z2_mom
-
Posts
251 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Blogs
Classifieds
Store
Posts posted by z2_mom
-
-
Call me dumb but I do like the little pictures that remind me to review the phonogram cards, the key cards, etc...Sometimes I would forget the daily review with PR because it was not written down. I know that I had to write it on my pages several times. It is just with older children, especially the high schooler....your mind tends to forget the little things like phonograms when the high schooler is harping on you to finish Pride and Prejudice so you can get to your discussion. (when you are then thinking why did I assign that dreaded long book to read!LOL)
-
I got AAS 1 in the mail yesterday..with tons of other books! OH' how fun box days are. I want to start next year now! This is my initial thoughts after a rough first glance at AAS 1.
Right off the bat AAS does go at a much slower pace than PR. I think that the word difficulty is about the same especially if you use the more words sections, which I would recommend. Using extra words only increases a child's spelling ability but also their reading level.
I really like the way that AAS works on segmenting the words...I have to say that this is much better than in PR. It is in PR but not in the same way and not as a separate skill. This nugget could be my missing link. I think that my child especially due to her speech issues needs more work in this area. Also with a younger child----I like how it has the child saying the first sound, the last sound etc. I think this would help with blending more that what PR does.
-
Thanks for this...I should be getting my hands on AAS 1 today. When I get a chance to look at it I will offer more information as well.
lynda
-
That is my dd issue with reading ...she can read great by herself and tell you back the story amazingly. So you know that she understands. Reading out loud is a different story. She hates to read aloud. I just assumed that it had something to do with her speech issues. HUmmmm.....maybe not.
Lynda
-
It sounds like you need to explicitly teach segmenting and syllabication, and your DD seems to need to break spelling down into more steps because she is scared of it. AAS level 2 will do this. That said if you are trying PR first this quote would probably help you to break PR down into simpler steps with segmenting:
This is exactly what she needs more of. I sat down last night with DH and laid it out to him and what the problems were. And why I kept going back and forth. I told him that I really needed an objective opinion. I don't have that much of my PR1 materials. We both agreed that she needed a good review. He looked at the PR 2 and agreed with me that she is not ready for that level of work. At this point it is a spelling issue not a reading one. She knows all 70 of her phonograms! She does not like to write. (I do suspect some laziness on her part here.) He told me to get AAS so that I can really look at it and make a solid decision, that I was not truly going to know until I got my hands on the materials.
His thought was to combine AAS with PR1. To present the rules to her from AAS but to also use the songs from PR. To also use any of the tricks that I did learn from PR. He also wanted me to make up a notebook of sorts to keep her going in that format. To do a quick run through of level 1 AAS and possibly through level 3, depends on how she works with the program. But at each point judging where we are at and moving back into PR2 with her.
Dh's last thing he said to me was not to worry. Not to worry about the money or if we were just using parts of a program. That he felt even if we had to continue combining AAS and PR, even though expensive. It would be cheaper than sending her to a tutor or speech therapist etc. He also said that it would be cheaper than sending her to public school, where they have the tutors etc to help her with her learning disabilities and issues for free. He felt this because of the things that she would be exposed to in public school. I guess that I had not really though of it in this manner, and did not know that he did as well.
So on Monday, I am calling to place my order for AAS level 1 and am going to work on combining the two programs. At least in the beginning to get her over her fears and this little hump. The eventual goal of putting her back into PR 2--hopefully by January (mid 2 grade) but it may very well be the start of 3 grade. And if AAS is really clicking for her better than PR we may just stay there. Time will tell. :D
Thanks all of you for all your help. It truly did help a ton!!!
Lynda
-
This method of review spelling words and keeping unknown words is similar to what Spelling Power does.
Lynda
-
I think you're set more than you think. You may be able to slowly bring in PR2 by Jan. of next year and spend 1.5 years on it.
Thanks for this.....sometimes this kid drives me nuts! She is such a different child! LOL A beautiful child but a challenging one at that. I think that you are right. I just think that I needed to talk it out with someone. Dh just does not get it ---but thankfully he will listen patiently and just say buy what you think is best and not question. He really is sweet and does give me a very overly generous budget for school; so thankfully I don't have to worry about that.
Now to go hunt more and figure out what I have left of PR 1......the quest begins!
Lynda
-
I was going to use Primary Language Lessons by Serl. I already own the book and it is easy, includes dictation, copy work and grammar. I am not set on using this, I could easily replace it with something else. I do think that she does need to start some basic grammar.So, why not get PR1 again...or just base it from her notebook. She won't know you're following the same pattern, unless you tell her ...snickering my evil momma laugh... This is a thought. I have to go and dig to see what I have left of her level 1 notebook. Off to go do that now. That could really be the deal breaker. I went through a huge cleaning/ purging, so I am hoping that did not make it to the shredder! LOLWhat if you used PR 1 as the template to model a lit. study with Farm Boy? Instead of character sketching Laura, you do Farm Boy, etc....or you could find a lit study of Farm Boy online for free Homeschoolshare, etc. There are a lot of lit. studies online.That is exactly what we are doing. I found tons of cool lapbook things to go with Farmer Boy as well. We are starting it on Monday and then going to work on it through the summer. My plan is to move through the series as she is interested. Or I can design another book study similar to this and just let her read the other Little House books.
If you go with AAS, will you do grammar elsewhere? Or just skip it for the year?
Lynda
-
See I was afraid that she would not want to redo level 1. Plus we did do the Little House Study...that was the one thing that we did not quite from PR 2. So when we do hit Level 2, I will need to add in my own literature studies. DD loved reading the Little House books, in fact we are about to start Farmer Boy!!Thinking monetarily...do you own PR1? I sold level 1 of PR. I have to check to see what student pages I have left. To re-do that level I would most likely have to repurchase it. I figure that PR new is $200 and 3 levels of AAS is $140. So the AAS would be less. But to be honest money is not the issue at all.Would you consider PR 2 at half pace and just enjoy it over a 2-year period. This would not at all be difficult to do and would allow for a great amount of time to continue her love of reading. You would not need to buy anything then I had thought of this but I do think that she needs to feel a bit more confident in those level 1 skills before attempting even at half pace. She reads compound words fine but freaks out when spelling them.
Also, Y3 is quite an increase in writing, so you want to make sure she's ready for that when the time comes. This is another concern. Hitting the level 3 materials before she is ready. She just really has not jumped into the next stage of development yet.
You know how much I love PR...I agree it is an excellent program. I loved level 1 and it did a ton for my dd. I don't regret that at all. I wish she were ready for level 2. With this child I can not just push through material and hope that it will click. She gets stressed out and shuts down. My older dd, yes I could have just told her to suck it up and pushed her through PR level 2 at this age. Different kids and learners.
If you're looking where to start, I'd begin in PR1 and allow the spelling reinforcement to work its way into grammar. All the reading practice she'll continue to get will only reinforce the literary study in PR2.
Lynda
-
So I have been going back and forth with what to do...Last night I finally pulled out my PR Level 2 materials. I really combed through them. It was nice because since I put it away at week 10 into the program. Which was about mid Oct. of 2009. So about 5 months ago. I looked at it and really do not think that dd is still ready for the material covered in the program. When I looked at the grammar concepts separately--they are really 3 grade. I am thinking that I will save PR2 for 3 grade.
So now what to do for the rest of this year 1 grade and next year for 2. When we stopped PR 2 --- I reviewed the phonogram cards with her and the begging word list from WRTR. That worked fine for awhile but I realized that I missed the hand holding from PR and help with the rules! We have about 8 weeks left of school this year and then will be taking off for the summer. I do however do light things during that time with the kids as needed.
As for reading dd can read Magic Tree House books independently, her comprehension is excellent. She can read harder books if she wants, she is just enjoying these books right now. She can read a whole book easily in an 1/2 hour to 1 hour sitting. She can completely re-tell me the whole book with detail.
She is 6 and will be 7 in Aug. We typically end our school year end of April/ Beg of May and start back to school the beginning to mid Aug.
Ok so here is my debate.
1. start AAS 1 now and then work lightly through the summer.
OR
2. Scrap the rest of this year and just blow it off. Finish the rest of our subjects and just read. Then take the summer to just work on math and reading as we feel like it. Start AAS next fall hope to get through levels 1-3, but at a pace dd dictates, working no more than 20-25 minutes a day. With the intention of going back to PR for 3 grade or just sticking with AAS if it is working good. For grammar for 2 grade we will use primary language lessons.
so what do all think? You have helped me think through all of this so much....so now help me with the final part---when to start??
Lynda;)
-
:lurk5:
lynda
-
you must read the other books..my dd loved these!!! She got them for Xmas and was done with all 3 books by New Years!!
Lynda
-
:lurk5:
Lynda
-
Quote:
Originally Posted by johnandtinagilbert View Post
I'm confused by this. I would mark ou (the vowel team of pain - having 4 sounds), then say /r/, essentially, owr
That's how I would do it too. How does AAS do it? Do they say that the 'o' and the 'u' are making separate sounds followed by the /r/ or that it's /ur/ (said er) following the /o/ sound? I really like the way PR does the teams and identifies them as one sound with multiple letters.
How does AAS teach this word? I teach this work ou ( pain sound ow) the the r. So ou is the vowel team phonogram followed by the r.
would love to know how AAS teaches this one, as this may be a deal breaker... and send me running back to PR just as I thought I made up my mind! :auto:
Lynda
-
I'm using SWR with my two oldest dc and PR with my two middle dc and I REALLY like PR better. It's so much easier to teach. We like the rule tunes too. I use them with my SWR students also.
I looked at SWR and just immediately had a headache. I could not make sense of it even with the websites and the yahoo group. I see where you need to take a training course--ya who has time for that. I figured that it was no more of a pain than WRTR and I own that $20 book! LOL
I am looking for something easier to implement for mom and student. Thus the debate between PR and AAS.
Lynda
-
I think that for spelling, PR is spiral where AAS is mastery. It makes a big difference to me to realize that, because MUS didn't work for us.
This is precisely why I am thinking that I need to try AAS...no math worked fully or made things click until we did Math U See. She is just a mastery type of learner with everything. She likes to stay on one topic until she gets it. I would have never realized this difference between the programs without all of our exchanges.
Lynda
-
You're taught via DVD to ask how many syllables do you hear? She doesn't model it with every single word, but it is taught in there somewhere. Before writing you ask, how many syllables do you hear? You move your hand up for a syllable, down for the next. Then you write the word, always in syllables.
I feel that using PR will teach syllables after breaking every word into syllables as you spell them, but AAS specifically teaches how and why they are broken up that way. (between 2 consonants, etc.) Again, AAS explicitely teaches incremental steps.
I am thinking that the syllable work in AAS, since it is more direct may help my little one. Due to the fact that she has speech issues sometimes she needs things laid out a bit more clear. Parts of spelling are so hard for her because of the verbal processing. Speech effects so much of the child's language centers.
Now that you refresh my memory about the up and down hands in PR --I remember seeing that. I don't recall any 1 lesson just on syllable work or how to do this?
I love the PR but I am afraid to hit that wall again with my dd. I am thinking that AAS 1 would be good for her to get the syllable work down a bit better. Humm....maybe I should scrap what we are doing now and order it today.
Start AAS 1 and see where we are at --that may be enough review to put her back into PR for next fall. Oh' decisions. I did comb the website and AAS does seem more pick up and go. I like how they specifically had you organize the review box. That is something we were lacking in PR, was the review...I sort of made up my own method. Plus, now with really looking at the PR level with you all---I am thinking of going really slow and stretching PR 2 out. I like to school only 4 days a week, so maybe take 2 weeks to do 1 weeks worth of work. Decisions...UGG...sometimes I hate making them!:lol:
LYnda
-
I think that AAS could be compared to MUS, only better.
It breaks spelling down to the most incremental of skills. First the child learns to separate a word into its sounds... only counting how many sounds there are and not yet using letters to represent them. This is segmenting.
Each rule that the child learns is worded very simply and if there is more to the rule that is added later after the child has mastered the first part (this is a fundamental difference between AAS and How to Teach Spelling or Phonics Road).
It also goes into great detail as to how to break a word down into syllables.
Honestly, if you asked me what the best spelling program was and I had to choose only one out of those that I have seen, without further explanation, I would choose AAS.
I have used MUS, btw. For DD the manipulatives were too distracting. The thing that is nice about AAS is that the manipulatives are not essential. You can still do the program without them.
Z2mom, just my opinion, but if you already sold PR level 1... and you want the MUS of spelling, then I say try AAS. Have you looked at the sample lessons and the scope and sequence? They have a ton of information on their website.
Thanks for this explanation. I think the syllable work could help dd. It is not present that much in PR or at least I may have missed that part. That is some of what I am seeing. This child's learning style seems to be mastery. She lacks confidence due to a speech issue so wants to know it cold before really acting like she knows something, even though I know that she does. She is also very tactile, and that element seems to add a ton to her understanding.
Off to comb the websites more.....
Lydna
-
The program is set up differently. The student is not expected to learn so many different rules all at once. If you look at the scope and sequence of AAS it is very plain. A whole lesson (which could be a week, could be less, could be more... it is a mastery based program) is devoted to each new phonogram. The first level only teaches 31 phonograms! In addition to this the teacher actually teaches a couple of words before the student is expected to do any. Now one thing that I have had to do is make sure that we are reviewing the words that we already learned on a more consistent basis. It has taken me most of the first level to really get comfortable using AAS in the way that it most benefits us.
Should you switch to AAS? Hard to say. Your DD will most likely be extremely bored with AAS if she has already done most of PR 1. If my DD had already done most of PR 1 I would feel like the first 2 or 3 levels of AAS were a total waste and have a hard time sticking to them. If you had trouble working one on one with your DD and had her watch the videos, then you will also have trouble with that aspect of AAS.
I had trouble sitting with her at times because we were focusing too much on the "extras" of homeschooling and the fun stuff. Plus she liked to watch the Dvd's and would ask to watch them. It made things easier for her because she could copy the words that way. This particular child seems to do so much better with a hands on mastery math program. We used a bunch of math programs for her and the one that really made it all click is Math u see. I finally purchased it as a last resort in Jan --in 1 1/2 mths she has flown through half of the alpha program. To me AAS seems like math u see --please correct me if I am wrong. I am thinking that moving through levels 1-3 even at a fast pace may make some things click for her. Then move back into the faster pace PR2.
I am hesitant to just start PR2 with her without reviewing PR1 materials prior. I guess I am thinking that ASS might give a fresh perspective on an old idea to her. I am concerned that the ASS only goes to the 31 phonograms ---how many phongrams are covered by the end of level 3? She knows all of her phonograms except for about 10 that we are still working on mastering.
sigh ----tons to think about. I love that we are all typing (thinking) out loud. It really helps me to think and remember why we did certain things. I do know that from looking at the All About Reading reader that is currently out --my dd is way beyond that for reading.:auto:
Lynda
-
Okay, that is why one would want to use AAS.... it is easier*!
*for the student. It still has a learning curve for the teacher.
Please keep talking because it is helping me to decide...either pick PR back up or go with AAS.
How is AAS easier for the student than PR? This may really be my deal breaker here. This may hit some of the things that my dd hit a wall with PR.
PR-- I did it both ways sometimes on a monday when things were tight or I was busy--I let me dd watch the video and she did all the words for the week. Then the other days we would work through the words together again.
I did teach building codes and rules as they applied to each word when we did that particular word.
Lynda
-
Well we have established that PR level one covers at least 3 levels of AAS, but it does have a consumable student notebook. Then after level one PR covers more LA then just spelling. I really think that they are both very good programs and that the cost ends up being about the same. I would recommend either of them. It just depends on what you are wanting. Me, I want all in one!
So now I am thinking here...how do you think this would work for my little one. Next year she will be in 2 grade. Since we did PR 1 and stopped mid PR 2.
2 grade--AAS levels 1-3 ( or as far as we get at her pace. I am thinking all 3 since it covers the same materials as PR 1) Use PLL for language studies. And narration integrated into other subjects.
3 grade --PR 2 and just do our our own literature study since we did the Little House, or re-do it. (if we are enjoying AAS stay there and use ILL)
4 grade--PR 3
5 grade --PR 4
6 grade -- Latin Road or finishing up PR depending where we are at.
I really loved PR when I used it. My dd just hit a huge wall and I knew we need to pull back. I sold my level 1 to purchase level 2 but I still have it. I think that I am just scared to break it back out....afraid that we will hit another wall and waste time. sigh. I just need to make a decision to either use it or sell it! Any one want a level 2 program?:lol:
Lynda
-
I don't even want to think about my baby starting high school...Thankfully I have awhile for that one! LOL. I know some of the things we will be doing next year because they are just a continuation from what we are doing now. Like the next level in Latin or math. I really am trying to not stress about it and just think of it like any other grade and meet my child where she is at.
Lynda
-
It just hit me that this is my eldest!! I can not believe that I am planning high school!
Lynda
-
now you all are making me think....maybe a fast review of PR1 and then moving back into PR2....hummm......need to research more.
I don't mind investing money into a program if it works--but to go through 3-4 AAS to hit where we are now??
Who is it that is using AAS instead of PR? what are your thoughts?
Lynda
Comparing Phonics Road to All About Spelling
in The Phonics Road to Spelling & Reading-The Bridge
Posted
I like the dictation phrases----I do wish that there was a bit more guidance on this other than do several a day. ---I get do what your child can handle but this is where one wants to know what is grade appropriate. Like I know that Jonny can only write one a day but he should be able to write 3. Ok so we will start with 1 and work to 3. This is where PR is better and much clearer in the expectations. I think that I may build a section for dictation into our review box. My child hates to write and this is a skill that we need to work on. She should be writing more.