as designed through dictation and incremental steps to writing sentences, is very closely aligned with SWB recs. There is no loss here. My blog has several posts on the writing of the program as a whole.

 

The differences you will see in the first 2 levels of PR versus the PHP route are: less time w/ PR; no redundancy (it's my understanding that there is some redundancy between WWE and FLL), but still enough practice.

 

The cost of PR1 goes beyond student instruction, it enters a level of teacher training that even after homeschooling 3 children into middle school, I found most beneficial. It's not just script reading, but actually showing you all the skills you need to Teach. I was a script reader in my early years, no doubt, but I can testify that actually being taught the methods of early Classical Child Education has given me the skill to apply the PR methods across the board and make language arts much more meaningful to my students. Additionally, you don't need separate student notebooks, although admittedly, it is easier in levels 2 and beyond. We have been quite content with notebook paper where necessary.

 

I agree, the sample videos offer more boredom than excitement, but when you actually have a student interacting, smiling as they sing the Rule Tunes, and excited when they learn all the ways to make the same sound, it brings PR to life.

 

PR is amazing. It is solid. It is right on point so far as time and practice necessary. While you can't go wrong w/ PHP, we have found more interest and enjoyment in the PR line up.

[Mommee & Baba]

(it's my understanding that there is some redundancy between WWE and FLL)

 

So glad someone had some more to input on PR as I know nothing about it.

 

I did want to come here and point out that although WWE and FLL have some redundancy, it's complimentary! This isn't something we come across and roll our eyes or stomp our feet and fuss about...it rolls very nicely together and I like that about the two programs.

 

I just wanted to clarify that. It's of course the opinion of our homeschool classroom though.

[Lovedtodeath]

Yes, I was going to mention something about that. We have been on Week 15 in spelling and Week 8 on literature and Week 10 on grammar and all is fine.

 

I didn't want to post much since OP had already made up her mind.

 

I wouldn't switch away from PR now.

 

The rule tunes are great. When they are good we enjoy them, when they are bad we laugh at them... we always remember them, and they are better than FLLs (see my FLL comparison). We remember them in a natural format rather than going through flash cards like AAS. We also go over the phonogram cards as we do the lesson instead of doing it as a separate step.

 

I also love the fact that PR has the rule tunes AND the worksheets to illustrate the rule. You have the auditory, visual and hands on component all in there.

 

I think I should add this post to the AAS/PR comparison on our social group. I felt like I needed to add worksheets to AAS for the visual component of the rules. PR takes care of that. We hate flash cards. PR takes care of that too.

[Tsutsie]

Is it true that PR 1 covers ASS 1, 2, and a little bit of 3? In that case, PR might be cheaper.

[Lovedtodeath]

Is it true that PR 1 covers ASS 1, 2, and a little bit of 3? In that case, PR might be cheaper.

Yes. You can see more on that here:

[Lovedtodeath]

OOPS sorry, here is the quote from the social group:

I have determined that PR 1 covers all of the rules and similar words to AAS 1 & 2. AAS level 1 and 2 contains work on segmenting that is very helpful for a child who needs a lot of help with spelling. This is similar to SWR finger spelling. AAS level 2 also has very in-depth lessons on syllabication that are missing from PR.

 

The Phonics Road has songs for the rules. We love the songs! They are repeated every time the rule applies to a word, so there is plenty of review built right in. No need for flash cards.

 

In my next post I will compare the S&S of AAS level 3 and what PR 1 covers. It is the S & S for AAS level 3 copied from the AAS website. This color means that it is covered in PR 1.

 

 

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03-17-2010 09:19 PM

Lovedtodeath

 

Two additional ways to spell the sound of long a NO

Five reasons for adding a silent e to the end of a word

The C+le syllable type

How to add consonant and vowel suffixes

More ways to spell the sound of long o NO

The three sounds of past tense suffix –ed

When to double consonants before adding suffixes

When to drop the silent e before adding a suffix

More ways to spell long e Maybe

Additional ways to spell the sound of /er/

More ways to spell long i

Contractions

Homophones

 

PR1 also teaches /or/ and /ar/.

 

 

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03-17-2010 10:05 PM

Lovedtodeath

 

The handwriting and reading are excellent parts of PR 1 for a child who needs them. I am so wishing I had used the handwriting with Emily. It really is excellent for formation and learning (there is really no way to confuse b and d the way PR teaches them). There is not a lot of time (weeks) covering only handwriting and reading. There is enough covered in PR 1 that it is worth it just for the OG based spelling, especially if you are using it for more than one child. PR jumps right in with a variety of words, including those with 2 syllables and lots of rules; butcher, black, coming, fight, report, gone, polar, power, inside, written. And there are building codes that cover all of the vowel sounds, suffixes and prefixes on irregular words, contractions and homophones, to name a few. (We will be skipping over much less in PR than what we could skip over in AAS.)

 

[Tsutsie]

Ugh, it's such a hard decision to make! Even after buying PR 1 I still find myself wondering if I should just sell it and go the "other" route.

 

We have done 4 weeks in 2 days. We don't need the handwriting, the readers are way to easy, and my son is able to spell 95+% of all of the words.

 

Thus, he is learning to mark words. Why that is important, I'm not sure? (Tina..?) Does it really matter to know which sound of /u/ is used more?

 

He is not learning to read better. He is not doing the handwriting. He is not learning new spelling words and he does not enjoy drawing, so the readers are going to be a struggle/whine-fest.

 

Also, in level 2...ONE WHOLE YEAR on one book? Huh? I'm bored just thinking about it.

 

Then again, I like the fact that it is a all in one program and I'm sure it is solid. It's just not as easy as I thought with a kid that is all over the place in skills.

 

Also, as an ESL speaker, I thought that the songs will make it easier. I wish Mrs. Beers gave us a CD with the songs on to listen in the car, etc. I have to listen to the DVD over and over again to get it perfect. (I'm a terrible singer and not an auditory learner. They are HARD!)

 

Anyway, there might be a "As New" PR 1 set for sale on the boards soon!

[Lovedtodeath]

You can feel free to do a whole week's worth of spelling at a time, and to do some exercises where he doesn't have to spell the words (only mark them and sing the tunes). Then you can get caught up.

 

We do the Little House Study every Friday. We read our Heart of Dakota books on the other days. Stretching one book out is the CM way. :) There are a variety of assignments related to the book, so that part is not boring at all.

 

I do love WWE and its variety of selections. But then there are only a couple of different assignments...

 

So they can both be considered boring. LOL

[JudoMom]

Thanks everyone so much! I think I will stick with my original plan of FLL, WWE, and AAS. I guess I just started second guessing myself after seeing all the great reviews of PR. If in the future I dont think what we are using is good then we might try PR.

 

One word of advice: If you like your plan or what you are doing, don't even open the rave review threads. What's in style one month will be on it's way out the next. Stick with what you're comfortable with--there is a reason you chose it :).

[johnandtinagilbert]

Ugh, it's such a hard decision to make! Even after buying PR 1 I still find myself wondering if I should just sell it and go the "other" route.

 

We have done 4 weeks in 2 days. We don't need the handwriting, the readers are way to easy, and my son is able to spell 95+% of all of the words.

 

Thus, he is learning to mark words. Why that is important, I'm not sure? (Tina..?) Does it really matter to know which sound of /u/ is used more? It is likely your son has many of the level 1 words memorized, which isn't the same thing as knowing how to spell them. Learning the rules and marking the words will aide in the future, when he begins coming to words he doesn't have memorized.

 

He is not learning to read better. He is not doing the handwriting. He is not learning new spelling words and he does not enjoy drawing, so the readers are going to be a struggle/whine-fest. You'll notice an improvement in reading as he (and you guide as his teacher) apply the Rule Tunes to words he doesn't read properly. The new spelling words will come and you can skip the drawing. You are at the beginning of an entire program. You are not in far enough to make a real judgement of progress.

 

Also, in level 2...ONE WHOLE YEAR on one book? Huh? I'm bored just thinking about it. The book isn't drawn out as a way to read the book. The book is drawn out as a means of application. All the things you're child should be learning about how to write will be applied using real literature and giving you child a way to actually apply language skills to communication, and that is the entire point.

 

Then again, I like the fact that it is a all in one program and I'm sure it is solid. It's just not as easy as I thought with a kid that is all over the place in skills. That will level out soon enough. Be patient.

 

Also, as an ESL speaker, I thought that the songs will make it easier. I wish Mrs. Beers gave us a CD with the songs on to listen in the car, etc. I have to listen to the DVD over and over again to get it perfect. (I'm a terrible singer and not an auditory learner. They are HARD!) Use YouTube and make your own "music only" CD. If you know how to download a song, you can do this.

 

Anyway, there might be a "As New" PR 1 set for sale on the boards soon!

Said kindly, be patient. You can't evaluate the worth of a program or even determine whether or not it's going to work for you after using it for 3 days.

[Lovedtodeath]

Said kindly, be patient. You can't evaluate the worth of a program or even determine whether or not it's going to work for you after using it for 3 days.

I missed the fact that it had only been 2 days! PR 1 covers so much material. Just to show yourself what it does, try doing some words from week 15 or the last week. See if you and your son know the rules that apply.

 

I had this problem with PR 1 for the first few weeks, and PR 2 for the first few weeks, and I know you would have the same problem with AAS. Goodness... everyone complains that the words aren't difficult enough in AAS (I used 1 and 2 and we still benefitted from PR 1).

[Guest aquiverfull]

I wanted to get some PR clarification in here. Dear Ladies, you don't understand the flexibility of PR levels 1&2. There is no reason you have to be in the same place (week or day) in levels 1&2 of PR, so if your dcs skills are all over the place (a commonality amongst 1st and 2nd graders) that is A-OK! We went halfway in spelling, finished up the literature selection solo, then went back to the spelling in PR 2. We jumped all over the place in level 2 as we were excited about different aspects at different times. Since there is a Daily lesson plan written out, in separate sections of the teacher's notebook for each subject, it was as simple as writing a checkmark next to the day we had completed. No stress. No worries. No inconsistencies. It really is easy.

 

The literature analysis is not deep...it is intended for a 2nd grader. The literature study is a tool of Application. In the lit. study, you will understand the basics of lit. analysis (character, plot, setting...not hard to understand), but it is also used as a tool to model excellent writing style and to make connections between the many subsets that design the whole of language arts. It's not complicated. My son, who was Not a great reader had no problem.

 

The Writing portion of the program, as designed through dictation and incremental steps to writing sentences, is very closely aligned with SWB recs. There is no loss here. My blog has several posts on the writing of the program as a whole.

 

The differences you will see in the first 2 levels of PR versus the PHP route are: less time w/ PR; no redundancy (it's my understanding that there is some redundancy between WWE and FLL), but still enough practice.

 

The cost of PR1 goes beyond student instruction, it enters a level of teacher training that even after homeschooling 3 children into middle school, I found most beneficial. It's not just script reading, but actually showing you all the skills you need to Teach. I was a script reader in my early years, no doubt, but I can testify that actually being taught the methods of early Classical Child Education has given me the skill to apply the PR methods across the board and make language arts much more meaningful to my students. Additionally, you don't need separate student notebooks, although admittedly, it is easier in levels 2 and beyond. We have been quite content with notebook paper where necessary.

 

I agree, the sample videos offer more boredom than excitement, but when you actually have a student interacting, smiling as they sing the Rule Tunes, and excited when they learn all the ways to make the same sound, it brings PR to life.

 

PR is amazing. It is solid. It is right on point so far as time and practice necessary. While you can't go wrong w/ PHP, we have found more interest and enjoyment in the PR line up.

 

:iagree: We've had the same experience with PR. It is an amazingly solid program. We love it and will be sticking with it for all my girls. The teacher training is just awesome!

[Karen in CO]

Neither of my two olders loved reading until they were able to read chapter books independently. I think a lot of homeschool moms start looking for that elusive love of learning in different curriculm and get lost.

 

If you were able to follow your phonics program and your child is reading, then I'd not change it.

[Lovedtodeath]

Neither of my two olders loved reading until they were able to read chapter books independently. I think a lot of homeschool moms start looking for that elusive love of learning in different curriculm and get lost.

 

If you were able to follow your phonics program and your child is reading, then I'd not change it.

Good point. I was worried because my daughter never enjoyed reading independently. She is just now into reading and it was just due to her level getting high enough I think, even though she could read at about a 5th grade level in first grade, she needed more confidence and maturity. She is 8 and a half. reading this book right now along with American Girl and Nancy Drew and really didn't enjoy independent reading before, unless it was a non-fiction picture book.