jina Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 I am sure this has already been discussed, but I could not find it by searching. What do you guys do??? Do you finish all (8 books) of ETC before moving on to spelling or start spelling around book 4ish? I have one going into 2nd grade this year. We are going to be doing Explode the Code online this year and am trying to figure out if I need to add spelling on top of that - or try to get him through the rest of the books first. I want to use All About Spelling when I have some extra money, but think it might be overkill to use ETC and a spelling program right now. Thoughts? Thanks for any insight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liltrees Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 :lurk5:Hope you don't mind if I hang out.......I'm curious as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 I plan to get my kids through book 8 before starting spelling. Personally, I don't see the point of a spelling program until kids are reading fluently. Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 We did ETC Book 1-3a, the first part of 4, then Book 5-6. Dd finished ETC 6 probably about December of her 2nd grade year. I chose to start AAS after the Christmas break and not finish ETC. Dd was reading at a late 3rd grade level when we stopped ETC. Dd was well prepared for AAS Level I and went through it pretty speedily. It was close enough to the end of the school year that I didn't want to begin Level II. We'll start that at the beginning of next year. It was a good time for dd to depart ETC and it worked well for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Governess Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 We did ETC Book 1-3a, the first part of 4, then Book 5-6. Dd finished ETC 6 probably about December of her 2nd grade year. I chose to start AAS after the Christmas break and not finish ETC. Dd was reading at a late 3rd grade level when we stopped ETC. Dd was well prepared for AAS Level I and went through it pretty speedily. It was close enough to the end of the school year that I didn't want to begin Level II. We'll start that at the beginning of next year. It was a good time for dd to depart ETC and it worked well for us. I think we are going to do the same thing. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 I did Explode the Code and Sequential Spelling at the same time. Worked out beautifully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommix3 Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 I personally wouldn't do AAS and ETC at the same time. I agree that it would be overkill. Finishing the ETC books would be better and then jump into AAS. AAS is a GREAT program by the way... Angela Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momtolgd Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 I plan to get my kids through book 8 before starting spelling. Personally, I don't see the point of a spelling program until kids are reading fluently. Tara :iagree: My ds is finishing book 7 soon, and will go to book 8. Then I plan to start Megawords and Spelling Wisdom with him. :001_smile: DD just started book 4 of ETC and I will do the same for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amsunshine Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 My elder dd is finishing book 8 and starting a spelling program next year for her 2nd grade year. I haven't felt the need to do spelling on top of ETC for her. That said, my younger dd will be starting 1st grade next year and she is just now finishing ETC 6. I may start her in a spelling program after she finishes this book instead of finishing the ETC series. Books 7 and 8 of ETC are a little different from the previous books in that they introduce some reading passages for comprehension and comprehension questions. I actually have my older dd skip those passages now because I've found the language to be somewhat stilted and the content uninteresting. I like the other exercises, but my thoughts are that we might do just as well starting a phonics-based spelling program after ETC 6 for younger dd. Sorry for the rambling response. In sum: If you are at ETC 4 -- push forward through ETC 6 without any additional spelling program. After that, you might want to consider a switch to spelling (but I don't think it's necessary before then). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetfeet Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 We did ETC through book 5 before starting AAS. I may have her do ETC 6 just because I already own it and it's easy, but I don't plan to do 7 or 8. My daughter is a confident reader and has no issues with phonics. She started writing stories in her free time and became frustrated with misspelled words, so I decided to discontinue ETC and work on spelling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Originally, I stopped ETC about book 6 and switched to Spelling Power. My daughter really wanted to go back to ETC, so we finished out through book 8 and then started on Spelling Power. I don't see a need to do spelling on top of ETC, as spelling is simply applied phonics. You are already covering phonics through ETC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jina Posted June 30, 2009 Author Share Posted June 30, 2009 Thanks for the responses! For those who went from Explode the Code (through book 6 or so) and then went on to AAS...how quickly did they go through the first few levels? I assume level 1 goes quickly, but when does it slow down usually - level 2 or 3? Thanks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in the UP of MI Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 We don't use ETC but I started AAS with a non-reader last November and it has gone very well. Because of the skills she has learned with this program she had a HUGE jump in reading ability this spring, beyond anything I have taught her. It has been great for her spelling too, which is great because she loves to write. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmamato3 Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 We don't use ETC but I started AAS with a non-reader last November and it has gone very well. wow this is good to know. i have a 4.5 yr old that i've decided to start purposely doing phonics pathways with even though i'm not starting her into "kindergarten" stuff until after christmas break this year (no sooner, at least) . . . i'm letting her learn how to write at the same time using handwriting without tears. using ETC pre levels, too. {i had them all anyway} ... so you really feel like she was able to learn spelling rules before she had gone through a phonics program? things that make yo ugo, hmmmm...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Thanks for the responses! For those who went from Explode the Code (through book 6 or so) and then went on to AAS...how quickly did they go through the first few levels? I assume level 1 goes quickly, but when does it slow down usually - level 2 or 3? Thanks... It took us about 3 months to go through Level I of AAS. We started mid-Feb and finished mid-May. We did spelling about 3x a week. Sometimes 4x because AAS was dd's favorite thing this year and she would ask to do it. We usually did one lesson a day. We'll start Level II in Sept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmamato3 Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 here's where i am with this: DS is going into first grade, but he's completed Veritas Press Phonics Museum K and 1, which develops a spelling list for you starting about halfway through level 1, so he's been doing words like "hinge, fudge" with no trouble. I've been using ETC too, and we're finishing book 4 this month. I am going to use FLL and WWE for his official first grade year. here's my plan: finish ETC books 5 and 6 and the non-reading passages of 7 (b/c i have them anyway) while starting the Natural Speller. if all things are going well, i'm just going to continue and take a low-key approach with the spelling until he's in 3rd grade .... just doing the Natural Speller. if it gets too complicated to do ETC with Natural Speller AND the FLL/WWE all in combo, i'm going to drop the N.S. IF for some reason, i start seeing red flags in his skills at ANY POINT in the process, even before we've finished ETC, i will abandon ETC and the Natural Speller altogether and buy AAS. i'd actually like to do spelling wisdom and have considered just waiting entirely until he's close to the 3rd grade level to do it .... no natural speller and only do ETC books. the ETC are a "hands-off" thing he can do when i'm busy with the other little ones but need him to be focusing on something productive :) clear as mud?? ETC 5,6,7 in conjunction with easy-paced Natural Speller for now ;) [i'm probably going to purchase AAS for my daughter when she gets to the age .... she's not a workbook-y ETC kind of girl] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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