QueenT Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 I am desperately needing help deciding between LOE Foundations and AAR for my 6 year old. She hasn't had any formal phonics yet, but she can sound out some CVC words. I have read reviews for days on both and have read SO many great things about each program, that I'm having a really difficult time deciding between the two. Any thoughts or advice? Any input would be greatly appreciated!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebot Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 We haven't tried AAR, but we do have and love LOE. When I was trying to make the decision it seemed to come down to does your child more likely to enjoy doing arts and crafts (cutting, coloring, etc..) or running across the room and grabbing the correct phonogram card, or jump up if you hear a long e but sit super still if you hear a short e, etc... My boys aren't the crafty type. When I ask them to cut out and color something they consider it an evil form of punishment. Therefore, we chose LOE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syllieann Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 (edited) There is nothing in aar that needs to be colored. There are paper -based games, similar to file folder types of games. The cutting is not related to the concept being used. It can be done by the parent without losing anything from the child's learning. It doesn't have the large motor activities, but since the words and phonograms are already on cards, I found it very easy to add those myself. The other significant difference between the programs is that aar works on one sound of each phonogram at a time. Imo, this is a gentler way for a child to gain fluency. Loe has handwriting incorporated, but aar needs it added in. i think aar provides more material for gaining fluency, but I suppose you could just repeat things in loe to provide additional fluency practice. Eta: My comments are referring to aar 1 and up. Aar pre is a bit different. I haven't used that one, but I believe there are craft pages for the letters in that level. That isn't how the regular levels are though. Edited August 25, 2016 by Syllieann 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 I always check out the online samples when I'm trying to decide between curriculum. This page has samples for AAR--just scroll down to the level you are interested in. AAR doesn't include handwriting, since lots of kids find reading easier than writing--so you would add that in when your child is ready for handwriting. That's also why AAR separates reading and spelling. HTH some! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebot Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 I don't think you can go wrong with either one, and like I said we have only used LOE. I didn't mean to imply that AAR was only cutting and coloring because I really don't know. It just seemed to me that when I was deciding which program to buy, it seemed like the can't sit still kids seemed to like LOE. I have two can't sit still kids which is why we personally picked it. I will say that I still look at the AAR readers and want them. My oldest is now past them and I just can't justify the cost for one kid. I will also say that the one thing I don't love about LOE is that it incorporates the writing. My oldest wasn't ready for the writing, but didn't like that he was skipping it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcitedMama Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 I can't help with LOE, I ruled it out because I did not want anything to do with those accent marker things on the letters! I can give you a whole hearted endorsement of AAR. It's super easy to use and will teach your child to read fluently and well. My DS very quickly went from not even reading CVC words to reading anything in sight. It's really amazing! Don't worry about crafts, as said above its really more about quick cutting of paper for games. I did it for him when he was younger but now he does it quickly. He still enjoys the games and we are now halfway through AAR4. The other day he was playing with paper cut out donuts and having a blast. We do the lessons super quick now which we both like because he gets it but slower when he was just starting out so there's not a big time commitment. It still amazes me what can be accomplished by doing it about 15 min/day 4x week with lots of random time off. The readers are great. They are fun and have great illustrations and are not painful to listen to! Nothing like phonics readers at all. They also incorporate reading comprehension and parts of speech in a clever way which I hadn't expected. Yesterday he read a poem with perfect emphasis on the rhyming words which is all a credit to AAR and nothing I've done. I'm still amazed at how comprehensive it's turned out to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenT Posted August 26, 2016 Author Share Posted August 26, 2016 Wow! Thank you all for such great information and advice!! I so appreciate you all taking the time to give great feedback! I think we will go with AAR. I feel that it will be a great fit for my daughter! Thanks again!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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